We humans are not very good at living up close with others. This is especially true when we have a history of conflict with those others. Reconciliation isn’t easy. No matter how much you might want healing, it’s hardly ever a matter of just everybody getting on and pretending the hurts didn’t happen.
In Paul’s letter to the Ephesians, he says some very important, fundamental things about peace and reconciliation, and gives many other very practical teachings about how to live together in light of these truths.
Here are nine key reflections on the topic of reconciliation in Ephesians in my series Lift Your Eyes: Reflections on Ephesians – click/press to read or listen to each reflection.
- God’s great plan for reconciliation of all things: So here’s the plan (Ephesians 1:8–10)
- Brought close to each other by Jesus: The blood that brings us close (Ephesians 2:11–13)
- Christ breaks down hostile walls: Christ the wall breaker (Ephesians 2:14–16)
- We’re all together in Christ: No second-class Christians (Ephesians 2:19)
- The gospel that unites different churches througout the ages: Built together (Ephesians 2:20–22)
- The true nature of Christian unity: This unity (Ephesians 4:2–3)
- Acknowledging, processing and dealing with anger: Grace and anger (Ephesians 4:26–27)
- Forgiveness, even when it’s hard: The power of forgiveness (Ephesians 4:31–32)
- Living under authority for the good of others: Submitting to one another (Ephesians 5:21)
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The academic details behind these reflections
In this series, I don’t go into detail justifying every statement I make about the background and meaning of Ephesians. I’ve done that elsewhere. If you’re interested in the reasons I say what I say here, and want to chase it up further with lots of ancient Greek, technical stuff, and footnotes, check out my book Reading Ephesians and Colossians After Supersessionism: Christ’s Mission through Israel to the Nations.