In Christ I Am United with All Believers
Joined to Him, joined to His people
Part 8 of 17 Series — What being “in Christ” personally means to
you
Ephesians 2:14 — “For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility.”
Opening Reflection
Many believers experience genuine union with Christ but quiet distance from His people. Long-standing divides — denominational, cultural, generational, political — keep churches sorted into their own corners, and personal disappointments add another layer of self-protection. Scripture refuses this fragmentation: in Christ, believers are not only reconciled to God but joined to one another in a new humanity He Himself has formed.
Taking a Devotional View
Ephesians 2:14 names Christ as “our peace” — not merely the announcer of peace but the substance of it. Paul pictures the dividing wall of hostility, the literal barrier in the temple between Jew and Gentile and the deeper hostility it represented, being broken down in His flesh on the cross. What follows in verses 15-16 is striking: Christ did not simply remove the hostility but created in Himself “one new man in place of the two,” reconciling both groups to God in one body through the cross. Galatians 3:28 names the same reality with different categories — Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female — none of which can constitute a separate identity in Christ.
This unity is not a project the church must construct; it is a reality the church is called to live consistently with. Ephesians 2:18 grounds it practically: “through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.” Every believer comes to God by the same access, through the same Christ, in the same Spirit — there is no second-tier admission for any group. The implication matters. Distance from other believers is not just a personal preference; it is a denial of what Christ has actually done. Pursuing unity, listening across difference, and refusing the easy categories the world keeps re-imposing is the everyday work of living as the one new humanity Christ has formed (1 Corinthians 12:12-13; Colossians 3:11).
Key Thoughts & Takeaways
Key Thoughts
- Christ Himself is the believer’s peace, having broken down every dividing wall through His cross (Ephesians 2:14-16).
- In Christ, believers are formed into one new humanity no longer defined by the categories that once separated them (Galatians 3:28; Colossians 3:11).
- All believers share the same access to the Father by one Spirit, making unity a present reality the church is called to live out (Ephesians 2:18; 1 Corinthians 12:12-13).
Ask Yourself
- Where am I still relating to other believers across a dividing wall Christ has already broken down?
- Which categories — cultural, generational, political — shape how I see fellow Christians more than the new humanity Christ has formed?
- How could I pursue unity with believers who are different from me this week, in ways that reflect what Christ has already done?
Lord Jesus, thank You that You Yourself are my peace, and that in You I am united not only to the Father but to all who belong to You. Forgive me where I have rebuilt walls You broke down at the cross. Open my eyes to the new humanity You have formed, and teach me to live, listen, and love in ways that match the unity You have already secured. In Your name I pray, Amen.