The Middle Wall: The Ordinances

The Middle Wall Is Removed: The Ordinances

“Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called Uncircumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace (my emphasis); And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the household of God;”  Eph. 2:11-19

There was a figurative middle wall of partition (vs. 14) between someone Paul calls us (the “we”), and these Ephesians (the “ye”). This wall was “the law of commandments contained in ordinances”.

Both the “we” and the “ye” had trusted the same gospel (Eph. 1:12,13) for salvation, the gospel of Christ of Romans 1:16 and 1 Corinthians 15:3,4, but the “ye Gentiles” (the Ephesians and Colossians), because they were not keeping the Jewish ordinances, were precluded from fellowship with the “we” who were,  which was comprised of Paul and all those who got saved during his Acts ministry. 

The Ordinances: What Are They?

The ordinances being referred to here are those practices that were ordained during the Acts transition, which were being observed by the church for Israel’s sake. The setting aside of Israel (Acts 28:17-28), and the advent of the dispensation of grace (Eph. 3:2; Col. 1:25), effectively eliminated the necessity to continue these practices. In the doing away with these ordinances, the Acts assemblies (those who had heard and believed the gospel of Christ during Paul’s Acts ministry) could come into fellowship with the post-Acts assemblies who had heard and believed the same thing, forming one unified body of Christ,  aka, “the one new man,” referred to by Paul as “the fellowship of the mystery.” (Eph. 3:9)

Physical Circumcision and Water Baptism

“And ye are complete in him(Christ), which is the head of all principality and power: In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ:  Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead. Col. 2:10-12

Obviously, both of these Jewish practices, physical circumcision and physical baptism (washing), according to this passage, have now become operations of the Holy Spirit that occur the moment one trusts Christ for salvation. (For Holy Spirit baptism, ref. 1 Cor. 12:13)

Christians have no problem with the elimination of physical circumcision as a requisite for inclusion into fellowship, but they want—almost without exception—to keep water baptism as a requirement for such.

There is hardly a Christian denomination–Catholic, Protestant or Independent—that does not practice the ordinance/ritual of baptizing with /in water in some form or fashion. Some claim it is necessary for salvation, others say it is simply an act of obedience, yet others a testimony before the world of one’s salvation (“an outward sign of an inward change”). One reason for the practice that I have often heard repeated is: “ I am following the Lord (Jesus) in ‘believers baptism.” Whatever your belief is about it–whether you have been baptized or not—I implore you to consider the following.

Why was Jesus Christ baptized (with water)? According to Scripture, he had committed no sin ( 2 Cor. 5:19-21).⁺ Why would he need to go through this ritual washing? Two reasons: 1. To fulfill the law  (Matt. 3:13-15); and 2. To be made manifest to Israel as their high priest (John 1:31).

What does the law say concerning: 1) the high priest? In Leviticus 16:4 (third book of the law), it says Aaron, the high priest—before he made the sin offering for the children of Israel—“shall…wash his flesh in water;” and in Exodus 29:4 it says: “And Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water;” and 2) the sacrifice? “And thou (Aaron) shalt slay the ram, and thou shalt take his blood, and sprinkle it round about upon the altar. And thou shalt cut the ram in pieces, and wash the inwards of him, and his legs, and put them unto his pieces, and unto his head” (Exodus 29:17,18).

These are only a few of many Old Testament passages concerning washing. Suffice it to say, washing was an integral part of offering the sacrifices for sin under the Old Covenant (the Mosaic law); not only for the high priest, but for all the priests who were in the service of God. It was integral, indeed, for the fulfilling of the law. This not only explains why Jesus was baptized (washed), but also why John was baptizing all those other Jews: This is clearly the fulfillment of Exodus 19:6, which says they were to become “a nation of priests.” Also make note from the above passages that the sacrifice itself had to be washed. Who was the sacrifice under the New Covenant? Jesus Christ!

This physical baptism (washing)—which is for, to, and about the Nation Israel, not the body of Christ—would clearly qualify as an ordinance under the law, and therefore would have been eliminated by Paul’s declaration in Ephesians 2.

Therefore, the  “one baptism” of Ephesians 4, has to be the Holy Spirit Baptism of 1 Cor. 12:13.

The Communion Table

Also known as the ‘Lord’s table,’ the ‘holy eucharist,’^t ‘holy communion,’ ‘the Lord’s supper,’ etc., this ordinance—it is claimed—was instituted in the church by Jesus Christ before his death on the cross. There are three accounts of it in the gospels: Matthew 26:19-28; Mark 14:16-25; Luke 22:15-20

Please note that in all these accounts this “celebration,” as modern day adherents like to label it, is identified as the Passover (supper). The Passover was a memorial feast on the flesh of the slain Passover lamb, and was given to Moses by God (see Exodus 12:11-14) as an ordinance forever. An ordinance forever to whom? Israel! The only difference here between that and what is going on between Jesus and the 12, is this is the new testament equivalent of it, with the Lord himself as the sacrificial Lamb^*—the OT version being a shadow of the new.

The point is, again, that this is to, for, and about the Nation Israel, not the body of Christ. Just because members of the body of Christ were keeping this celebration during the Acts transition (1 Co. 11:20-34), does not mean it carried over into the grace dispensation. In fact Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, appears to be rebuking them for doing it as an assembly.⁺ It was an ordinance given to new testament Israel, and the practice of it by the Corinthians would be for the same reason water baptism was being practiced—for Israel’s sake.⁺⁺ Since Israel is not recognized in the grace dispensation, there would be no need to continue doing it.

If God meant for an ordinance/practice to be kept in the grace dispensation, would he not have left very specific instructions with Paul as to exactly how, when, where, with whom, and by whom it was to be performed? I haven’t been able to find such instructions in Paul’s 13 letters. In fact, I can’t find the Lord’s supper mentioned anywhere else save for the above reference in 1 Corinthians chapt. 11. Surely this explains the incredible amount of variation and downright confusion (1 Co. 14:33)⁺⁺⁺ over the practice of this Jewish ordinance by Christians.

Signs and Wonders

In any discussion of a thing that God is doing in the Bible, we must always fall back on the  principle of the five “Ws”: who, what, when, where, and why. When were these things (signs and wonders) being manifested, where were they being manifested, by whom were they being manifested, and for what purpose? They were being manifested during the 33-35 year Acts transition period by the apostles and those who were true believers (Mark 16:17, 18),⁺⁺⁺⁺ because, according to 1 Corinthians 1:22, the Jew required a sign (in order to believe). In other words, this was—once again—about Israel.

Those who claim that the sign gifts are in effect today, offer as Scriptural evidence that Paul manifested them and promoted them among the Gentile churches which he established, and to which he ministered. In 1 Corinthians 12 verse 28, Paul lists gifts, of which the sign gifts are included, and then in verse 31—after telling these Corinthians to covet earnestly the best gifts, he says: “yet show I unto you a more excellent way.” That more excellent way is revealed in Chapter 13, and does not include these sign gifts (verse 8);⁺ they will be replaced by faith, hope and charity (vs. 13), “when that which is perfect is come” (verse 11). The “that which is perfect” had obviously not yet come because Paul didn’t reveal it there. What is it, and has it come? Colossians 1 provides us the answer:

“….I Paul ….Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his body’s sake, which is the church: Whereof I am made a minister, according to the dispensation of God which is given to me for you, to fulfil the word of God;”  Col 1:23-25

Verse 25 identifies that which is perfect: the word of God, proclaiming that Paul has been given a dispensation—which has been heretofore identified as the dispensation of the grace of God, viz., the mystery—and for that dispensation the fulfilled (completed) revelation of God.^* In other words Paul claims to have been given the finished, perfect, final revelation/instructions from God almighty for the present dispensation, for the edifying (building up) of the body of Christ (Eph. 4:12;).⁺⁺ If this is that which is perfect, then it has definitely come.

Therefore signs and wonders would have ceased at the revelation of the mystery in Ephesians and Colossians. Indeed, where do we hear of any of the miracles of the Acts transition occurring in any of the seven letters of the post-Acts period? Tongues are never mentioned once, and what of divine healing by the laying on of hands? In 2 Timothy 4 Paul says: Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick (vs. 20), and in 1 Timothy 5:23 he instructs Timothy to use a little wine for thy stomachs sake and thine often infirmities. ^** Is this the same person who struck a man blind in Acts 13⁺⁺⁺ and healed everyone that came to him in Acts 19 and 28⁺⁺⁺⁺ writing these words? Why would someone with this divine power to heal leave a brother in Christ sick? Because, apparently, he (Paul) no longer had these powers. Why? Because Israel (who required these signs in order to believe) was set aside,⁺ and Paul had finished his course (ministry) by revealing God’s finished plan for the grace dispensation, which is where we presently are.

If God (according to Scripture) does not presently ordain the sign gifts, how does one explain their obvious prevalence among Neo-Pentecostals, and even denominational systems? Paul gives us the answer in 2 Thessalonians:

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth will let, until he be taken out of the way. And then shall that Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of his coming: Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and signs and lying wonders, And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” II Th 2:7-10

The mystery of iniquity was already operative back then, by the working of Satan, “with all power and signs and lying wonders,” and definitely continues today. Its purpose, as always, is to replace the truth of the gospel, with religious activity, none of which is presently ordained by Scripture.

Dietary Laws

Any and all ordinances concerning what could and could not be eaten, such as those delivered to Paul’s followers in Acts 15, are abolished in the grace dispensation.

Keeping Israel’s Holy Days

Whereas Paul’s custom, during the Acts transition, was to enter the synagogue in every town he went to on the Sabbath day, that practice, along with all other required days of observance, ended with the advent of the grace dispensation. Therefore, there are no particular days of the week, month, or year that members of the b of C are to observe as “holier” than any others. 

Conclusion:

While the gospel of Christ (Rom. 1:16; 1 Cor. 15:1-4) is still “the power of God unto salvation,” the revelation of the dispensation of the grace of God brought to an end all connections to Israel and Israel’s ordinal practices under the law. These things, along with the promise of the land and the divine government, will be reinstituted in the future kingdom (see the Bible Timeline at the end of section II), which is their exclusive possession. But not now.

All Scripture references are taken from the King James Bible.
Related articles: The Fellowship of the Mystery; Mighty signs and wonders; When That Which is Perfect is Come.; The Lord’s Supper; Baptism in the Grace Dispensation

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