Dividing Walls and the Temple of God

Community Group Questions:

Engage Yourself:

• We spoke this week about the assumptions we have about different groups of people. What groups of people do you assume the worst of? Try to understand why by allowing your community group to ask hard questions of you.
  • How does this posture conflict with Paul’s teaching in Ephesians?
  • How does this sort of posture resemble more of the old age and our participation in the spirit that is at work in the sons of disobedience rather than the age to come?
• Have you ever been on the receiving end of any unfair assumptions in life? In the church? What was that like, and how can we as the church do better?

Engage the Text:

• Verse 11 talks about “uncircumcision” and “circumcision”. What do you think Paul is getting at here? Read the surrounding context to help answer the question, and read Deuteronomy 10:16; 30:6 and Jeremiah 4:4 for some background as well.
• How do you think this passage relates to Paul’s “thesis statement” in Ephesians 1:10?

Engage your Neighbor:

• What about this passage makes it impossible for a Christian to justify putting up barriers between themselves and people who are different (socio-economically, politically, racially, ethnically)?
• What are the missional implications of the church being the new temple in Christ, i.e. mobile dwelling places for God?