The Middle Wall of Division, the Enmity

The Middle Wall of Division, the Enmity

“And even now the ax is laid to the root of the trees.” John the Baptist said this, referring to Jesus’ coming. When we read Jesus’ words in the Sermon on the Mount, we can clearly see the ax laid to the root. He reminds the listeners of the commandment of the Law: You shall not murder. However, in Jesus’ words we see the ax laid to the root: “Whoever is angry . . . .” Matt. 5:22. He put the searchlight on anger, abusive language, and mockery. And when He mentions the word of the Law concerning adultery, He speaks about looking at a woman with unchaste desire. Vs. 27-28. Again we see that He lays the ax at the root. What is the ax? It is God’s Word, which is living and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword. Heb. 4:12. The Word pierces and divides and separates in our inner man—just like the ax in the natural.

In Ephesians 2:14-15 we read: “For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of division between us . . . the enmity.” On this point we should also think with thankfulness of the ax that is laid to the root which made it possible, as we sing in Ways of the Lord #163, verse 4; namely, that the ax is laid to the root of sin so that it was finally put to death through the cross. The enmity was finally put to death. In this case it referred to the enmity that divided Jew from Gentile and the wall that separated them. But oh, how many carnal walls of division, both small and great there are that can arise, for example between marriage partners in a marriage or between brothers or sisters in a brotherhood—a distance, whether large or small, that should not be there; a coldness that does not belong in a marriage or in the brotherhood. Married couples can sense it; brothers can be aware of it. But they think that of course, this has nothing to do with enmity. Perhaps they acknowledge that the relationship—whether it is in the marriage or in the brotherhood—is not the very best. But one doesn’t want to call it “enmity.” Yet the “ax laid to the root,” as we have learned from the Sermon on the Mount, knows how to give it the right name and expose it as enmity.

It is also through an acquaintance with this blessed ax at the root that we understand the word when it says that “He is kind to the unthankful and evil.” Then it isn’t difficult to understand that unthankfulness and evil belong together. Or when James lays the ax to the root and exposes envy and self-seeking as being earthly, sensual, and demonic. Jas. 3:15.

Brother Johan O. Smith writes the following words about sanctification in Skjulte Skatter [Hidden Treasures] in the March issue of 1929: “No one can be sanctified without diligently taking heed to himself. By scrutinizing myself in the light of the Spirit, I gain knowledge about myself and about God.” Yes, if we want to gain the knowledge of God, then there is no other way to it. And a truth-loving soul will not gain this knowledge without this self-examination either. For such souls love the ax that is able to consign the root of sin to death. The ax that is laid “to the root of the trees” is the word of God that shall pierce through, judging the thoughts and intents of the heart. Then the least carnal wall of division that wants to arise in a marriage or in the brotherhood will be enmity in our eyes, the enmity that Jesus put to death on the cross and which is put to death in the lives of those who take up their cross. Then we will also better understand Brother Elias Aslaksen who sings about victory over sin in the chorus of song # 163 in The Ways of the Lord: “Over sin in all diversity.”