What is the law of commandments contained in ordinances (Ephesians 2:15)?

The apostle Paul wrote, “If anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” (2 Corinthians 5:17). One important aspect of being a new creation in Jesus Christ is having a changed relationship with the Law of Moses. About this, Ephesians 2:15 states that Christ has “abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace” (NKJV). This means Christ ended the law, which resulted in peace between Jews and Gentiles.

The expression “law of commandments contained in ordinances” refers to the rules and regulations found in the Law of Moses, which defined the Jewish faith. These commandments and ordinances governed everything from what to eat to how to worship. They formed a broad spiritual, moral, and legal framework for Jewish life. In addition, the laws established God’s covenant with Israel. In Exodus 19:5, God says, “If you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession” (NIV).

Moses also explained the purpose of these commandments. In Deuteronomy 6:1–2, he writes, “These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.” This helps explain why the Law played such a central role in Jewish life before Christ.

The ending of these commandments and ordinances, as expressed by Paul in Ephesians 2:16, means that Christ “has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility” (Ephesians 2:14 ESV) between Jews and Gentiles. Formerly, the Law of Moses separated Israel from other nations. Now, the barrier is gone. Paul says, “Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian” (Galatians 3:23–25 ESV). Christ has inaugurated a new era based on faith rather than “the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Ephesians 2:15 KJV).

How did Christ accomplish this? Paul says that “the law of commandments contained in ordinances” was “abolished in His flesh.” Here, the word “flesh” refers to Jesus’ body. On the cross, Jesus abolished the divisive aspects of the Law of Moses that separated Jews and Gentiles. In doing so, he created “one new man in place of the two, so making peace” (Ephesians 2:16 ESV)

This corresponds to what Paul says in Colossians 2:12–14 about the cross: “You were also raised with him through faith in the powerful working of God, who raised him from the dead. And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (ESV). In summary, “the law of commandments contained in ordinances” (Ephesians 2:15 KJV) was nailed to the cross.

By abolishing “the law of commandments contained in ordinances,” Christ created a new spiritual community—the Church—founded on faith rather than law-keeping. Now, Gentiles are no longer “separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world” (Ephesians 2:12 ESV). Instead, they have become “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:19 ESV).