16. Through the cross Christ ended the hate between the two groups. And after they became one body, he wanted to bring them both back to God. He did this with his death on the cross.
17. Christ came and brought the message of peace to you non-Jews who were far away from God. And he brought that message of peace to those who were near to God.
18. Yes, through Christ we all have the right to come to the Father in one Spirit.
19. So now you non-Jewish people are not visitors or strangers, but you are citizens together with God’s holy people. You belong to God’s family.
20. You believers are like a building that God owns. That building was built on the foundation that the apostles and prophets prepared. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in that building.
21. The whole building is joined together in Christ, and he makes it grow and become a holy temple in the Lord.
22. And in Christ you are being built together with his other people. You are being made into a place where God lives through the Spirit.