12. Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world.
13. At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.
14. Christ himself is our peace. He has made Jews and non-Jews into one group of people. He has destroyed the hatred that was like a wall between us.
15. Through his body on the cross, Christ put an end to the law with all its commands and rules. He wanted to create one new group of people out of the two. He wanted to make peace between them.
16. He planned to bring both of them as one body back to God because of the cross. Christ put their hatred to death on that cross.
17. He came and preached peace to you who were far away. He also preached peace to those who were near.
18. Through Christ we both come to the Father by the power of one Holy Spirit.
19. So you are no longer strangers and outsiders. You are citizens together with God's people. You are members of God's family.
20. You are a building that is built on the apostles and prophets. They are the foundation. Christ Jesus himself is the most important stone in the building.
21. The whole building is held together by him. It rises to become a holy temple because it belongs to the Lord.