Unity between God and His people, and among believers themselves, rests fundamentally on shared common interest, a theme woven throughout the book of Ephesians. Jesus Christ declared in John 10:30 that He and the Father are one, and in John 17 He repeatedly petitioned for this same oneness to extend to His followers, not implying a single person but a perfect agreement in kind. This drive toward unity reflects a universal human impulse, since all communication carries some aspect of seeking alignment, whether for peace or for influence. James 3:18 confirms that the very fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by peacemakers, underscoring that without unity there remains an undercurrent of unrest. Ephesians traces this theme by first establishing, in chapter 1, that a measure of unity with God was made possible through calling and the gift of His Spirit, and then, in chapter 2, explaining why such unity is difficult to achieve: a great Adversary works against unity with God and consequently against unity among people. Only through God's grace can believers be saved from the destruction caused by this disunity, since salvation itself is essentially oneness with God. The historical situation addressed in Ephesians 2:11-17 involved Israelites and Gentiles within one congregation, divided by real attitudinal differences: Israelites carried feelings of superiority, while Gentiles carried resentment and a sense of inferiority. Paul reveals that this divide originated in God's own choices, His selection of Israel to receive His revelation, and His deliberate hiding of Himself from the Gentiles, meaning neither group bore full responsibility for the situation, yet both were required to overcome it. The foundation for reconciling these two groups is having things important to life in common with each other. Paul reminds the Gentiles of their former complete separation from Christ and Israel, while simultaneously reminding the Israelites that their circumcision was merely a hand-made physical act, not a supernatural transformation of the heart, leaving them no basis for spiritual boasting. This places both groups on the same level. The decisive common ground established in verse 13 is that both, solely through God's calling, now share faith in Christ, justification before God, and hope in the Kingdom of God. Without that calling, neither would possess these blessings at all. What Christ abolished, according to verse 15, was the enmity, the hostility between the two peoples, not God's law itself. That enmity stemmed from human nature's inherent antagonism against God's law, a antagonism present in both Israelite and Gentile alike. The Israelites had allowed ceremonial formalism to overshadow the moral and spiritual law, breeding pride, while the Gentiles' natural resentment of this attitude bred an equally evil envy. The resolution, then and now, is for each individual to carry through on the responsibilities created by this common bond in Christ: repenting, humbling oneself, and making the sacrifice of compromise through forgiveness. As believers reconcile with one another on the basis of their shared calling and common hope, they simultaneously become reconciled with God, making unity a genuine reality rather than an abstract ideal.