Oneness in Christ
By Gene A. Getz
All of us at some point in time have been guilty of prejudice, that is, looking down on others, individually or ethnically, thinking that we are better than they are. The trouble is, most of us don't even realize that these elements of pride exist in ourselves.Ephesians 2:11-22 Among the prejudices that have run deep and lasted literally milleniums is that which has permeated the Jewish and Gentile communities. Emotions have often run high
on both sides; in many parts of the world they still do.Paul deals with the reality of this deep racial and religious phenomenon in his letter to the Ephesians. Directing his thoughts first to believing Gentiles, he reminds them of their status before they were saved. "Wherefore remember," he writes, "that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh" (Eph. 2:11a).
The Gentiles. In actuality, Gentiles have their origin in Adam. Following the fall, the whole world was plunged into sin. Paul described this dismal situation in his letter to the Romans: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened" (1:21).
But God in His mercy did not turn His back on mankind. He reached down in love and chose first a man (Abraham) and then a nation (Israel) to whom He wanted to reveal His love and to draw many back to Himself. He made a covenant with Abraham, promising him that "in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed" (Gen. 22:18). That seed was Jesus Christ.
Thus, the Jews have their origin in Abraham. They were first called "Hebrews". Later, after God had changed Jacob's name to Israel, they were called "Israelites". Following the Babylonian captivity, the term "Jew", which originally referred to the people of Judah, was applied to all Israel. Generally, the word "Israel" referred to these people as a nation; whereas "Jews", the people themselves. The same holds true today.
The Circumcised. When Abraham was 99 years old God, confirming the covenant that He had made with him many years earlier, introduced the covenant of circumcision. "Every man child among you shall be circumcised," God told Abraham (17:10). He made it clear that the token "shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant" (v. 13).
And so, through the years circumcision became the distinguishing factor between Jews and Gentiles. Hence, Paul reminds the Ephesians
that they who are Gentiles by birth are called "Uncircumcision" by those who call themselves "the Circumcision" (2:11b). To make sure that his readers knew he was talking about the physical act of circumcision, not the spiritual circumcision that God performs, Paul adds, "in the flesh made by hands" (11c).The Status of Unsaved Gentiles
In verse 12, Paul tells his readers (believing Gentiles) to recall their former status as unbelieving Gentiles, describing it with five succinct phrases: without Christ; aliens from the commonwealth of Israel; strangers from the covenants of promise; having no hope; and without God in the world.Actually, all mankind had chosen to follow evil rather than good. Even Abraham was a pagan. He had worshipped false gods. But the true God chose this man out of his paganism to be a means by which to provide salvation for those who would respond to His love and grace. The nation Israel was to be a corporate witness of God's righteousness in this world. In the most part, however, they failed utterly to fulfill this commission. And so the great majority of Gentiles continued in their lost condition before Christ came.
Now, being Jewish did not make these chosen people true believers. When Christ came, most of them were unbelievers. Though they claimed to keep the law of God and were even circumcised, they were not God's children spiritually. Paul made this crystal clear in Romans 2:28: "For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh: But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God."
The same can be said of people who claim to be Christians today. They claim to follow Christ and have even been baptized. However, many of them have not really been born again by God's Spirit. Their Christianity is purely ritualistic. They belong to the institutional church, but they do not belong to Christ.
The Status of All Believers
The fact that both Jews and Gentiles need salvation leads to Paul's next section in his letter (vv. 14-18). Here he broadened his audience, using the pronoun "our" to refer to both believing Jews and Gentiles.Focusing on the cross, he declares that the Lord Jesus is our peace; has made both one; has broken down the middle wall of partition between us; has abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; has made in himself of twain one new man; has reconciled both (Jews and Gentiles) unto God in one body by the cross, has come and preached peace to the Gentiles which were afar off and to the Jews that were nigh; and has made it possible for both Jew and Gentile to have access by one Spirit unto the Father.
Paul is not saying that Christ abolished the law of Moses. Rather, He fulfilled the law by paying the ultimate price for sin that the law demandedHe died on the cross. In this sense, the law is no longer necessary as a means to point to Christ's sacrifice.
The moral aspects of the law, however, are ongoing. All of those commandments are repeated for
Christians in the New Testament. Furthermore, Christians are given a divine meansthe indwelling Holy Spiritby which they can progressively conform their lives to God's commandments. This is what Paul had in mind when he wrote in Romans 8:1-4:There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.The Status of Saved Gentiles
In the last paragraph of Ephesians 2, Paul redirects his thoughts to the believing Gentiles. Actually, he made his transitional statement back in verse 13, where he said, "But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ."Picking up on that, he points out in verses 19-22 that they now are no more strangers and foreigners but are fellowcitizens with the saints, members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets with Christ Himself being the chief corner stone, and are fitly framed together unto an holy temple in the Lord.
It is true that the first church was a Jewish church. The original apostles and prophets were also Jews. But this was just the beginning point. God's plan calls for both Jews and Gentiles to make up the church and that there be no continuing division.
It took time even for the apostles to recognize this truth. In fact, all that Paul stated in this chapter in Ephesians is illustrated in the story of Peter's encounter with Cornelius.
A Biblical Illustration
Some time after the founding of the Church in Jerusalem, Peter was in Joppa. On that day he went up to pray on the roof of the house where he was staying. During this time of prayer, Peter became hungry. And while a meal was being prepared below, he fell into a trance and saw heaven opened and a large sheet descended. It was held by its four corners and was filled with all kinds of animals. Then Peter heard a voice: "Rise, Peter; kill, and eat."Peter resisted since, as a Jew, he had never eaten any unclean animals. But three times the voice instructed him to eat and not to call anything impure that God has made clean. Peter couldn't understand what was happening. But in the meantime, God had spoken to Cornelius, a Gentile who lived in Caesarea. Cornelius had been worshipping God and seeking to do His will. One afternoon he too had a vision. An angel of the Lord appeared to him and told him to look for Peter in Joppa.
To make a long story short, Cornelius sent three men to find Peter. When they arrived in Joppa, Peter's heart was already prepared through his own vision. The next day he traveled to Caesarea to meet with Cornelius and his family. When he entered the house Peter made it clear that in his mind the dividing wall of
hostility still existed. He said, "Ye know how that it is an unlawful thing for a man that is a Jew to keep company, or come unto one of another nation" (Acts 10:28), showing the extent to which the Jews had perverted God's original intent in giving the law.Nevertheless, when Peter heard Cornelius' full story, he took a giant step forward in understanding and accepting God's redemptive plan of salvation. He told Cornelius in verses 34-36:
Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons: But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all).Peter had heard this truth before from the lips of Jesus Christ Himself. But he had evidently found it hard to accept it in his heart. He was a staunch and prejudiced Jew who had been saturated with Hebrew tradition. As with Saul, it took a dramatic event, a revelation of God, to convince him that God cared about Gentiles as much as He cared about Jews and had provided for their salvation.When Peter returned to Jerusalem he shared what had happened. He faced a wall of continuing prejudice, though. The circumcised believers criticized him for going into the house of uncircumcised men. But as Peter related the story, their prejudice began to dissipate. They finally acknowledged that God has granted also to the Gentiles repentance unto life.
Application. And so it is with prejudice. It often lingers and is so subtle that we donít even recognize it as being a part of our lives. But by remembering how wretched we were before we were saved and how merciful God has been to us, we can better realize that by nature we are no better than anyone else.
Are you able to accept other people for who they are? Do you freely associate with those who are different from you? Are you concerned with the salvation of people in faraway lands with strange cultures? And do you really love a fellow believer regardless of his social and ethnic background?
May I suggest that you think of one person whom you have difficulty liking because he is different from you. Seek out that person and make it a point to love him as Christ has loved you. o
Dr. Gene A. Getz is pastor of Fellowship Bible Church North, 850 Lexington Drive, Plano, TX 75075.