Thoughts From Ephesians 2 - Part 4

 Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called “uncircumcised” by those who call themselves “the circumcision” (which is done in the body by human hands)— 12 remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.   Eph. 2:11-18

   

          I imagine in the early church that there was some kind of caste system where the Jews felt superior to everyone else who was grafted into the church. Paul even uses some language here to display it - far away from God vs. near to God, excluded from citizenship vs. citizens, uncircumcised vs. circumcised, foreigners to the covenants of the promise vs. possessing the covenants, without hope vs. having hope, and the big one - without God in the world vs. having God. The Jews actually were the only ones in the world who were worshipping the right God! This tracks today, also, because so many people think every religion is seeking God, they are just going up different sides of the mountain. Allah is not God, Brahman is not God, the Hawaiian gods Kane, Ku, Lono, Kanaloa are not God, Shakti, Vishu, Shiva, Wakan Taka, The Tao, Krishna, Eshwara, and Anima Mundi are not God. There is one God and He revealed Himself to the Jews. No wonder they felt like in the church they were first-class citizens and frankly, no wonder Satan stirs up the world with a spirit of anti-semitism.

        You ever walk into an airplane and look left and see first-class with chairs that swivel and turn into beds with tables for food and drinks and it's already full because they get to board and exit first? Then you walk to your seat, and you feel like a second-class citizen. I've always dreamed about being upgraded to first-class because my kids always seem to get upgraded and it finally happened yesterday. Unfortunately, it was on a 20 passenger 40-minute flight where the only difference was the front row vs. row 8 and cookies and water, but hey, it finally happened. Paul says that the church wasn't meant to have first and second class. The thing that put everyone at the same level was the cross and blood of Jesus. All those covenants, laws, and promises were fulfilled in Christ. He was the Passover lamb, the firstfruit from the dead. He took the leaven and the curse of unclean on His body on the cross. He became our Sabbath rest where we rest from our works and He did the work for us. We all became equal at the foot of the cross.

       If your church, or mine, treats anyone as more important by nature of income, skin color, name, occupation, etc., that church is messing up. We are all equal. We are all Children of God if we are born again.