One New Man

 

But now in Christ Jesus, you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who made both groups into one and broke down the barrier of the dividing wall, by abolishing in His flesh the enmity, which is the Law of commandments contained in ordinances, so that in Himself He might make the two into one new man, thus establishing peace, and might reconcile them both in one body to God through the cross, by it having put to death the enmity [hostility].       Ephesians 2:13-16

In Paul’s letters, we find the terminology “in Christ,” “in Him,” and other related descriptions of the new covenant relationship with God appear nearly 170 times. It captures the essence of the new relationship, a vital union and fellowship with Christ that Paul describes in 2 Corinthians 5:17: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. This newness speaks not only to the absolute change from the old self but also to the quality of the unity produced in believers from many varied backgrounds and religious persuasions, including the Jew and Gentile. They are reconciled (effectively restored) into one body of Christ, establishing peace and putting to death the antagonism previously present between them. 

In Christ 

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy and blameless before Him. In love, He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved. In Him, we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished on us. In all wisdom and insight, He made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His kind intention, which He purposed in Him with a view to an administration suitable to the fullness of the times, that is, the summing up of all things in Christ, things in the heavens and things on the earth. In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will, to the end that we who were the first to hope in Christ would be to the praise of His glory. In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God's own possession, to the praise of His glory.        Ephesians 1:3-14 

In the above passage, we have a description of the various benefits, gifts, and privileges the new covenant believer receives when he recognizes Jesus as Savior & Lord. Beginning with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, the Apostle Paul understood that the believer’s position in Christ began before the foundation of the world and that he is predestined to be His adopted son. In this perfect position, the believer receives divine love in great measure, evidenced by the support and love the body of Christ shares. Redemption, forgiveness of sins, and the riches of His grace have been lavished on each one. What physical evidence does anyone have that these actually happened? It can only be real based on faith, a practical belief in the Word of God. This faith becomes quietness and trust, producing strength and confidence (Isaiah 30:15). 

Not only is this new covenant connected to events that took place before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), but it has consequences for eternity; it is an eternal covenant (Hebrews 13:20). The believer can expect an inheritance predestined according to His purpose to affirm that God would get the glory. The deposit of this inheritance is the Holy Spirit, who takes the natural man, by faith, into a spiritual man, aligning him with God's supernatural ability.

His Kingdom 

Now having been questioned by the Pharisees as to when the kingdom of God was coming, He answered them and said, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed; nor will they say, 'Look, here it is!' or 'There it is!' For behold, the kingdom of God is in your midst [within you]."  Luke 17:20-21 

The Apostle Paul testifies in Colossians 1:13 that He rescued us from the domain [exousia – authority, dominion] of darkness and transferred [methíst¢mi – aorist active indicative, a past event having present consequences] us to the kingdom of His beloved Son. Paul characterizes the supernatural ability of God as the kingdom of God or heaven. The believer is positionally transported out of the danger associated with the kingdom or domain of darkness into the kingdom of His beloved Son. In Luke 17, Jesus answers the Pharisees’ questions about when the kingdom appears by assuring them that the kingdom of God is within them, not an external or material presence, but an inward, spiritual reality. 

When confronted with the accusation that He was the “King of the Jews" in John 18:33, Jesus first inquired of Pilate by questioning his own belief in the charges that somehow Jesus was a threat to the Roman authority of the Jewish nation. Jesus's reply to Pilate was, "My kingdom is not of this world” (Verse 36), thus redefining the kingdom as not a physical reality but a spiritual one. Jesus reiterates to Pilate that He is a king but that the defining element of His kingdom is “the truth” and that those who are of the truth hear the voice of their king (verse 37). Pilate understood that this was not Rome’s problem (“I find no guilt in Him,” Verse 38) and intended to turn Jesus loose, but the Jewish authorities had something else in mind. This King needed to die! 

Parables of the Kingdom 

In His public ministry, Jesus taught many parables that addressed the kingdom of heaven or the kingdom of God. In fact, eight of them appear in Matthew 13. He was teaching this kingdom's dynamics, which all His disciples and followers need to understand. These principles allow us to grasp not only the conditions of entry but also how to function and thrive within the kingdom.

"Hear then the parable of the sower. When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is the one on whom seed was sown beside the road. The one on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, this is the man who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; yet he has no firm root in himself, but is only temporary, and when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he falls away. And the one on whom seed was sown among the thorns, this is the man who hears the word, and the worry of the world and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. And the one on whom seed was sown on the good soil, this is the man who hears the word and understands it; who indeed bears fruit and brings forth, some a hundredfold, some sixty, and some thirty."       Matthew 13:18-23

Receiving the Word 

The first of the eight parables from Matthew 13 directly references the Word of God, “the Word of the kingdom.” The King's primary method of communication in the kingdom is the Word. Success in the kingdom is tied to hearing the Word and understanding it. The parable defines that the condition of the heart is the primary criterion that determines success. The seed sown beside the road has no room to establish its roots and, therefore, is easy pickings for the devil. This condition of the heart is determined by how the Word is received. In 1 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul says, “For this reason we also constantly thank God that when you received the word of God which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men, but for what it really is, the word of God, which also performs its work in you who believe.” The Word has an intended work (see Isaiah 55:11), and it cannot do its work without having been received from God (the King) with the authority accompanying it. According to Hebrews 4:2, the Word must be united by faith to accomplish what is intended.

The rocky places in the above parable speak of the one whose heart has not entirely accepted the Word as truth; therefore, trials of life cause him to fall away. The thorns represent the cares of life that can interfere with the Word, and the Word, thus, is unfruitful. The good soil is the environment where the Word produces great fruit because it is understood. The important point made through this parable is that the environment of the heart when the Word is spoken, determines the quality and volume of the fruit it will produce.  

The True Jew 

For indeed, circumcision is of value if you practice the Law, but if you are a transgressor of the Law, your circumcision has become uncircumcision. So, if the uncircumcised man keeps the requirements of the Law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? And he who is physically uncircumcised, if he keeps the Law, will he not judge you who though having the letter of the Law and circumcision are a transgressor of the Law? For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that which is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from men, but from God.       Romans 2:25-29

There is so much misunderstanding, even in the Jewish community, about what a true Jew looks like. Paul makes it clear that it has nothing to do with ancestry but much more about the condition of the heart. Elliott’s Commentary makes the following comments about the above passage:

“The characteristic mark and badge of the Jew has two sides, the one outward and formal, the other inward and real. Its essence consists in the latter, and without this inward circumcision, the outward profits nothing. It is not necessary to be born a Jew to possess it." Precisely the same language might be applied to the Christian sacraments or to the privileges of any particular communion. Privileges they may be, but they depend for their efficacy entirely upon the disposition of the heart which underlies them.  

The Jew who is merely descended from Abraham, and is circumcised, and externally conforms to the Law only, does not possess the true character and manifest the true spirit contemplated by the separation of the Jewish people. Paul refers to the true Jew in Romans 9:7-8 as children of the promise, tying their Jewishness to Abraham’s promises and not the Law of Moses: nor are they all children because they are Abraham's descendants, but: "THROUGH ISAAC YOUR DESCENDANTS WILL BE NAMED." That is, it is not the children of the flesh who are children of God, but the children of the promise are regarded as descendants. 

Justified by Faith 

Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by [ek – out of, faith is the instrument of justification] faith and the uncircumcised through [dia tees – by means of, faith is the agency of justification] faith is one. Do we then nullify [katargeoe – to render useless or ineffective] the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish [histemi – to cause to stand] the Law.      Romans 3:29-31 

The role faith plays in the Jew coming to know Jesus as Messiah is unique to his own Jewish faith and, therefore, completely different from the Gentile coming to a saving faith in Jesus. For the Jew, faith is the agency of justification, the tool that qualifies him as a Jew and his understanding of who God is in light of his convictions. His faith centers on the question of the identity of the Messiah. Alternatively, the Gentile has no faith before coming to recognize Jesus as God and savior. Faith is something that is established from nothing. The Jew’s faith is an alteration of what existed beforehand with the caveat that Jesus is the Messiah. 

Image of the One

The one new man is only possible as each believer, whatever the religious background he comes from, reflects the image of the One man that each follows. In Colossians 3:10-11 and have put on the new self who is being renewed [present passive participle] to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who created him— a renewal in which there is no distinction between Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. The renewal is an ongoing process by the Holy Spirit as the believer is engaged daily in his relationship with Christ. That renewal is the basis for a continuing unity of believers without regard for background or status. Christ becomes all and in all.