In Christ Comes First
The biggest problem Paul faced in his ministry was how to forge a Christian identity with Jew and Gentile. One of the notable places he addresses this is in Ephesians 2, where he states that Jesus’s death and resurrection created “one new humanity” and therefore making the two groups one. Sounds great, right? But what did that look like practically? And what does that have to do with us today? Actually, everything. In a polarized world where many Christians exhibit more allegiance to their tribes (of ethnicity, nationality, political party, social standing, etc.) than to Jesus Christ, the divide is split deeper. Until believers understand their identity is first and foremost “in Christ,” the Church doesn’t have a shot at demonstrating to the world that peace and unity can only truly be found in Christ.