The Unity Jesus Established for the Church

I. A New Closeness

What you were -

Called uncircumcised

Circumcision was the ritual that identified [men] as a participant in the Abrahamic Covenant.

It is not equivalent to baptism

Baptism applies to both genders, thus admitting individuals into the church. One can only be admitted to the church by faith. Thus, a man who is baptized can only bring himself into the church, as can his wife.

Circumcision applies only to men. Why choose something only men can do? Because Israel was different. It was a family of families, so to speak - extended families made up clans, clans were formed into tribes, the 12 tribes made up Israel. Thus, the identifying marks only need to establish each family as Israelite, it did not need to identify each individual per se, since you got to be part of it by birth. Yet, since families were involved, you gained membership in the covenant community purely by birth, thus by circumcising all males, God was marking each family as belonging to the Covenant of Abraham, not because of their individual faith, but because of their ancestry.

Having said this, under the Old Covenant, the only way to participate in the Abrahamic Covenant clearly required circumcision. This presents quite a problem for Gentiles who wished to participate in the promised blessing. Even when God did promise foreigners blessings under the old Covenant, he clearly expected them to obey all the same provisions of the Mosaic Law, including this one. Isa 56:3, 6-7.

Isaiah 56:3 NKJV

Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the Lord Speak, saying, “The Lord has utterly separated me from His people”; Nor let the eunuch say, “Here I am, a dry tree.”

Isaiah 56:6–7 NKJV

“Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, And to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants— Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant— Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.”

Without Christ - Before Jesus came, the only way a Gentile could come to God and be accepted was to participate in the Covenant, which created quite a barrier of entry, since circumcision was clearly required to participate in the Abrahamic Covenant. So to be without Christ and without the Covenant was to be entirely without the possibility of worshipping God. Since God is the almighty Creator, if you cannot worship him you cannot find redemption, or the forgiveness of sins. Quite a problem.

Aliens and Strangers from the Covenants of Promise

Therefore being uncircumcised and without Christ we all naturally had no ability to enjoy the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. But it didn’t stop there. Notice Paul says “Covenants”, plural. The Abrahamic Covenant is the basis of all the others - the Mosaic Covenant was given to the children of Abraham as their national identity and civil laws, in addition to their moral standard. the Davidic Covenant was given to David to establish who would rule God’s People Israel. Even the New Covenant is supposed to replace the Mosaic. So missing out on the Abrahamic means missing out on all of the promises of the Covenants.

No hope and without God - this is, in short, an entirely hopeless situation. No Covenant means no worship of God. To be without God mean no eternal destiny. It means to be entirely and completely without hope.

What you are -

You have been brought near In Christ Jesus. It is Jesus that entirely reverses this hopeless situation. Jesus has opened up an entirely new way to God, this new way means that the path to being accepted by God is now available to Jew and Gentile alike. This New Way means that you don’t need circumcision, or the Mosaic Law to be blessed by God. Purely by believing in what Jesus has done, you can come near to God and worship him as his status of Creator demands.

You have been brought near by the blood of Christ. Jesus accomplished this New Way through his Blood. His sacrifice established the basis of a New Relationship between God and his people, a relationship now established by faith, not family. So Gentiles can be accepted by God without becoming Jews.

II. A New Peace

God had put up barriers in the Law of Moses to keep Israel separate from the nations.

We already mentioned Circumcision.

Also, God established food laws for Israel. The only reason I can figure for these laws was precisely to make it difficult for Gentiles to eat with Jews. Why would God do this? Because for her entire history assimilating into the surrounding culture was a very real threat to the genuine worship of God on earth. Other descendants of Abraham, who did not retain participation in the Abrahamic Covenant, very soon lost any distinctiveness from the other nations and then turned to idols. It happened to the two descendants of Lot’s sons. It happened to Edom - until the time of the Maccabees when John Hyarcanus forced the Mosaic Law on them. Without these food law, Israel could not have remained as faithful to God as she did, despite the reality that these laws were relatively arbitrary.

The majority of the law’s commands were moral in nature, specifying the kind of lifestyle God approves of. These moral laws were the secret to Israel’s success as a nation. When the majority of the nation followed the Law of Moses, God blessed them. When the majority of the nation turned away, they suffered. That was meaning of the blessings and cursings of Deuteronomy 27-28. However, in order to follow the Law of Moses, you couldn’t pick and choose which laws you wanted to obey. The whole law was a package, and breaking just one command makes you a lawbreaker.

James 2:10

James 2:10 NKJV

For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

These barriers, while intended to make it possible for a sinful people to remain at least somewhat faithful to God, also inevitably created hostility by setting Israel apart as a different group.

When Jesus died on the Cross, this Mosaic Law came to a complete end. Jesus fulfilled the purpose of the Law, which was to make it possible for people to come to God and worship him in purity and holiness. This end of the law was predicted in the Old Testament, and by ending the Mosaic Law, Jesus ended the barriers that prevented Jew and Gentile from sharing a single organization. The Mosaic Law was given by God, and so it does reflect God’s unchanging moral character. However, it wasn’t given as a timeless instruction for all peoples everywhere, but it was given specifically to the People of Israel for their spiritual good and for no other situation. It doesn’t work for the church, as the church has a different model - we are called to still be separate from evil, but we are separate by uniting around the gospel, and we are supposed to welcome everyone to hear it. God’s character doesn’t change, but unchanging principles applied to a new situation will have different effects. The church isn’t entirely without moral guidance (that’s what law is), instead we have the “law of Christ.” That is, we have new instruction based on the church’s different situation. That’s why we don’t keep the Sabbath, avoid pork, or require circumcision. But because God’s character doesn’t change, we still think Murder and Adultery are wrong, because they are always wrong. But the reason we prohibit murder and adultery, and lying is because we worship the same God, not because the Law of Moses is still binding on us.

The implication of Jesus’ death is not just that everyone can be forgiven of all their sins, as if that wasn’t important enough. It also means that Jesus created a new people, now distinguished from the world not by the law of Moses, but by their faith in himself. Since all peoples everywhere can believe, Jew and Gentile alike make up this new organization, which is now like Jesus’ body. All of Jesus’ work on earth is today done through the Universal Church, just like the only way you can do anything on earth is through your own body.

This means that the church is the most diverse group in the world. It is made up of all peoples, nations and languages in a new People of God. Previously, all peoples were distinguished by their descent from a common ancestry. Now, the church is distinguished by their faith in Christ. This new unity creates a new peace between people who used to be suspicious of one another.

III. A New Temple

Paul uses a second metaphor for the unity of the church - a household. We Gentiles are now fellow citizens with the rest of God’s Holy Ones. We are members of God’s House and we are his children.

This metaphor soon alters to be a temple

The Apostles and Prophets make up the foundation of this new “building.” That is, the Apostles and Prophets tell you God’s Word in this age. They have the authority to directly speak for God. Since you can only be part of the church by faith in God’s Word, it is this Word spoken by Jesus, by the Apostles, and by the Prophets that you must believe.

Jesus is the “cornerstone”, the foundation stone on which the whole building depends. The Apostles can speak for God, but they are only relaying Jesus’ Words, they don’t have intrinsic authority to speak for God, as Jesus does. The Church depends on following Jesus’ Words. It’s the only way that Jew and Gentile can be together in one body.

This new building, is being formed as a Temple for the Lord. A Temple is a place were you worship. That is, God has set his church apart to worship him. God will make us suitable to worship the holy and perfect God. That starts by salvation - we have to be holy to be fit to be part of God’s “Temple.” But this temple is still under construction - people are still being saved. But also, the individuals here on earth are still being sanctified to be like Christ. Someday, when Jesus returns the temple will be finished. For now, we must wait for death or for the Rapture to be “finished” and to be as perfect as Jesus is. But since there will be people to be added to this temple and will be living on earth until it is finished, the entire temple won’t be finished until Jesus comes back.