Our identity as a follower of Jesus should remove racial barriers...

At the church where I serve we are spending our time together in a sermon series entitled identity. During this series, we are looking at a letter that is recorded for us in the New Testament of our Bibles called the book of Ephesians. As we go through this series, our hope and our prayer is that God would enable us to see our true identity, the identity that He designed us to live in, so that we would live our day to day lives in light of our true identity.

This week I would like for us to pick up where we left off last week. And as we jump into the next section of this letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to early followers of Jesus at the church at Ephesus, we are going to discover another timeless truth regarding our identity as a follower of Jesus that has the potential to change how we see our true identity, the identity that God designed us to live in, so that we would live our day to day lives in light of our true identity. So let’s discover this timeless truth together, beginning in Ephesians 2:11:

Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called  "Uncircumcision " by the so-called "Circumcision," which is performed in the flesh by human hands-- remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.

Paul begins this section of his letter to the members of the church at Ephesus by calling the Gentile members of the church to remember something about their past experience before they became followers of Jesus. Paul calls the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus to keep in mind that there was a time, when they were dead men and women walking as a result of their selfishness and rebellion, that they were called "Uncircumcision” by the so-called "Circumcision,".

Now to fully understand what Paul is communicating here we first need to ask and answer several questions. The first question we need to ask is “who is Paul referring to when he talks about the Gentiles?” When Paul refers to Gentiles, he is referring to people who were not Jewish ethnically or culturally. So basically anyone that is not Jewish would be considered a Gentile.

Now that leads to the second question that we need to answer, which is “what does Paul mean when he uses the phrase who are called "Uncircumcision” by the so-called "Circumcision,"? What is circumcision anyways? Circumcision is a surgical procedure that involves removing the foreskin from the male genitals with a surgical knife, or in this case, a knife made of stone.

The reason that circumcision was so significant was that circumcision was a covenant sign that identified the Jewish people as being God’s people. Circumcision was an outward sign was done in order to demonstrate an inward commitment and relationship to God. Circumcision was a religious act that was required to be performed under the Law so that you would be able to be identified as being right with God as part of the Jewish religious system.

By contrast, in the Jewish culture of the 1^st century, an uncircumcised person was viewed as being in a state which was not right with God and not identified as being part of God’s people. So what was happening in cities like Ephesus, where you had great ethnic and cultural diversity, was that Jewish people began to refer to Gentiles as “the uncircumcision”.

The phrase “the uncircumcision” was a derogatory term that was by Jewish people against Gentiles. The phrase “the uncircumcision” was used as a racial slur that was used by Jews to demean and disrespect Gentiles. This phrase was used in a similar way that terms like wap, kike, nigger, spic, and the like have been used.

When Paul uses the phrase, which is performed in the flesh by human hands, he is pointing out that these Jewish people were measuring the value and worth of themselves over Gentiles by purely external standards. Paul’s point is that these Jewish people felt a sense of ethnic superiority as a result a purely physical and external action that had nothing to do with one’s heart and character.

Paul then reveals to the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus exactly what he wanted them to remember and keep in mind. And what Paul wanted the members of the church at Ephesus to remember was that, as Gentiles, there was a time when they were far from God and were viewed as outsiders by the Jewish people.

And in verse 12, we see Paul reveal for us five different ways that the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus were once far from God and were viewed as outsiders by the Jewish people. First, we see Paul remind the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus that there was a time when they were separate from Christ. Paul’s point here is that there was a time when they were far from God as a result of lacking a relationship with Christ.

Second, Paul reminds the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus that there was a time when they were excluded from the commonwealth of Israel. In other words, there was a time when the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus were excluded by the Jewish people as being outsiders because they were Gentiles.

Third, Paul reminds the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus that there was a time when they were strangers to the covenants of promise. Paul’s point here is that there was a time when they were unfamiliar with God’s promises that He had made to the Jewish people and humanity. 

Fourth, Paul reminds the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus that there was a time when they were without hope. In other words, there was a time when the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus were without a confident expectation of what the future held when it came to their relationship with God.

And fifth, Paul reminds the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus that there was a time when they were without God in this world. Paul’s point here is that there was a time when they were without God as they lived their day to day lives here on earth.

And as a result of these five realities in their life prior to becoming a follower of Jesus, the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus were far from God and were viewed as outsiders by the Jewish people. 

You see, Paul wanted to make sure that the Gentile members of the church did not forget that there was a time when they were excluded from a relationship with God as a result of their selfishness and rebellion and were excluded by the Jewish people as a result of the racism of the Jewish people.

After reminding the Gentile members of the church to remember something about their past, Paul calls them to remember something about their present and future as a result of their relationship with Jesus in verse 13:

 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Here we see Paul call the Gentile members of the church at Ephesus to remember that, as a result of God’s transformational intervention and activity in their lives through Jesus Christ, they had been brought near. While there was a time when they were far from God, they had been reunited with God through Jesus Christ. Paul explains that what enabled them to be reunited with God was the blood of Christ.

Paul’s point here is that it was Jesus willingness to enter into humanity in order to live the life that they were created to live but refused to live and then allow Himself to be treated as though He lived their selfish and sinful lives by dying on the cross for their selfishness and rebellion, that enabled them to be reunited with God in relationship with God. Through Jesus Christ, as Gentiles, they were no longer far from God and were to be viewed as outsiders by the Jewish people. Instead, they were now brought into relationship with God and were to be viewed as insiders by the Jewish people.

And it is here that we see Paul reveal for us a timeless truth when it comes to our identity as a follower of Jesus as we live in community with one another. And that timeless truth is that our identity as a follower of Jesus should remove racial barriers. Just as it was in the church at Ephesus, just as it has been since the birth of the church, our identity as a follower of Jesus should remove racial barriers.

The timeless reality is that there is no room for racism in the church, period. There is no room for a sense of ethnic and cultural superiority, period. Now, if this is like any other room on the planet, there are some of you who are pushing back right now because you struggle with racism. I don’t know who you are but I am not naive either. You may struggle with racism as a result of growing up in a racist home. You may struggle with racism because you had a bad experience with a different culture or race.

And while there have been times in the history of the church that the church has done a horrific job when it comes to this issue, as followers of Jesus we are called to live our lives in community with one another without racial barriers.  And in Ephesians 2:14-22, we see Paul reveal for us four reasons why our identity as a follower of Jesus should remove racial barriers.

We will look at the first two reasons tomorrow…