And we could say the same thing about our Christian identity
and practices. It is important that we can discern between what is cultural and
what is scriptural when it comes to the way we practice our faith or, live out
our Christian Cultural Identity. It is important that scripture shapes and
informs our Christian Cultural Identity and refuses the imposition of any
cultural practice outside of scripture.
But what does the Bible say about the cultural identity of
the Christian? How are we to understand who we are as followers of Christ? What
does it mean and how does it look to live as a citizen of the Kingdom of
Heaven? Over the next three blog posts we are going to be exploring scripture
to better understand this identity. Originally, I had planned for this to be
only one post. But because of the size of the topic, it has turned into two.
And this is just a warm up.
For the Christian, our identity is very much tied up with
the person of Christ. Scripture tells us that in Him, we are holy and blameless
new creations, free from condemnation, co-heirs and sons of God, belong to the
body of Christ, citizens of God’s Kingdom, we have purpose, hope and eternal
life and many others (Crossing Church). And because all who follow Jesus are
united in Him, our global cultural identity has no advantage over another. As
Paul wrote to the church in Rome: “For there is no distinction between Jew and
Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call
on him” (Rom 10:12). In other words, because He is the God of both Jews and
Gentiles, “he will show himself to be kind to all who will acknowledge and call
on him as their God” (Calvin).
Much of the book of Romans is addressing the conflict
between Jews and Gentiles.
The Jews saw themselves as superior because they
were God’s chosen people and the Gentiles were a bunch of ‘Johnny-come-latelys’
and therefore not real covenant
members. This was an issue in many first-century communities of faith, and
something that Paul addresses in the letter to the Ephesians. He explains that
in Christ, both Jew and Gentile have been unified into “one new man in place of
the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body
through the cross, thereby killing the hostility” (Eph 2:15-16). The term new man most likely comes from the Latin
phrase novus homo, which was a term
to describe someone from the lower classes of society who was the first in
their family to achieve senatorial status. But despite being recognised by the
State as genuine senators, those who were senators by birth did not recognise
them as such (Rosenquist, 2016). The same thing was happening with the Gentile
believers as the Jewish believers were treating them as lower class citizens.
This mindset comes from the edicts of Rabbi Shammai, who around 10AD founded a
major Pharisaical school of thought that believed only descendants of Abraham were
beloved by God and thought only extremely exceptional Gentiles should convert.
This belief was articulated in what is known as the ‘18 Edicts’ that enforced
the separation of Jews and Gentiles (Richardson, 2003). Within these edicts was
a declaration that even though a Gentile may live out a life entirely faithful
to the Torah, they were not really a Jew unless they underwent formal conversion
(Rosenquist, 2016). This kind of thinking had flowed over into the New Covenant
community and therefore required Paul to respond by declaring that the Gentiles
did not have to undergo formal conversion to Judaism to be saved (which is the
context for the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15), and that the Gentiles are of
equal status.
And the Gentiles saw themselves as the new way and “scorned
everything Jewish – and very likely with a number of intermediate positions”
(Moo, 1996: 21). So, as well as dealing with Jewish feelings of superiority,
Paul also had to deal with Gentile pride. This is why he reminded them that the
Jews are the foundation from which the Gentiles have entered into covenant with
God through Jesus (Rom 11), and that there was a time when they were not
members of the covenant community of God (Eph 2:11-12). And so one of Paul’s
major purposes in many of his letters is to say that neither Jews nor Greeks
(Gentiles) are better than the because both are under sin (Rom 3:9), and that
God is the creator, Lord, and saviour of both Jews and Gentiles (Rom 3:29-30). This
is why, in Christ, there is no Jew or Gentile in God’s eyes because both are of
equal status (Gal 3:28; Col 3:11).
And this is one of the many great truths of the Gospel; that
people of all nationalities are welcomed to be reconciled to God through Jesus
Christ. People everywhere can experience salvation without becoming Jews. And
this was a mental obstacle in Peter’s mind that needed to be overcome through
the vision of the sheet and his encounter with Cornelius: “Truly I understand that
God shows no partiality, but in every nation, anyone who fears him and does
what is right is acceptable to him” (Acts 10:34-35). But it is interesting what
the church has done with this idea.
There is a perception that because Gentiles do not have to
adopt ‘Jewish cultural practices’ to be saved, that their identity remains
radically distinct. Ironically, through the process of upholding their
equality, they have maintained their separation. And of course, many cultural distinctions
would remain. Language, food, dress, extra-biblical practices, and
extra-biblical values can remain distinct. This is very much like how no two
people from the same culture become exactly the same when they become followers
of Jesus, but are united in their faith. Scripture, however, seems to suggest
that rather than maintaining their Gentile identity, followers of Jesus who are
Gentile by birth actually take on a new identity. And this becomes evident when
we examine Romans 11, Ephesians 2, and the origins of the word ‘church’.
In Romans 11, Paul is addressing the Gentiles about their
spiritual heritage and explains:
…if some of the branches were broken off, and you, although a wild olive shoot, were grafted in among the others and now share in the nourishing root of the olive tree, do not be arrogant toward the branches. If you are, remember it is not you who support the root, but the root that supports you. Then you will say, “Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in.” That is true…. if you were cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these, the natural branches, be grafted back into their own olive tree. (Rom 11:13,17-20,24).
Here is an agricultural metaphor, explaining how Gentiles
have been ‘grafted onto’ an olive tree, a symbol of Israel (Jer 11:16). I should explain that I am not describing the modern geopolitical state of Israel. But rather, the nation of people who were united in their covenant with God. And with grafting branches, the new branch
assumes and takes on the identity of the tree it has joined. It ceases to be a
member of the old tree, and now becomes a part of the new tree. So, through
this imagery Paul is saying is that Gentiles have joined Israel, thus becoming
a part of them as if they were a natural member. And in doing so, he is getting
the boastful Gentiles to remember the origins of their salvation and to realise
“that they did not otherwise grow up as God’s people than as they were grafted
in the stock of Abraham” (Calvin). There is no Gentile and Jewish tree, but one
tree representing Israel as ‘members of the same body’ (Eph 3:6). Note too, the
order this takes place. The Gentiles join Israel, it’s not the Jews who join
the Gentiles. In the Gospel, an Israelite identity maintains priority. As I
often heard in the Army, “you joined us, we didn’t join you.”
In part two, we are going to examine Ephesians 2 to examine
more deeply what it means for a Gentile to be grafted into Israel.
References
Calvin,
John. Romans. Kindle
Crossing Church. Our
Identity in Christ According to the Scriptures:
Moo, (1996). The Epistle
to the Romans.
Richardson, (2003). Origins
of Our Faith: The Hebrew Roots of Christianity.
Rosenquist, (2016). The
Bridge: Crossing Over Into the Fullness of Covenant Life. Kindle
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