The Search for One New Man (Part 5)

 

In Ephesians 2:19, Paul continues speaking to the Gentile believers:

 “So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.” 

The word fellow citizen means to be in union with or together with by resemblance, companionship, or association. When someone becomes a citizen of a nation, they are required to learn the laws, customs, history, and language of that nation. A person becoming a citizen must also pledge loyalty, faithfulness, and commitment to that nation.

We need to remember that it says in Romans 11:17, that the Gentiles were grafted in among the nation of Israel, and the Jewish people. When you graft something, you join or fasten it in such a way as to bring about a close union.

This is what Ruth did as she attached herself to Naomi, a type and shadow of the Gentile becoming a fellow citizen with Israel and the Jewish people. The Gentile believers (Christians) should be involved with the Jewish people, both Messianic and non-Messianic; thereby fulfilling scripture.

Unfortunately, this union that Paul spoke about never really developed into the one new man relationship. In Ephesians 2:20, Paul states that these Gentile believers are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus The Messiah being the chief cornerstone.

It is okay to apply this verse for today, that apostles and prophets are the backbone of the Church, but we also must remember that when Paul was writing, the apostles and prophets he was referring to were all Jewish.

The rich biblical inheritance that believers in Messiah have worldwide has been passed down to them by Jewish spiritual parents. In verse 21 it states:

in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

So, the question is – what does this one new man church look like? We have no blueprint, but we have the Holy Spirit, and he can help us to develop it. Since the joining of one new man consists of Jew and Gentile in Messiah, then we must not be afraid to incorporate both, and bring them together to complete the plan of God. Only when we accept this joining will we fulfill God’s purpose.

As Paul states in Eph.1:10:

“as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”

(The above is an excerpt from Nikirk Ministries and the full article can be seen here.

 

(Continued in Part 5……if you’re interested, the full series to date can be seen here.)