To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date sent: Tue, 5 Jun 2001 15:48:11 -0500
Subject: HF034 - The Christian's Identity
Hebraics,
This is Bible Study HF034 - The Christian's Identity. In this study I want
to bring up some issues that aren't often dealt with by Christians, but
they are crucial to our understanding of what the new covenant is really
about.
Very early on, Christianity had to come to grips with its own
identity. But it wasn't so difficult at the first. Christians were simply
Jews. Christianity was God's new covenant. But when Gentiles began to
receive the Jewish Messiah as their own Lord and Savior, it put a
different twist on everything. The question now was, "What do we do with
these Gentiles?"
It became obvious in short course that the Lord was showing no
favorites. So the question continued, "Is being a Christian a special way
of being a Jew?"
This question haunted the early Jewish Church. And to some
degree, it still puzzles many Christians today. And, by the way, it
also continues to puzzle many Jews.
Christianity has always been a difficult issue for Jewish folk to
explain to themselves. Were Christianity simply a small group of
people in the earth, there would be no problem. But Christians
make up fully one fourth of the population on this planet. And
Christians hold to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in much the same
way that Jewish folk hold to them.
I recall a TV broadcast out of Bethlehem some years ago, where
the commentator interviewed a Jewish man on the streets. He
asked the Jewish man, "What do you think about all these
Christians being here in Bethlehem at Christmas?" The Jewish man
simply said, "They are Jews too."
So you see, the question remains, "If ancient Judaism is the matrix
of Christianity, then to what extent is Christianity a Jewish matter?"
Many questions can be set aside by understanding that Biblical
Christianity was never intended to be an earthly institution, with a
primary throne from which Christians were to adhere. We need to understand
what the term 'Church' actually means Biblically.
Jesus said, "I also say to you that you are Peter (Petros, or, a
stone), and upon this Rock (petra, or, massive bed rock) I will build my
Church (ekklesia, or, called out and summoned together); and the gates of
Hades will not overpower it." (Matthew 16:18)
The first time the word ekklesia is used in the ancient Greek Bible,
is in
Deuteronomy 23:1, where it says, "No one who is emasculated or has his
male organ cut off shall enter the assembly (ekklesia) of the Lord."
(Wish
there were a better 'first' time usage. Sorry.)
The assembly of the Lord was another term for Israel that had been
called out of Egypt, and had been formed into a distinct people
group. They were to be the visible kingdom of God in the earth.
The Hebrew term for 'assembly' or 'congregation', is 'qahal.' Qahal,
or,
ekklesia, spoke of Israel 'called out of Egypt', and called together as
an
identifiable people group. Therefore Israel was called 'the assembly of
the Lord.' She was God's Church.
Stephen the first Christian martyr makes mention of God's ekklesia
in the wilderness. He said, "This is the one (Moses) who was in the
congregation (ekklesia) in the wilderness with the angel who was
speaking to him on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and
he (Moses) received living oracles to pass on to you." (Acts 7:38.
The KJV translates ekklesia as church.)
Here is something interesting. The ancient people of God believed
that the covenant of Moses was ordained through angels, and in
particular, a chief angel called, 'the angel of the Lord.' Stephen
brings this out, when he said, "You who received the law as
ordained by angels; and yet did not keep it." (Acts 7:53)
Was this a fluke on Stephen's part? No. He was expressing what
was taught by the Jews in general. Paul said, "Why the Law then?
It was added because of transgressions, having been ordained
through angels by the agency of a mediator, until the seed would
come to whom the promise had been made." The mediator in this
case was Moses. (Galatians 3:19)
Many Christians enjoying thinking of the angel of the Lord of the
former testament, as Jesus Himself. But this may not be the case.
In speaking to Daniel, the Lord said, "Now at that time Michael, the great
prince who stands guard over the sons of your people, will arise." It
seems that Michael may have been the prince angel who represented God
before the peoples. (Daniel 12:1 - I'm open to discussion on this issue.)
The reason I wanted to share this bit about the former covenant
being ordained through angels, is to give a greater appreciation for the
new covenant, and for what it means to be a Christian. When Jesus said
that He would build His Church, He was speaking as the Son of God, or, God
Himself as He was revealed in the Son. And this is an important
distinction to make. Jesus was never an angel.
To understand who Jesus is, will help the Christian better identify
himself. Jesus was never an angel. Jesus is the image of the
invisible God. He is the haKovod of God, or the form of God seen in
glory. He is the invisible God made visible. Jesus is God coming
forth from God. Jesus is the Messiah who has always existed in
the bosom of the Father.
What has this to do with the Christian's identity? It has everything.
Whereas the former covenant was ordained through angels, the new covenant
was put in place by the Son of God Himself. Jesus is both the mediator and
the guarantee of a better covenant.
The former covenant contained the sprinkling of the blood of bulls.
The new covenant contains the sprinkling of the blood of God. And
it is this sprinkled blood that distinguishes the true Biblical
Christian, from someone who is otherwise simply a cultural
Christian. (A Christian in name only.)
Let me draw the comparison. It says in Exodus 24:6-8, "Moses
took half of the blood and put it in basins, and the other half of the
blood he sprinkled on the altar. Then he took the book of the covenant and
read it in the hearing of the people; and they said, 'All that the Lord
has spoken we will do, and we will be obedient!' So Moses took the blood
and sprinkled it on the people, and said, 'Behold the blood of the
covenant, which the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these
words.'"
Notice carefully that the people bound themselves by the blood of
the covenant to both curses and blessings. Also notice that the
blood of the bulls was sprinkled on the peoples themselves, on the
altar, and, according to Hebrews, on the book itself. But the blood
could provide holiness to the people in a physical sense. The
peoples were still separated from God because of the sin of Adam.
In the new covenant something entirely different happens. The
blood that flowed through the veins of Jesus, was God's blood. Paul
makes this perfectly clear, when he says, "Be on guard for
yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has
made you overseers, to shepherd the church (ekklesia) of God
which He purchased with His own blood." (Acts 20:28)
So the blood that was shed at the cross was God's blood. How
about the altar? The book of Hebrews allows us to understand that
Christ took His own blood, which again, is God's blood, into the
holy place of heaven, and sprinkled it on the altar. This sprinkled
blood cleansed away the sin of Adam. No person on this planet will
be lost because of Adam's sin. The lostness of any person will be
because they rejected God's salvation that is given in Jesus Christ.
It says, "How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the
eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your
conscience from dead works to serve the living God." (Cf. Hebrews
9:11-15) It goes on to say that Christ Himself is the mediator of the new
covenant. The old covenant mediator was Moses, the man of God. The new
covenant mediator is Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God.
How about the people? Are God's people to be sprinkled with the
blood of God? Yes, and it is this sprinkling of the blood that makes a
person a Biblical Christian. Peter says, "According to the foreknowledge
of God the Father, by the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to obey Jesus
Christ (repentance and faith in view) and be sprinkled with His blood: May
grace and peace be yours in the fullest measure." (1 Peter 1:2)
When a person is fully convinced of his lostness, and then turns to
Jesus in faith, the Holy Spirit, who knows the hearts of all men,
takes the atoning blood of God, and sprinkles it on the human
heart. It is this sprinkled blood that brings about an inward change of
the human personality. This repentant person now becomes part of a new
creation.
And whereas the former covenant provided curses and blessings,
the new covenant speaks of eternal mercies. This is why Jeremiah
said of the new covenant, "And they will not teach everyone his
fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, 'know the Lord,' for all will
know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to
their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.'" (Taken from
Hebrews 8:11,12)
It is God's blood makes the new covenant what it is. The sacrifice
of Jesus on the cross, was God's sacrifice. The salvation we have
in Christ is wholly of God. It is all of grace and none of works. God did
the work in Christ.
When Jesus said, "It is finished," this meant that there was
nothing to
add to, nor could anything be taken away from God's work of redemption.
The only thing left for man to do, was to be drawn to the cross by the
Holy Spirit, and there at the cross we are to meet Jesus. God conducts all
His business with man at the cross. We must never forget this.
Perhaps the best way to explain the Christian's identity, is simply
to say that the Church is made up of God's heavenly people. Paul
distinguishes the Israel of the flesh, or the Israel of earthly descent,
with God's heavenly people. And while he does not use the word 'Israel'
directly with regard to the Church, he does leave it somewhat open to
thought.
Perhaps I should not push this too far, but the idea of God having a
heavenly Israel, or a spiritual Israel, seems to have credence in the
Scriptures. When Jesus said, "I am the Vine, you are the branches,"
this
metaphor is a picture of Israel. Over the door of the temple was a
configuration of the grape vine. All the Jews knew that the vine
represented Israel.
When Jesus took Peter, James, and John, to the Mount of
Transfiguration, this was a reflection of Moses, when he was called
to the Mountain of the Lord. It says, "Then Moses went up with
Aaron, Nadab and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel, and
they saw the God of Israel; and under His feet there appeared to be
a pavement of sapphire, as clear as the sky itself." (Exodus
24:9,10)
Was it the God of Israel that Peter, James, and John, saw on the
Mount of Transfiguration? It says, "And He was transfigured before
them, and His face shone like the sun, and His garments became
as white as snow." (Matthew 17:2)
And so the God of Israel walked the earth in the Person of Jesus
Christ. Only the God of Israel could have made a new covenant
with Israel. But the covenant made with Israel, was intended to
include all of mankind. For this reason, the covenant of Israel
cannot be simply a Jewish covenant. Jesus is actually called 'the
last Adam?' (1 Corinthians 15:45)
Perhaps this is why when the apostles used promises and
languages that did apply to Israel of the former covenant, they also used
language that went back before there was an Israel. And I think this is
why folk tend to get confused over whether Christians are simply a special
kind of Jew. Christians are actually heavenly citizens in an earthly body.
We are a unique people on the earth.
And so, the answer is, "No, we are not Jews." Hope this doesn't
upset you
too much. You see, Paul said, "For all or you who were baptized into
Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor
Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor
female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ,
then you are Abraham's descendants, heirs according to promise."
(Galatians 3:27-29)
Paul lets Christians know that they are the 'stars' that Abraham saw when
the Lord called him outside his tent, and said, "'Now look to the heavens,
and count the stars, if you are able to count them.' And He said to him,
'So shall your descendants be.'" (Genesis 15:5)
Why look to the heavens? Because Abraham's promised heirs
would be a heavenly people.
Think about it. The study is open for discussion. Feel free to make
observations, ask questions, or otherwise dialogue.
Shalom in Christ.
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.ChristianChallenge.org
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)