Mind of Christ: The Other- Jew nor Greek

Mind of Christ: The Other- Jew nor Greek
December 27th, 2005

Of the differences mentioned in the beginning passage in Scripture in Galatians, the first to be erased is that between Jew and Greek, a critical separation issue. Mind you, that most of the admonitions are for those 'in Christ', in the Church, where the barriers between Man and God and Man and Others are broken down. In the world, the barriers often still exist, but the believer is called to be wise, but walk in Christ. Jews kept separate from the Greeks in their dress, their worship, and in many other practices, save for commerce. They tried to keep separate from a secular state, but the State made it impossible. And yet the promise was of a Jewish Messiah for a Jewish nation, who is at the same time, paradoxically called "Light of the Gentiles". Several passages in scripture identify this unique juxtaposition of the Jew and Gentile in Christ: after the veil between man and God is rent (torn) the premeire value is genuine love, agape love, above the warm-feeling 'philia' or brotherly love that some feel in great movements, or at at holidays, but unconditional, self-less love which overlooks the faults and peccadillos of a person and still holds them in esteem and regard. Some say only mothers approximate this unconditional love on earth, but in the Church, we are called to it. As such, all peripherals which define a person take second place to the fact that they are created by God, and that they are a living reflection of His Glory. It is not that one's race or culture, or name, or intelligence or body shape do not add to one's definition of oneself, it is simply that in terms of regard to another person, they are not essential. The Holy Spirit indwelling us, provides our ability to love others in this way.

Many Christians throughout the ages have prayed the prayer asking God for His love for another person, especially the hard to love: the recalcitrant erring child, the person we have prejudice towards, the person worst of all who has dealt us great pain, injustice and hurt. It is the great hallmark of those in Christ to strive towards the utter regard of the 'Other': even in the face of pain and humiliation. When that love is formed in the heart by the indwelling, it is like no other love on earth. We all fall short of it most of the time, but it is noted as the greatest gift and second only to the commandment to love God above all else.

When we then consider the 'Jewish-Gentile' question today, we are really in no way far from the discussion of the first century: the walls between Jews and Gentiles are broken down. This does not mean that the Jewish person coming to Messiah throws his heritage away, in deed all of the New Testament affirms that we enter in to that heritage: we enter into the promises, covenants, prophecies, Messiah and faith as is stated in Romans:

Who are Israelites; to whom [pertaineth] the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service [of God], and the promises; Romans 9:4

When the walls in Christ {outside there is still contention] between Jew and Gentile are broken down, it is not to the detriment of either: the Gentiles enter in to the promises of the Chosen People, not as a new replacement people, but entering into the election chosen since the foundation of the earth. As such, we should never have developed into 'regular' Christians and 'Jewish' or 'Messianic' Christians: we should all basically regard ourselves as one, and equal, and as either Jews by the flesh who entered into the promise, or Gentiles who were adopted in by belief. This barrier should be utterly broken down in Christ, in the House of God. Instead, too often we see just the opposite.

In WWII, the preminence of the flesh over the Spirit became glaring: in Catholic Churches, clerics cooperated with separating 'sacraments' for Jewish converts and Gentile Catholics---and while I do not espouse Catholic doctrine, it was certain a push of Catholic doctrine at the time that race was not a point of division: they held true to the Gospel on that point. Lest one think it was the Catholics only, the whole German Lutheran Church split over this and other issues: there are accounts even among Baptists of Jews who returned to the Pastors who had baptised them only to be turned away in fear for their own lives: even the believing Church erred and sinned against it's siblings, the believing Jews in a way anathema to Scripture and quenching the Holy Spirit. The DC, or Deutsche Christen Church in Germany during the Shoah went even farther: it dismissed and tried to eradicate every point of Judaic influence from Scripture, worship, and other elements of Church life, removing the Old Testament, redefining Jesus as an Aryan and referring to Paul as a Rabbi with an inferiority complex, not conducive to 'Third Reich ' Christians.
Even today we see remnants of this in American Churches: Churches which advertise themselves as "New Testament Only" as if one could keep a branch living without the root. These Churches are not as mean-spirited and many have no overt show of prejudice at all, they have just fallen prey to an ancient heresy of Marcionism which called the Christian erroneously to see the Old Testament as for the Jews only, or before Grace and therefore irrelevant. A student of scriptures immediately picks out the lack of discernment: God and His Grace, Glory and Salvation exist at all points in Scripture: even before the foundation of the World, and are a continuing covenant, the fulfillment of which is made clear in the New.
Distinctions based upon any race but especially towards Jewish believers is prohibited: it is sin in God's eyes. When any person comes to Christ , race ceases to be any issue other than it adds to His diverse nature in creation: it was His delight to create each a unique glory. In all that we discuss, that should be our primary focus: that the other person, even if they have fallen prey to the world and become corrupt, hard-hearted, and sinister to the point of revulsion, was created a unique glory, but away from belief and the Word and the Holy Spirit, Hell can literally take hold. We do not lack wisdom in dealing with dangerous people, nor are we called to having to receive constant danger from them, but our love for them, even the 'monsters' is required, knowing that but for the grace of God, we might have been that infected with the world as well. Behavior can understandably cause consternation, but race should be an easy dismissal as a reason for contention between believers, or towards unbelievers.

Neither male nor female

Neither East nor West