Today, I’m continuing the post from yesterday, where I begin laying some background for my upcoming podcasts entitled “Galatians: Confronting Cultural Christianity.”
One of my favorite Bible verses - and I have many - is found in the third chapter of the New Testament book of Ephesians, verse ten. In that verse, Paul speaks of God’s mystery, hidden in the past but now revealed through the Christ or Messiah.
The mystery itself is referred to in verse six, where Paul says - “This mystery is that through the gospel the Gentiles are heirs together with Israel, members together of one body.”
We will get to Ephesians 3:10 in a minute, but first, we need to unpack Ephesians 3:6 a bit.
Let’s begin with that all too familiar word, “gospel.” We tend to read right over it. What comes to your mind when you hear the word “gospel?”
Most of us know that the word “gospel” actually means “good news.” What a lot of folks don’t know is that the gospel or announcement of good news was associated with the Roman Empire. Specifically, “good news” was the message proclaimed by Octavian, who was given the title Augustus (literally “Illustrious One” and a title which carried claims of divinity) by the Roman Senate after restoring peace to the empire after years of civil war following the assassination of Julius Caesar.
“Good News: Caesar Augustus has brought peace to the world!” This was the announcement of heralds sent throughout Rome’s vast empire. These heralds were sent by Augustus to proclaim the Pax Romana or “Roman Peace,” which Augustus had brought to the world. Augustus was given a further title by these heralds - “Prince of Peace.”
This was the historical context in which a rural itinerant Rabbi from backwater Galilee burst onto the scene in Israel declaring, “The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news.” (Mark 1:15)
So, when you read the word “gospel,” think about the good news of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus established through his death and resurrection. No wonder Christians were ultimately persecuted as counter-revolutionaries by Rome!
Back to Ephesians 3:6. The mystery now revealed through Messiah Jesus is that the Gentiles are heirs of God’s Kingdom along with the Jews. In other words, Israel’s Messiah was not just for Israel. In fact, ultimately, it was Jesus Messiah who carried out God’s purpose for the Jewish people in making Him known to all nations and peoples.
And just to be clear, the word Gentiles is best understood as non-Jews, or to put it another way, the rest of the world. And through Christ Jesus, God’s kingdom has been established as “one body” of people, together.
Here’s where we come to Ephesians 3:10, and where we find a vivid picture of this kingdom above all kingdoms and its King above all kings. Paul refers to this all-inclusive kingdom as the “manifold wisdom of God.” That word, translated, “manifold,” is the same word used in the Greek translation of the Old Testament (Septuagint) to describe Joseph’s muliti-colored coat given to him by his father, Jacob.
Think about what Paul is saying! The defining characteristic of God’s Kingdom, established through Jesus Messiah, is its rich diversity. And as we learned yesterday, the citizens of this kingdom are not divided by social, economic, political, or any other worldly status. They are all one in Christ.
Remember the words of Galatians 3:28 from yesterday’s post: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, you are all one in Christ.”
Everyone has a place at the table in God’s kingdom. This is the Good News. But as I said yesterday, the bad news is that throughout the centuries of the church, there have been those who have sought to abolish this unity in diversity, replacing it with a cultural conformity that, in reality, is no different from the way of our broken, divided world.
Seeking to replace God’s rich diversity in Christ, they preach a gospel of conformity. Cookie-cutter Christianity is alive and well, and like the Borg from Star Trek, The Next Generation, the mission of these exclusivist Christians can be summed up in the phrase, “Resistance is futile, you will be assimilated.”
Well, I thought I’d finish this up today. However, I’m going to need one more post. Tomorrow, I’ll conclude by sketching a brief outline of Galatians and how this New Testament letter confronts cultural Christianity both in Paul’s day and ours.
In Christ,
Dan
Check out my podcasts from Church on the Edge and my books on Kindle.