Knowing Christ, the Uniting Factor

Knowing Christ is essential for any and all Christians. For the Apostle Paul, it was the uniting factor between Jews and Gentiles. They had various customs and rituals but all that did not matter, for God in Christ has made them both a new humanity (Ephesians 2:15). The Apostle Paul also says, “For neither circumcision nor uncircumcision is anything; but a new creation is everything” (Galatians 6:15). Paul speaks of how the Church of Ephesus (Gentiles in particular) did not remember Christ, as they had learned him. They needed to be reminded that they were a new humanity (Ephesians 2:15) and that they were called to live a new moral life (See Ephesians 4:17-24). Jews and Gentiles together are “created according to the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness” (Eph. 4:23). This is how they have come to know and learn him through apostolic teaching and through their own relationship with him corporately and personally.

Does the Church, which appears to be divided today, need to hear this uniting message? I would say that this message absolutely needs to be heard. This message of unity involves being truly the community of God. This community works together to figure out how to live out what it means to be God’s workmanship, all the while remembering how we have learned Christ. So knowing Christ unites Christians from different traditions to encourage and enable each other through the knowledge of Christ to be the new creation and humanity that God has made them to be in Christ Jesus. It is the uniting factor.

Richard Mouw (President of Fuller Theological Seminary) spoke to 400 plus graduates on June 13, 2009. The graduates consisted of people from all kinds of Christian denominations and traditions. He “charged” them all with the same message of “knowing Jesus.”This is what unites us as Christians. Time after time even in my own life, I have looked at the differences that I had with other Christian traditions. I have since been challenged to look not at what divides us but at what unites us as Christians. A lot more could be said on this topic and I do think differences need to be looked at but we need to be careful not to jeopardize a united community of Christians.

Thanks for reading,

Marcelino

A Reflection on Works, the Christian Life and Reflecting the Image of God

Last Sunday Pastor George spoke on “Reflecting the Image of God.” He asked what image we were reflecting. Is it our own, the worlds, or God’s? He appealed to those who were there to not see the Christian faith as merely “fire insurance.” It is much more than that. God has made us a new creation to reflect his image. I have been thinking about works in relation to the Christian life and this sermon has caused me to reflect even more on this.
Tom Wright says, “Human beings were made to know, worship, love, and serve the creator God. That always was and always will be the way to healthy fruitful human living.” By doing this, we learn how to reflect the image of God not only back to God but to the whole world. When Christians see works in this way, it does not become burdensome. Because Protestants believe in justification by faith alone, some can at times be afraid of hearing the word “works” in relation to our faith. However, works are a necessary part of the Christian life and dare I say without them, there is no Christian life. Christianity is not “fire insurance” as Pastor George said. Perhaps, if Christians focused more on the salvation of the whole person, instead of saving souls from hell, that may help to dissolve the misunderstanding of this “fire insurance faith.” New Creation as Pastor George mentioned, is a step in the right direction. We “are” a new creation in Christ Jesus created in Christ Jesus for good works (Ephesians 2:9). This implies that we “are” new creation so that we may “do” new creation. We are a new creation, a new humanity and are learning a new way to be human. We are saved to “do” something. As Paul says after explaining the climax of new creation being the resurrection of our bodies, he says that we are to “do” the work of the Lord for our faith is not in vain (1 Corinthians 15).
What is interesting and also amazing is that our life, humanity, and works are very closely tied to the image of God. Humans have always been meant to reflect God’s image (this goes back to Adam) and though we have missed the mark on this, thank God for the one who is truly human, Jesus Christ. Now humans can begin to learn what it means to truly be human, which is to reflect the image of God. This requires humans not to be God’s puppets controlled by the Holy Spirit but God has enable us by the Holy Spirit to finally be his new creations and new humans, who are able to think, choose, and do the work of the Lord.

Thanks for reading,

Marcelino