The New Ethnics in Christ

"In this new life, it doesn't matter if you are a Jew or a Gentile, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbaric, uncivilized, slave or free. Christ is all that matters, and he lives in all of us." Colossians 3:11

Such a powerful verse. The gospel completely shatters ethnic superiority, racism, classism, socio-economic elitism. It shatters geographical boundaries separating the rich and poor, the haves and the have-nots. I long to see this verse realized in the Church of Jesus Christ. It is unfortunate that in most churches, as Dr. Martin Luther King once said,  Sunday morning is the most segregated day of the week. In the evangelical church, we love treating the gospel as a personal devotional to make ourselves feel comfort and security. Yet, we fail to let the gospel penetrate deep enough into our souls, to realize the social implications; to realize that Christ is reconciling ALL things that were broken in the fall. Ethnic superiority, racism, classism, socio-economic elitism etc, are all a result of the fall. The gospel transforms society. Christians are part of a new ethnicity, one in which we are all one in Christ, where no person is above or below the other. Here is a quote on this verse (Colossians 3:11) from Leonce Crump in a sermon he preached at The Journey this past summer. I love this vision. 

"We long to become a new race all together; a beautiful tapestry of God's creation, called and chosen by Him for something bigger than ourselves. As such, we are deeply committed to being intentionally trans-cultural"