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"

The Glory of the Coming of the Lord

The final words from Martin Luther King Jr.'s last recorded speech, given on the eve of his assassination.

"I just want to do God's will. And he's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land. And I'm happy, tonight. I'm not worried about anything. I'm not fearing any man. Mine eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord!"



And what was the glory of the coming of the Lord that MLK was so aware of that enabled him to boldly proclaim these words. What was it that gripped MLK so tightly, that even in the face of death and hatred, he had no fear?

I think MLK had an acute awareness of the restoration that Christ would in his 2nd coming. His confidence and foundation wasn't in himself, or even civil rights, but in what God was doing, and what he will eventually bring to completion. Despite the hardships and struggles faced in MLK's time, one day, Christ will come back in glory. He will dwell with his people, he will establish perfect justice, he will reconcile people from every nation, tribe and language, he will make all things new. MLK knew that the coming of the Lord meant that "every tear would be wiped away", and that "death would be no more". MLK had no fear, and was happy, because he knew that one day, when Christ returns and establishes his kingdom, he would join his brothers and sisters (white and black), singing the heavenly anthem,

"Hallelujah! For the Lord our God Almighty reigns. 

Let us rejoice and exult and give him glory,

for the marriage of the Lamb has come, 

and his Bride has made herself ready;

it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure"

Revelation 19: 6-8

Martin Luther King Jr.

A few quotes from Martin Luther King Jr.'s speech, 'Facing the Challenge of the New Age'

"Negro masses began to reevaluate themselves. The negro came to feel that he was somebody. His religion revealed to him that God loves all of His children, and that every man, from a bass black to a treble white, is significant on God's keyboard."

"We must remember as we boycott that a boycott is not an end within itself; it is merely a means to awaken a sense of shame within the oppressor and challenge his false sense of superiority. But the end is reconciliation; the end is redemption; the end is the creation of the beloved community"

"we love men not because we like them, not because their attitudes and ways appeal to us, but because God loves us. Here we rise to the position of loving the person who does the evil deed while hating the deed that the person does. With this type of love and understanding good will we will be able to stand amid the radiant glow of the new age with dignity and discipline. Yes, the new age is coming. It is coming might fast."

Reading MLK, something that strikes me is that at the very heart of his concern for social justice and civil rights was the fact that our Heavenly Father was deeply concerned with justice, and also the idea of Imago Dei, that all people are made in the image of God.

We see MLK's stress on man being made in the image of God in the first quote. Every person, because they are made in the likeness of God, has a sense of dignity and a natural worth to God. Therefore, the civil rights movement was ultimately about instilling mans natural right to be treated with a certain dignity because they are in fact made in God's likeness that it was constitutional law.

"Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob,

whose hope is in the LORD his God,

who made heaven and earth,

the sea and all that is in them,

who keeps faith forever;

who executes justice for the oppressed,

who gives food to the hungry."

Psalm 146:5-7