One People of God

 

There is one people of God. One and one only. Centered around Jesus:

John 11:51-52, "51 He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus would die for the nation, 52 and not for the nation only, but also to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad."

Why must Jesus die? "...to gather into ONE the children of God scattered abroad..." Who are these people one with? All from Jesus' nation who believed in him. In other words the children of God, or the people of God, are only those who trust in the work of the Messiah, who is Jesus Christ of Nazareth.  

As Paul writes Galatians 3 says, "28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise." There is no doubt that Paul is building on the exact kind of statements of Jesus that we just read from John 11. Though, of course, Jesus revealed this to Paul directly, not through the other Apostles.

Maybe if this passage in Galatians 3 had not been twisted to say women can be preachers, more Christians would recognize that it is actually about how many peoples of God there are: One: "for you are all one in Christ Jesus..." "to gather into one the children of God scattered abroad..." It is fascinating the extent to which false teaching can reach. Galatians 3 is not about gender equality, it is about access to Jesus, or who can be the full fledged people of God. The answer? All who have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything else is just confusion.