Racial Reconciliation in Apex: The New Humanity (Part 1)

Nathan Stam
Children/Communications Pastor

This is the first of a series of posts on the issue of racial reconciliation and how that could take shape in Apex, NC. John Piper recently published a book entitled Bloodlines, which is worth your time to read. In fact, you can download the PDF for absolutely free by clicking here.

I wanted to begin this series by summarizing one of Piper's chapters on race. In his book, he has already established that the mission of Christ was closely tied with the end of ethnocentrism (defined as "feeling that one's own ethnic group should be treated as superior"). He continues by investigating the text of Ephesians 2:11-22 (read the full text here). Piper proposes that Jesus ends ethnocentrism and creates a new people of God who are defined not by race, but by faith in Christ through his death on the cross. A new humanity. He writes, "horizontal reconciliation between alienated peoples happens through vertical reconciliation with God through the blood of Christ."

An amazing idea with astounding implications!

A few thoughts from Bloodlines and Ephesians:

In verses 19-22 we read that the Gentiles are now fellow citizens with the saints and part of the same household of God.

1. In verse 14 Paul tells us that Christ came to die for sinners and by his death on the cross to give Jews and Gentiles one way to God through faith.
2. Then Paul adds in verse 15 that Christ's aim was that he might make one new man. "The church is a single person." Jesus is our common identity. By "our" I mean all believers regardless of ethnicity. We see this thought continued in verse 16.
3. The "mystery of Christ" we read about later in Ephesians 3:4-6 is that Gentiles and Jews are now one person in Christ. 

Paul writes in Ephesians 2:13 that we are "Brought near by the blood of Christ." Piper adds, "Brought near to God and therefore brought near to each other. By the blood. . . . if one design of the cross of Christ is to reconcile alienated ethnic groups to each other by reconciling them to God in Christ, then will we not display and magnify the cross of Christ better by more and deeper and sweeter ethnic diversity and harmony in our corporate and personal lives?"

We'll talk more next week about how these thoughts could be fleshed out practically in our lives. In the meantime, let's examine our hearts in the light of God's Word and strive to bring glory to Jesus in our attitudes and in the habits of our hearts!