Identity Part 5

What if the good news about Jesus is far bigger than we have been led to believe? Most of us have heard salvation described in deeply personal terms -- forgiveness of sins, a relationship with God, eternal life. And while all of that is true, Ephesians chapter 2 pushes us toward something far more expansive. The message here is that Jesus came not only to reconcile us to God, but to reconcile us to one another. He came to create one new humanity, tearing down the dividing walls of hostility that keep people separated, suspicious, and at odds. This is not a minor footnote to the gospel -- it is central to it. Colossians 1 makes clear that through Christ, God is reconciling all things to himself, everything that was broken in the fall, including the fractures between human beings. When Adam and Eve turned from God in Genesis 3, they did not only hide from him -- they began blaming each other. That unraveling of human relationship is part of what Christ came to restore. The spiritual insight here is both humbling and energizing: we cannot fully receive what Christ has done while treating his people as optional.