The Dividing Wall and the Mystery: One New Man
We are called to be One New Man. Satan does not want this mystery of God to be fulfilled. Yeshua told us ha satan’s plan is to kill, steal and destroy us, and the dividing wall suits his purpose. Yet One New Man is rising and the conflict is great. It’s time to expose the schemes of the enemy and walk in our destiny.
There are complex components about the rising up of One New Man. One of the most challenging has been realizing and accepting there are many differences in perspective between Messianic believers – I’ve written other articles addressing issues that affect Gentile to Gentile, particularly Messianic Gentiles and “traditional Christian Gentiles”, but this article is particularly about the differences in perspective between some Jewish and Gentile believers about the restoration of Israel and the Messianic movement.
Different perspectives should be understood but not divide us. I believe if we acknowledge these differences (expose them to the Light – Eph. 5:8-11) and not deny that they are there, it will help us in our journey towards unity. Yeshua has already told us that He will soon crush satan under our feet. (Rom. 16:20) Hallelujah! Let it be.
My precious mishpocha (family) in Yeshua ha Mashiach, we have lots to learn about each other! Even though the perspectives sometimes have the outward appearance of being about “which is the most important – evangelism, Israel, Torah observance, Jewish roots, biblical Zionism, rabbinical liturgy, maintaining Jewish identity, legalism, anti-semitism, replacement theology, etc.” – I am realizing that these are not the core issues.
It’s much more fundamental than that. It’s about two types of people in this world – Jew and Gentile – or put another way, Israel and the nations - and two very different perspectives. It’s about a difference in perspective as profound as those between male and female – distinctive entities with unique perspectives, called to be one for the glory of God.
I know we are coming closer and that we are in the days when “Messianic Gentiles” and “Messianic Jews” are coming together as One New Man instead of separate parts – we are not called to lose our identities – we should choose to accept, honor, love, understand (as much as we are able), and validate each other - it’s the mystery of unity that God chose to reveal in the last days. “Hine ma tov uma naim shevet achim gam yachad”, which means “behold how good and pleasant it is when brothers dwell together in unity”. This unity is like the Oil for the head of our High Priest! (Ps. 133) This alone should make us passionate about unity with each other! Baruch ha Shem! Bless the Name!
Both parts are called to stand together in unity as we proclaim the truth to all and especially to the “traditional church” that rejected our Jewish roots going all the way back to the fourth century. We should recognize that there truly is a remnant of believing Jews and Gentiles who stand together as One New Man. Our challenges should not be with each other but with the traditions of men, both Jewish and Gentile, who oppose the truth of the foundations of the faith we share in our Messiah!
Like many of you, I know the Lord has called me to walk in this calling to obey both His first greatest commandment and His second greatest commandment for a lifetime, not for a season. (Matt. 22:37-40; Mark 12:29-31; Dt. 6:4-5) I know this revelation of the mystery of Jew and Gentile, One in Messiah, is His heart’s desire in these last days. It is a latter day revelation and we are walking it out, my friends as we embrace the fullness of His Word (Eph. 1:9-10; Eph. 3:2-6; Eph. 3:9; Rom. 9:24-25; Hosea 2:23)
What is the Dividing Wall
It does seem to be that this dividing wall spoken of in Ephesians 2 is about Torah only in the sense of Torah being identified with the Jewish people and what makes Israel separate from the rest of the peoples (Gentiles). I like how David Stern puts it in the Complete Jewish Bible, where he speaks of the “enmity that is occasioned by the Torah with its commands set forth in the form of ordinances” (Eph. 2:15). God gave His precious, always-relevant Torah to His people, Israel. Thank you, Jewish people, for preserving the Word of Life! It will never be abolished.
It is basically about the separation between Jew and Gentile – the separation between Israel and the nations. That’s why we flail away trying to find some other “hat” to hang our conflicts on! We don’t want it to be that, but it is that.
You will remember the passage in Ephesians 2:14 – “…He Himself is our peace, who has made the two one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility” – the dividing wall of hostility remains when we will not allow Yeshua to bring unity between us, but instead we insist on clinging to our own ways of looking at things, whether that perspective comes from a Jewish view or a Gentile view.
The Lord has already told us that this is a great mystery (Eph. 1:9). Yeshua has now become to both Jew and Gentile total Reconciliation with the Father. He is Torah, the living Word, and there is no longer a dividing wall, but instead we have a Living Torah and we are One in Him. He is the fulfillment of the Law and it is forever alive and no longer a divider but a unifier! (Matt.5:17)
The Revelation of the Messianic Jew
“This is incredible news - I want to tell my Jewish friends and family and everyone that our Messiah is Yeshua so that salvation can come to them, too! And I don’t have to give up my Jewish identity!” (Rom. 11:26-27)
The Messianic Jewish believer, even before he accepted the truth about Yeshua ha Mashiach, has always known that there is a connection between being Jewish and Torah, and the Land of Israel.
Regardless of the level of passion or love for Torah and the Land, it’s still a “cultural given” in his Jewish life, but the truth that he is finally one with his Messiah, is to him the most revelatory truth that could be told.
Here’s what I’m seeing – the Messianic Jewish believer is so totally amazed and awed, and very well should be, about this glorious Messiah Yeshua, who all along he thought was the “Gentile God”, and now he realizes that Jesus/Yeshua is his Jewish Messiah, the King of the Jews!
It is wondrous to realize that he is still a Jew and is never going to “become a Gentile” because he now believes in Yeshua! He is forever Jewish and maintains his Jewish identity and embraces his Jewish Messiah! Hallelujah!
There are challenges – Jewish identity is important and taking on the role of Israel being a blessing to the nations is significant, and there is a great desire for Jewish believers to learn how this should best be expressed according to the Scripture. What does all this mean – does this mean that Messianic Jewish believers who have now been grafted back into the olive tree that is theirs to start with, should now assume the role of leadership in the Body of Messiah by replacing Gentile leadership – remember Acts 15 and how at that time the Jewish believers were making decisions about how Gentile believers should function in the Messianic community – today it seems we are faced with the opposite question.
And how about making aliyah - the prophecies of returning to the Land are being reckoned with. And to top it off, the traditional mostly-Gentile church has no place for a Jewish believer to fit and maintain his identity as a Jew. Is One New Man meant to be a blend of both Jew and Gentile – distinct “personalities”, but one entity?
The Revelation of the Messianic Gentile
“This is incredible news - I want to tell everyone, especially my Gentile friends and family who believe in Messiah that we Gentiles are now grafted into the olive tree that is Israel and we share the same promises with the Jews!” (Rom. 9:23-26)
To a Messianic Gentile believer, the revelation is reversed - the truth about Yeshua as the Messiah, is a “cultural given”, and even before he gave himself totally to his Messiah, he was familiar with the concept of Jesus as the Messiah in the context of living in a Gentile, “culturally Christian” world. The most revelatory truth to a Gentile believer is that this Messiah is Jewish! And not only that, the entire Bible is true and God is not finished with His people, Israel! The relevance of prophecy and Israel, the foremost of the nations, is profound to a Messianic Gentile.
The Messianic Gentile is so totally amazed and awed, and very well should be, that the faith that he always thought of as “Gentile Christian” is actually very Jewish – the entire Bible and his Messiah is all about the God of Israel and His promises to His Jewish people! The destiny of the entire world is tied to God’s covenant with Israel.
For a Gentile believer, it is wondrous to realize that he is now grafted into the olive tree of the original covenant God made with Israel. He is no longer a foreigner to the covenants of the promise….without God in the world (Eph. 2:12). The challenges include how to live out this new Messianic faith, embracing the entire Tanach and the roots of the faith without forgetting the unique destiny as a Gentile and realizing that he is not being called to be “Jewish”.
As a Jewish person remains a Jew, so does a Gentile person remain a Gentile – both brought together by Messiah Yeshua, both are now Messianic believers. Other challenges include how to take a stand for Zion’s sake, embracing the roots of the faith, which is not perceived as overriding the pre-eminence of the worship of our Yeshua. And not to be arrogant or insensitive to Jewish believers who are seeking acceptance, their rightful place in the body of believers, and the honor they deserve as the firstborn of the nations and God’s choice to reveal Himself.
Oh, dear Father, forgive us of our arrogance and make us One, for your glory’s sake!
The Wall is Coming Down
It’s not about which part of this One New Man has the “better perspective”. Both Jewish and Gentile believers are in absolute agreement that Yeshua is supreme and pre-eminent over all things. (Col. 1:17-20) He is forever the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, Yeshua ha Mashiach! (Rev. 5:5; Rev. 22:16b)
Both parts of One New Man rejoice in our Salvation and in our “grafting” or “re-grafting”, whichever the case may be, to the olive root, which is Israel. (Rom. 11:17)
We are in total agreement that God’s choice is to reveal Himself through His covenant with Israel, and that we are in the last days, fulfilling prophecy as we walk out our unique callings according to His Word, maintaining our separate identities while being One in Messiah.
We want our brothers and sisters, both Jew and Gentile, to say the words, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord”. (Matt. 23:39) And we want Jerusalem to be the royal diadem in the hand of her God. (Isa. 62:3)
The Power of the Mystery Revealed
It’s about the two becoming one, becoming who we are called to be – ha satan so hates us for this – One New Man is God’s heart – and the enemy will do anything to destroy us.
I am saying these things because I want to expose the enemy’s plan against us, his schemes. God’s plan is that this mystery of the two becoming One New Man would be revealed in these last days and that His manifold wisdom would be made known – it is key to satan’s destruction and to the glory of our Father through our Messiah.
“…letting everyone see how this secret plan is going to work out. This plan, kept hidden for ages by God, the Creator of everything, is for the rulers and authorities in heaven to learn, through the existence of the Messianic Community, how many-sided God's wisdom is. This accords with God's age-old purpose, accomplished in the Messiah Yeshua, our Lord.” (Eph. 3:9-11 CJB)
Could we do this – could we “cover” each other’s “nakedness” and the shame that comes when we are in conflict with each other? Could we embrace each other and help each other walk in the destiny God has called us to walk in? We do have different and unique callings, but the all-consuming destiny we share – being One with God and each other - trumps each of our own individual callings as we merge together in total unity and become One New Man. To Him be the glory. It’s all about Him!
Loving Each Other
For the sake of His glory and His desire for us - our mishpocha – our family – our Messianic unity – let’s encourage each other as we walk in our destinies –
My Messianic Jewish family – I praise Him that you love Him and that you are part of the salvation of
Israel! I praise Him that you want to maintain your identity as a son and daughter of Abraham, your Jewish roots, your identity as a Jewish believer who loves your Messiah Yeshua and wants everyone to come to saving faith.
I have dedicated my heart to proclaiming the truth about our Messiah, Israel, prophetic destiny, and who you are, God’s choice, to the “church” that went deaf so many years ago to our Jewish roots and persecuted and led to the murder of millions of precious Jewish people – it grieves me to my very soul and ever since I understood about my roots, I have walked in repentance on behalf of the “church” and the nations.
I praise Him that you are teaching, preaching, serving and fulfilling your destiny as a called-out priest – yours is the adoption as sons; yours is the divine glory, the covenants, the receiving of the Law, the temple worship and the promises, the patriarchs and the human ancestry of Messiah, who is God! (From Rom. 9:4-5). I praise Him that many of you have returned to the Land of Israel and you are being poured out like a drink offering over the Land He chose for His throne. I bless you and love you in Yeshua’s Name.
My Messianic Gentile family – I am grateful for you and for your courage to take your stand with your Messiah and His family, our family. I thank Him that you shared the truth with your Jewish friends and made them jealous and many follow Yeshua today because of your testimony. I praise Him for your faith and your sacrifices and your zeal to stand for Zion’s sake and for what you are doing to proclaim the Word of truth about Israel’s distinct role and God’s choice of the Jewish people to reveal His glory in Messiah Yeshua and also as a nation destined to bless the whole world.
I thank the Lord that you have not shrunk back and you have faced rejection from friends and family as you have taken your stand. I encourage you in your quest for total intimacy and worship of Yeshua ha Mashiach, the God of Israel, and for taking your place in these last days. I love you for not being silent for Zion’s sake, and I bless you in Yeshua’s Name.
Yes, Lord, we humble our hearts and pray for your grace to fill us as we love You and each other. Lord, we want to obey You – we set our wills to obey You – we submit our whole beings – body, soul, and spirit to loving you, to obeying the first and the second greatest commandments (Matt. 22:36-40)!
….the Lord make His face shine upon you….(Numbers 6:25)
