A New Humanity

A New Humanity (part 1)

It required three covenants to bring God’s redemptive plan for man to realization;

• the Abrahamic,
• the Mosaic, and
• the New Covenant.

The Abrahamic covenant is at the foundation of the other two. It took the Sinai covenant and the New Covenant to fulfill the Abrahamic.

If you thought God’s plan was to have a group of
racially select people walking the earth, being obedient
to laws carved in stone, you have missed God's plan and intent.

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God’s ultimate plan is to reverse the tragedy of Eden by creating a new humanity from the Last Adam.
Just as the First Adam was the head of the humanity created through him, so Christ, the Last Adam,
would be the head of a new humanity created in Him. Paul tells us,

By setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace [Eph 2:15 NIV]

Paul states that out of the two groups, Jews and Gentiles, He would make “in Himself one new humanity.” This is a specific reference to the new humanity, consisting of the two groups, which comprised the old humanity, Jew and Gentile. However, in Him, those distinctions disappear.

For neither circumcision counts for anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creation. [Gal 6:15]

In Christ Jesus, whether one is circumcised (a Jew) or uncircumcised (a Gentile), carries no significance. The only thing which has the power to make progress in Christ is a new creature. This new creature (or creation) is that which has been born from above (or, again). These new creatures in Christ, comprise the Israel of God, i.e., the new humanity, His Ekklesia, with Christ as its Head.

The Distinctions of the Old Order Have Passed Away

Earthly distinctions have no recognized standing. Paul clearly states that in Christ,

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. [Gal 3:28]

Unfortunately, some still seek to divide the Body of Christ by the distinctions of the old creation order. They attempt to rebuild the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile. They ignore the very words of Christ Himself when He prayed, “That they may be one, even as we are one.” [John 17:21]

The Body of Christ cannot be rightfully fractured into schisms any more than the Godhead can. This division of the Body of Christ by earthly, fleshly standards is the work of the enemy to divide. This division makes the Ekklesia dysfunctional and ineffective.

Some Have Trouble Letting Go Of The Old

Dr. Nichol, a messianic rabbi, has stated that the purpose of their “messianic synagogues” is,

“That our congregations are little pieces of Israel – expressions first and foremost of Jewish peoplehood, though rooted in Messiah Yeshua.” (Dr. Nichol)
In a speech entitled, “The Unique Place of Gentiles in Messianic Jewish Congregational Life,” given at the Borough Park Symposium, October 22-24, 2012,

DO NOT MISS THIS! The stated purpose for their congregations, is that they should be, “Expressions first and foremost of Jewish peoplehood.” The phrase, first and foremost, should cause concern. This phrase means, above all other considerations, before anything else, primarily. These messianic assemblies, before anything else, are to be expressions of Jewish peoplehood. Oh yeah, let’s not forget to throw some Jesus (Yeshua) into the mix. Jesus appears to be nothing but an afterthought, playing second fiddle to the all important “expressions of Jewish peoplehood.” This is nothing but attempting to rebuild the wall of separation, demeaning the sacrifice of Christ. This attitude completely negates the work of Christ on the cross. It is nothing short of trampling underfoot the Son of God, and profaning the blood of the covenant. [Heb. 10:29].

This might seem a bit harsh, but I have seen firsthand this worship of Jewishness, for its own sake. I am an eyewitness to this perversion. I lived in this ditch for several years. It is a hideous stain upon the Body of Christ. It gives the outer appearance of devotion to God through Messiah, but its true devotion (“first and foremost”) is to its own Jewishness. It is a whited sepulcher. This may not be true of all messianic assemblies, and I pray it is not. However, I have yet to see one where it was not a problem. In Paul’s day, being Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, were three of the main social dividers. These distinctions were how people were judged and how it was decided what place in society they should occupy.

There is no difference of standing in Christ for any of these above, nor any others than may exist in society, i.e., racial or financial distinctions. The only matter of consequence is whether one is born of the Spirit of God, hence being a new creation in Christ, i.e., being a member of this New Humanity. For this newly Spirit-born one, all things become new.

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. [2 Cor. 5:17]

Why do so many seek to make an idol of the old fleshly identity, when God has provided something more excellent?

This is done by many who think that there is some benefit or advantage to be able to be called, a Jew. Even many well meaning Christians have been duped into thinking that they are rightly called, a spiritual Jew. The Bible knows no such thing. They will use Romans 2:28-29 as their proof text. However, the context of these verses is speaking about natural Jews who boast and trust in their physical circumcision as proof of their link with God, without having a circumcised heart of faith.

A circumcised heart is not original with the New Testament, but is commanded in the Law of Moses.

Deut. 10:16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn.
Deut. 30:6 And the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your offspring, so that you will love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, that you may live.
Jer. 4:4 Circumcise yourselves to the LORD, and take away the foreskins of your heart, ye men of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem: lest my fury come forth like fire, and burn that none can quench it, because of the evil of your doings.

Israel is first commanded to circumcise their own hearts, by being "no longer stubborn", i.e., repent of their rebellious hearts. Then God promises them that when they return from being scattered among the nations (after the Babylonian captivity), He would circumcise their hearts and the hearts of their children so that they might love the LORD God with all their heart and all their soul. That is the profile of the true Jew. This is an expression of the promise of the New Covenant. You cannot love the LORD your God, without loving and honoring His Son, Jesus the Messiah [John 5:23; 6:45; 8:19; 15:23]. Israel was warned that failure to circumcise their hearts would bring His judgment down upon them.

How Would God Bring the Old Humanity Into the New?

The humanity springing from the First Adam could never attain fellowship with its Creator on its own. Why? Each person, if left to himself, will choose darkness over light [John 3:19]. He can be instructed in the ways of morality, i.e., taught right from wrong, but rebellion always lies just below the surface of the heart of man.

The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? [Jer. 17:9]

Hence, God must give humanity a new heart. How is He to do this? Heart in this sense, is used to describe the seat of human desires and emotions.

God formally initiated this plan of the new heart, when He called a man named Abram out from Ur of the Chaldees. From him, God would create a people. Using this people as the nucleus, He would make a new humanity, whose hearts turned to Him and would give ear to His voice. However first, He needed these people to understand their desperate condition. He needed them to understand their lack of righteousness and their need for redemption.

God knew one of the best ways for man to learn was through repetition. By repeating an act, He could instill in them the lessons needed. Through a mighty deliverance, He brought them out of slavery in Egypt, leading them to the base of a mountain in the Sinai Desert. There He called Moses, His appointed leader for the people, to the top of the mountain. He gave Moses ten laws inscribed in stone with “the finger of God.”

Using these ten as a foundation, God added many more to enable their society to be a true expression of righteousness. It truly could have been a righteous society, if they had been able to live by the laws and precepts of God. The purpose of the Law was not to make this people the envy of the world and revered as the most righteous of men. Its purpose was to show them how far they fell short of God’s perfect mark. The Law was to reveal their sin, this innate rebellion, and to cause them to desire to be delivered from it, just as they had been delivered from Egypt.

This Law could not make them righteous before God, on account of the weakness of their flesh [Rom. 8:3], nor could it make them spiritually alive to God [Gal. 3:21].

As a part of these laws, God gave them annual ceremonies, sacrifices, and festivals, which served as visual lessons, or shadows of good things to come. These ceremonies, sacrifices, and festivals served as the repetition needed to convey this message of coming salvation. They were to perform the same sacrifices and observe the same feasts every year. They were to contemplate the meaning of these annual observances that were tied to some great event in their collective life.

In doing so, they would begin to get a picture of what God was saying to them. In case they were not paying attention, which they often weren’t, He gave them prophets. They would not only speak for God, but would write down God’s message for future generations. The prophets gave this people a written record of God’s heart, message, and plan.