Give none offence, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the church of God:
1 Corinthians 10:32
There are three ‘entities’ identified within this one verse from the apostle Paul:
- Jews
- Gentiles
- The church of God – the Body of Christ
Until Abraham, think Tower of Babel, there was only one entity within the world, Gentiles. The term “gentile” means a “non-Jew.” The word “goy” and its plural “goyim” is translated in the Scriptures as “gentiles,” “heathen,” and “nations.”
With the call of Abraham, and then with the changing of his grandson’s name from Jacob to Israel, there were now two entities within the world: Gentiles and Jews. The Jews, the tiny nation of Israel, were called out for a specific purpose:
Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Exodus 19:5-6
The entity the Bible refers to as Israel is a nation of people, and yet they are so much more. They are God’s chosen people (Deut 7:6), God’s elect people (Jer 45:4), the people of God’s covenants (Eph 2:12), a peculiar people identified by the token of circumcision (Gen 17:11).
The key to understanding Paul’s statement within 1 Cor 10:32, and thus understanding the entirety of your Bible, is to properly identify when it is that the Church, the Body of Christ, began. Once one understands properly when it began, they next need to identify when and why it will end. Understanding these two critical points within history (within what the Bible has to say on the matter) will shape one’s doctrine and theology and will therefore have a huge impact upon that person.
Once grounded with when the Body of Christ started and when/why it must end, one can then explore the many unique characteristics about the Body of Christ that are detailed for us within Scripture. This is the study of Ecclesiology and it is an area where most self-professing Christians go wrong.
This may appear to be an aside, but it is not … I would ask where it is within the Bible that we can learn about the Body of Christ? Can you identify for me a single mention of the “Body of Christ” within Hebrews through Revelation? Does Jesus ever mention the term “Body of Christ” as Paul discusses it:
Now ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.
1 Corinthians 12:27
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
Ephesians 4:12
If you study that subject out, you will discover that no one but Paul within the Bible discusses the entity that is properly labeled “the Body of Christ” … not John the Baptist, not Jesus, not Peter, James, John, or any of the 12. Only Paul discusses the Body of Christ and we must ask why.
Moving on from that fact within the Bible, we then should explore what the apostle Paul has to say about the Body of Christ and explore what this entity’s characteristics are. One of the chief characteristics of the Body of Christ is that there is no “Jew” or “Gentile” within it:
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.
Galatians 3:28
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all.
Colossians 3:11
For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.
Romans 10:12
In stark contrast to the nation Israel (Jews), and as a product of the revelation of the mystery (Rom 16:25; Eph 3:3), Paul stated:
For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature.
Galatians 6:15
It is within Paul’s writings alone, Romans through Philemon, that we learn about the Body of Christ and the many titles that can be applied to it:
- The Body of Christ (1 Cor 12:27)
- The Church (Col 1:18)
- Saints (1 Cor 1:2)
- The One New Man (Eph 2:15)
- The New Creature (Gal 6:15)
- Christians (Acts 11:26)
- Complete in Christ (Col 2:10)
- Seated in Heavenly Places (Eph 2:6)
- Possessors of an Unsearchable Inheritance (Eph 1:11; 3:8)
Missing from that list, and missing from Paul’s writings, is any use of the terms “Jewish Christian” or “Hebrew Christian”. Such a thing does not exist. When one becomes a member of the Body of Christ, they lose all identification of “Jew” or “Gentile” and they become a member of a spiritual body that has no land, no government, no political system, no army, and no single common language.
The apostle Paul would never identify himself as being a “Jewish Christian”. Being a member of the Body of Christ is far better!