ASSEMBLIES OF GOD
Greetings and Happy New Year from the Office of Hispanic and Ethnic Relations! It is our sincere prayer that God will bless your family with a greater pursuit of God’s kingdom and His righteousness in 2022. We also pray the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to the Philippians, declaring God’s promise over you, “And this same God who takes care of me will supply all of your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus. Now all glory to God our Father forever and ever! Amen” (Phil. 4:19,20).
For the past few months I have been sharing a study on the New Testament church of Ephesus. My purpose is to encourage your heart to continue to pray for revival and restoration of New Testament apostolic Christianity in our churches in the United States. This month I want us to focus our attention on the Unity of Spirit and the Unity of the body of Christ, which I believe were key factors in the longevity of the revival that Ephesus experienced.
The city of Ephesus was made up of Gentiles, commonly called Greeks and a large growing Jewish population. These two populations did not socially mix well because most Greeks were polytheistic idol worshippers, while the Jews held to the truth of scripture that there is only one true God, who created all things for His own purpose and glory. The biblical narrative of Paul’s ministry in Ephesus is amazing when you consider that the powerful message of the gospel of Christ transformed both Jews and Gentiles into one body, one people who found a new identity in Christ Jesus. That is why Paul’s letter to the Romans starts out with Paul declaring, “For I am not ashamed of this Good News about Christ. It is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes- the Jew first and also the Gentile” (Rom. 1:16). The message of Jesus can transform social structures, cultures, and racial division. The gospel does not exclude but unites people in the person of Jesus Christ, who is both the creator and savior.
When Paul first arrived in Ephesus, he preached the gospel to 12 Jewish men who were saved and baptized in the Spirit according to Acts 19:1-7. After that, Paul boldly entered the synagogue where, for three months, he spoke boldly, arguing persuasively about the Kingdom of God. This group of Jewish believers in the synagogue began to live in such a way, that they were described as the people of the Way. Remember that Jesus said, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one can come to the Father except through me” (John 14:6). The Way simply means that their lifestyle was so visibly different and so clearly distinct that it became the message or that which could be imitated. When was the last time the church in America has been accused of being a people of the Way? This reality was met with great opposition by the leaders of the synagogue who publicly maligned the Way.
Paul left the synagogue with the disciples and began to hold daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus according to Acts 19:9-10. This went on for two years so that people throughout the province of Asia – both Jews and Greeks- heard the Word of the Lord. This very intense discipleship process produced such a powerful move of God that many were delivered from demons, others were healed, and many signs and wonders took place. Paul wrote, “The story of what happened spread quickly all through Ephesus, to Jews and Greeks alike. A solemn fear descended on the city, and the name of the Lord Jesus was greatly honored” (Acts 19:17).
The unity that church experienced in Ephesus was not humanly created nor maintained. It had to do with the truth of the gospel that Paul preached and later became the cause of why he went to prison. Listen to what Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called ‘uncircumcised heathens’ by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, even though it affected only their bodies and not their hearts. In those days you were living apart from Christ. You were excluded from citizenship among the people of Israel, and you did not know the covenant promises God had made to them. You lived in this world without God and without hope. But now you have been united with Christ. Once you were far away from God, but now you have been brought near to him through the blood of Christ. For Christ himself has brought peace to us. He united Jews and Gentiles into one people when in his own body on the cross, he broke down the wall of hostility that separated us” (Eph. 2:11-14).
Paul’s very radical message of unity between Jew and Gentile is what got him kicked out of the synagogue at Ephesus. This message was offensive, because it proclaimed that Jesus’ death on the cross, his burial, and resurrection united both Jews and Gentiles as the new people of God. The scandal became even greater when Paul proclaimed that both Jew and Gentile would become God’s house, a holy temple and the dwelling place of God by His Spirit. Listen to Paul’s words, “So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. Together, we are his house, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by His Spirit” (Eph. 2:19-22).
Not only was Paul’s message opposed in the Jewish synagogue, but his message caused a great uprising against the people of the Way in the city because the Greeks who had been idolaters and worshippers at the temple of the goddess Artemis, were now worshipping the true and living God. Now they, like their Jewish brothers, no longer worshipped at a temple but became the temple of God and the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit. When you become a believer in Christ, don’t be surprised that you no longer fit into your former religious setting nor in the secular idolatrous culture, you are now a part of God’s family and are more at home in His presence than anywhere else.
Here’s an important truth—Because God united both Jew and Gentile in Christ Jesus, Paul wrote to the Ephesians: “Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God. Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of you love. Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding your selves in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3). God has united believers in Christ by His Spirit. This means that Jesus is the answer to racial, social, cultural and generational division. As we begin this new year, let’s believe God for a spiritual awakening that brings the healing our nation desperately needs. Many of you will begin this year with prayer and fasting. I implore you, pray for America, pray for the church, and pray that multitudes will come a personal saving relationship with Jesus in 2022. Amen! We believe it!
Dennis Rivera
Director, Hispanic & Ethnic Relations
