For lack of a better expression the New Testament does teach of a critical "race" of sorts.
Men and women from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation may be born again into this critical race of "One New Man".
The critical race is the race mingled with God.
That is blended with God and built up into the Body of Christ.
Okay, I am being a little sensational by using a term which is bound to get some people's attention. Why not. Critics boast here that nobody reads my posts. So I do something to attract some more readers.
Here we see Jesus Christ CREATED this "critical race" on the cross by uniting on one body Jew and non-Jews under His eternal redemption.
"But now in Christ Jesus you who were once far off have become near in the blood of Christ. "(Eph. 2:13)
All we Gentiles were far off from the blessings of being God's chosen people - the Abrahamic descendants of the Jews.
"Abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and ordinances, that He might create the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace." (v.15)
The "one new man" the true "critical race" was created on the cross in the all-extensive and all-inclusive eternally efficacious death of the God-man Jesus Christ on His cross.
Believers in Christ need to stand upon this fact, declare it by faith, and affirm its truth no matter how the world splinters into factions.
"We were created in Christ into ONE NEW MAN in Christ's death abolishing separating commandments in ordinances and divisive cultural philosophies."
The critical thing is that in Christ we who are redeemed all and both have access to the divine Father in ONE Holy Spirit.
"For through Him we both have access in one Spirit unto the Father." (v.18)
In one eternal Holy Spirit we all who are saved have one channel to the uncreated divine begetting Father.
And God in Christ made peace slaying the divisive enmity between races. This is effectively operational when we get into the one Spirit where the crossing out power of Christ's death operates in us.
" . . . He created the two in Himself into one new man, so making peace, And might reconcile both in one Body to God through the cross, having slain the enmity by it. And coming, He announced peace as the gospel to you who were far off, and peace to those who were near ..." (v.16,17)
Here's a paradox. On one hand Paul says the new man was created by Christ on the cross. But in another place he says the new man is being renewed as in emerging by an inward transformation. And in this we must put off the old man and put on the new man (the critical race).
"Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his practices
And have put on the new man, which is being renewed unto full knowledge according to the image of Him who created him." (Col. 3:9,10)
The critical "new man" has been created by Christ. But we who receive Christ must allow Him to transform our living so that the new man is being renewed, emerging, developing and growing in us.
The next verse 11 indicates that this new man annuls all kinds of racial and cultural divisions.
" . . . the new man . . . where there cannot be Greek and Jew, circumcision and uncircumcision, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free man, but Christ is all in all." (v.11)
Christ is everything in the new man.
Christ fills everyone and Christ is all in all.
Human cultures are transcended. Though we may be of different ethnicities, cultures, and nationalities, these are not the governing matters in our interaction with each other in the church, in the new man. Everyone learns to live by Christ.
@sonship saidWhat is your definition of "critical" in this context?
For lack of a better expression the New Testament does teach of a critical "race" of sorts.
Men and women from every people, tribe, tongue, and nation may be born again into this critical race of "One New Man".
The critical race is the race mingled with God.
That is blended with God and built up into the Body of Christ.
The emergence of the one new man is important to establishing of restoration from the fall of Adam. It is by man's fall that creation became subject to vanity.
For the creation was made subject to vanity, not of its own will, but because of Him who subjected it (Rom. 8:20)
No one wanted the corruption that cursed the earth because of Adam's sin. Man's fall meant its corruption into vanity and the critical manifestation of the sons of God of the new man will mean creation's restoration.
In hope that the creation itself will also be freedom from the slavery of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God (v.21)
Vital to the release of fallen environment with its scarcity is revelation of the constituents of the one new man - the sons of God.
Creation is going through something like birth pangs expecting the one new man to mature. At least a representative group of overcomers must arrive at maturity for creation to be freed.
For we know that the whole creation groans together and travails in pain together until now. (v.22)
And the members of the emergent sons of God also groan to enter into maturity.
"And not only so, but we ourselves also, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan in ourselves, eagerly awaiting sonship, the redemption of our body." (v.23)
This means the Holy Spirit is growing spreading Christ within the sons of God and eventually even the physical body will be transfigured in rapture / resurrection.
This will be "the revelation of the sons of God".
This is all critically important to the creation, to the world, to the rest of the people in the world and the environment. For this is God's purpose from the beginning that man would express God and reign over His creation. (Gen. 1:26,27)
@sonship said
Since creation will not be freed from its vanity and corruption without the manifestation of the sons of God, the emergence of one new man is critically important. That is very important.
Synonyms for critical
acute, burning, clamant, compelling, crying, dire, emergent, exigent, imperative, imperious, importunate, instant, necessitous, pressing, urgent
Words Related to critical
demanding, extreme, immediate, insistent, intense, overriding
crucial, desperate, grave, life-and-death (also life-or-death), serious, severe, vital
@sonship saidThe human race is a "very important" race compared to what race?
Since creation will not be freed from its vanity and corruption without the manifestation of the sons of God, the emergence of one new man is critically important. That is very important.
"very important" race.
As is often the case the Bible conveys critical matters in signs. A picture is worth a thousand words.
Perhaps the strongest sign of the emergence of the one new man in Revelation 12. This birth of manchild as a vital entity to the world is about the the emergence of the critical race of the one new man.
All the symbols require interpretation. But I hone in on the verses which show the "very important" and critical nature and mission of this symbolic manchild.
@sonship saidSo, one can replace the word "critical" in the expression "critical race" with any of the words on that list and THAT is what you mean, yes?Synonyms for critical
acute, burning, clamant, compelling, crying, dire, emergent, exigent, imperative, imperious, importunate, instant, necessitous, pressing, urgent
Words Related to critical
demanding, extreme, immediate, insistent, intense, overriding
crucial, desperate, grave, life-and-death (also life-or-death), serious, severe, vital
So "critical race" means "grave race" and "urgent race" and "overriding race"?
"And another sign was seen in heaven; and behold, there was a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and on his heads seven diadems.
And his tail drags away the third part of the stars of heaven, and he cast them to the earth.
And the dragon stood before the woman who was ABOUT TO BRING FORTH, so that when she brings forth he might devour her child . . . " (Rev. 12:3,4) [my capitals]
Without speaking to detail yet we can see a dragon standing before a woman ready and eager to PREVENT a child from being brought forth from her. That is to be born. It is very important that the child be born for the woman and the world and God. And it is a matter of life and death that the dragon STOP this from happening.
Little further . . .
"And she brought forth a son, a manchild, who is to shepherd all the nations with an iron rod; and her child was caught up to God and to His throne." (v.5)
The manchild brought forth regardless. This is the critical race of the overcomers having been finally brought forth from the whole body of God's believers on the earth throughout the earth's history. And up to God and His throne in heaven he is raptured. He will come down again with Christ to reign over the earth with strong supernatural reigning power. This will be a great benefit to all the nations.