This Is the Way: A 30-Day Journey Through the Book of ActsSample

Our Forgotten Identity

By David Blease

“And God, who knows the heart, testified to them by giving them the Ruach ha-Kodesh [Holy Spirit]—just as He also did for us. He made no distinction between us and them [Jew and Gentile], purifying their hearts through faith.” —Acts 15:8-9 (TLV)

The book of Acts is a pivotal key to understanding the foundation of the Church. Now that we’re halfway through this devotional, we may have some educated guesses to answer the question: what exactly is “the Church”? Common answers we might include are “the body of Christ,” “the bride of Christ,” or “the gathering of God’s people.” These are all correct, but an essential aspect often overlooked is the biblical identities of Jews and Gentiles through Jesus, which is central to the Church in the book of Acts and the Church today.

To fully grasp this, we must examine the biblical context from Genesis to Acts 15. In the Old Testament, God primarily identifies Himself as “the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob” (Exodus 3:15 TLV) or “the God of Israel” (Isaiah 45:3 TLV). He made a covenant with one specific family—Israel. To be part of this covenant, you had to either be born into Israel’s covenant or convert into it by following the Torah, including practices like circumcision and dietary restrictions. While a few Gentiles, including Rahab and Ruth, converted into this covenant, these instances were rare.

Many modern Christians may find this exclusivity hard to understand, but God’s plan always included widening His family to include all families, as hinted to Abraham in Genesis 12. But for millennia, God largely remained exclusively the God of Israel.

Today, we take it for granted that anyone can be adopted into the family of God through faith in Jesus, but this was a revolutionary concept for the first-century Jewish followers of Jesus. Even Peter struggled with this idea when he saw Gentiles filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 10 without converting to Judaism.

To understand Peter’s confusion, consider his worldview. For thousands of years, God was the exclusive God of Israel, while other nations worshiped pagan gods. Occasionally, a Gentile would acknowledge the God of Israel, but this didn’t make him part of God’s covenant family. At most, these individuals were called “God-fearers”—people who respected the God of Israel without fully converting (such as Naaman in 2 Kings 5).

In Acts 10, everything changed. God poured out His Holy Spirit on Gentiles without requiring them first to become Jews. This was shocking to Peter and the early Jewish believers! Speaking in tongues was not a charismatic thing, it was a Jewish thing. So when Gentiles received the gift of speaking in tongues, it was a clear sign God was accepting them as they were—no conversion to Judaism was required. Peter later emphasized this in today’s verse, admitting he had been unprepared for such a revelation because it went against everything he’d understood about being God’s chosen people.

This issue reached a boiling point at the Council of Jerusalem, where some Jewish believers insisted that Gentiles must be circumcised and obey the Torah. The central question was simple: “Do Gentiles have to become Jewish to join the family of God?” The answer was a resounding “No!” Gentiles, through their faith in Jesus, were adopted into God’s family without having to adopt a Jewish identity. Paul later emphasizes that Gentiles are adopted into God’s family by faith alone (see Galatians 4).

The Council’s decision brought great celebration to the Gentiles. (If I were alive during that time and heard I didn’t have to be circumcised as an adult, I’d celebrate too!)

Just as Gentiles didn’t have to become Jewish to become part of God’s family, it’s also critically implied in Acts 15 that Jews didn’t have to stop being Jewish to truly follow Jesus. This has been misunderstood for centuries, leading Gentile Christians throughout history to force Jews to renounce their Jewish identities to follow Jesus. But the early Church—the first group of Christians—was entirely Jewish, including Jesus Himself.

Jew and Gentile are distinct identities, like male and female. When God brings male and female together in a covenant, the Bible says they become one (see Genesis 2:24). That covenant is called “marriage.” No one argues that “becoming one” in the sense of marriage erases the male and female identities. Individuals in marriage remain male and female but walk in covenant together and are unified. In the same way, God brings Jews and Gentiles together in covenant through Jesus, and they become one (see Ephesians 2:14.)

Jew and Gentile are distinct identities, like male and female. When God brings male and female together in a covenant, the Bible says they become tells us there is no longer Jew or Gentile in Christ Jesus, but it also says there is no longer male and female in Christ Jesus. Is the Bible telling us that when we get saved, we no longer have a gender identity?Or is it telling us that God is not erasing a distinction, He’s breaking down a barrier?

There is still Jew and Gentile, there is still male and female, but through Jesus, there is no longer partiality and all have access to God. This truth is essential for the Church today. When we lose sight of the unique identities God has given us—whether male and female or Jew and Gentile—the Church suffers. Only by reclaiming and honoring these distinctions can we fully walk in God’s calling for us, united under Jesus but unique in our identities. The Church is meant to reflect this beautiful partnership between Jews and Gentiles, just as marriage reflects the partnership between male and female. In both cases, unity does not erase identity; it enhances it, making the Church a fuller expression of God’s diverse family.

I’m reminded that in Ephesians 5, the Bible tells husbands to love their wives and for wives to honor their husbands. Notice their focus is on one another, not themselves. I wonder what the Church would look like if we as Gentiles took a moment to pray for Israel and the Jewish people as our brothers and sisters—as our covenant partners (see Psalm 122:6–9). When we celebrate our God-given identities—whether Jew or Gentile, male or female—we celebrate the foundation of the Church in her truest sense.

Prayer

Father, thank You for creating us with unique identities. Help us fully understand the Church as a united body of both Jews and Gentiles through faith in Jesus. We pray blessing over the Jewish people and peace over Jerusalem. May Your Spirit guide us as we, the Church, learn to walk together in unity, reflecting Your love and purpose to the world. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Activation

• For an extensive dive into this area of study, read the article from Dr. David Rudolf, the director of the Messianic Jewish Studies program at The King’s University, atcenterforisrael.com/papers/one-law-theology.
• Pray for Israel daily. It doesn’t have to be complex, but daily prayer for Israel is powerful. It’s also a constant reminder to be concerned for and pray for the Jewish people.
• Pray during Jewish holidays throughout the year (Rosh Hashanah, Yom Kippur, Passover, etc.). These are specific days when Jewish people present themselves before the Lord, and they’re excellent reminders to pray for God’s love to fill their hearts.

For Further Study

Acts 15; Romans 8:15; Romans 11:11–26; Ephesians 2:6; Ephesians 3:2–6

Holy Spirit, what are you saying to me?