Louis Carruthers discusses how God is glorified through diversity in the local church
We live in an incredibly patriotic and proud society. We only have to watch the news or browse social media (and search within our own hearts) to see the extent to which allegiance to class, political parties, countries and race are celebrated and promoted.
As much as it is good to see cultures celebrated and awareness raised of negligence to others, that patriotism and pride is and has been dangerous. Oftentimes – and as seen throughout history through events such as wars and genocide – cultures are pitted against each other, leaving many people isolated and left with no option but to retreat to the presence of those they’re comfortable with. However, God’s intention, displayed through the body and bride of Christ, represents the different reality we should all be striving for.
Where we gravitate to
I’ve been convicted about my own efforts to strive for diversity over the past year, having joined a new church and a started a new job. For a long time, I was uncomfortable with the idea of making the effort to get to know people from other ethnic groups. This was particularly evident during my time at university, where I assumed that any other black guy who fitted my description of ‘cool’ was going to be my friend by default and he didn’t really have a choice in the matter. Subconsciously, I was hostile to cultural diversity in my own life. Naturally, we tend to gravitate towards people who are just like us in many respects, for fear of being uncomfortable or, worse, looked at differently.
However, as comfortable as we may be in our own circles, as Christians we cannot expect to live in a bubble of seclusion, showing favour to those we admire or who are like us to some degree, excluding everyone else in the process. In doing so, we run the risk of missing out on the many opportunities diverse relationships can bring. What’s worse, we are in danger of stifling the spread of the gospel among the nations for Christ’s sake (Romans 1:5) as we show favouritism towards some whereas ‘God shows no partiality’ (Romans 2:11).
When considering what God thinks about anyone remotely hostile to the idea of ethnic or cultural diversity and integration, two Old Testament narratives come to mind:
• God turned Miriam ‘as white as snow’ and temporarily excluded her from His camp for seven days for ridiculing Moses because he had married a black woman (Numbers 12:9-15).
• God watched as the people of Shinar set about building a city with the purpose of staying there and maintaining a one-world order with a tower ‘as high as the heavens’ (Genesis 11:4) so that they may make a name for themselves and dwell alone in seclusion. He responded by scattering them all over the Earth, confusing their languages in the process (Genesis 11:8-9) and bringing about diversity, the complete opposite of what the people of Shinar had planned.
These examples show just how much God loves diversity. He is an impartial God and made all people in His own image from various backgrounds. So to neglect the concept of diversity is to oppose God’s plan for the nations.
New Testament diversity
We also see this made clear in the New Testament. For example, Paul’s letter to the Ephesians drove a stake through cultural and religious hostility – and it ought to be doing the same in our hearts today. As a Jew himself, Paul writes to Gentile believers and makes clear that God has given the same spiritual blessings to Jewish believers as He’s given to Gentile believers. He then goes on to outline additional key truths regarding every believer’s new, unified identity in Christ.
• God put all things under His feet and gave Christ as head over all things to the church (Ephesians 1:22).
• Jesus broke the wall of hostility between Jews and Gentiles by His death on the Cross, giving both access to God the Father through himself (Ephesians 2:14-18).
• All who believe in Christ are ‘fellow citizens’ and ‘members of His household’, being built into a dwelling place for God (Ephesians 2:19-22).
Though the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus and He was without sin, He willingly went to the Cross having dwelt among a rebellious, broken people for the Father’s glory. When He cried out His last breath and died, the temple veil was torn in two and the greatest chasm of hostility was dealt with – one that existed between God and man. If that wall of hostility was broken, then the gospel ought to destroy any barriers we face in forging relationships with those of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds. As well as having a common faith, believers in Christ also have a common eternal place – a dwelling place for God and a future dwelling place with God. Therefore, we should look at believers with completely different cultural ideals as brothers or sisters in Christ before anything else.
The main thing
With that being said, cultural diversity is not the end goal, Christ is. Cultural diversity and integration is not the measure of the maturity Paul speaks of in Ephesians 4:13, because a diverse church, for example, can be full of people not growing in the Lord, instead being tossed back and forth by deceitful teaching. This is also not a call to give up any sense of pride for where you come from or to throw away your cultural ideals. God intentionally made us different in order to display His glory, and this is tied up in those who embrace their culture as well as treasuring God’s wisdom in others (Isaiah 43:7). At the same time, we must ensure our embracing of our culture is not a stumbling block to God’s plan, as Heaven will be universal. Diversity, therefore, is a means whereby God’s glory in the gospel of Christ is proclaimed and displayed in a hostile world. As sojourners in a foreign land, we look forward to an eternal dwelling place. It reflects the reality of the incoming new creation, where every follower of Christ will reside regardless of their background.
Foiling the devil’s work
The devil seeks to kill, steal and destroy (John 10:10). To stop the spread of the gospel, he’s more than happy to let our comfort zones be the stumbling block to any opportunity for healthy relationships in the church and in society in general, as opposed to seeking to engage culture without being swayed by it. He’s delighted when we show partiality based on cultural ideals and isolate those we can’t immediately relate to.
We should therefore be proactive, identifying areas in our local churches and elsewhere in our lives where we can incorporate and pursue multi-ethnic/cultural relationships to the glory of God. We should be striving earnestly for unity in every way, so that the whole body of Christ grows up in every way to Him who is the head (Ephesians 4:13). Through this diverse, unified body, the wisdom of God may be made known to Satan, rulers and authorities in the spiritual realm (Ephesians 3:10), and to those around us on Earth.
Christians are unified ultimately in Christ and one day, we will be perfectly unified with no cultural barriers and without blemish: ‘After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb…’ (Revelation 7:9). I look forward to that day.
This is God’s vision for when Christ returns. In the meantime, may any wall of hostility that may be dwelling in our own hearts be broken. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
