One New Man

 Eph. 4:15 "Instead, being sincere in love, we are to grow into a mature union in all respects

 with  the head, the Messiah, 16 from whom the whole body, being joined and held

 together by

 every supporting ligament, brings about for its own good, as each part does what it is

 supposed to do, the body’s growth, so that it builds itself up in love."

Israel received their calling to be a priestly people who would be a blessing to the nations

 by displaying His sacrificial love and compassion.  It was too costly, they became inward

 focused and ultimately lost all focus.

Messiah's community continued Israel's story as a gathering that would follow the Lamb

 wherever He went, proclaiming the coming Kingdom and being a sacrificially loving

 community that would make God known BY THEIR LOVE.  Over time it became

 organized and verbal and creed-oriented, and the life slowly leaked out.  It became

 inward focused and ultimately lost all focus.

God preserves a remnant, "one new man".  They are marked by humility and a love of the

 truth.  They are sacrificially loving.  They confess their faults to one another.  They stay

 on the wheel of God's sanctifying Holy influence.  They fall and rise again knowing that

 only by relying on the exchanged life, the Messiah in me can this good news go forth in

 this evil age.

"If we don't all come, we don't come at all."  Art Katz Part 1 "Speaking the Truth" message