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Man-ofGod
Giving glory to the most high.
It seems to me that the Bible defines Gentiles as a people that did not walk in the Lords statutes or do not know God.
Ezekiel 11:12
And you shall know that I am the LORD; for you have not walked in My statutes nor executed My judgments, but have done according to the customs of the Gentiles which are all around you.
Jeremiah 10:2
Thus says the LORD: Do not learn the way of the Gentiles; Do not be dismayed at the signs of heaven, For the Gentiles are dismayed at them.
Galatians 2:15
We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles,
Ephesians 4:17
This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind,
1 Thessalonians 4:5
not in passion of lust, like the Gentiles who do not know God;
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SoldierOfTheKing
Christian Spenglerian
- Jan 6, 2006
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Strong's Concordance listing for the Hebrew "gowy":
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H1471
and the Greek "ethnos"
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G1484
"Gentiles" essentially means nations, usually by implication foreign nations.
"I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;" Isaiah 42:6, King James Version.
"I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,"
Isaiah 42:6, English Standard Version
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=H1471
and the Greek "ethnos"
http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/lexicon/lexicon.cfm?strongs=G1484
"Gentiles" essentially means nations, usually by implication foreign nations.
"I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles;" Isaiah 42:6, King James Version.
"I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand and keep you;
I will give you as a covenant for the people,
a light for the nations,"
Isaiah 42:6, English Standard Version
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Byfaithalone1
The gospel is Jesus Christ!
Do you mean "a people who do not keep the passover, do not offer animal sacrifices, are not circumcised physically and do not observe the annual sabbaths?"
Or do you mean "a people who do not keep the ten commandments plus the tithing and dietary laws?"
Or both?
Or neither?
BFA
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ricker
Regular Member
It also seems Gentiles can be Christians.
Acts 10: . 45And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
Acts 11: And they glorified God, saying, "Then to the Gentiles also God has granted repentance that leads to life."
Acts 13: 47 For so the Lord has commanded us, saying,
"'I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.'"
Acts 14: ...spoke in such a way that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed. 2 But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
Romans 15:
.... so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
Romans 16:
4who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well.
From these and many more verses it is obvious the word Gentile can also be speaking of Christian believers that are not from the Israeite background. Notice it never says "make Jews/ Israelites of the Gentiles".
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Byfaithalone1
The gospel is Jesus Christ!
Gosh, you seem to know me so well. Have we met?
It was a relevant question. I wonder whether we'll see an answer to it.
BFA
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RND
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Gosh, you seem to know me so well. Have we met?
It was a relevant question. I wonder whether we'll see an answer to it.
BFA
I've played "ring around the rosy" with you before. I'd rather smash my head with a hammer for several hours than continue to go in circles with you.
Maybe someone else would want to dance in circles with you. Any takers?
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Man-ofGod
Giving glory to the most high.
I was not taking up a definitive point of view but was merely making an observation based on the scripture quotes above. Hence the word "seems" in my analysis. Maybe this dialogue will be productive and open up a new understanding to how the word gentile applies after being "grafted" in to the vine.
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Man-ofGod
Giving glory to the most high.
I've played "ring around the rosy" with you before. I'd rather smash my head with a hammer for several hours than continue to go in circles with you.
Maybe someone else would want to dance in circles with you. Any takers?
duly noted, will proceed with caution.
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Man-ofGod
Giving glory to the most high.
I agree, that in the physical sense (that is not being born of the physical blood line of Israel), gentiles can be Christians. But in the spiritual sense, there seems to be no difference between Jews or Gentiles for those who accept Christ.
Romans 2:28-29
"28 For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh; 29 but he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the Spirit, not in the letter; whose praise is not from men but from God."
Galatians 3:28
There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
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T
TrustAndObey
Guest
I'm not feeling that answer.
Jew also refers to someone from Judah/Judea, so a gentile could very well be a Jew by citizenship.
MoG said:
Do you think that could be referring to geography?
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Byfaithalone1
The gospel is Jesus Christ!
Gotcha. Thanks for the clarification. I do the same thing myself--exploring an idea a bit to see how it pans out.
Makes sense.
That is an interesting topic to consider. Romans 11 includes some fascinating symbolism. Do you sense that there is a difference between the natural and the wild branches?
BFA
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Man-ofGod
Giving glory to the most high.
Yes, in the physical sense. Wild olive branches, symbolism for the gentiles (not of the blood) and the natural branches (representing the bloodline). However, in the spiritual sense, there is no difference between the two for they are both part of the same root.
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Byfaithalone1
The gospel is Jesus Christ!
What does the root symbolize? Some assert that it is Israel (or "spiritual Israel" or "the commonwealth of Israel"). Some assert that it is Jesus Christ. What do you think?
BFA
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T
TrustAndObey
Guest
I'm not sure what you mean by other ideas. Other examples?
If that's what you mean, then yes. Consider that Paul said "I am a Jew".
Paul was a Benjamite within the children of Israel so we know he wasn't a Jew by blood, right?
He was a Jew because he was brought up in Judah.
Also consider that even though there are verses that say there is neither Jew nor Greek, there are certain things that get to the Jew "first". That's because geographically that's how it happened. Certain things were discussed in Jerusalem before anywhere else...and we truly are all ONE in Christ Jesus.
I believe those verses show that God is not a respecter of persons and it doesn't matter where a person came from or was raised.
Did that make sense?
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