First Baptist Church, Stillwater – Newsletter for the week of Sept. 7, 2025
“Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” – Colossians 3:11 (NIV).
Categories serve a specific purpose. Organizationally it can be so helpful to have different items categorized in order to have things divvied up in ways that make sense. We use categories all the time: areas of study are categorized into “What’s your major?” Vehicles are categorized into categories! Sedans, SUVs, Vans, Pickups are then categorized into size: subcompact, compact, midsize, and full-size. Generations are categorized into: Boomer, Gen X, Millennial, Gen Z, and lately Gen Alpha. Yet, in the helpful organizational practice of categorizing there can lurk a more sinister thought: it’s my category versus the other.
In the history of the world, we see this. The Egyptians believed they were superior to the Hebrews and so enslaved them. The Greeks believed they were superior to the tribes and cultures of the Mediterranean and so conquered them. Rome believed they were better than everyone, and so conquered them! Even the Hebrews would come to believe that they were superior to the Gentiles, and so would exclude them from worshipping the Lord.
We see this thought continue today. In America’s history there is a legacy of White Americans versus those whose lineages came from Africa, or Central or South America. Some of those thoughts continue to persist in our thinking toward people of different socio-economic class, or citizenship status. “It’s me versus them. And I’m going to win.”
What Paul has for the Colossians facing similar thoughts regarding “who’s in and who’s out,” is the concept that Christ is in, and everyone who believes in Him is kept in Him. The “Colossian Heresy” was an odd mix of beliefs that combined gnosticism (the belief that Jesus’ death and resurrection was only spiritual), and Hebrew nationalistic tendencies which believed that in order to be saved, you had to be born Hebrew and/or follow the traditions that were made up far after Moses gave the law. Understanding this makes the statement from Paul even more impactful: “there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all.” In Christ, the categories that once divided people are now neatly packaged into only one category: Christ is all, and in all.
When we believe in the Lord Jesus, we find that our first and foundational identity is Him. We are united with Him, and so are united with other believers no matter who they are, what they’ve done, or what their background is. Why? Christ is all, and in all. While our culture pushes forward the narrative of “Us vs. Them, and we have to win!” Christian cultures says: “Christ won. Invite them into His victory.” May it be so with us.
May the LORD bless us and keep us.
Matt
Announcements and Other Thoughts:
BUILD NIGHTS – Lastly, mark your calendars for the first ever BUILD NIGHT at FBC. The purpose of Build Nights is to honor the foundation and legacy of FBC by seeking God’s future for FBC together. These sessions will be designed to help us begin charting a way forward for our church as we seek to be the church God wants us to be. Our first Build Night will be Sunday, Oct. 5. at 4:30pm and will last approximately 1 hour. The reason for this time is to leave a chance for those rehearsing for the choir or Christmas program to participate. We intend to serve a meal, if you’d like to contribute a dish, please sign up here: https://forms.gle/xfHPQeZzbjmZd9Td6
