Remembering Who We Were to Know Who We Are
Therefore remember that once you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “uncircumcision” by that which is called “circumcision”, (in the flesh, made by hands);
Paul asks the Ephesian believers to pause and remember. Before they knew Christ, they were on the outside looking in, labeled by others as not belonging, defined by a category they didn't choose and couldn't change. That label, "uncircumcision," wasn't just a physical description. It was a line drawn by human hands to separate who was in from who was out.
It's worth noticing how much of our sense of belonging still gets shaped this way. We get sorted by background, culture, generation, or opinion, and over time those labels can start to feel like the whole truth about us. The categories people assign, or the ones we assign to others, can quietly become walls we don't even realize we're building.
This is part of what Dr. Tony Evans and Pastor Ikki Soma explore in their conversation on The Unbound Podcast. Ikki's own story, growing up between cultures and never quite fitting one box, mirrors something many believers feel: the tension of belonging without losing your God-given identity. Their discussion points to a hopeful truth, that kingdom unity was never meant to erase our differences, but to place something greater at the center, so that the lines that once divided us no longer get the final word.
Remembering where we came from isn't meant to shame us. It's meant to help us see clearly what Christ has done, and to loosen our grip on the labels we once let define us. When our identity in Him becomes primary, the old dividing lines start to lose their power to separate us from each other.
If this stirs something in you, take time to listen to the full conversation, "Ikki Soma | Choose Unity in a Divided World | The Unbound Podcast," for a deeper look at how kingdom unity can reshape the way we see ourselves and each other.
Read the source: Tony Evans →