Experiencing Feeling Like an Outsider in Christian Community
The feeling of being an outsider in Christian community is a complex and multifaceted experience that has biblical roots. The apostle Paul describes Gentiles as being "separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12) [1]. This sense of alienation is not limited to those outside the faith; even within the community of believers, individuals can feel like outsiders.
In the Psalms, David laments, "I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children" (Psalms 69:8) [2]. This sentiment is echoed in the experiences of many Christians throughout history who have felt marginalized or excluded within their own communities of faith. According to John Gill, unregenerate individuals are "strangers to God; to the true knowledge of him in Christ; to the fear and love of God; to the true grace of God in conversion; and to communion with him" [3].
The Bible also speaks to the experience of being an outsider in the context of community. In Colossians, believers are exhorted to "walk in wisdom toward outsiders" (Colossians 4:5) [4]. This instruction implies a distinction between those within the community and those outside it. The early Christian community understood this distinction, as seen in 1 Corinthians where the apostle Paul expresses shame that Christians are taking their conflicts to secular courts, indicating a failure to resolve issues within the community (1 Corinthians 6:4-6) [5].
The experience of feeling like an outsider can be related to one's spiritual state or social context. Adam Clarke notes that Gentiles were "without Christ" and "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel," highlighting their exclusion from the religious and civil privileges of the Jewish people [6]. This understanding is reinforced by the Tyndale House commentary on Matthew 21:43, which suggests that the privilege of being God's chosen nation was taken away from the Jews and given to the Christian community, a new nation that would produce the proper fruit of the Kingdom [7].
The feeling of being an outsider in Christian community is a recurring theme throughout biblical history and continues to be relevant today. It can stem from various factors, including one's spiritual state, social context, or experiences of exclusion. Understanding this concept requires examining the biblical language and imagery associated with being an outsider, as well as the historical and cultural contexts in which these experiences occur. The biblical narrative acknowledges the complexities of community and the various ways individuals can feel like outsiders, whether within or outside the faith.
Sources
- Ephesians “that you were at that time separate from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. -- Ephesians 2:12”
- Psalms “Psalms 69:8 (Webster) — I am become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children.”
- Ezekiel (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Ezekiel 44:7: In that ye have brought into my sanctuary strangers,.... Unregenerate men, who are in a state of alienation and estrangement to divine and spiritual things: strangers to God; to the true knowledge of him in Christ; to the fear and love of God; to the true grace of God in conversion; and to communion with him: strangers to Christ, to his person and offices; to the way of peace, life, and salvation by him; to his righteousness; to faith in him, love of him, and fellowship with him: strangers to the Spirit; to his person, to regeneration and sanctification by him; to th”
- Colossians (Baptist/Reformed) “John Gill on Colossians 4:5: Walk in wisdom,.... Or wisely, circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise men; See Gill on Eph 5:15. Towards them that are without; so the Jews used to call the Gentiles, all that were out of their own land, that were not of their nation or religion, who were aliens from them, and strangers to their privileges; and sometimes the unbelieving. Jews bear the same character, see Mar 4:11. Here it may design such who were not members of this church; so the distinction of those that are without, and such as are within, is used by the apostle in Co1 5:12. A church is an h”
- 1 Corinthians (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on 1 Corinthians 6:4: 6:4-6 I am saying this to shame you: It is a scandal for Christians to have to resolve their conflicts in secular courts, as if there were no one in the church sufficiently capable of resolving them.”
- Ephesians (Methodist/Wesleyan) “Adam Clarke on Ephesians 2:12: That at that time ye were without Christ - Not only were not Christians, but had no knowledge of the Christ or Messiah, and no title to the blessings which were to proceed from him. Aliens from the commonwealth of Israel - Ye were by your birth, idolatry, etc., alienated from the commonwealth of Israel - from the civil and religious privileges of the Jewish people. Strangers from the covenants of promise - Having no part in the promise of the covenant made with Abraham, whether considered as relating to his natural or spiritual seed; and no part in that of the co”
- Matthew (Protestant academic) “Tyndale House on Matthew 21:43: 21:43 taken away from you: Either the privilege of being God’s chosen nation no longer belonged to the Jews, or the religious leaders had lost the privilege of being leaders of God’s people (see Rom 9–11). • The Christian community is a nation that will produce the proper fruit—that is, a life of trust and obedience that demonstrates the inauguration of the Kingdom (see Matt 3:8; 7:15-20; 12:33; 13:8, 26).”