<p>2:19 <i>So then you are no longer strangers and pilgrims, but you are fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God-</i> We who were &quot;strangers&quot; have been accepted; and this in practice should motivate us to accept &quot;strangers&quot; (Mt. 25:35,38 s.w.). The Lord's crucifixion led to &quot;strangers&quot; being able to be buried within Jerusalem (Mt. 27:7 s.w.). In a sense we are &quot;strangers and pilgrims&quot; to the surrounding world (Heb. 11:13). But not to God. In first century society, there was a strong sense of identity based upon geographical origin. To sacrifice this for the sake of an abstract association with the citizenship of God's people, &quot;Israel&quot; (:12), was no small thing. And it is no less radical for us- to exchange our sense of identity and social security for association with the still immature community of &quot;Israel&quot;. Paul again urges them to see their connection with God as a connection also with His family.</p><p>The Romans allowed the existence of the autonomous <i>politaea</i>, the city-state, so long as within its religion it featured the worship of the Emperor. And yet the NT writers speak of the ecclesia as a city which is independent, defiantly devoted to the worship of the one and only true God (Eph. 2:19; 3:20; Heb. 12:22; 13:14; Rev. 21). The writers must have nervously penned those inspired words, knowing the problems it would create. The Spirit of God could have chosen not to so directly challenge this world; and yet there is a chasmic difference between the community of God and the surrounding world, which the New Testament unashamedly triumphs in. The whole basis of this radical separation is the fact that Christ died for us. He died to unite us who believe in what the NT terms &ldquo;<i>the</i> unity&rdquo;, without seeking to further define it (Jn. 11:52; 17:23; Eph. 1:10; 2:14; 4:3). We were reconciled to each other as well as to God &ldquo;in one body by the cross&rdquo; (Eph. 2:16). His death unites us in that standing before His cross, all our pettiness disappears, and we are impressed again with the reality that if He so laid down His life for us, so we must lay down our lives for the brethren (1 Jn. 3:16). It really and truly is a case of one for all, and all for one.</p>