There are no 2nd Class Citizens...

...or associate members in the Commonwealth of Israel. Only equals. One commonwealth. One people. One law. Jew and Gentile - ONE in Yeshua.

There are those in the body of Yeshua that would seek to make a distinction between the two "Half Shekels", but just as the Salt Covenant makes it impossible to distinguish between the two, so do we.  The need to make a distinction between the two and to relentlessly seek to reinforce the pre-eminence of one over the other is rooted in fear - the Fear of Assimilation.

Historically, there are two main ways the world has tried to eliminate the Jews:

1. Physical Annihilation - Holocost, terror, shelling etc

2. Identity - through Assimilation. 

In the case of people attempting to create a 2nd class of citizenry in the Commonwealth of Israel, the motivating factor is fear of assimilation.

Jews are not a race (a lie created and perpetrated by Josef Goebbels of the Nazi SS.) Judaism is not a religion (a compromise agreed to by the Jewish leaders in response to Spain’s nationalization in the early 12th century) Jews, or more accurately "Hebrews", are a people group. A group chosen and called out by God to be His people. Their identity resides in remaining distinct and identifiable. If they are absorbed, or "Assimilated" into another society, they cease to exist. The fear of this assimilation is the root of the distinction made by some groups as a futile and fleshly attempt to maintain their identity. God knows exactly who we are.

As more and more people are drawn to Oneness in the Commonwealth of Israel that
God demonstrated as His heart in Gen 12:3, we immediately see that there are many more Gentiles than there are Jews! In the process of coming together and uniting as one presents a serious potential for the culture of the Gentiles to overwhelm the Jews. The identity of the Jews could easily be lost and assimilation complete.

Not so with the One New Man. Just as God made man and woman as equals, so He also made Jews and Gentiles One in Yeshua. Yes, it is to the Jew first and then to the Gentile (Rom 1:16), just as He made the man head of the woman. But, that doesn't mean the man is the dictatorial ruler over the woman any more than the Jews are in charge over the "2nd class Gentiles." Nothing could be further from the truth.

Headship simply means, "first among equals." - the one held primarily responsible by
God for the well-being, guidance and growth of the other. An awesome responsibility with no additional benefits or power. Spiritual authority is about position - NOT control.

This is why there are no 2nd class citizens in the Commonwealth of Israel - The One New Man. And… there are no 2nd class citizens or associate members in Congregation Beth Tefillah.