thinking bible.

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how do other biblical texts address or reinforce distinctions between people, and how do they compare?

The passage, plainly, with room to sit with it.

Galatians 3:28

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

The Apostle Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia, likely in the mid-first century CE. He is addressing a challenge to his teaching that salvation comes through faith in Jesus, not through adherence to Jewish law, including practices like circumcision. This verse appears as Paul explains the implications of baptism into Christ, asserting that traditional social and religious distinctions no longer define believers' identity or standing before God.

What common divisions in our world today are challenged when we consider a shared identity or purpose?

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Read alongside it

  • Colossians 3:11

    Echoes Galatians by stating that in the new self, there is no 'Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, bondservant, freeman.'

  • 1 Corinthians 12:13

    Emphasizes unity in the Spirit, stating that 'we were all baptized into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, whether bond or free.'

  • Romans 10:12

    Affirms that 'there is no distinction between Jew and Greek' regarding salvation, as 'the same Lord is Lord of all.'

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