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how do other biblical texts speak to the relationship between unity in faith and social roles?

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

Galatians 3:28

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

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Christian communities in Galatia (modern-day Turkey) around the mid-1st century CE. He was addressing a challenge to his teaching that salvation comes through faith in Jesus, not through adhering to Jewish law. This verse comes at the end of a section where Paul argues that all who believe are 'children of God through faith.'

What aspects of our identity or social standing do we find most challenging to set aside in pursuit of unity?

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

  • Colossians 3:11

    This passage echoes Galatians, expanding the list of social distinctions rendered irrelevant 'in Christ.'

  • 1 Corinthians 12:13

    Paul uses the metaphor of one body to emphasize how different people, despite their backgrounds, are united by one Spirit.

  • Deuteronomy 15:1-11

    This Old Testament law on the release of slaves and care for the poor shows an early concern for leveling social inequalities within the Israelite community.

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