You asked

how do other new testament writers describe the inclusion of gentiles without a 'wall of partition'?

Adds the setting and its conversation across both testaments.

Galatians 3:28

“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is no male and female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The Apostle Paul wrote this letter to Christian communities in Galatia, likely in the mid-1st century CE. He was addressing challenges to his teaching, particularly from those who insisted Gentile converts needed to follow Jewish law, like circumcision, to be truly part of God's people. This verse is a powerful summary of his argument for radical inclusivity.

What old divides in our world might this passage call into question, and how might being 'one in Christ Jesus' challenge us to rethink them?

Then — the setting

Paul's letter to the Galatians was written around 50-55 CE, making it one of his earliest epistles. The audience was primarily Gentile Christians in Roman provinces of Galatia (modern-day Turkey). The controversy stemmed from 'Judaizers,' Jewish Christians who insisted that Gentile converts needed to be circumcised and observe the Mosaic Law to be fully accepted into God's covenant. This verse directly challenges the deeply ingrained social, religious, and gender hierarchies of the Greco-Roman world and ancient Judaism, declaring them irrelevant in the new community formed by faith in Christ.

Across the Testaments

This passage, from the New Testament, describes a radical inclusion that redefines the boundaries of God's people. In the Old Testament, the covenant with Abraham (Genesis 12) and the Law given at Sinai (Exodus 19-20) established Israel as a distinct people, often with clear markers (like circumcision, dietary laws, and specific genealogies) that distinguished them from 'Gentiles' or 'nations.' While Old Testament prophets sometimes envisioned a future where Gentiles would be drawn to Jerusalem and worship God (e.g., Isaiah 2:2-4, Zechariah 8:20-23), Paul's declaration here goes further, asserting that in Christ, these distinctions are fundamentally overcome, creating a new, unified identity that transcends former divisions without requiring Gentiles to become Jews first. It is a new way for God's blessing to reach all nations, fulfilling the Abrahamic promise in an unexpected way.

Keep thinking

Read alongside it

Ephesians 2:14
Paul speaks of Jesus breaking down the dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile.
Colossians 3:11
This passage similarly declares that in the new humanity, there is no Jew or Greek, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, or free.

Ask your own follow-up