thinking bible.

You asked

how does this idea of unity in christ relate to or diverge from old testament ideas of covenant identity?

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

Galatians 3:26-28

For you are all children of God through faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 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.

Paul is writing to the churches in Galatia, likely in the mid-1st century CE. He's addressing a controversy about whether Gentile (non-Jewish) believers need to follow Jewish law, specifically circumcision, to be part of God's people. This passage emphasizes that identity in Christ transcends traditional social and ethnic divisions.

What divisions in our current society might this passage challenge us to rethink or overcome?

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Read alongside it

  • Deuteronomy 7:6

    This passage describes Israel's unique status as a chosen people under the Old Covenant.

  • Ephesians 2:14-16

    Paul further elaborates on how Christ breaks down barriers between groups, specifically Jew and Gentile.

  • Colossians 3:11

    Another statement by Paul emphasizing that traditional distinctions are irrelevant in Christ.

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