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what was the social standing of a 'slave' in galatia, and how did this compare to 'free'?

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.

Paul is writing to the early Christian communities in the Roman province of Galatia (modern-day Turkey), likely in the mid-1st century CE. He's addressing a controversy about whether Gentile (non-Jewish) believers needed to follow Jewish law, like circumcision, to be part of God's people. This verse comes at the end of an argument about how all believers are now united through faith in Jesus.

What systems or divisions in our world still prevent people from seeing each other as 'one'?

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Read alongside it

  • Colossians 3:11

    Echoes the theme of new identity in Christ transcending social and ethnic divisions.

  • Philemon 1:15-16

    Shows an example of a runaway slave being reconciled and treated as a 'beloved brother' by a master.

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