Galatians 3:26-28
Who Is Jesus? (Series)
Galatians 3:26-28
So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 4:3)
In Christ, there is no division based on ethnicity, social status, or gender.
Deuteronomy 10:18-19
He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner residing among you, giving them food and clothing. 19And you are to love those who are foreigners, for you yourselves were foreigners in Egypt.
Matthew 25:35
For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.
The key connection between these two verses is that God who welcomed us when we were strangers, calls us to welcome those who are strangers now.
Philemon 1:15-17
Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever— 16 no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord. 17So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.
Paul suggests that Onesimus’s separation may have happened so that Philemon could receive him back permanently. Not as a servant but as a beloved brother.
Paul was asking Philemon to treat Onesimus as he would treat Paul himself. In their culture this teaching is unthinkable.
The powerful point is that faith in Jesus creates a new relationship that is deeper than any social status or sacred cow.
Deuteronomy 27:19
“Cursed is anyone who withholds justice from the foreigner, the fatherless or the widow.” Then all the people shall say, “Amen!”
This means that God holds his people accountable for protecting the rights of all vulnerable people.
The same God who commands Israel to love the foreigner, the orphan and the widow, also warns that denying justice to these people is a serious offense to God.
(Exodus 22:21, Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 24:17-18)
What is the Holy Spirit saying to you through these scriptures?