"There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28
The Gospel was always meant to be for all. Even in the Old Testament you see that God called the Jews to be "a kingdom of priests" (Ex. 19:6) to the entire world. Then even after the people rejected this call that God had placed on them, God placed plans in place for any foreigner who wanted to become a Jew and accept God as the one, true God (Ex. 12:48). So ultimately it was not a new idea that God was wanting all the world to come to Him, it was just forgotten until Jesus came. Somewhere along the line the Jews got the idea that salvation was only for the Jews. Now Paul is reminding them that Jesus came and made us all one as long as we believe and put our trust in Him.
Today, in the United States, the statement would probably read a little different. We don't worry so much about nationality and we no longer keep slaves, but we still tend to divide people in our own ways. If Paul were writing this idea to the church of America he might say something like this:
"There is neither Baptist or Methodist, Charismatic or Pentecostal or any other denomination; there is neither Protestant or Catholic; there is neither male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus."
Over and over again the Bible makes it clear that we are one church, one body, with Christ at the head. It's time for us to realize this and act like it. It doesn't matter what denomination or church government you have, let us all work together and support each other in our pursuit after God and His kingdom! This means we should be learning and studying together, doing outreach together, supporting each other financially, pooling our resources. Think of how much more effective we would be in reaching this nation and the world if the entire Body of Christ rose up and truly united together!
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