DEVOTION
FOR FRIDAY, JUNE 8, 2007
GALATIANS 3:26 - 29
WE ARE ONE IN CHRIST!
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as
many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 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. 29 And if you are
Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the
promise. Galatians 3:26-29 (NKJV)
As I have done in the past I have chosen to do a series of Devotions by
going verse by verse through a Book of the Bible. This time I have
chosen the Letter
of St. Paul to the Galatians. The first Devotion, for
Chapter 1,
verses 6 - 10,
was written earlier and can be found by going to the
Devotion Archives.
Each following devotion
will remain on this page for approximately 6 days before it will be
transferred to the Archives.
It is my prayer
that these devotions will assist you in your Bible Study and in your
growth in Faith and in the Love of Jesus. Here then is the tenth
in this series of Devotions.
Many people misuse these verses that speak about those who believe,
being one in Christ. First of all, let us meditate on what the verse
does say.
“There is neither Jew nor Greek” -- It is important to remember all that
we have read from Chapter 1, verse 1 to this point. This again refers to
the argument concerning who is favored in God’s eyes, the circumcised
Jew or the uncircumcised Greek. Earlier we read that circumcision was no
longer a requirement. A person came to God not by obeying the Law of
circumcision but by faith. Therefore there was no difference between the
Jew and the Greek who came to faith in Christ. Now, there is a
difference between the Jew/Greek Christian and those Jews and Greeks who
have NOT come to faith in Christ.
“ There is neither slave nor free.” -- The Galatians were well aware of
the large division between those who were slaves and those who were
free. Even though it was well known that some slaves were believers, the
same as those that were free, the general opinion was that the slave was
possibly not worthy of faith and definitely not equal in faith. St. Paul
wants to stress that the status in life has absolutely nothing to do
with faith. Faith makes all who believe equal.
“There is neither male nor female.” -- It is well known that throughout
the Old Testament, the status of woman was much below that of man. As
one of the best examples, when Joseph went to Bethlehem as a requirement
to be registered, he took Mary along. She did not have to go, because
she did not count. When the number of people in a household were
counted, there was the man and then everyone else. The man was the only
one with status. Many believed that the man was of a higher faith. St.
Paul tells them, NO, that is not correct All men and women who have
faith in Christ are of equal status in the eyes of God.
I wish St. Paul would have added one more category -- There is neither
clergy or lay person. I must always remember that when it comes to
faith, my faith is neither stronger nor weaker than your faith as a
believer and follower of Christ.
When I began, I mentioned that sometimes these verses are misused. Some
folks use this verse to make a claim for equality in everything. If they
do, their statements are very questionable. The equality here ONLY deals
with faith. To say these verses negate other things said by St. Paul and
others is to misuse God’s Word. You have to find other passages to back
up or refute whatever equality issues you are discussing.
WE PRAY: LORD JESUS, Give me the wisdom and the desire to unite with
those of faith, whoever they are and whatever they might do. Give to me
this Blessing so that together we can walk and grow in faith and reach
out to help others to walk and grow with us. AMEN.
A SUGGESTION FOR LIVING THE DEVOTION
When you meet someone for the first time, include in your first
impressions of that person, a rating, in your eyes, of their level of
faith.