Do you know how much you matter to God? Do you understand how much you can help to bring value and reconciliation to others? The greatest movement on earth for freedom is the church of Jesus Christ. Or so it should be. For when individuals have their own personal experience of freedom in Christ, they become part of a community that is called to model liberation from deep divisions and old prejudices. Once we are reconciled with God as our father, we instantly come into a new family of brothers and sisters all equal before God. 

In our current series on ‘Living in Freedom’ from the book of Galatians we come to powerful declarations in Galatians 3:26-27. We have all become children of God through faith in Christ, by being baptised as identified with Christ and being clothed with the new nature of Christ. This means all of us have come into God’s kingdom, not because of our own efforts, talents or religious works but because of our faith in Jesus who loved us unconditionally and gave His life’s blood to save us from our sins and free us from Satan’s dark rule. 

We have all been born again into God’s family the same way. We are all on the same level. And the consequences of this are literally revolutionary for our thinking and behaviour. For as Galatians 3:28 goes on to say ‘there is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.’ 

Previous divisions are swept away by our new shared identity and faith in Christ. We have all become one in Christ Jesus. Through Jesus we are reconciled not only to God but also to one another. Man-made works-based religion does not accept this, which is why throughout history traditional churches have often re-enforced divisions and have in fact been leading agencies of oppression (e.g. the Dutch Reformed church and other denominations in apartheid South Africa; German churches supporting the Nazis in WWII). 

However, both these examples have everything to do with human religion and nothing to do with the reconciling vision a true Christ centred church that the apostle Paul outlines in these verses. We see the main barriers that are overcome when we understand what it means to be united through Christ. 

1. Shared faith in Jesus breaks down barriers between Jews and non-Jews (Galatians 3:28; Acts 10:34; Romans 11:11-36) 

2. Shared faith in Jesus breaks down social and economic barriers (Acts 2:45; 1 Corinthians 12) 

3. Shared faith in Jesus breaks down barriers between men and women (Acts 1:14; Acts 2:18; John 13:34-35) 

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1. Shared faith in Jesus breaks down barriers between Jews and non-Jews (Galatians 3:28). In the beginnings of the early church there was a strong majority Jewish presence. Jesus was a Jew. The first disciples were Jews. The church grew rapidly amongst the Jews in Jerusalem, but it was not long before the Holy Spirit was poured out on many non-Jews which totally astonished the Jews who witnessed it in the home of the Roman Centurion Cornelius. Peter himself had needed a complete reset of his previously Jewish mindset (Acts 10:34). So at first the church grew with Jews and non-Jews united in a common faith in Christ. They stood together against attempts by Jewish traditionalists to make non-Jewish believers follow Jewish customs, something that Paul opposes in this book of Galatians. However, such was the speed and the scale of the acceptance of the gospel amongst Greeks and other Gentiles, that the Jewish believers not only quickly became a minority but a persecuted minority. Soon the teaching emerged that the Jews were Christ killers and that the gospel, and the church had now replaced the Jews. Yet the Bible clearly teaches that God loves the Jewish people with an everlasting love and will fulfil all His promises towards them both regarding the Promised Land and their descendants. But their blessings and the blessings of Gentile believers will greatly increase when both Jewish and Gentile believers come into a new level of unity in their love of God and obedience to Christ (Romans 11:11-36). What this means practically is that there must not be any trace of antisemitism amongst Christians. We must not ignore or have any hostility towards the Jews. Rather Christians need to unconditionally honour and love the Jewish people wherever they are and be sure to develop fellowship with the increasing number of Messianic believers in Yeshua (Jesus). Our awakening to the importance of our Jewish brothers and sisters will be of great blessing to all concerned and bring great strength to the body of Christ on earth.  

2. Shared faith in Jesus breaks down social and economic barriers. Slavery was commonly practised throughout the Roman Empire, but it was only in the community of believers that slaves and slave owners met and worshipped together as equals before God. Because of their shared faith in Christ, those from the lowest and the highest in society, both slaves and slave owners treated one another with mutual love and respect. Onesimus for example was a runaway slave of Philemon, who came to view him as ‘a dear brother.’ Later in history it was the strong efforts of evangelical campaigners who helped abolish the transatlantic slave trade. Their famous image and motto was of an enslaved African, kneeling, manacled hands outstretched, with the title 'Am I not a man and a brother.' In the early church there was also a great concern to help the poor and vulnerable, especially by those who had the means to do so (Acts 2:45). The apostle’s Paul’s reference to neither slave nor free was in keeping with the teaching of James to give an equal welcome to rich and poor and not to give special attention to the rich. And as Paul outlined there can be no room for either inferiority or superiority in the church (1 Corinthians 12). No one is more special than another. True Christianity is no respecter of class and status. God has no favourites. We are all one in Christ.  

3. Shared faith in Jesus breaks down barriers between men and women. Put simply there is no room for a macho culture or an ultra-feminist, anti-man culture in the kingdom of God. Men should never view themselves as first class, while they treat the women as second class. Equally women should not resent and despise men. Everyone must highly value both men and women as brothers and sisters. The Bible teaches that God created us in the image of God, both male and female. But because both were disobedient to God, the beautiful image that God had for them was ruined. They became divided and in tension with one another. But when Christ shed His blood, He gave the possibility of a new self-image for both men and women. Jesus of course restored the image of countless women who flocked to hear Him. In a male dominated culture, He broke patronising and oppressive traditions which treated women as inferior. He shocked a Samaritan woman by talking with her, something most Jewish men regarded as beneath them, especially as she was from a despised culture. He was protective of the woman taken in the act of adultery and showed her great love and respect when she was so vulnerable. So different was Jesus' reaction from all the other male chauvinistic religious leaders that He saved her from being stoned to death. Women saw in Jesus great compassion, kindness and wisdom and became His devoted followers. In the early church there was great unity between men and women (Acts 1:14; Acts 2:18). Today so many women have not been valued or treated well. But you can receive healing in your heart. You can be forgiven for your sins. You can have a new identity in Christ as a much-loved daughter of God. When the Holy Spirit comes to you, He makes you like a new person. Women need to know this. But also, many men need to know that they are loved and valued, despite their troubles and their sins. It’s been said ‘most men lead lives of quiet desperation.’ That’s why both men and women need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Both men and women can be changed. God can change the heart of the abusive husband, He can change the man who abandoned his family, He can heal the man who was himself mistreated. Through the work of the Holy Spirit men and women, fathers and daughters, sons and mothers, brothers and sisters can be reconciled and restored in their relationships. Instead of hurting the opposite sex, you can help them.  

The church God is building is a revolutionary new society, the kingdom of heaven on earth, free from deep divisions and discrimination which have no place. The church is to be a family and community where all can know God’s love and where all members are of equal value. So what does this mean? 

• We must all know that we are all equally loved and valued by God our Father 

• We must all respect one another as of equal value 

• We must all humble ourselves and repent of any form of discrimination, pride, judgement, bitterness in our hearts or any harsh words or behaviours 

• We must work together in our marriages, families and communities to build greater unity across all previous divisions and above all 

• We must truly love one another (John 13:34-35)