"For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise." Gal. 3:27-29
"In Christ Jesus." Union with Christ. That is the significance of true Christian experience. We noted in an earlier article that it is a reciprocal relationship. We are in Him, and He is in us. (See, e.g., John 17:20 -23.) The implications of this are enormous. In writing to the Colossians, Paul put it this way: "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory [Col. 3:3.4]."
Christ is our life. It is the Holy Spirit's intention that this life be made evident in our walk in the world. The apostle John put it, "As He is, so are we in this world [I John 4:17b]." It is a truth with both individual and corporate implications, and it is the corporate aspect that is particularly addressed in this text for today.
Here we are taught that "in Christ" the distinctions that are so significant to unregenerate man, and so divisive, are done away in Christ. Note in v.28; racial and ethnic distinctions are banished; "there is neither Jew nor Greek." Pride of race is, in the will of God, banished at the cross. Christ there became the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He did not die for the Jew only, nor yet again solely for the Gentiles; He died—the same death—for all. At the cross class distinctions are banished; "there is neither bond nor free." Society becomes level ground for those who are "in Christ Jesus." And, gender distinctions are also removed at Calvary; "there is neither male nor female." The man is not more significant than the woman, nor vice versa.
Now what does all this mean? It is patently evident, throughout the history of the church from its inception until now, that this cannot be understood concretely, for the visible distinctions remain. What it does mean is that among those who are born again these distinctions do not really matter, for "[we] are all one in Christ." The Jew no longer prides himself at the expense of the Gentile, the rich no longer counts himself superior to the poor, and the male does not lord it over the female, in the home or in the church.
This side of heaven the visible differences remain, but the Spirit directed believer will behave himself toward his fellow believers as though they did not. We all came into Christ the same way, and for the same reason. We were sinners, lost and undone, "having no hope, and without God in the world [Eph. 2:12b]." In Christ we share His life and "the riches of His grace" alike. The rich does not have more of Christ, the poor does not have less. We are "heirs together of the grace of life," and "joint heirs with Christ," whatever visible differences may appear in this present world.
Given all that, what changes is not our position, necessarily, but our perspective. There are still manifest distinctions of race, class and gender, but if we understand the principle under consideration, we will recognize that those distinctions are superficial and/or administrative, affording no ground for pride or humiliation. The Jew will not be vain, the freeman will not be proud, the male will not be arrogant. Conversely, the Gentile, the bondman, the female will not suffer from an inferiority complex. We will look at one another and find no ground for jealousy or pride, but only to glory in Christ, and our equality in Him.
For now God leaves the visible distinctions in place, but instructs the heart to overlook them. Our administrative roles may be different (as, e.g. our spiritual gifts, etc.) and divinely appointed for reasons of His own, but we are equals in Christ. This truth is everywhere evident in the New Testament, but James, for one, expresses it,"Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low… [Jas. 1:9-10]." God would have no segregation in the church. Let those who are "in Christ" make it manifest!!
Yours for HIS glory,
"Pastor" Frasier
"In Christ Jesus." Union with Christ. That is the significance of true Christian experience. We noted in an earlier article that it is a reciprocal relationship. We are in Him, and He is in us. (See, e.g., John 17:20 -23.) The implications of this are enormous. In writing to the Colossians, Paul put it this way: "For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory [Col. 3:3.4]."
Christ is our life. It is the Holy Spirit's intention that this life be made evident in our walk in the world. The apostle John put it, "As He is, so are we in this world [I John 4:17b]." It is a truth with both individual and corporate implications, and it is the corporate aspect that is particularly addressed in this text for today.
Here we are taught that "in Christ" the distinctions that are so significant to unregenerate man, and so divisive, are done away in Christ. Note in v.28; racial and ethnic distinctions are banished; "there is neither Jew nor Greek." Pride of race is, in the will of God, banished at the cross. Christ there became the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. He did not die for the Jew only, nor yet again solely for the Gentiles; He died—the same death—for all. At the cross class distinctions are banished; "there is neither bond nor free." Society becomes level ground for those who are "in Christ Jesus." And, gender distinctions are also removed at Calvary; "there is neither male nor female." The man is not more significant than the woman, nor vice versa.
Now what does all this mean? It is patently evident, throughout the history of the church from its inception until now, that this cannot be understood concretely, for the visible distinctions remain. What it does mean is that among those who are born again these distinctions do not really matter, for "[we] are all one in Christ." The Jew no longer prides himself at the expense of the Gentile, the rich no longer counts himself superior to the poor, and the male does not lord it over the female, in the home or in the church.
This side of heaven the visible differences remain, but the Spirit directed believer will behave himself toward his fellow believers as though they did not. We all came into Christ the same way, and for the same reason. We were sinners, lost and undone, "having no hope, and without God in the world [Eph. 2:12b]." In Christ we share His life and "the riches of His grace" alike. The rich does not have more of Christ, the poor does not have less. We are "heirs together of the grace of life," and "joint heirs with Christ," whatever visible differences may appear in this present world.
Given all that, what changes is not our position, necessarily, but our perspective. There are still manifest distinctions of race, class and gender, but if we understand the principle under consideration, we will recognize that those distinctions are superficial and/or administrative, affording no ground for pride or humiliation. The Jew will not be vain, the freeman will not be proud, the male will not be arrogant. Conversely, the Gentile, the bondman, the female will not suffer from an inferiority complex. We will look at one another and find no ground for jealousy or pride, but only to glory in Christ, and our equality in Him.
For now God leaves the visible distinctions in place, but instructs the heart to overlook them. Our administrative roles may be different (as, e.g. our spiritual gifts, etc.) and divinely appointed for reasons of His own, but we are equals in Christ. This truth is everywhere evident in the New Testament, but James, for one, expresses it,"Let the brother of low degree rejoice in that he is exalted: But the rich, in that he is made low… [Jas. 1:9-10]." God would have no segregation in the church. Let those who are "in Christ" make it manifest!!
Yours for HIS glory,
"Pastor" Frasier
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