Paul the Wall Buster

Paul continues to slam the wrecking ball against the counterfeit gospel the Judaizers have preached in the Galatian churches.  

These false teachers have told these new believers that the only true way of salvation is by combining rules of Judaism with following Jesus.  This is completely the opposite of what happened when the apostle was there just a few weeks ago.  

He has just returned to Antioch after his first missionary journey with Barnabas (Acts 14:26).  They tell the church there how God "had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles" (Acts 14:27).  Jesus personally passed along this radical new revelation to the man from Tarsus (Gal 1:12).  

There are no racial, ethnic or gender barriers in following Christ.  Paul hits the roof when he hears about the teaching of the Judaizers and fires off this letter.  That's critical context for this letter and these verses.

The apostle wants to make sure everyone is clear on just who is eligible to become a disciple of Jesus.  "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" (v28).  

Paul is NOT denying that God has not created differences in races, differences in gender or even differences in social status.  What he IS saying is that when it comes to following Jesus, none of that matters one little bit.  

He knocks down three walls that many considered to be impenetrable.  Call him Paul the Wall Buster.  

First is the wall of ethnicity.  The Jews were God's chosen people.  While that is certainly true both biblically and historically, Hebrews loved to rub that in the noses of Gentiles.  Jews hated non-Jews and non-Jews returned the favor.  

But everything changed with Jesus.  While He clearly came to God's chosen people (Mt 15:24), Christ also came through them to Gentiles.  He reached out to the Samaritan woman (Jn 4:14, 23-24, 42).  He cast a legion of demons from a non-Jewish madman (Lk 8:26-39).  

It is almost impossible for us to wrap our minds around just how radical the idea of God's salvation of Gentiles was.  It's THE controversy that boils on just about every page of Acts.  

This idea was so revolutionary that it required to important meetings at the home office to confirm this was a true move of God (Acts 11:1-18, 15:1-35).  

Paul the Wall Buster states it as boldly and clearly as possible: "There is neither Jew nor Greek" when it comes to following Jesus.

The second impenetrable wall is that of social status.  "There is neither slave nor free" (v28).  While the concept of slavery in the Roman empire is considerably different that slavery in the American South, the role of a first century slave was certainly subservient.  

Slaves (Gr. δουλος/doulos) were not allowed citizenship.  They were not their own.  They could not come and go as they pleased.  

A free person (Gr. ελευθερος/eleutheros) had complete self-determination, independence and unbound politically and socially.  

One thing that a free person could do was to own slaves.  The wall-busting apostle lets his readers know that this barrier means nothing when it comes to following Christ.

It is worth noting that Paul doesn't condemn slavery.  In his letter to Philemon, he encourages his buddy to forgive his runaway slave Onesimus (Phlm 15-16).  

He knows that if they are truly disciples of Jesus, God has knocked down those walls in a way that the abolition of slavery never could.  

He also tells the slaves in the Corinthian church not to worry about their status.  You might be a slave in society but now you're "a freedman of the Lord."  He goes on to say that if the opportunity presents itself to gain your freedom, grab it (1Cor 7:20-24).

Wall number two comes crashing down: "There is neither slave nor free" (v28).

But Paul the Wall Buster is not done yet.  He hammers at the third impenetrable wall: "There is no male and female" (v28).  Those who charge the followers of Jesus with sexual discrimination and chauvinism don't understand just how radically the Gospel historically demolishes gender roles.  

In the first century, women were less than second class citizens.  They had absolutely no voice in Jewish society.  That all changed with Jesus.  He accepted and embraced female disciples (TOTALLY unheard of among other rabbis).  

The power of the cross continued to destroy gender barriers.  God's first convert in Europe was a woman, Lydia (Acts 16:14).  Priscilla was crucial in the spread of the Gospel (Acts 18:26; Rom 16:3; 1Cor 16:19; 2Tim 4:19).

Let's be clear that Paul is NOT knocking down God's clearly defined gender roles.  There are distinct differences between men and women, especially when it comes to their service in the local church.  

Scholars call it complementarianism.  It's the idea that men and women have equal standing at the cross of Christ but serve in different roles within the church.  This is all based on the idea of willing submission to authority.  

While Jesus is equal to God the Father, He willingly submitted to His Dad's authority.  But when it comes to following Jesus, wall number three comes slamming to the ground: "There is no male and female" (v28).

But Paul the Wall Buster has more work to do.  He hammers at the third impenetrable wall: "There is no male and female" (v28).  For those who charge the followers of Jesus with sexual discrimination and chauvinism don't understand just how radically the Gospel historically demolishes gender roles.  

When it comes to following Jesus, wall number three comes slamming to the ground: "There is no male and female" (v28).

Because of the destruction of these so-called impenetrable walls, there is absolute unity in the Lord.  "For you are all one in Christ Jesus" (v28).  This isn't just some rogue statement found in Paul's letter to the Galatians.  This is the consistent inclusive message throughout the NT.  

The apostle makes a remarkably similar statement to the Colossians (Col 3:11).  He tells the Romans that when it comes to following Jesus "there is no distinction" (Rom 3:22; 10:12).  He tells the Corinthians that God's Spirit dunks us all into the same pool (1Cor 12:13).

The result of this divine wall busting is unity among believers.  We're one in Christ.  This was Jesus' prayer for us 2000 years ago, "that they may be one, even as We are one" (Jn 17:11).  

And Paul speaks directly about how Jesus personally took the wrecking ball to to "the dividing wall of hostility" between Jews and Gentiles in order to bring "us both to God in one body through the cross" (Eph 2:14-16).  

We're one.  United.  Thanks to Jesus and His man Paul the Wall Buster.

©2012

Jay Jennings