The text asserts the basic truth that in Christ every person, Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, enjoys the status of being a son or daughter of God. This truth is made clear in the following verse that says, “If you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise” (v. 29). This means that to be “one in Christ” is to share equally in the inheritance of eternal life.
The real issue in Galatians 3:28 is religious. The great concern of Jews and Christians of the first century was religious status, that is, the status of men and women before God. By contrast, the primary concern of many people today, including many Christians, is social status, often focusing on the social equality of men and women. The prevailing perception among such people today is that we can only bring about true equality by abolishing all role distinctions between men and women, thus realizing what sociologists call “role interchangeability.” Though popular, this view is a distortion, a perversion, of God's Creation order. In the Bible equality does not mean role interchangeability. Christianity does not abolish the headship of the husband or the subordination of the wife; rather, it redefines these roles in terms of sacrificial love, servanthood, and mutual respect.
- Adventist Affirm, Answers to Questions about Women's Ordination - Ordination of Women and Paul |