There Is No Male and Female (Galatians 3:28)
In talking about the new one family of God that we join through faith in Jesus, the apostle Paul said, “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” (Galatians 3:28; ESV).
I have heard this verse used to suggest that men and women now are completely equal in their roles and functions before God. Therefore women can be preachers and women can be elders in the Lord’s church. But was that the real thrust of Paul’s argument? If it was, Paul would later contradict himself in 1 Timothy 2, 1 Corinthians 11, and 1 Corinthians 14 where Paul said that men and women have different roles and functions in the Lord’s body. Friends, men and women are different. Just look at us! And praise God that we are different. To think that we will not serve God in different capacities while on the earth is to make a mockery of God’s wisdom to create men and women with different bodies. Clearly we must have different functions since we have different bodies. And the differences go beyond just male and female parts. We think differently, act differently, interact differently, and so forth. Anyone in a marriage recognizes these differences. These differences are not to be slandered or criticized but used to the advantage of the kingdom of God.
So what is Paul teaching? Men and women have equal rights before God. Or stated even more accurately, men and women have equal access to God. We cannot forget that in first century Roman and Jewish societies (and really all societies until our American society in the last 40 years), women were second class citizens, not equal to the men. We clearly see this concerning the Jewish women having a courtyard that they could not leave to go closer to the temple of God. Meanwhile, the men could go closer to the temple in Jerusalem. The women have gone from being excluded from the temple to being the temple of God. They are not second class in God’s family, but joint heirs of the promise.
This is what makes the gospel accounts and the book of Acts so beautiful. It is the women who are ministering to Jesus. It is the women who are providing for Jesus. It is the women who are shown to be faithful (like Lydia in Acts 16 or Tabitha in Acts 9). Women have an equal standing with men before God. Women have equal access to God. Women have equal rights in God’s kingdom and receive equal benefits and blessings. While men and women have different roles based upon God’s wisdom, we will also stand equally before God. No one’s work or role is greater than another’s. I believe this is the point Paul is making in Galatians 3:28.
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Joe
March 13, 2009 at 1:25 pm
I have heard/read this a couple of times also.
This is what happens when a verse is pulled out of context. We certainly see a lot of twisting the Scriptures today, does not matter if they are easy or hard to understand it seems.
I’m reminded of 2 Peter 3:15-16
“…Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”
Joel
March 13, 2009 at 5:11 pm
Paul was not trying to tear down the fabric of the family in Galatians 3:28. Â He was explaining that now understanding of how God intended the family to be structured would spread to all corners of the Earth. Â The rewards for living a Godly life would also follow to all ends of the Earth. Â Those who make any other argument than that are probably trying to destroy the family structure that God intended or have been educated by those who have such desires. Â We must never let such things be taught from the pulpit.
Joel
March 14, 2009 at 3:08 pm
While women played an important role in the establishment of the new kingdom, they did not do so by doing men’s jobs. Â Mary was not Joseph’s husband. Â Lydia and Tabitha were not assuming the role of men. Â Remember when Paul converted Lydia, the women were meeting outdoors because there weren’t enough Jewish men to lawfully build a synagogue. Â If those women were assuming the roles of men, why didn’t they just build their own synogague, rules or not. Â Why weren’t Tabitha and Lydia appointed “elders”? Â They were among the first converted, right? Â The Jewish women in these stories were being women, not men. Â Everything that I have ever read in the Bible state that women will be equally rewarded by God if they live good Christian lives. Â Unfortunately, today too many men and women want their reward now and don’t feel the great reward in the future is worth sacrificing their hedonistic pleasures.
  I used to be that way myself.  Once I gave up those fleeting pleasures, I found that I was much happier overall and the sins that I thought were so much fun, weren’t worth the regrets or the hangovers.  Now, the thought of doing things that I thought were fun is repulsive. When I see women flaunting such lifestyles I am just as repulsed.
  I can’t think of a harder , more honorable job that requires a stronger more beautiful person than being a good traditional wife.  Especially now that the whole world says that the “strong traditional wife” is an oxymoron or is morally incompatible with 21st century society.  The removal of male and female roles also directly conflicts with 1 Corinthians 7. Â