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Galatians 3:28 – Equal in Inheritance
Imagine the richest man in history promising to bequeath you a beaucoup of riches. At the reading of the will you discover the chauffeur and kitchen help are now equal in inheritance with the sons. Imagining is unnecessary because this is the counter-cultural Galatians 3:26-29.
Contextually, prior to this is a contrast to the promises made to Abraham and the Law of Moses which came 430 years later (3:17). Two thousand years after those promises of a seed and on faith God starts fulfilling them in Christ. A parallel passage is 1 Peter 3:1-7. Peter warns the husband and reminds him that his wife is equally a “fellow heir of the grace of life” (v.7). Ephesians 1-3 teaches the same thing – all believers receive the same inheritance as equals.
Back in Galatians 3, faith in Jesus by being baptized made everyone equally “sons” (v.26) – including foreigners, slaves, and women. Religiously this is superior to the law of Moses because only males received the sign of the covenant which was circumcision. Culturally this was contrary because the norm in Roman and Jewish law was: 1) Daughters did not inherit; 2) Slaves did not inherit; 3) Gentiles did not inherit from the Jews.
Imagine a movement that based on a promise, says everyone receives the same inheritance. We don’t have to imagine because that’s the reality for those who are baptized in faith.
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