Galatians 3:28

NASB	NLT	VOICE
28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.	28 There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus.	28 It makes no difference whether you are a Jew or a Greek, a slave or a freeman, a man or a woman, because in Jesus the Anointed, the Liberating King, you are all one.

In the first-century context, Jews and Gentiles were often at odds. The early church faced significant challenges in integrating Gentile believers into their community. Through Jesus, the Gospel was created to reach all people at the end of the earth and through the new covenant, all people are able to have a relationship with God. This shows that our faith in Christ goes above the ethnic barriers of the world. The Roman Empire saw slavery as commonplace, and social status was a key divider amongst the people. The early church included enslaved and free people. The way through Jesus shows that social hierarches are no more.

In the ancient world, gender roles were rigidly defined. Women often had limited rights and opportunities. Paul is challenging the cultural norms by affirm that men and women in Christ have equal value and dignity. The Genesis creation story shows that male and female are made in the image of God. Paul’s word point to how God transforms relationships and roles to their intended goal. All of this to say that we need a union with Jesus through faith. Our relationship is to be lived out in the community through sharing resources and fellowship.

Seeing Paul affirm that men and women have equal value and dignity is exactly what we’re going to talk about today. The United States is still struggling with the concept of equal rights for women. For years, men and women have been treated differently by their workplaces, healthcare providers, social relationships, and more. There is a call for everyone to be treated fairly, and Paul affirms that call with recognizing that we are all one in Christ. They issues may have gone quiet in the world or are quiet for you in your world – but they are still present, and they are still real. To start this discussion, it’s good to know: what gender inequality issues still exist?

Women earn less than men on average. For example, in the United States, women earned about 81 cents per dollar earned by mean in 2024. Gender gaps persist in certain fields like STEM, where women remain underrepresented. Women and girls have less access to healthcare in many countries, impacting reproductive health empowerment. Women are less represented in leadership and political positions, limiting their influence on policy and decision-making. Gender-based violence and discrimination in the workplace and society disproportionately affect women and girls. Even there’s a major gap in internet access, with fewer women than men using the internet globally, which impact economic and educational opportunities.

Women earn less money than men. They are underrepresented in key fields. They have less access to healthcare. They are less represented in leadership. They are more susceptible to gender-based violence and discrimination. They are unable to use the internet as much as men. What happened? How did we get to this position?

In the late 19^th century, the beginning conversation regarding unequal pay started. For example, in 1869, a letter questioned why female government employees earned half as much as men. In 1883, there was the Western Union strike that highlighted demands for equal pay but met limited success. During World Wars I and II, women replaced men in many jobs due to labor shortages. During this time, the concept of equal pay was supported by various unions and war labor boards. Once the wars ended, women were pushed bac into lower-paid roles or out of the workplace altogether. In the UK, there was the 1944 Education Act that set precedent for equal pay for women teachers and civil servants, further pushed for in the 1950s and 60s. In the US, there was the 1963 Equal Pay Act. It outlawed wage discrimination based on sex for jobs that require equal skill, effort, and responsibility. This was followed up by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibited employment discrimination based on sex and other factors. In 1968, Ford sewing machinists went on strike in the UK to bring awareness to pay disparities and contributed to further reforms. Now, in spite of all of this, cultural norms, discriminatory practices, occupational segregation, and incomplete legislation have continued these inequalities.

There’s been so much movement to push for equality in the workplace and equality in daily life, and yet society pushes back. Culture still pushes against it. Learned patterns of biases and stereotypes still push against it. This highlights that the inequality is continuing due to learned behavior. Now, I have learned that some of that learned behavior comes from traditional teachings of the roles of women according to the Bible. It’s always made me ask: has the Bible contributed to our issues of gender inequality?

Now, as we talked about, Galatians 3:28 shows that there is a spiritual equality and unity between men and women. Jesus treated women with dignity and entrusted them with key roles in his ministry. However, there are many traditional teachings of key passages that justify male authority and female submission. Genesis 3:16 can read that women should submit to men because of sin and the fall. Ephesians 5:22-23 can read to support male dominance because it states that wives should submit to their husbands. We must remember that the Bible was written in as society where women were treated as property legally and culturally. When we take the traditional interpretation and attempt to apply that to our everyday life, we support the inequality that continues to persist in our world. When we look at the foundation that gender equality is rooted in the creation narrative and supported in the inclusion of women in Jesus’ ministry and early Christian ministries.

It’s all about how we read it. Like Jesus told the law expert before the Parable of the Good Samaritan, “How do you read it?” Do you read it with a foundation of submission to each other, or do you read it with a foundation of submission to God individually? Historically, it’s been to support inequality, aligning with our human history mentioned earlier. More modern scholars call for us to reinterpret these passages to support equal dignity and worth, as Jesus did. So how do we do that? How can we help combat the issues of inequality?

Challenge gender stereotypes and biases. We must question and confront gender-based stereotypes in conversations, media, and behaviors from others. We need to be an advocate of inclusive attitude and recognizing diverse roles and capabilities for all people. Support equal pay and opportunities. Be an advocate for equal pay for equal work in your workplace or community. Support different businesses and organizations that support gender equity in hiring, promotion, and leadership representation. Share domestic responsibilities equally. Go promote and practice the equal division of household chores and caregiving duties in the home. We can work to recognize the reduce the burden of unpaid care work that often affects women. Stand up against harassment and discrimination. Use your voice to speak out against gender-based harassment and discrimination when you see it, no matter where you are. Create a safe place for survivors of any situation. Use your voice and platform. Use your social media and daily conversations to raise awareness about the issues we talked about earlier. Amplify women’s voices and gender equality campaigns and encourage men and boys to be great advocates.

The Progressive Christian Alliance does great work to help combat gender inequality. They are a network of Christians from diverse denominations that is committed to justice, respect, and inclusion. They welcome all regardless of gender or background and focus on Jesus’ teachings and caring for neighbors and inclusion. To learn more about them and how you can be involved, check out their website: https://progressivechristianalliance.org/

Next series: God’s Grace and Immutability || Contradicting the Word || Part 1

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