Galatians 3:27-29

Galatians 3:27–29 KJV (WS)

27 For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.

Introduction

Who are you this morning?

What moniker do you claim for your own.

If you met a stranger how would you describe yourself?

We talk a lot about identity these days.

Our identity is largely a story we tell ourselves and others about who we are.

Our identity in Christ.

Paul speaks to those that have been baptized into Christ.

Baptism is such an interesting word in the New Testament.

I don’t just say this because I am a Baptist preacher.

If you hear the word “baptized” what do you immediately picture?

You probably think of what goes on right behind me.

That’s good.

What exactly happens there?

Someone goes in and that water washes away the sins of the person that is submerged in the water.

No, not quite.

Water baptism is a picture of the gospel.

Just like the Lord’s Supper.

Just like marriage.

When that person goes under the water, what do we say?

Buried in the likeness of his death.

Jesus died and was buried.

He was placed in the center of the earth.

He was submerged in the grave.

As a picture, we submerge ourselves in the water to represent our identification with Jesus’ death and what it accomplished.

Baptism is based on the greek word that means to dip or submerge.

In this verse, though, Paul is not talking about being baptized/submerged into water or into the grave.

Instead we get a beautiful picture of the believer’s identity.

Paul tells us that, when we get saved we become baptized into Christ.

We are submerged into Jesus.

A person that is submerged into Jesus enjoys several unique benefits.

If we are submerged in Jesus, then we are completely covered by Him.

This may not immediately resonate with you.

If you are a Christian, this truth is of infinite importance.

It not only affects our relationship with God.

It also affects our relationship with each other.

If I am in Christ, then what does God see when He looks at me?

He sees Jesus.

I am completely hidden in Christ.

This is great, because Gary cannot earn God’s favor.

God looks at me and he sees the righteousness of Jesus.

I have God’s acceptance because of Jesus.

This also means that my accomplishments and good works are not a part of God’s estimation of me.

I could never achieve what Jesus did, so my identity is not found in these, it’s found in Jesus, I am baptized in him.

But, when other people look at me, they still see Gary Boyd.

There are 100 different factors they may base their judgment of me on.

They don’t as easily see what God sees.

Instead, humanity naturally judges and segregates people based on their identity.

There is a truth that can counteract this inclination in our human to human relationships.

The rest of this verse gives another way of thinking about this.

We have the picture of baptism into Jesus.

We are also given the picture of putting on Jesus.

This is the same language Paul would have used to describe putting on a coat.

Did you ever play sports?

I assume, then, that you had to wear whatever uniform the rest of the team was wearing.

Did you ever have to wear a uniform for work?

All believers wear the same uniform.

That uniform is Jesus.

He is the basis for our identity as believers.

We have a shared status, mission, and future.

In Christ, the things that previously divided us melt away.

We may have been rivals on our old teams.

We may not have cooperated in our life.

But, now that we have put on Christ, we are on the same team.

Jesus, and our identity in him, breaks down barriers.

The Judaizers were trying to act like the old teams still mattered.

Imagine this.

The Christians in Galatia were all playing for the same NFL team. (A good team that can represent righteousness?)

The Judaizers all attended the same college. (A bad team known for being annoying?)

The coach at OU made the move to the NFL and many of his old players ended up playing for him in the NFL.

They kept belittling the other players because they didn’t graduate from the same college.

They kept acting like they knew the coach better and he liked them better because they played for him in college.

Essentially this is what the legalists were doing.

This is because they based their identity off of their own achievements and background.

This is not the Christian way.

This is how we come to the incredible words of verse 28.

Paul ticks off three different areas of division that would have normally separated the people of Galatia.

But now they are all in Christ, they are all believers, they are all on the same team.

Since we are all on the same team, we all get the same prize.

When a sports team wins a championship, everyone in that organization gets to participate in that win.

Super Bowl

NBA Finals

College Football Bowl Series

Some of these teams will order over 700 championship rings to give to the players, coaches, executives, even janitors and maintenance men.

The last verse of this chapter essentially tells us the same thing.

If you are in Christ, you have put on Christ, then that is your primary identity.

It’s not your ethnicity, economic status, or your gender.

You are on the team and you will share in the victory.

You are not lesser than anyone else on the team.

The promise that was given applies to you as much as it does to anyone else?

What was the promise?

Justification, blessing, acceptance by God.

Paul wants to make it clear that, no matter how others would identify them, believers have a new identity in Christ which puts us all on the same team.

Application

There are two aspects of application that we need to make her.

With what this passage teaches us about our identity, how does this affect the way we view ourselves?

With what this passage teaches us about the identity of other believers, how does this affect the way we view others?

Conclusion