For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 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. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. (Galatians 3:27-29)

Demanding Equality

What is equality? It is the state of being equal sharing the same rights, treatment, and valued equally to all others in a specific group. Under the law, they share full equality regardless of any differences in gender, race, beliefs and moral persuasions, or preferences. Demanding equality is an age-old question answered by wars, riots, demonstrations, and protests. The United States was founded on the principle of rejecting the rule of an English king for a republic of self-governing citizens demanding their rights under their own laws. Throughout the long history of civil liberty, the cry for equality continues under the banner that all men are created equal. The problem with the language of equality in the arena of human wisdom is that equality is a relative thing. Women were not allowed to vote until 1920 when the 19^th Amendment to the U. S. Constitution granted a woman the right to vote. Thomas Jefferson wrote in 1776 that “all men are created equal” but it would take 144 years for women to vote. Human equality is a strange beast.

Trying to find equality in the laws of men is a minefield of prejudice, hatred, bigotry, pride, and failed wisdom. Every nation believes they have laws of equality as long as the majority rules the minorities. A tyrant rules with an iron fist forcing his equality on others. Even democracies struggle to find fairness for all of its citizens. In the framework of human wisdom, there will never be true equality. The reason for the disparity is simple: man-made equality is subjective. Many of the equal rights marches and protests seeking equality destroy the rights of others who may see the force of the movement as negative to their beliefs. One group seeks equality but the result is that others are made unequal. There is no common ground as one movement seeks justification for what matters to them and all the while trampling the beliefs of others. No matter how hard man tries, he will never find true equality in human wisdom.

Jesus Christ came to show all men the nature of true equality. As part of the creation, Jesus formed all men from one man and one woman. Every human being on the face of the planet finds their origins to the same man and the same woman. Adam called the Woman Eve because she was the mother of all living. It does not matter what color skin a person has, his nationality, gender, and moral persuasion, all men are created equal under the creative power of God’s hand. The real tragedy of human conflict is the nature of brother fighting against brother. Sin destroyed the early world and after the flood men again tried to unite against God. The tower of Babel is not just a story of where languages begin but the establishment of nations that would show the world that no one group of people would rule over the earth. God divided the world among the nations and Jesus Christ came to bring all men together under the same language of grace, love, and mercy. What was lost in the garden is found again in Christ. All that was taken away in Babel was united again in the death of Jesus.

Seeking equality can only be found in the word of God. The message of the gospel is the power of God at work, saving everyone who believes without deference to Jew or Gentile, slave and free, and without regard to male and female. In Christ, all are one. Sworn enemies can be united in love with one another when they accept the love of God. The nature of the kingdom of God is equality without reservation. This equality is according to the word of God in obedience to the will of the Father. Prejudice is sinful because it destroys the unity of the one body. Sexual immorality is condemned as the law of God declares the bed is undefiled and fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Equality should never be confused with the desires of men overlooking the commandments of the Lord. There is only one equality: God’s word.

Jesus Christ is the head of the church and no man can take that rule. Within the work of the church, there are differing talents, abilities, and works for all to do but all are equal in the eyes of God. In the church of God, there is equality on an eternal scale. The judgment of God will bring all men, great and small, before Him and all men will be judged in the same exact and divine manner. When a man and woman obey the gospel of Christ, they are in Christ and they become part of the seed of Abraham. All of God’s creation is one in Jesus Christ and heirs according to the promise. If you are seeking equality, come to Jesus Christ. That is the only true equality you will find.