Now!

Now!

Galatians 3:28 AMP

[28] There is [now no distinction in regard to salvation] neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you [who believe] are all one in Christ Jesus [no one can claim a spiritual superiority]

When you read the NOW, you have to ask what was the situation before the NOW? As the chapter from where the verse above is taken clearly spells out, faith is the critical currency that gives a man access into the riches of God's grace available in Christ. Men in the past had made serious arguments in support of things like status, qualifications, education, enlightenment, elocution, earnings or even elegance, but none of these arguments could stand the test of time. Anything that is not of faith in Christ is of the law, and nothing of the law can help you achieve that which only faith can give you. That was the dilemma this church in Galatia was faced with, and which Paul had to urgently address. As Paul made clear then, so does it have to be clear today: the law and its demands can never help you achieve that which faith in Christ alone can. 

Thank God that men could not earn salvation by works alone, otherwise, many of us would be excluded. Men have also found other novel ways to claim superiority or supremacy, such as things like race, ethnicity or gender. Now, God had chosen a man like Abraham to showcase the power of His grace; however, recall that this was a man who walked with God by faith, even before the dispensation of the law ever began. All who have faith in God, like Abraham, also have access to the same grace Abraham had. The Jews relied on their natural descendency from Abraham to claim superiority, but today, we can see that the natural man can never walk in the fullness of the grace that is available in and through faith in Christ. Until the natural man is put to death, and the spiritual man is birthed, man cannot walk in the reality of all that is possible in Christ.

Whatever human standard gave any race or gender any superiority has been dissolved by the provision of God for all mankind. In Christ, there is now no Jew or Greek, slave or free, or male or female. All of us have been given access into the new spiritual man, created in and by Christ Jesus, and continually renewed in true knowledge of God. That is now the standard that God has laid down for all who will access the riches of His grace. It is also amazing to note that none of the things the world chases or thinks is important, matters here. God is not looking for men to impress Him; there is nothing a man can bring that has not been given to him by God. All He asks me to do is come. I come as I am, bringing  nothing other than a surrendered and willing heart. I come by faith, and with billions of other people from all races, look forward to the amazing things that lie ahead. What of you? God's time of favour is here.