Galatians 3:23-29 emphasizes that through faith in Jesus Christ, believers become children of God, heirs to the promises made to Abraham, and united as one in Christ, transcending former divisions based on ethnicity, social status, or gender.
Key Points:
- Before Faith, Under the Law:
Before faith in Jesus, believers (including both Jews and Gentiles) were under the “guard” or “tutor” of the Law, which served to restrain and prepare them for Christ. The Law, while good, could not justify or save them.
- Faith in Christ:
The arrival of faith in Christ liberates believers from the Law’s restrictions and brings justification (being made righteous in God’s eyes).
- Children of God:
Through baptism into Christ, believers become children of God and heirs to the promises made to Abraham.
- One in Christ:
There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female; all are one in Christ Jesus. This unity transcends societal and cultural barriers.
- Heirs of the Promise:
As children of God, believers are heirs to the promise given to Abraham, which includes both blessings and inheritance.
In simpler terms: Galatians 3:23-29 explains that before Jesus, people were like children under the supervision of a tutor (the Law) to prepare them for something greater. When Jesus came, those who believe in him are freed from the Law’s limitations and become God’s children, united as one in Christ, and heirs to God’s promises. This means that differences in background and status no longer matter; all who are in Christ are equal in God’s eyes.
26 So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, 27 for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
Worship Calendar
June 22 Growing Up Galatians 3:23-29 Rev. Eric Lee
June 29 Do Not Feel Like It 2 Corinthians 6:1-13 Rev. Eric Lee
A Summer Devotional Update (Updated June 17, 2025):
A new edition of These Days (July/August/September), as well as a new edition of Our Daily Bread (June/July/August) are available on the table in the church vestibule and in the devotional box on the church porch.
6 Memorable Animals of the Bible
Jon Woodhams
Here are seven of the most remarkable animals mentioned in Scripture.
Scripture is chock full of animals. Close to 100 varieties are mentioned—almost A to Z, including everything from the addax (a type of antelope named in Deuteronomy 14:5 NLT) to the lowly worm (sorry—there’s no zebra) mentioned in Isaiah and Jonah. But references to individual animals who played a role in the Bible’s narrative are rarer, especially if you omit those who are cited only in parables or prophecy. Here are some of the most remarkable animals mentioned in Scripture.
1 A Dove from the Ark
Noah sent a dove to survey the area around the ark after the floodwaters had begun to recede. When the bird returned to the ark, Noah knew there was still no dry ground on which it could rest. Seven days later, Noah released the dove again—and this time it came back with an olive leaf in its mouth. Seven more days passed, and when Noah sent the dove out, it didn’t return, meaning that most of the water had receded. (Noah and his family waited two more months before finally disembarking, until the water had dried up again.)
2 The Talking Donkey
Arguably the most memorable animal in biblical history is a famous donkey. As outlined in Numbers 22, this donkey saw the angel of the Lord blocking the path (while his master, Balaam, was unaware) and bolted off to the side. When Balaam beat his donkey to make it get back on the road, God gave it the ability to speak, and it challenged Balaam. “What have I done to you that deserves your beating me three times? Balaam told him, “You made me look like a fool!” After the two conversed, God opened Balaam’s eyes to see the angel on the road and complimented the donkey’s sense: “Three times the donkey saw me and shied away; . . . otherwise, I would certainly have killed you by now and spared the donkey.” Chastised, Balaam repented and did what the Lord told him to do.
3 The Great Fish
While we often think of it as a whale, the sea creature that swallowed Jonah is identified in virtually every Bible translation as a great fish (Jonah 1:17). Was it a whale? A whale shark? Or a species that has since gone extinct? Though scholars speculate and postulate, we will probably never know the answer this side of heaven.
4 of 6 The Fish with the Coin in Its Mouth
One of Jesus’s most unusual miracles involved a fish. In Matthew 17 (the only record of this story in the Gospels), Jesus and Peter were discussing taxes, specifically the required temple tax. Jesus instructed Peter to “go out to the lake and throw in a line” (Matthew 17:27 NLT) and he would catch a fish, which would have a four-drachma coin (enough to pay both Jesus’s and Peter’s temple tax) in its mouth.
5 The Rooster Who Crowed Twice
In another account involving Jesus and Peter, during Jesus’s darkest hours, a rooster fulfilled Jesus’s chilling words to Peter that, “this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny three times that you even know me” (Mark 14:30 NLT). Only hours before, Peter had declared that he would never deny Jesus, but now, after this rooster’s second crowing and his third denial, the reality of what Peter had done hit home, and “he broke down and wept” (v. 71).
6 The Donkey’s Colt
Finally, we would be remiss if we didn’t mention another donkey—a “donkey’s colt” (Matthew 21:5–6 NLT). Unlike its Old Testament counterpart, this young donkey has no speaking role, but it carried the King of Kings into Jerusalem on what we now commemorate as Palm Sunday. This donkey was even mentioned in the prophecy fulfilled that day: “Look, your king is coming to you. . .. riding on a donkey’s colt” (Zechariah 9:9).