Journal: Priscilla Papers
Volume: PP 37:2 (Spring 2023)
Article: Together In The New Humanity
Author: Craig S. Keener

PP 37:2 (Spring 2023) p. 4

Together In The New Humanity

Craig S. Keener

Craig S. Keener holds a PhD in NT and Christian Origins from Duke University as well as MA and Mdiv degrees from Assemblies of God Theological Seminary. He teaches biblical studies at Asbury Theological Seminary near Lexington, Kentucky. Well over a million of his thirty-plus books are in circulation. His award-winning, popular-level IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament (now in its second edition and available in several languages) has sold over half a million copies. Craig is married to Médine Moussounga Keener, who holds a PhD from University of Paris 7. Craig and Médine work for ethnic reconciliation in the U.S. and Africa. Their story together is told in their book, Impossible Love: The True Story of an African Civil War, Miracles, and Hope Against All Odds (Chosen Books, 2016).

This article is a revised version of a lecture presented at CBE’s 2022 International Conference in Atlanta, Georgia. The lecture was given jointly by Craig Keener and Médine Moussounga Keener and can be accessed at cbeinternational.org.

If Galatians 3:28 declares that unity in Christ has obliterated ethnic and gender barriers, what should we make of the household codes in Eph 5:21–6:9 and elsewhere? If Gal 3:28 is the universal principle, how is that lived out in the tension between the already/not yet in a fallen world?

This article elaborates the fundamental, transcultural message of Ephesians that puts its household code in context. Ephesians teaches about the one body of Christ, with explicit implications for ethnic and gender unity. But first, investigating the connections between Genesis and Gal 3:28 will provide a foundation for understanding Ephesians.

Galatians 3:28 And Its Genesis Allusion

When Gal 3:28 says there is neither Jew nor Gentile, it teaches equality without bulldozing cultural differences. This teaching has significant concrete implications. Peter, for example, should not have withdrawn from table fellowship with Gentiles in Gal 2. Eating together established a covenant relationship, and withdrawing from table fellowship was a declaration of enmity, treating Antioch’s Gentile believers as second-class citizens or worse.1

When Gal 3:28 declares there is neither slave nor free, it is not ignoring ...