Bible Study on Out of Many, One

By staff - Jan 21, 2010 -

Bible Study Guide

There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.

Galatians 3:28

Teacher Notes

This is a suggested Bible study for any size group. The accompanying sermon notes (“Out of One, Many”) serve as a resource as you prepare to teach and then lead this Bible study. Answers are provided with the questions when appropriate, but do not be too quick to give the answers. Allow the participants time to talk about the questions among themselves and offer their own answers.

Create Learning Readiness: Write the word “Reconciliation” on the board before students arrive. Using a Bible dictionary, look up a few details about some of the groups that dwelled in the Holy Land during biblical times (Hittites, Hivites, Jebusites, Amorites, Perizzites and Canaanites). As students arrive, hand out paper and pencils for them to use during class time.

Bible Study Instruction

Say: The land promised by God to the Hebrew people was inhabited by many different tribes of people before the Hebrews arrived there.

Ask: Can you name any of those tribes? (Allow time for responses.)

Say: Turn with me to Exodus 23:23 and let’s find out who some of them were. (Ask someone to read the verse).

Ask: What are some we didn’t mention a few moments ago?

Say: You can see why there was so much division among the different people. Each one had their own customs that they lived by. Often those cultures clashed because of the differences among them.

Ask: What do you think are some cultural customs that might have caused people back then to be at odds with one another? (Religious differences, gods they worshipped, language differences, etc.)

Say: When our nation was founded in 1776, a committee was appointed to design a seal that would represent the United States. The Great Seal committee came up with a seal that had on it the Latin phrase “E pluribus unum.”

Ask: Does anyone know what that phrase means? (Out of many, one) What was the committee trying to communicate to those early colonists? (Though there were many nationalities represented among the colonists, they were to be as one)

Say: I wrote the word reconciliation on the board before you came in. What do you think that word means?

Ask: How is reconciliation possible? (Reconciliation begins with God. Ask someone to read 2 Corinthians 5:19 for the class.)

Say: The word reconciliation comes from a word that referred to the exchanging of coins. So the idea is an exchange. God exchanges the righteousness of Christ for our sin.

Ask: Do we have the ability within ourselves to be reconciled to God? Ask someone to read Romans 5:10 and another to read Colossians 1:20-22.

Say: Once we are reconciled to God, He places within us the ability to be reconciled with other people because of His love. That love removes the barriers that exist between us.

Ask: What are three barriers that Paul mentions in Galatians 3:28? (Social status, gender, and race)

Say: As Christians, we are to set aside the barriers that would separate us.

Ask: What about the separation between us and non-Christians? Should God’s example of reconciling us to Himself apply to this situation?

Say: Since we are all made in the image of God, it really should. There are three major barriers that must be overcome if there is to be harmony between the races (see the Sermon Outline): (1) ethnocentrism, (2) stereotyping, and (3) prejudice.

Ask: What do those terms mean to you? How would you define them? (After responses, define these terms using a good dictionary.)

Say: One author says, “We belong to each other in such a way as to render of no account the things which normally distinguish us, namely race, rank and sex.”

Ask: Is that possible? If so, how? (Allow time for responses. Discuss each briefly as they are suggested. Answers should include the following (see sermon material for more info):

  1. Understand yourself
  2. Empathize with others
  3. Loosen up
  4. Keep your sense of humor
  5. Don’t be afraid of mistakes
  6. Do not make quick judgments
  7. Be tolerant of ambiguity
  8. Develop intercultural traits
  9. Take a stand
  10. Recognize that we don’t live in a colorless or cultureless world

Say: There is so much that we can do to bring about racial reconciliation. Many times we think that we can’t do much. But if each one of us would set one goal—come up with one idea that we would be willing to put into practice beginning this week, we could make a difference in our world.

As you came in, I gave you a piece of paper and a pencil. Now it’s time to use them. I want you to take a few moments and ask God to impress upon your mind one thing you could begin doing to bring about racial reconciliation. After you’ve taken a moment to pray and, as God reveals something to you, write it down. Then commit that to the Lord and begin this week to make a difference.

Say: Next week, please come prepared to share something that God does through you this week with regard to racial reconciliation.

What Can One Person Do?

  1. Ask the pastor of your church to invite other ethnic congregations in your community to join with your church in a worship service.
  2. Arrange for a pulpit exchange with a church of another ethnic group.
  3. Develop a relationship with people from another ethnic group by inviting them to your home for fellowship.
  4. Visit a Christian bookstore to find reading material that will help you understand other ethnic groups.

Other Helpful Scriptures

Bible verses about Racial Reconciliation:
Gen. 1:26-27; Gen 3:20; Deut. 10:17; 2 Chron. 19:7; Prov. 24:23; Isa. 66:18; Mal. 2:10; Matt. 22:36-39; Luke 10:29-37; John 4:7-10; John 10:16; Acts 8:26-39; Acts 17:26; Rom. 2:11; Rom. 10:12; Gal. 3:28; Eph. 2:14-22; Col. 3:11; 1 Tim. 5:21; James 2:9; 1 John 4:20; Rev. 5:

Further Learning

Learn more about: Citizenship, Racial Reconciliation