Top 7 Bible Verses About Equality

Here are my top 7 Bible verses about equality.  Which ones might you include?

Galatians 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

There may be no better Bible verse in all the Bible on equality than this one because it includes gender, social position, and nationality.  It is never about race but simply about grace and we are all one…and seen as equal in God’s sight.

Romans 2:11 “For God shows no partiality.”

God doesn’t favor one person over another.  For those who have been born again, they are all His children and as such, they are all going to inherit eternal life.  Thankfully, God doesn’t treat us according to our sins, or we’d all be hopelessly condemned as it says “He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities” (Psalm 103:10) and it is “Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail” (Lam 3:22).

Leviticus 19:33-34 “When a stranger sojourns with you in your land, you shall not do him wrong. You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

The idea that God in the Old Testament would not welcome the stranger or alien into the nation of Israel is patently false because God had regard for the stranger, which means anyone other than those coming from the 12 Tribes.  Israel, and surely we, should treat strangers who are not native to this land as those who are accepted by God and again, as in Galatians 3:28, it doesn’t matter to God about gender, nationality, or social position.

John 13:16 “Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.”

Jesus’ saying certainly is contrary to the way the world thinks because those in positions of power generally think more highly of themselves than those who might be less fortunate than them or even employed by them because listen to what Paul writes in Romans 12:3 “For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned.”  Jesus’ saying in John 13:16 was right after He, being God Himself, washed the dirty, smelly disciples feet and was trying to teach them (and us by extension) the idea that we are to serve one another, regardless of social rank.  Imagine that; He was the God of the Universe washing His created creature’s feet…even Judas’ feet, who would betray Him just a few short minutes later.  When God sees us doing such a thing in a humble attitude, He will most certainly bless us.

Acts 10:34-35 “So Peter opened his mouth and said: “Truly I understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.”

Although this is very similar to Romans 2:11 it is expanded to include people of every nation.  God’s impartiality is not based upon nationality but includes “anyone who fears him” and not just that but whoever “does what is right is acceptable to him.”  God bases acceptance upon those who fear him and doing what they know to be right.

Mark 12:31 “The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”

Jesus was just asked which are the two greatest commandments and we know that the first one is “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30).  The greatest commandment is vertical and relates to our relationship with God but the second greatest commandment is horizontal and deals with our relationship with our neighbor.  Jesus gave the Parable of the Good Samaritan and tells us basically that our neighbor is anyone (Mark 12:25-37).

Ephesians 5:21 “Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

There is no mention of hierarchy here…just a statement of submitting to one another and doing so out of reverence for Jesus Christ.  Should we not submit to others in love since He left the glory of heaven to die for us in such a humiliating circumstance?  Consider Christ “Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!” Shouldn’t we follow that amazing example and submit to one another out of love?

Conclusion

James summed up the concept of equality when he wrote “My brothers and sisters, believers in our glorious Lord Jesus Christ must not show favoritism. Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in filthy old clothes also comes in. If you show special attention to the man wearing fine clothes and say, “Here’s a good seat for you,” but say to the poor man, “You stand there” or “Sit on the floor by my feet,” have you not discriminated among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts” (James 2:1-4).  Since God does not show favoritism (Rom 2:11) and does not respect one man or woman over another (Acts 10:34), then neither should we for “If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself” you are doing right. But if you show favoritism, you sin and are convicted by the law as lawbreakers” (James 2:8-9).

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by Jack Wellman

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon