St. Paul, in this letter...
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St. Paul, in this letter of love to Philemon on behalf of the slave Onesimus, reiterates his powerful word of the Gospel in Galatians 3:23—4:7:
Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean the heir, as long as he is a child, is not better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; ... So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, ... so that we might receive adoption as children ... So through God you are no longer a slave but a son or a daughter.
Now before faith came, we were confined under the law, kept under restraint until faith should be revealed. So that the law was our custodian until Christ came, that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a custodian; for in Christ Jesus you are all children of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise. I mean the heir, as long as he is a child, is not better than a slave, though he is the owner of all the estate; ... So with us; when we were children, we were slaves to the elemental spirits of the universe. But when the time came, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, ... so that we might receive adoption as children ... So through God you are no longer a slave but a son or a daughter.
