The uncircumcised don’t have to become circumcised. The Greek doesn’t have to become Jewish. The barbarian isn’t excluded because he fails to conform to cultural norms and practices. These boundaries were legitimate reasons people remained separated. What Paul is emphasizing to the Colossians, and by extension to us, is that the starting point for their practice as Christians was the recognition that, in all of their diversity, they stood before God in the same way as Israel. They didn’t choose God. He chose them. They weren’t holy because they were special and better than everybody else. They
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