Galatians is such  beautiful book declaring to us that we are not justified by works, but by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16, 3:7-9,11,22,24).  Part of reading a book in context is looking at the theme of the book, and clearly, throughout the book to the residents of modern-day Turkey, the theme is the true gospel (Gal. 1:8-10).  In keeping with that theme found throughout the book, we look at and examine verse 28 of chapter 3, which says:


Often this verse is taken out of context to prove that there is no longer any role for man or woman.  This is often used to justify women taking the position of pastor within the church.  But that is clearly taken out of context of what Paul is speaking about here.  In fact, in the pastoral letter to Timothy, Paul's son in the faith, Paul writes:

1 Timothy 2:12 ^{12 a}But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet.

This verse flies in the face of the world's philosphy of Feminism, which has been adopted and integrated into the life of God's church (Col. 2:8, 1 Jn. 5:19).  But why does Paul say this to Timothy? He next ties the statement, not into a cultural, locational tradition, but he ties the precept into creation.  Look at what he says:

1 Timothy 2:13-14 ¹³ For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. ¹⁴ And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.

So he says that it was Eve who was deceived, and not Adam.  Eve forsook her God-given role of being submitted to her leader, Adam, and took the lead into sin.  Now these verses taken with the next are hard to understand, reading in the English.  The next verse tells us:

1 Timothy 2:15 ¹⁵ But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint.

The New American translation properly provides the word women, to help us understand the change of reference in this verse.  This is not a verse to "keep 'em barefoot and pregnant!"  This verse extends to all of woman-hood, saying that they will be saved through faith in Christ, and retaining their God-given role as a woman, a creature created for God's glory.
Back to Gal. 3:28... Paul, speaking to the Galatian believers about the true and only gospel, and the purposes of Law and Faith, tells us in Gal. 3:28 that all people have an equal standing in God's salvation.  There is no Jew or Greek (crossing all ethnic boundaries) and no slave or free (transcending all economic boundaries) and no man or woman (cross all gender boundaries) in Christ.  This was and still is a truly revolutionary proclamation, and is truly good-news to all people, that God does not require us to be from a certain caste of society, or require us to do only certain requirements (which only the elite could do).  But no, he tells us that in the matter of the good news, the evangellion~ gospel, that all are on the same level, and it is equally available to all.