Tearing Down Walls: One Identity in Christ

Jul 26, 2026

Devotional

Day 1: The Pharisee’s Prayer of Twisted Gratitude

When gratitude becomes a weapon of comparison, it erects invisible walls between people. The ancient Pharisees thanked God for what they were not—Gentiles, women, slaves—using prayer to reinforce their superiority. This subtle pride masquerading as thankfulness still creeps into our hearts today. It divides communities into categories of “worthy” and “unworthy,” reducing others to labels rather than image-bearers. True gratitude focuses on God’s grace, not our perceived advantages. It humbly acknowledges that every identity marker apart from Christ is temporary scaffolding. [24:36]

“The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’”
(Luke 18:11–12, NIV)

Reflection: Where have you unknowingly defined yourself by what you’re not? How might thanking God for His work in someone else’s life soften your heart today?

Day 2: Training Wheels and the Law’s Temporary Guardrails

The law was never meant to be the destination. Like training wheels on a bike, it provided stability for a season, guiding God’s people toward dependence on Christ. Yet clinging to rules as the source of identity creates rigid boxes of performance. Jesus fulfilled the law’s purpose, replacing fear-driven compliance with grace-fueled freedom. Our call isn’t to police boundaries but to journey together toward the cross. Legalism builds walls; love builds bridges. [30:18]

“Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith.”
(Galatians 3:23–24, NIV)

Reflection: Are there “training wheels” you’ve treated as non-negotiable for yourself or others? How might grace reshape your expectations?

Day 3: Baptized into One Body, Not Boxes

Baptism drowns divisions. When we rise from the water, we declare allegiance to a King who dissolves ethnic, social, and cultural barriers. The early church struggled to grasp this—Jews wanted Gentile converts to “earn” belonging. But baptism isn’t a membership test; it’s a burial of old identities. United in Christ’s death and resurrection, we wear His name, not our achievements. Every splash in the baptismal tank echoes God’s verdict: “No boxes allowed.” [34:32]

“For we were all baptized by one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.”
(1 Corinthians 12:13, NIV)

Reflection: Who feels “outside” to you? How does baptism’s water both humble you and unite you to them?

Day 4: Clothing Ourselves with Christ’s Humble Uniform

In a world obsessed with status symbols, Christians wear invisible uniforms: compassion, kindness, humility. The Galatians forgot this, arguing over who deserved the “best” spiritual rank. But Christ’s clothing fits all sizes. When we clothe ourselves in Him, our differences become threads in a tapestry, not weapons in a war. The world notices not our theological labels but whether our sleeves are rolled up in love. [35:11]

“Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”
(Colossians 3:12, NIV)

Reflection: What “outfit” do you default to—self-righteousness or servanthood? How might dressing like Jesus change a tense relationship?

Day 5: Tearing Down Walls with a Sledgehammer of Grace

Walls begin as self-protection but end as self-imposed prisons. Jesus swung a sledgehammer at the ultimate divider—the temple wall separating Jews and Gentiles—and declared, “No more.” Yet we still stack bricks of pride, prejudice, and power. His resurrection power crushes every barrier, inviting us to live as a reunited family. The cross doesn’t just reconcile us to God; it reconciles us to each other. [44:40]

“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility… His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace.”
(Ephesians 2:14–15, NIV)

Reflection: What wall have you justified as “necessary”? What rubble might remain if you let Jesus swing the hammer?

Sermon Summary

Paul cuts straight to the heart of a community that had started adding requirements to Jesus. Paul says it is not Jesus plus the law, not Jesus plus dietary rules, not Jesus plus circumcision, not Jesus plus the right religious performance. The law had a purpose, but the law was never meant to save. The law was a guardian, a pedagogos, like a day to day disciplinarian for a child, and like training wheels on a bike. Training wheels matter for a season, but training wheels are not the goal.

The text shows who God’s people were before Christ. Heritage, status, role, religious identity, and social position had become dividing lines. The Pharisee prayer, “God, I thank you that I am a Jew and not a Gentile,” was twisted gratitude. That kind of gratitude defines identity by comparison, and comparison builds walls. It says a person knows who he is because he is not “them.”

Paul says Christ has brought something new. In Christ Jesus, all are children of God through faith. Those baptized into Christ have been clothed with Christ. Those old markers are no longer the things that define the family. The new markers are light and free: children of God, baptized into Christ, clothed with Christ. Baptism declares that a believer no longer stands before God on the basis of a personal story, but on Christ’s story, his life, death, and resurrection.

Paul then says there is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, for all are one in Christ Jesus. The distinctions do not disappear as if everyone becomes the same. The point is unity, not uniformity. Christ forms one community without the old walls deciding who is worthy, who is inside, and who belongs.

The wall image exposes what still happens in the heart. The bricks are attitudes, assumptions, and labels. Pride says, “I am better.” Prejudice says, “You don’t belong.” Power says, “I am going to protect my position.” These bricks rise slowly through sarcasm, judgment, jealousy, and control until love turns into distance.

Jesus came to tear down what human pride keeps rebuilding. Ephesians says Christ destroyed the dividing wall of hostility and made one new humanity through the cross. Love builds bridges, not walls. God’s people are called to stop rebuilding on Monday what Jesus tore down on Friday, and to live as a journey church that points people toward Jesus and the cross.

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[22:54] - Combined Gathering And Compass Series
[24:12] - Twisted Gratitude And Comparison
[25:43] - Jesus Creates A Community Without Barriers
[26:59] - Galatians And Jesus Plus Nothing
[28:30] - Box Church Or Journey Church
[29:17] - The Law As Guardian
[31:03] - Training Wheels And Old Identity Markers
[32:00] - Children Of God Through Faith
[33:44] - Baptism Into Christ’s Life
[34:32] - Clothed With Christ
[35:53] - Unity, Not Uniformity
[38:31] - Walls Built Brick By Brick
[41:05] - Pride, Prejudice, And Power
[43:43] - Jesus Destroys The Dividing Wall

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Galatians 3:23-29
“Before the coming of this faith, we were held in custody under the law, locked up until the faith that was to come would be revealed. So the law was our guardian until Christ came that we might be justified by faith. Now that this faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian. So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith, for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ. There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.” [29:17]

Ephesians 2:14-18
“For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.” [44:22]

Colossians 3:12
“Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.”

Observation questions

In Galatians 3:23-29, what three new identity markers are given to believers in Christ? [32:00]
What old distinctions does Paul name in Galatians 3:28, and what does he say about those distinctions in Christ? [35:53]
What pictures are used to describe the law’s role before Christ, and what do those pictures help show? [29:17]
What kinds of “bricks” are described as building walls between people, and how do those walls begin to rise? [38:31]

Interpretation questions

Paul says the law was a guardian until Christ came. How does that help explain why “Jesus plus extra requirements” is such a serious distortion of the gospel? [26:59]
Paul says believers are one in Christ Jesus. How does that support unity without erasing real differences between people? [35:53]
Baptism declares that a believer now stands before God on Christ’s story rather than a personal story. How might that change the way a Christian thinks about worth, shame, or spiritual status? [33:44]
Ephesians says Jesus destroyed the dividing wall of hostility through the cross. What does that suggest about how seriously God takes pride, prejudice, and guarded hostility inside the church? [44:22]

Application questions

Twisted gratitude can sound spiritual while quietly feeding comparison. Where is there a temptation to thank God in a way that really means, “at least I’m not like that person”? [24:36]
Pride often hides behind sarcasm, needing to be right, or subtle criticism. Which of those forms of pride is easiest to excuse personally, and what would repentance look like in a real relationship this week? [41:05]
Prejudice builds walls before a person is even known. Is there a type of person who gets labeled too quickly in the heart—because of background, politics, appearance, age, money, or personality? What would it look like to start seeing that person as an image bearer instead? [42:18]
Power says, “I need to protect my position.” Where is there a tendency to control, keep distance, or hold the upper hand rather than move toward peace? [42:42]
If believers are clothed with Christ, then compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience should be visible. Which one of those “clothes” feels most needed right now in the home, workplace, or church life? [34:32]
Jesus tears down walls, but people often rebuild them brick by brick. Whose face comes to mind when thinking about a wall that has gone up? What would one small step toward a bridge look like this week? [45:11]
A journey church points people toward Jesus instead of adding heavy barriers. In everyday relationships, how can faith become more about pointing people to Christ and less about measuring whether they fit a certain box? [28:30]

Sermon Clips

52s

#JourneyChurch

“here's the truth. Don't spend Monday rebuilding what Jesus tore down on a Friday because that is the truth of who Jesus is. He tore down the dividing wall, and he tears it down today. Elmer, let us be a journey church, a church that just points people towards Jesus, towards the cross. Let us not look to be a box church where we look at our preferences or all of our differences. Those don't really matter. What matters is that we are children of God. What matters is that we are baptized into Christ. What matters is that we are clothed with him. What matters is that we go and we share Christ with each other into a hurting, hurting world.”

50s

#LoveBuildsBridges

“Who have you built a wall between? Whose face comes to mind right now? Is there a wall that you have convinced yourself is justified? What do you need to ask Jesus to tear down? Because love builds bridges, not walls. And here's the good news, church. The good news is that Jesus, over two thousand years ago, tore down that wall between God and us. We can be reconciled to him. And here's the other good news, that any wall we build today, Jesus, he can still tear it down.”

57s

#PridePrejudicePower

“And it's not our differences that create walls. It's our pride, it's our prejudice, and it's our desire for power. We lay these bricks as these three seep into our life. Again, they're subtle at first, but suddenly discernment starts to sound like criticism or judgment disguises itself as gratitude. Walls where proving we're right becomes more important than loving our neighbor. And then seeds of division are sown, and it comes at a cost. Isolation, loneliness, disconnection. The cost is broken community. The cost is a fractured church. The cost is separation from the very people that Jesus died for.”

41s

#WallsTornByChrist

“And these are the exact heart postures that Paul is confronting. The Jewish believers were tempted to take pride in their heritage, prejudice against the Gentiles, and use the law to maintain their status and their power. But Paul is saying, no. No. No. That's not how it is. Let me tell you, because Jesus Christ came for all of us. He died for everyone. And because of our new distinctions, right, remember, we're children of God. We are baptized into Christ. We are clothed with him. Those are our distinctions now. He came to tear down walls.”

54s

#RejectLabels

“Prejudice says you don't belong. It divides us into camps. It's an us versus them judgment before you even get to know them. And it's not just about race, but it's judgment of their character based off of how they look or how they act. Prejudice assigns value based on label instead of seeing them as image bearers of God. What prejudiced thoughts might you be having that are contributing to a wall you're building? And then power. Power says, I'm going to protect my position. Power keeps others at length so that they don't have a say. It's your desire to control someone else in order to maintain your position. It uses your influence to keep others on the outside so you have the upper hand, which becomes another wall.”

37s

#LetGodTearWalls

“So what's Paul declaring? He is declaring that Jesus tore down that dividing wall between the Jews and the Gentile. Paul's affirming this. We all have access to God now, and Jesus can still tear down the walls that we built. So let me ask you, Elmbrook, what walls have you built? What wall are you even trying to build between you and God? And God is knocking at your door and saying, I wanna tear down that wall for you.”

41s

#UnityNotUniformity

“And I want you to notice here, what is Paul saying? The exact opposite of what the Pharisees would pray. And he would say, no longer do those distinctions matter. Heritage, gender, roles, those are important, but they don't define us as a community. And he's not saying that we have to be uniform and every one of us has to be the same. No. Distinctions do still exist on some level, but we have unity, not uniformity. Our shared identity in Christ is what forms us into one.”

54s

#CommonIdentityInChrist

“You see, through Christ, we now have an interconnected identity, an interconnected identity as his community. So we become the children of God. Paul just said that. He says we're baptized into Christ. We're gonna celebrate with our brothers and sisters here very soon. And he says we are clothed with Christ. The prior distinctions of the law, they're no longer needed. These are now our new distinctions. And notice they are not heavy and burdensome. They are light and easy and free. We now have this common identity in Christ. And notice how it's not just an individual identity, it's a community identity. Yes. God saves individuals, but he's also creating a new community with a common identity.”

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