Colossians 3:11

There is no national or racial distinction that determines one’s acceptability to God nor is there any religious, cultural, or social distinction. Jesus Christ is essentially all that we need for new birth and growth. He indwells every believer and permeates all the relationships of life. "In all" probably means that Christ is everything (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:28; Galatians 3:28). [Note: See C. F. D. Moule, The Epistles . . ., pp. 121-22.] A barbarian was one who did not know Greek; his or her language was foreign. Scythians originated from the Black Sea and Caspian Sea area, and the Greeks thought of them as the lowest type of barbarian. [Note: See McGee, 5:358.]

"The new man lives in a new environment where all racial, national, religious, cultural and social distinctions are no more. Rather, Christ is now all that matters and in all who believe. The statement is one of the most inclusive in the New Testament and is amply supported by the pre-eminence of Christ in New Testament theology. It is a particularly appropriate statement for the Colossians and affords an excellent summary statement of the teaching of the letter. There are three realms, relevant to the Colossians, in which He is all. He is everything in salvation; hence there is no place for angelic mediation in God’s redemptive work (cf. Colossians 1:18-22; Colossians 2:18). He is everything in sanctification; hence legality and asceticism are out of place in the Christian life (cf. Colossians 2:16-23). He is our life (Colossians 3:3-4). Finally, He is everything necessary for human satisfaction; hence there is no need for philosophy, or the deeds of the old man (Colossians 1:26-28; Colossians 2:3; Colossians 2:9-10). He fills the whole life, and all else is hindering and harmful." [Note: Johnson, 481:28.]