Galatians 2
Confirmation from the Jerusalem Apostles
1 Then after fourteen years I went up to Jerusalem again with Barnabas, taking Titus along too.
Fourteen years later, Paul returned to Jerusalem, meaning that he had no contact with the Church of Jerusalem. He could not have received knowledge from them. He took Barnabas, who was a Jew. He also took Titus, who was a Gentile.
2 I went there because of a revelation and presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so only in a private meeting with the influential people, to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain.
God gave Paul a divine revelation to return to Jerusalem. The purpose of the visit was for Paul to appear before the Jerusalem Council. Paul taught the same gospel that the apostles were teaching, even though they had no contact, except with Peter and James.
3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, although he was a Greek.
Paul and the Jerusalem Council agreed that Titus, the Gentile, was not to be circumcised. This was a death blow argument against the Judaizers, because the Judaizers had claimed authority from the Church in Jerusalem.
4 Now this matter arose because of the false brothers with false pretenses who slipped in unnoticed to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves.
The Greek word for "slipped in" is παρεισέρχομαι (pareiserchomai), meaning that they were planted their by stealth by false believers. Satan has been working by stealth in churches ever since. The false teachers wanted to enslave the believers back under the Mosaic Law, a law that no man can keep.
5 But we did not surrender to them even for a moment, in order that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
Paul stood for the bible doctrine of salvation by grace through faith plus nothing. If he did not make his stand at this time, then all of the Gentiles of the Roman world would be enslaved by a law that they could not keep.
6 But from those who were influential (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people) – those influential leaders added nothing to my message.
These influential Judaizers could not add anything to Paul's teachings on salvation by grace through faith plus nothing. Paul did not allow them to add to the gospel.
7 On the contrary, when they saw that I was entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised just as Peter was to the circumcised
Paul and Peter were viewed as equals. Paul's mission work was to the Gentiles, while Peter's missionary activities were to the Jews.
8 (for he who empowered Peter for his apostleship to the circumcised also empowered me for my apostleship to the Gentiles)
God had empowered both Peter and Paul for these two different and separate missions. Again, it seems like God should have reversed their roles, because Paul was an educated rabbi and Peter was a fisherman. However, God knew what he was doing.
9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who had a reputation as pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
James, Cephas, and John were the three pillars of the Jerusalem Church. They recognized the apostleship that had been given to Paul by God's grace. Offering Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship meant that Paul and Barnabas were both equal apostles. They all agreed that Paul and Barnabas should go to the Gentiles, while the other apostles would go to the Jews.
10 They requested only that we remember the poor, the very thing I also was eager to do.
The poor were those in Jerusalem. Many had sold their properties in order to advance the gospel. Paul took up a collection from the Gentiles to help support the mother church.
Paul Rebukes Peter
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong.
Peter was an apostle called by God, but he still had a sin nature. This event showed that the apostles were not always inspired. They were inspired when they wrote Scripture. They were inspired when they were speaking in the name of the Lord. However, they were not always inspired on a day-by-day, hour-by-hour, and moment-by-moment basis. Sometimes, church members grow angry when their church leader’s sins, but they are not perfect either. Church leaders and church members operate within their sin nature.
12 Until certain people came from James, he had been eating with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he stopped doing this and separated himself because he was afraid of those who were pro-circumcision.
Peter had no problem eating with Gentiles, because he had already done so in Acts 10 in response to the divine vision which was given to him. However, when Jews were present, he refused to eat with Gentiles.
The church was one body of Jews and Gentiles, so Peter should have used his apostolic authority to join the two groups together, even in the sharing of meals. This was once forbidden by the Mosaic Law, but this Law had ended at the atonement of Christ.
13 And the rest of the Jews also joined with him in this hypocrisy, so that even Barnabas was led astray with them by their hypocrisy.
This created a division in the church, as there was a Jewish and a Gentile communion. The Jews thought they had something that the Gentiles did not have.
14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force the Gentiles to live like Jews?”
Peter was living like a Pharisaic Jew, so Paul called him out on the hypocrisy. Notice that Paul did not tickle ears. He confronted one of the original apostles right in front of the whole group. Most pastors would not invite Paul to speak at their churches, because Paul might call them out in front of the congregation. The question brought out was should believing Gentiles act as Jews? Paul was telling Peter that he was asking Gentiles to accept a Mosaic Law that Peter himself had discarded.
Jews and Gentiles are Justified by Faith
15 We are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners,
Peter and Paul were not Gentiles proselytes. They had both been born as Jews.
16 yet we know that no one is justified by the works of the law but by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ. And we have come to believe in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by the faithfulness of Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
Jews must no longer trust the Mosaic Law, because no one can keep it. It leads to death. Instead, Jews are to trust in their Messiah. Gentiles are to do the same.
17 But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages sin? Absolutely not!
The Greek word for "justified" is δικαιόω (dikaiow), meaning for a judge to declare someone righteous, or innocent of all charges. When a person is born, then he will eventually sin, and the punishment is eternal damnation. Eternal damnation means eternal separation from God. The eternal location is the Lake of Fire. God is a perfect God and he will not allow any sin in his Kingdom.
However, Christ agreed to pay the price. He took the blame for all of the sin of every single person who lived. At the same time, he transferred his righteousness to those who believed. When God looks upon a believer, he does not see the sin, but he sees Christ's righteousness. This supernatural transfer initiated and empowered by God himself is justification.
Christ does not encourage sin. He encourages belief in this divine transfer process. The transfer was offered because of the grace, or the kindness, of God. The transfer occurs after God changes the personality of the believer by making his dead spirit alive so that he can hear, understand, and accept the transfer.
If the Judaizers were correct, then Peter, Paul, and Barnabas were sinners, because they had eaten with the Gentiles. This means that if Paul had eaten with the Galatian Gentile believers, then he would be a sinner in danger of losing his salvation. Christ did not die on the cross to separate Jews and Gentiles. His atonement ended the Law, placing Jews and Gentiles into one living body.
18 But if I build up again those things I once destroyed, I demonstrate that I am one who breaks God’s law.
If a Jew goes back to the Law after already being justified by the Messiah, then he is going back to sin. Paul proved to the Galatians that by his apostolic authority, he could even stand up and correct the original 12 apostles when they fell outside the will of God.
19 For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God.
The Law is dead. The wicked witch is dead. The Law could only bring death, because no one could keep it. The Law pointed out sin and demanded punishment. When Paul was saved, then the Law died to Paul. It no longer had any effect on Paul. It could not condemn him, because Paul was already justified, or declared righteous, in the aorist tense, meaning that the salvation process was a completed action of the past that could not possibly be undone.
20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
Paul was positionally co-crucified with Christ, so the Law no longer has any hold on him. Paul no longer possessed a dead spirit living inside of him. Instead, the God of the universe lives inside of him. Paul now does good works, because of his love for Christ. The only reason that Paul is in this new position is because Christ loved him and die for him.
21 I do not set aside God’s grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing!
If a man can keep the Law and save himself, then the death of the Messiah was useless. If the Law can make a man righteous, then the death of the Messiah was useless. However, the Law can only point out one's sins and condemn him. The Law can only bring punishment which leads to an eternal death. Christ brought justification by grace through faith plus nothing, which leads to eternal life.
