seekeroftruth
Well-Known Member
Galatians 2:1 Then after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and, meeting privately with those esteemed as leaders, I presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. I wanted to be sure I was not running and had not been running my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.
6 As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised,[a] just as Peter had been to the circumcised.[b] 8 For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Cephas[c] and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I had been eager to do all along.
11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.
14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?
15 “We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles 16 know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in[d] Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
17 “But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews find ourselves also among the sinners, doesn’t that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, then I really would be a lawbreaker.
19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”[e]
a. Galatians 2:7 That is, Gentiles
b. Galatians 2:7 That is, Jews; also in verses 8 and 9
c. Galatians 2:9 That is, Peter; also in verses 11 and 14
d. Galatians 2:16 Or but through the faithfulness of … justified on the basis of the faithfulness of
e. Galatians 2:21 Some interpreters end the quotation after verse 14.
Yep... if they could figure out a way to sell forgiveness.... wait.... I think they did that already....
This is from the bible-studys.org site.
The reason for this second trip was “by” [because of] “revelation;” that is, by prompting him to go; God foresaw the necessity for this consultation with the apostles. In Jerusalem, Paul “communicated” (laid before) his gospel to the apostles. The Greek word rendered “communicated” means “to refer something to another party for his opinion of it.”
So Paul “privately” sought the judgment of “them which were of reputation” (the Jerusalem apostles), regarding the gospel he had been proclaiming for 14 years. Why did Paul seek the apostles’ opinion? He had no doubt as to the validity of his gospel, for he had received it directly from Christ; so his consultation with John, James and Peter was not to ascertain whether his gospel was correct.
Rather it was to obtain their approval of the way he was bringing Gentiles into the church: they were admitted without circumcision on the basis of their faith in Christ. Apart from the apostles’ consent, Paul’s ministry among the heathen would be hindered, he would “run” [labor] … “in vain.”
It appears from this, that Paul had preached what the Spirit had taught him, and now he was coming to see Peter, James, and the others in authority to tell them what he had preached. The message, that Paul gave here, was not for everyone, but for those in authority, for their approval.
Paul had been ministering this message for over 11 years. He now wanted the others to approve his ministry. The fact that he "went up by revelation" means that God sent him. He had never questioned the message before, but since he was sent by the Spirit, he felt he now needed Peter and James' approval.
These verses reveal the outcome of Paul’s submission of his gospel to the apostles for their opinion. That they acknowledged his gospel to be genuine and to be the same gospel they preached is seen in three ways;
(1) Circumcision was not required of the uncircumcised Titus. Had Paul’s gospel been lacking in this respect, Titus would have been circumcised.
(2) The Jerusalem apostles (“they who seemed to be somewhat in conference”) “added nothing to me”, that is, they found nothing lacking in his gospel so as to require the addition of something (e.g., circumcision).
(3) The apostles “gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship: In antiquity the giving of the right hand was a sign of agreement made between peers. The Jerusalem apostles viewed Paul and Barnabas as partners in the gospel ministry. The apostles would never had done this had they looked upon Paul’s gospel as erroneous.
As a true believer, Titus was living proof that circumcision and the Mosaic regulations were not prerequisites or necessary components of salvation. The apostles’ refusal to require Titus’ circumcision verified the church’s rejection of the Judaizers’ doctrine (Acts 16:1-3).
The doctrine of circumcision and of sacrificing has sprung up in the church. The Judaizers have insisted that the Christians go back to keeping the Jewish law. These people had forced Titus to be circumcised before they would accept him, because he was a Greek.
In fact, not many years after this very happening is when the temple was destroyed. Either Jesus did it all on the cross for us, or we worship Him in vain. Jesus was the perfect sacrifice for all time for everyone. To sacrifice after this would be to say that Jesus was not the perfect Lamb of God. Paul wants to get this question settled.
These troublemakers that had come into the church had intended to put them back under the law. These brand new Christians were impressed with the authority with which they had spoken, even if they were not bringing the good news of the gospel. They were tender believers and must be carefully guarded from false teachings.
Paul says it really does not matter that they are supposed to be someone special. Probably they were Pharisees, who thought they were better than other men. God is no respecter of persons. All of their education meant nothing to God. Paul had been taught of God. God's teaching was much above the teaching of man.
This is from the easy English site.God wanted Paul to go to Jerusalem. The leaders of the church in Jerusalem did not ask Paul to visit them. The apostles were the main leaders in the church in Jerusalem. They had great authority among all Christians. The decision that these leaders made affected Paul’s work. In fact, their decision affected unity in the church. Paul knew that the leaders might agree with him. If so, Paul could be confident that God wanted him to preach to the Gentiles. However, the leaders might not have agreed with what Paul taught. They might have insisted that the Gentile Christians must become Jews. That would have divided Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Paul and the leaders had a private meeting. In a public meeting, people sometimes like to cause trouble. But Paul and the leaders wanted to discuss carefully. They had to make the right decision. Paul preached about Jesus. The apostles and Christian leaders preached about Jesus. They had to know if they were preaching the same message.
Barnabas was a Jewish Christian. But Titus was a Gentile Christian. ‘Greek man’ may mean that Titus came from the country called Greece. But the Jews often referred to the Gentiles as ‘Greek men’. The Jewish Christians and leaders in Jerusalem accepted Titus. Nobody circumcised Titus. This means that nobody made Titus become a Jew. This was very important to Paul. The leaders had accepted a Gentile Christian. And it proved that the apostles and leaders in Jerusalem did not agree with the false teachers.
Not everyone in Jerusalem was pleased with Paul. There were people who opposed him. Paul spoke very strongly when he spoke about them. He said that they were not Christians at all. They had the wrong purpose. They were not honest when they joined the Christians in Jerusalem. They were false Christians who did not want to learn about the truth. Instead, they said that all Christians should obey all the Jewish laws. In fact, they wanted all Christians to become Jews. Jesus gives freedom to the people who trust him. But these false Christians wanted people to act like slaves. Really, the false Christians were trying to control people by their rules and traditions.
Paul refused to agree with what the false teachers taught. It was not the truth. Paul was firm. He would not give in. Paul did not let anyone circumcise Titus. Gentiles do not have to become Jews. The true good news about Jesus makes people free from the laws and traditions of religion. God accepts only the people who trust Jesus. Paul wanted everyone, especially the Gentiles, to know that fact.
Peter knew that God accepted the Gentiles (Acts 10). Jesus unites Jews and Gentiles when they trust him. So Peter was happy to accept Gentile Christians. In Antioch, they ate together. This means that they regularly ate meals together. Also, they had the ‘Lord’s Supper’ together (see 1 Corinthians 11:17-34). The Jewish laws said that a Jew must not eat with Gentiles. But Jewish Christians are free from these Jewish laws.
Paul did not name the men who went to Antioch. These men came from James’s church, in Jerusalem. It seems that the men knew James. But Paul did not say that James sent them. Perhaps these men were Jewish Christians whom Peter wanted to impress. But perhaps these men were false teachers. If so, they did not teach the true good news about Jesus. They believed that Gentile Christians should become Jews. Peter knew the truth, so he should have opposed such a message. Instead, he was afraid of these men. He did not continue to live freely. He began to avoid the Gentile Christians. In Acts chapters 2 to 4, you can read how Peter confidently preached to the Jews about Jesus. But still, he was too afraid to oppose the false teachers at Antioch.
This verse shows that even important leaders may behave in the wrong way. Peter did not just make a mistake. He chose to act against the truth on purpose. He tried to protect himself. Instead, he should have protected God’s truth.
Peter was an important leader, so the Jewish Christians at Antioch copied his behaviour. Even Barnabas, who knew Paul well, did not oppose Peter. Paul described them all as cowards. They knew the truth that Jewish and Gentile Christians are equal. But Peter and the other Jewish Christians were not behaving in the right way. They were dividing the Jewish and Gentile Christians instead of uniting them.
Paul was not afraid of anyone. He cared more about the true good news. He wanted everyone to know the truth. This important matter was affecting many Christians. Even the Christians in Galatia heard about this problem. So Paul did not see Peter privately. Instead, he spoke to Peter publicly so that all the Christians heard.
Paul showed Peter that his behaviour was not reasonable. Peter was a Jew but he had not behaved like a Jew. Instead, he was free from the Jewish laws and traditions. So he had freely mixed with the Gentile Christians. Then Peter separated from them because they were Gentiles. He mixed only with Jewish Christians. That suggested that he wanted the Gentile Christians to become Jews. Peter knew that this was not correct. But he may not have realised what his action meant. It was the opposite of what James, Peter and John had said earlier in this chapter.
Oh Peter.... why do you have to be such a coward????? Wait.... maybe that's Peter's gift.... sure he had first hand knowledge of what Jesus was teaching.... and sure he was there when Jesus was arrested..... Peter denied Jesus that night.... but..... Jesus lived to forgive Peter. When Jesus met with Peter after the crucifixion..... Jesus didn't say.... "I forgive you.... now go and sin no more"..... because Jesus knew that Peter was going to sin again.... and His Father [God] had sculpted Peter.... counted the hairs on his head even..... and God knew Peter would be a chicken poop scared cat..... God probably told Jesus about this one particularly glaring fault in the Apostle Peter. Peter just could not stand up and fight for what he knew Jesus wanted him to.
When I opened this chapter.... I thought it was going to be another chapter about circumcision. But.... I was happy to find it has another theme.... it's about cowards in the church.
The church is becoming a political football. This has happened before.... back when Kennedy was running for President... the church was all up in arms about electing a Catholic..... all the opponents of John Kennedy said that the Catholic Church was going to take over the White House if Kennedy got in there. I guess they didn't realize that Kennedy was just a rich guy who wanted to be the head guy so he could work on the stuff that was important to him.... like race relations. I find it interesting that the problems that could loom for the church over shadowed the race problems that were going on at the time. I remember the church at the time.... the signs "white only" were not only on the water fountains and restrooms... it was also on the church doors.... white people when to white churches and black people went to black churches.... all very accepted.
Paul was arguing that requiring humans to be circumcised or change their eating habits was superfluous...... Jesus brought the antidote to death. Jesus made the sacrifice for everybody.... and I don't think Jesus will be unzipping a guys trousers to see if he has a pass to Heaven. That's obviously not a biblical thought.
Peter was afraid to stand up and tell those Pharisees to shut up and sit down...... Just like the night Jesus was arrested..... Peter was a chicken poop.
