Galatians 2
1 Then after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.
Paul then goes on to preach his gospel to the Gentiles, and start many churches all over Asia. Finally, after 14 years he goes back to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus.
2 It was because of a revelation that I went up; and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain.
It was God who directed Paul to go to Jerusalem in a revelation. The revelation that Paul mentions here is found in Ac 21:10.
It seems like Paul needed some affirmation that his gospel was the same one that Peter was preaching to the Jews. And so God sends him to Jerusalem to get that affirmation (Ac 21:15-25).
3 But not even Titus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised.
4 But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us into bondage.
5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you.
6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality) well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.
7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised
8 (for He who effectually worked for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised effectually worked for me also to the Gentiles),
9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.
10 They only asked us to remember the poor the very thing I also was eager to do.
Paul stresses that none of the top apostles taught anything to Paul concerning the gospel. He points this out to let the Galatians know that he was the authority on the gospel to the Gentiles.
In the above passage Paul also points out an interesting thing about the nature of God. He said that God shows no partiality.
That is a very important statement to internalize. This is because it means that we can get as close to God as we want to. How close we get depends entirely on us because God will not push anyone away.
This also means that if we are walking with God with a clear conscience we don’t need to be awed by the leaders of the church in our day. God treats us just like He treats them; they are no more special to God that we are.
So far, Paul has shown that he received the gospel directly from God, and that the top apostles of his day could not teach him anything when it came to understanding the gospel. In the next passage, Paul goes further and shows that he had a better grasp of the gospel than even Peter who was chosen to give the gospel to the Jews.
Paul is not trying to boast but he is just trying to point out that when he tells the Galatians that their understanding of the gospel is wrong it is really important that they pay attention and take steps to change their perception of the gospel.
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned.
12 For prior to the coming of certain men from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles; but when they came, he began to withdraw and hold himself aloof, fearing the party of the circumcision.
13 The rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.
Peter didn’t fully understand that in the New Covenant there was no distinction in God’s eyes between the Jew and the Gentiles. But Paul clearly understood it.
Peter also was interested in what other people thought rather than what was true in God’s eyes.
Even Barnabas was not completely delivered from the opinions of men.
We can now see why God chose Paul to give the gospel to the Gentiles. He could not only understand God’s plan but was also willing to stand for it. These were the things that made him such a great apostle.
And it is these qualities that will also make you and me great men of God too.
So be willing to stand up for what God has shown you to be true, even if you have to stand up to leaders of the church.
14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in the presence of all, ""If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?"
Paul is openly and publicly confrontational here. Not because he wanted to embarrass Peter or show that he was better but because he didn’t want the truth to be compromised. So we see that there is a place for open, public confrontation in the church.
15 "We are Jews by nature and not sinners from among the Gentiles;"
16 "nevertheless knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Christ Jesus, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified."
17 "But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? May it never be!"
18 "For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I prove myself to be a transgressor."
19 "For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God."
20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me."
21 "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly."
The Jewish nation was a picture of the church and the Gentiles were a picture of the unbelievers. Keeping the Law was a picture of salvation by faith in Jesus. When the reality of salvation by faith in Jesus came there was no need to revert to the picture. When the real thing is available it is a sin to hold on to the symbol or picture of shadow of the thing that has come! The picture pointed to the real thing and is no longer necessary when the real thing has come. If the picture was sufficient then there would not be any necessity for the real thing.
What a tragedy it is to fall in love with a picture of a person when you can see the real person! In the same way, it was a tragedy that the Jews got so attached to the Law even after Christ came. They forgot that the goal was to get the sin problem fixed, not to keep the Law. That is why, when Christ fixed the sin problem, they still held on to the Law.
This is an important lesson to learn. We must seek to understand why God does things and not just what God does. Otherwise we too will behave foolishly like Peter and Barnabas and the Jews.
In Psalms 103:7 we read that God made known His ways to Moses but showed His acts to the sons of Israel. That is why Moses understood what God was about whereas the sons of Israel just bumbled through life.
So why did God make known His ways to Moses and His mere acts to the sons of Israel? Was God partial?
Not at all. It was because Moses had the boldness to ask (Ex 33:13). Ask, with the proper motive, and you shall receive (Mt 21:22, Jn 16:24, Jas 4:3).
Another person who sought to understand God’s ways was David (Ps 25:4) and that is why he became a man after God’s own heart.
Another important lesson to learn is to live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Mt 4:4). Note the present tense used for the word ‘proceeds’. We can’t live by words that once proceeded but must live by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.
I want to repeat here what I said in the preliminary comments, so that we don't forget it...
You see, God spoke to the Israelites through Moses in the past and the people were following those words – somewhat. Picture a highway motorcade if you will. Paul was following. Gamaliel was following. Caiaphas was following. But then there was a fork in the road, and God took a turn – a steep turn, and replaced the Old Covenant with the New Covenant. Even though He warned them through the prophets very few people understood. Peter, a not-so-smart guy understood (initially, and to some extent). But none of these smart students of Scripture (Paul, Gamaliel, and Caiaphas) understood. They just continued on and missed the turn.
But then, Paul loved the truth dearly and so God touched him (blinded him really) and told him that he missed the turn. So Paul repented and turned so that he could be with God. But the rest of them didn’t. They were more interested in being with each other than with being with God. They said, "Hey Paul, what are you doing? God is here, not there. How do we know? Because Gamaliel is here and Caiaphas is here." But Paul replied, "No, God is no longer with you guys. He’s here with me. How do I know? It was because He told me."
They were out of contact with God, but they didn’t know it! Why? It was because they were not listening to every word that proceeds from the mouth of God but they were listening to every word that had proceeded (in the past) out of the mouth of God, and had their eyes on other men whom they believed were following God.
We can make the same mistake today. Indeed, many are making the same mistake today. And the lesson that we must take from this book is that we need to walk with God and hear what He is saying to us today, and not merely what He has said to us in the past.
So here are some questions for you: are you walking with God? If you go off track will God let you know? And if God speaks to you do you have ears to hear?
If you are not walking with God but blindly following your pastor or some famous preacher and assuming that they are walking with God then you are in danger of going astray and not even knowing it. This is because, if you are not walking with God then you won’t be able to discern if your leaders are walking with God either, and if they stop walking with God you won’t know it and you will continue to follow them and they will lead you astray and you won’t even know it.
Peter was walking with God in Acts 10 and 11. As a result, when God told him to preach the gospel to the Gentiles he comprehended the turn God made and followed. But after sometime, he allowed other men to color his theology concerning the Gentiles and he wouldn’t eat with them even though God had used him to bring the gospel to Cornelius. And the Jews who were with him, and even Barnabas, followed him because he was a leader. None of them were listening to God at that point. They had gone astray.
What would you have done if you were there? Would you stand up like Paul or would you go astray along with Peter? If you were in contact with God then you would have known that the leader has gone astray and you would have the courage to stand up, but if you were not in contact with God then you too would have gone astray.
Having established his authority Paul continues with the strong statements in the next chapter.
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