Verses 1-2 Then fourteen years after I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain.
The Apostle Paul continues to present his history and therefore his authority. He recounts to the Galatian church that after many years preaching the Gospel to everyone he met in his travels he was directed by God to return to Jerusalem and to report to the church leadership all that was being done among the Gentiles, and he did so in private to the Church fathers because the Apostle Paul wanted to be sure that all the effort he was putting into serving Jesus Christ in the ministry Jesus had given him right from the start would be recognized and approved by those disciples in Jerusalem. The name Barnabas means “son of rest” and the name Titus means “nurse”.
Application: What would have happened if the leadership in Jerusalem had not approved of what the Apostle Paul was doing? Would he have quit and retired after at least 17 years in the ministry? Or would he have decided to stay in Jerusalem and join the leadership there? The answer would be a resounding “no”. The Apostle Paul did not know the disciples very well that were in Jerusalem as he had not spent any time with them for over a decade and they could have changed and have not been doing what they had done originally when the Church started on the day of Pentecost. Fortunately, the disciples in Jerusalem were still following hard after Jesus Christ and that did not happen. But if they had disapproved of the Apostle Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles he would have simply shaken the dust of Jerusalem off his feet and headed back out of the city to the mission field that was his domain. How is that known? Because the Apostle Paul met Jesus on the road to Damascus and he knew the real God of this world just as Peter, James, and the other disciples in the Jerusalem church had met and known Jesus. There would never be a turning back for any of these men and history bears this out as they all continued the work of spreading the Gospel and seeing souls saved until their death. What is the point of this paragraph? Just to say that if you, the reader, have been directed by the Holy Ghost/Spirit to do some type of work or ministry for the LORD, do it and do not let others discourage you or disparage what you have been divinely directed to do. If it is from God, it is right and true and will further the Kingdom of God and further your faith.
Verses 3-5 But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised: 4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: 5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
The Greek word translated as “false brethren” is “pseudadelphos” and it means one who professes to be a Christian, but is destitute of Christian knowledge and piety. The Apostle Paul is telling the Galatians that when he went back to Jerusalem there were Jews professing to be Christians or followers of the Faith trying to put Gentiles into bondage by insisting they submit to Jewish religious traditions which were no longer necessary as the Church was under the blood of Jesus and the New Covenant. There apparently was pressure from these men to have Titus circumcised. These false brethren were wanting to make all the Gentiles submit to circumcision and dietary laws, among other things, and the leadership in Jerusalem, after hearing the Apostle Paul’s report, flatly refused to give in to these ideas which provided for the truth of the Gospel to be in the Gentile believer. But now the Galatian church was adopting things that were not required of the Gospel and they were putting themselves back into bondage through legalism and hypocrisy: do this, do that to be saved.
Verses 6-10 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man’s person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: 7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; 8 (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:) 9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. 10 Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do.
What the Apostle Paul found when he went to Jerusalem and reported to the church leadership there which included Peter, James, and John, was that they could not add anything to his ministry because he was preaching to the Gentiles or uncircumcised the same message they were preaching to the Jews or circumcised. So they agreed that the Apostle Paul should continue doing what he was doing and that they would continue doing what they were doing. The only requirement they put forth was that the poor be remembered at all times which the Apostle Paul did regularly as he was always sending messengers to other churches with gifts of financial support when times were difficult and persecution was ongoing.
Application: Why was the Apostle Paul relaying all this information in an epistle to the Galatian church? Because not only was he establishing again his God-given authority to preach and teach the Gospel of God, but he was showing them the history of how they, as Gentiles or heathen, were blessed with salvation through the efforts of the Jews like himself who were obedient to the call of Jesus Christ to go into all the world and preach the Gospel and establish His Church.
Verses 11-13 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12 For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision. 13 And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation.
Apparently the Apostle Peter had no trouble mixing with the Gentile believers when he was with the Apostles Paul and Barnabas, but when some Jewish believers came to Antioch Peter went back to acting like a Jew instead of a converted Christian believer who is never to show favoritism between people. Jews would not associate in any way with Gentiles as they were considered to be lesser people and not worthy of being in a Jew’s presence. Christian Jews were not so hypocritical, but they still often chose to keep their distance from Gentile believers. Why did the Apostle Peter behave this way? Fear of the Jews? Fear of offending fellow countrymen? Fear of criticism? Falling back into old patterns of behavior? Perhaps all of these and probably more that can only be guessed at. Regardless of the reason, the Apostle Peter was sinning and this sin was so contagious that Paul’s fellow companion in the ministry, Barnabas, did likewise. A dissimulation is a pretense. This behavior was offensive to the Apostle Paul.
Verse 14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?
The Apostle Paul confronted the Apostle Peter for his failure to act as Jesus Christ acted towards all people. He was not behaving in a respectful manner or in a way that edified the Church. Peter was a “pillar” in the church, metaphor for being one of Jesus’ disciples that supported the Church and Christ’s doctrine, and he needed to always set a Christ-like example of how to live the Christian life as others looked to him for guidance and answers to questions about the Faith.
Verses 15-16 We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, 16 Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.
These verses clearly state the doctrinal position regarding New Covenant versus Old Covenant. Under the Old Covenant or agreement man had to obey the law which man could not do. Simply stated the agreement was, “If you (man) do this, I (God) will do that.” The New Covenant did not take away the law but fulfilled it through the LORD Jesus Christ, the one who both gave the law and who kept the law. The death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus ushered in the New Covenant. Simply stated this agreement is, “I (God) will do that because you are my child.” And to be God’s child requires just having a simple faith that He is who He says He is and that He loves those who come to Him in faith. So as stated by the Apostle Paul, trying to keep the Old Covenant law will not save a soul. Only faith in the LORD Jesus Christ will save a soul.
Application: The Greek word translated as “justified” is “dikaioo” and it means to declare, to pronounce one to be just, righteous, or such as one ought to be. The Mosaic law could not justify anyone. No one could keep it and so no one ever did. If keeping the law was the only way to be justified, no one would ever be right with the LORD. So Jesus Christ came and kept the law perfectly, thereby fulfilling the requirements of the law. So it is only through Jesus Christ that anyone can be declared or pronounced just, righteous and such as one ought to be. Only by repenting of one’s sins, by being baptized in the name of Jesus, and by receiving the Holy Ghost/Spirit who is the Spirit of Jesus Christ can one be justified and become a son or child of God.
Verses 17-19 But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. 18 For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor. 19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.
Going back to the Old Covenant with its ordinances and regulations after receiving salvation by faith in and through the shed blood of Jesus, and in Him being resurrected from the dead to be the believer’s High Priest, Prophet, and King is a sin according to the Apostle Paul. Why? Because it make Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross with all its torture and suffering secondary to a system of laws no one could keep, and is therefore blaspheming against the LORD God. It minimizes Jesus’ sacrifice and free gift of salvation.
Application: As stated elsewhere in this web site, those people calling themselves Christians which means Christ-like, who started out in the Church and then decided to adopt the Jewish religious laws into their lives are transgressors, going beyond the bounds of the New Covenant which was established by the LORD Jesus Christ. All the religious rituals established under the Mosaic law were a shadow and a type pointing to the coming of Jesus Christ. He fulfilled the law and put an end to animal sacrifices and an end to all the feasts and holy days the Jews of Old Testament times were supposed to observe. They are gone, they are useless, they will not save anyone, and they are putting these confused believers back into spiritual bondage. The following verses sum up all that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Galatian church thus far in this epistle. Read them carefully and understand them so that no frustration of the grace of God will ocurr.
Verses 20-21 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. 21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. (Galatians 2)