Paul Accepted by the Apostles
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.
Paul continues his resume. He drops some names. For instance, after 14 years, Barnabas is with him. He mentions that Titus is also with him, but he doesn't force Titus to be circumcised. People are seeing the good work Paul is doing, and they begin to spy on Paul and those with him. However, Paul does not give in to what the naysayers were doing. He kept on ministering to the Gentiles.
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 just as Peter had been to the circumcised. 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 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 would go 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.
There is an aside in Verse 6. Do you see it? Review: An aside is an inserting in what Paul was saying. See how the aside is set apart from the rest of the sentence. An aside can be taken out and the sentence still makes sense.
Paul makes it clear that he is ministering to the Gentiles (the uncircumcised) while Peter was ministering to the Jews (the circumcised).
The pillars in the community gave Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship and sanctioned Paul's ministry to the Gentiles. One reminder was to remember the poor. That's what Paul had been doing all the time.
Paul Opposes Cephas
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?
Paul proves how worthy he is. He continues to add to what he has already said about his credentials. He tells how he stood up to Cephas because he separated himself from the Gentiles because he expected a backlash from them because he was associating with Gentiles, the uncircumcised. He described Cephas as being a hypocrite. Cephas was influencing others to be hypocritical and being led astray. Even Barnabas fell into that group. Verse 14 clearly states why Paul opposed Cephas. See if you understand it before you move on.
The Law and Faith
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 Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified.
In Verses 15 and 16, Paul states that a person is not justified by works of the law that you know about from the Old Testament. However, people are justified by faith in Jesus Christ and not by the works of the law. Notice the double name for Jesus.
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!”
In the concluding verses, Paul asks a rhetorical question about Christ promoting sin. Do you see it? In Verse 19, the writer states his position about the law. Read Verse 20 and try to memorize the essence of it. What does the verse mean to you?
Paul gives a supposition (that starts with if). What is it?
REVIEW the lesson for Chapter 2. When you are ready, the Galatians Chapter 2 Quiz.
|
|
