Galatians 2:1-10
Defending the Gospel (Acts 15:1–21)
1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and also took Titus with me. 2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), 5 to whom we did not yield submission even for an hour, that the truth of the gospel might continue with you.
6 But from those who seemed to be something—whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man—for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter 8 (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles), 9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They desired only that we should remember the poor, the very thing which I also was eager to do.
When Paul returned to the mother church in Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus to reveal what work God had done in bringing the gospel to the nations as promised to Abraham through the Israel as the channel of His redemption, he had to do I behind closed doors due to religious sensitivities. The Jewish believers in Christ still had not understood that the gospel was not just for them (Ephesians 2:14-16, 3:5-6), but to all who the Lord calls out of every nation, people, and tongue. False teachers who were also false brethren had infiltrated the church to uncover this freedom in Christ in order to discredit and dissuade them from spreading the good news of grace that sets men free in order that they may continue to control the people with their teachings of works to earn what they claimed was only for the Jews of God’s chosen nation. These did not grasp that the chosen nation was not made up of all God’s chosen individuals and not all in Israel were even chosen as the Lord’s. The apostle Paul stood up to them for the truth of the gospel he was entrusted with and did not allow their threats and subterfuge to stop the message nor the report of God’s work in the nations to the church headquarters in the middle of Israel. He pointed this out to the church in Galatia who received this letter to assure them of the truth and his calling to bring it to them in the face of such opposition to teach them that God does not show favoritism to Israel and neither should they. Peter was ministering the gospel to the Jews and Paul to the rest of the world and together the command to preach the gospel to the end of the world (Matthew 28:19-20) was being accomplished to the glory of God in Jesus Christ. Some among the pillars of the church recognized the hand of God and knew the scriptures (Genesis 17:5, Galatians 3:8) were to bring salvation to those out of all nations as seen in the work of the Lord and His Spirit in the gentiles through the apostle Paul. They offered him the right hand of accepting fellowship and only reminded them to also remember to take care of the poor, not to be a Judeizer to make them follow the Jewish Law which cannot save (Romans 8:2-4, Galatians 3:22-24) but only point to the grace of God in Christ who alone saves by grace through His work for us all on the cross. We see then the awareness of the legalists who seek to bind us to earning salvation by works and the danger of showing favoritism to any particular people group that we may faithfully preach the gospel to all whom God calls and draws (John 6:44-45, 65) to Himself that we do not be diverted from telling the good news to everyone and let God choose who are His.
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