Paul Defends His Gospel at Jerusalem
1 Then after fourteen years I went up again h to Jerusalem with Barnabas, i taking Titus j along also. 2 I went up according to a revelation k and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain. 3 But 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 brothers l had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth m of the gospel would be preserved for you.
6 Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism ,n)—they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, o just as Peter p was for the circumcised, 8 since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James, q Cephas, ,r and John s—those recognized as pillars t—acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor, u which I had made every effort to do.
Freedom from the Law
11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews v joined his hypocrisy, w so that even Barnabas was led astray by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile x and not like a Jew, y how can you compel Gentiles to live z like Jews? ”
15 We are Jews by birth and not “Gentile sinners,” 16 and yet because we know that a person is not justified by the works of the law a but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we ourselves have believed in Christ Jesus. This was so that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no human being will be justified. 17 But if we ourselves are also found to be “sinners” while seeking to be justified by Christ, b is Christ then a promoter ,c of sin? Absolutely not! d 18 If I rebuild e those things that I tore down, I show myself to be a lawbreaker. f 19 For through the law I died to the law, g so that I might live for God. h 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. i The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, j who loved k me l and gave himself m for me. n 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, o then Christ died p for nothing.
2:1–2. The mention of his fellow traveler Barnabas and the taking along of Titus (a representative of the harvest won in the Gentile lands) in 2:1 place Paul in the position of an independent expert on Jewish-Gentile relations. He adds that his coming also had an element of compulsion to it—initiated by divine revelation (2:2), not from the authority of Jerusalem. Paul also had his own purpose for attending the conference. It was imperative for the leader of the Gentile mission to have the trust and support of the Jerusalem church and to avoid the threat of continual schism. The animosity characterizing Jewish-Gentile relations was not going to be eradicated easily.
2:3–5. There has been much debate about 2:3–5 due to some variations in the manuscripts and the awkward grammatical connections of these verses. The most likely meaning of the text pictures a confrontation precipitated by those demanding circumcision for Gentiles, which was further complicated by the presence of Titus. Paul firmly makes it known that there was no compromise of his position, either by himself or by Titus (2:3). It is hard to know the identity of the “compeller.” Despite the arguments of the legalists, the leadership refused to compel Titus (and, by implication, any Gentile) to add any additional qualifications for Gentile fellowship in the church beyond an individual’s faith in Jesus Christ.
2:6. While Paul is satisfied by the decision of the Jerusalem Council, he is just as concerned to show the Galatians that the leadership in Jerusalem made a specific point of also recognizing the apostolic authority he possesses. The point is that Paul gave them no more recognition than they deserved, while they recognized the validity of his ministry (2:6–10).
2:7–10. The results of this meeting with the “pillars” (2:9) are important for Paul’s purposes, and he discusses them carefully. While Paul is pleased that these men recognized his authority, he wants to be very sure that such recognition does not appear as a type of commissioning. Paul arrived with the same status with which he departed; nothing was added to him (2:6). The real change occurs in the minds of the pillars. The results are well worth noting: (1) They recognized that Paul was entrusted by God with the Gentile missionary enterprise (2:7). (2) The authority of Peter and Paul was equated, each in his own sphere of operation (2:8–9). (3) They parted as equal partners in the overall enterprise of evangelization (2:9). (4) The one additional comment made by the Jerusalem leaders, concerning sensitivity to the poor, really did not need to be stated, since Paul already had that area of need in mind (2:10).
E. Correcting Cephas (2:11–21). 2:11. The incident related in 2:11–14 moves us on to the next logical step in Paul’s argument. The authorities in Jerusalem had recognized Paul’s equal status relative to them, but in Paul’s view they also acknowledged his priority over matters dealing with Gentiles. Thus, when Paul confronted Peter at Antioch, he did so in rightful exercise of his authority, since Peter was wrong in regard to his treatment of Gentile believers. The implication is clear for the Galatians. Those who are appealing to Jerusalem as the ground for their authority should recognize that Jerusalem has relinquished its authority over such matters to Paul, since they have shown themselves (as represented by Peter) to have lacked the proper sensitivity and theological insight on these matters in the past.
2:12–13. Peter theoretically agreed with the equal status of Gentiles, even to the point of eating with them. Paul indicates both acceptance and hesitancy by Peter to the practice of having full fellowship with the Gentile believers. The inconsistency in Peter’s actions is blamed on the arrival of a group alternately described as “certain men . . . from James” and as “those from the circumcision party” (2:12). Clearly Peter gave in to the ethnic bias of the arriving Jewish contingent. Peter, it seems, was not alone in this problem of integrating faith with living, since even Barnabas followed his example, as well as other Jews present (2:13). From Paul’s description here, it is clear that he places the blame on Peter, since Peter’s action influenced a similar response by Barnabas and the rest of the Jews. Paul describes their departure from the Gentile table fellowship as “hypocrisy” (2:13).
2:14. Paul’s public rebuke came because Peter’s action appeared to have been the culmination of a series of indiscretions that indicated a continuing bias against Gentiles by the Jewish members of the church. Peter’s indiscretion was not just a diplomatic mistake but was related to the very heart of the good news itself. As Paul articulates in Romans, Ephesians, and elsewhere, Jewish ethnic privileges do not give them any superiority over Gentiles. The work of Christ has united Jews and Gentiles in one people of God. In this section Paul has shown why the gospel is compromised through ethnic favoritism. Moving toward the opponents’ position is nothing more than a giant step backward.
2:15. This new section (2:15–21) focuses on the theological grounding for which Paul demonstrates that Jews and Gentiles are equal and unified in Christ. As in Romans, it is his discussion of justification by faith that does the heavy lifting. Paul acknowledges his own position among the “Jews by birth” but goes on to explain that this “advantage” should help them see all the more that Christ’s work alone is the ground for justification. Paul, then, has not denied the Jewish advantage; he only shows that the advantage in itself is not enough to provide a right standing with God.
2:16. This is the key verse of the section. We find a repetitive treatment of the doctrine of justification by faith here. Paul states that it is through the “faith in Jesus Christ” (or the “faithfulness of Jesus Christ”; see the CSB footnote) that justification comes, not through “the works of the law.” The particular works on which Paul focuses in Galatians are dietary regulations (as in 2:11–14) and circumcision. Paul is adamant that these rites do not serve as the basis of right standing with God, which would mean that Gentiles were largely excluded. Rather, Jesus’s life, death, and resurrection are sufficient.
2:17–18. For many, the problem with Paul’s teaching was in pressing the implication that a believer no longer had to keep the Mosaic law. If Gentiles accept Christ and do as they please, does that then mean that Christ is a “promoter of sin” (likely an opponent’s slogan, 2:17)? Paul strongly answers with his characteristic “Absolutely not!”
2:19–21. The believer’s new life is forever wedded to that of Christ and characterized by the nature of Christ (2:20). Paul describes the mystical union of the believer with Christ, here and throughout the NT, by such expressions as “living in Christ” or “Christ lives in me” (see, e.g., Rm 6:4–8; 8:2–11; 2 Co 5:17; Col 2:12–14). With this reality, the power to live righteously resides in the believer (through the power of the Spirit, which Paul will soon explain).