Gálatas 2
Charles Spurgeon · Citado em PreceptAustin
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Spurgeon - When a man finds and knows himself to be linked with Christ, his life is altogether a new life. Crucified, then dead. Crucified, then the old life is put away. Whatever life a crucified man has must be new life. Whatever you have of life was not given you till you came into union with Christ. It is a new thing—as new as though you had been actually dead and rotted in the tomb and then had started up at the sound of the trumpet to live again. Matthew
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Spurgeon - He went up to Jerusalem lest he might be misrepresented and thought to be a teacher of some novel doctrine, and not one at heart with the rest of the brotherhood. We must be careful not to create misunderstandings by holding too much aloof from other believers. John
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Spurgeon - It is impossible for us to estimate how much we owe to the apostle Paul. Of all who have ever lived, we who are Gentiles owe more to him than to any other man. See how he fought our battles for us. When our Jewish brethren would have excluded us because we were not of the seed of Abraham according to the flesh, how bravely did he contend that, if we were partakers of the same faith, Abraham is the father of all the faithful that he was loved of God, and the covenant was made with him, not in circumcision, but before he was circumcised, and that we are partakers of that covenant. Not...for even an hour - an idiom for a very short period of time for "hour" was the smallest increment of time in the Greek language. . Paul did not compromise with them one iota! Stated another way Paul gave them no time at all! He brushed off their false teaching! And expression of time is at the beginning of the Greek sentence for emphasis, specifically in this context an emphatic contrast (i.e., an opposite idea - what is emphatically not intended). Vine adds that this "expression implies prompt resistance to a formal demand, and excludes the notion that Titus had been circumcised." Newton - It was not even a casual thought in the Apostle's mind to compromise the truth of the gospel for the bondage of Jewish legalism. He had lived in that kind of legalism. He understood its enslaving power. Now he would not rest until the truth of the gospel glowed brightly among the Galatians. (Ibid) As Donald Campbell notes "To impose circumcision on Titus would be to deny that salvation was by faith alone and to affirm that in addition to faith there must be obedience to the Law for acceptance before God. Thus the basic issue of the gospel was involved and Paul would not deviate or yield for a moment." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) A T Robertson (we did not yield) - The compromisers pleaded for the circumcision of Titus “because of the false brethren” in order to have peace. And to the end of his life with his last written words Paul commanded his young disciple Timothy, to "Retain (present imperative = only possible as we rely on the enabling power of the Holy Spirit) the standard of sound ("health", spiritual health giving) words (in context refers to the truth of the Gospel) which you have heard from me, in the faith and love which are in Christ Jesus." (2Ti 1:13+) Yield (1502) (eiko) means to give place, to yield, to give way, to obey, to submit. BDAG says eiko means to yield to someone, "to give way before expression of force or argument." This word was used in secular Greek meaning to give the horse the rein. It is found only in Gal 2:5. Subjection (5292) (hupotage from hupotasso = to submit, be under obedience) is a noun which means subordination, subjection, submission, obedience.
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Spurgeon - Paul says that James and Cephas and John seemed to be pillars; that is to say, they were upholders of the good cause. Gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship - Don't miss the picture Paul is painting! Five men joined hands apparently in front of all - Peter, James John, Paul and Barnabas. It is a dramatic conclusion to their pact for cooperation in independent spheres of ministry. The Judaizers were put out of the picture and Christianity was firmly distinguished from Judaism. Gaebelein says "This confirmation of Paul and the gospel he preached was a complete answer to the false claims and accusations of the enemies of the apostle." Gave...the right hand - An idiom meaning make an agreement usually with shaking of hands. The was a clear sign to all who were present that the pillars of the Church fully endorsed God's work in and through Paul. "In the Near East, to clasp the right hand of a person was to make a solemn vow of friendship and was a mark of fellowship, or partnership." (MacArthur) This action also can include the sense of making a covenant. By way of application the good hand of the LORD has been extended to all believers and we have "clasp hands" (see "Striking of hands" in covenant), as it were, with God when we entered into His New Covenant of Grace. (See picture of striking hands) In this case it was not just a shaking of hands but a sharing of mission and purpose, the proclamation of the Gospel to all mankind. Blest Be the Tie That Binds John Fawcett Blest be the tie that binds Our hearts in Christian love; The fellowship of kindred minds Is like to that above. Before our Father’s throne We pour our ardent prayers; Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one Our comforts and our cares. Wuest on gave...the right hand of fellowship - The custom of giving the hand as a pledge of friendship or agreement has been found among both the Hebrews and the Greeks. It was probably derived by the Hebrews from some outside source. The custom appears as early as Homer. It is found in an inscription from Pergamum (98 B.C.), where the people of that city offer to adjust the strife between Sardis and Ephesus and send a mediator to give hands for a treaty. The custom is found among the Persians. Images of right hands clasped were often exchanged in token of friendship. An extract from Tacitus says, “The state of the Lingones had sent, according to an ancient institution, right hands, as gifts to the legions, a signal of good will.” On Roman coins there often is seen two hands joined, with various inscriptions speaking of concord and agreement. The details of the compact are found in the words “that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.” The agreement therefore was that Paul and Barnabas should go as apostles to the Gentiles, and the Jerusalem apostles were to go as apostles to the Jews, both groups taking the same Gospel. The state of things which existed hitherto remained undisturbed. Two nationally different spheres were to be evangelized with one and the same message. But the agreement was more than this. It was an acknowledgment of apostolic equality. Paul would not be content with the mere approbation of the Twelve upon his missionary labors. He needed to show the Galatians that he was an apostle equal in rank to the apostles at Jerusalem. In addition to that, he deemed it necessary to show them that his contention for Gentile freedom from the obligation of circumcision was sustained in the Jerusalem council. However, this mutual understanding did not forbid Paul to minister to the Jews on occasion or prevent Peter from ministering to the Gentiles should the opportunity arise. Paul began his ministry in each new place by preaching to the Jews (Acts 13:5, 14, 14:1, 17:1-3, Acts 18:4, Acts 19:8). Peter preached to the Gentiles in the house of Cornelius (Acts 10:1-48), and ministered at the Gentile church in Syrian Antioch. (Galatians Commentary) To me and Barnabas - Titus not mentioned here supporting the premise that he was not a leader but had come as an example of God's grace given to Gentiles.
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Spurgeon - One reason God has a poor people is so that He may display more the power of His comforting promises and the supports of the gospel. “There,” says the architect, “this building is strong.” Yes, but it must be tested: Let the wind blow against it. There is a lighthouse out at sea, but it is a calm night—I cannot tell whether the edifice is firm. The tempest must howl about it, and then I shall know whether it will stand. So with religion: If it were not on many occasions surrounded with tempestuous waters, we would not know that the ship was staunch and strong; if the winds did not blow upon it, as they do on our poor tried brothers, we should not know how firm and secure it is. The masterworks of God are those that stand in the midst of difficulties. When all things oppose them, yet they maintain their stand, these are His all-glorious works. So His best children, those who honor Him most, are those who have grace to sustain them amidst the heaviest load of tribulations and trials. God puts His people into such circumstances, then, to show us the power of His grace. See Spurgeon's sermon - Galatians 2:10: The Duty of Remembering the Poor Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. Greek: Hote de ēlthen (V-AIA-3S) Kēphas eis Antiocheian kata prosōpon autō antestēn (V-AIA-1S) hoti kategnōsmenos (V-RPM/P-NMS) ēn (V-IIA-3S) Amplified: But when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I protested and opposed him to his face [concerning his conduct there], for he was blameable and stood condemned. Phillips Later, however, when Peter came to Antioch I had to oppose him publicly, for he was then plainly in the wrong. It happened like this. Wuest But when Kephas came to Antioch, to his face I opposed him, because he stood condemned. (Eerdmans Publishing) NET Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he had clearly done wrong. GNT Galatians 2:11 Ὅτε δὲ ἦλθεν Κηφᾶς εἰς Ἀντιόχειαν, κατὰ πρόσωπον αὐτῷ ἀντέστην, ὅτι κατεγνωσμένος ἦν. NLT Galatians 2:11 But when Peter came to Antioch, I had to oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. KJV Galatians 2:11 But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. ESV Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. ASV Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I resisted him to the face, because he stood condemned. CSB Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. NIV Galatians 2:11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. NKJ Galatians 2:11 Now when Peter had come to Antioch, I withstood him to his face, because he was to be blamed; NRS Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood self-condemned; YLT Galatians 2:11 And when Peter came to Antioch, to the face I stood up against him, because he was blameworthy, NAB Galatians 2:11 And when Kephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he clearly was wrong. NJB Galatians 2:11 However, when Cephas came to Antioch, then I did oppose him to his face since he was manifestly in the wrong. GWN Galatians 2:11 When Cephas came to Antioch, I had to openly oppose him because he was completely wrong. BBE Galatians 2:11 But when Cephas came to Antioch, I made a protest against him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. to Antioch: Ac 15:30-35 I withstood (KJV): Ga 2:5 2Co 5:16 11:5,21-28 12:11 1Ti 5:20 Jude 1:3 because (KJV): Ex 32:21,22 Nu 20:12 Jer 1:17 Jon 1:3 4:3,4,9 Mt 16:17,18,23 Ac 15:37-39 23:1-5 Jas 3:2 1Jn 1:8-10 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries PAUL REBUKES PETER'S "RELAPSE"
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Spurgeon - It must have been very painful to Paul’s feelings to come into conflict with Peter, whom he greatly esteemed; but yet, for the truth’s sake, he knew no persons, and he had to withstand even a beloved brother when he saw that he was likely to pervert the simplicity of the gospel, and rob the Gentiles of their Christian liberty. For this, we ought to be very grateful to our gracious God who raised up this brave champion, this beloved apostle of the Gentiles.
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Spurgeon comments on Paul's bold confrontation of Peter that "Good men are sometimes afraid of a straight course of action because it may cause trouble or appear to be too bold. In such a case, we must not be silent out of respect for them, but openly oppose them. Dear is Peter, but dearer still the truth." Augustine adds that “It is not advantageous to correct in secret an error which injured openly.” THOUGHT - Have you ever experienced a public confrontation in a church setting? If you have, you know it is not pleasant and that it has the potential to deteriorate into a no-win situation. It might have been tempting for Paul to call Peter over a corner for some private correction. But Paul knew the cost of avoiding public confrontation was potential compromise in the integrity of the Gospel. I know of an occasion when a pastor avoided public confrontation in a situation having to do with sin that was affecting the entire body because of the person's leadership role. Only eternity will show how many saints were adversely affected because this issue was never brought to light.
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Spurgeon explains why no man is justified by works of the law - No mere man can keep the law; no mere man has ever done so. We have all sinned and come short of the glory of God (Ro 3:23). As an absolutely perfect obedience is demanded by the law, which knows nothing of mercy, we fly from the law to obtain salvation by the grace of God in Christ Jesus. And so this passage Paul clearly contrasts the two ways men have sought to be justified before God - law and works versus grace and faith. It could not be more succinctly stated! Notice Paul's repetition - works of the Law occurs three times - at the beginning, in the middle and at the end - doing works of the Law does not work to achieve justification! In the middle section again three times Paul emphasizes the role faith - "but through faith in Christ Jesus," "even we (Jews) have believed in Christ Jesus," and "justified by faith in Christ." The three uses of Law are countered by three uses of Christ (Christ Jesus twice and Christ once). Phil Newton asks "Why does Paul go to such great lengths to repeat this truth over and over? I believe it is because of our natural propensity for trusting in ourselves and our own merit for our standing with God. There is a battle raging today throughout the world in the heads and hearts of multitudes of people, who just will not accept the fact that they can do absolutely nothing to justify themselves before God! (Galatians 2:17-19 Justified by Faith 4) see also Galatians 2:11-16 Justified by Faith (1) Galatians 2:15-16 Justified by Faith (2) Knowing (1492) (eido) means to know by perception and is not a tentative knowing but a knowing for certain! Knowing is plural (we) indicating that this truth is something Paul, Peter, Barnabas and the other Jewish believers know beyond a shadow of a doubt. They had been under the works of the law all their life and found that that system did not work! Their works had not made them right before God! We have a phrase "been there, done that," to which Paul would add "doesn't work!" That a man (anthropos) here speaks of each and every member of the entire human race without reference to sex or nationality. Vine adds that "The apostle’s use of the word man serves to remind his readers of the solidarity of the race; the Judaizers (WHO SOUGHT TO SEPARATE FROM GENTILES) had too readily forgotten that a common humanity underlies all merely national distinctions." Is not justified by works of the Law - Amplified = "a man is justified or reckoned righteous and in right standing with God not by works of the Law." Phillips paraphrase - "not by performing what the Law commands." "This is the primary truth to be proclaimed by every Christian ministry. It is the foundation-stone of all gospel preaching; and yet, somehow or other, such is the hardness of the human heart, that it is the most difficult thing to induce our hearers to build on this foundation. Many of them are always trying to lean upon their own works, and so struggling to get back under the old legal dispensation, instead of rejoicing in the liberty of the dispensation of grace. One objection to the doctrine of grace rather than the doctrine of law is this, that some think it will lead to sin." (Spurgeon) Justified (1344) see discussion below on dikaioo which is used 3 times in Galatians 2:16. Justified is the opposite of condemned.
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Spurgeon - How boldly is this stated! Faith alone and not works justify the soul before God. He who does not believe this rejects the gospel. Nothing is more plainly revealed in Scripture than this: that by the works of the law shall no man be justified. Yet men in some shape or other stick to the hope of legal righteousness. They will have it that they must prepare for grace, or assist mercy, or in some degree deserve eternal life. They prefer their own flattering prejudices to the declaration of the heart-searching God.....A man may fancy that he is prospering in business, and yet he may be going back in the world. If he does not face his books or take stock, he may be living in a fool’s paradise, spending largely when on the verge of bankruptcy. Many think well of themselves because they never think seriously. They do not look below the surface, and hence they are deceived by appearances. The most troublesome business to many men is thought. The last thing they will do is to weigh their actions, or test their motives, or ponder their ways, to see whether things are right with them. Works of the Law - This is not restricted to the 10 Commandments but includes the ceremonial expressions, practice of circumcision, holy days, sacrifices. Phil Newton goes on to explain how this applies not just to Jews but to all mankind... Someone might argue, 'I don't even know all of those laws! How can I possibly be trying to justify myself by things which I don't even understand?' By way of application, let me express it like this: anything which we do to gain approval with God which attempts to circumvent the necessity of the cross of Christ, falls within the range of the works of the Law, at least in terms of application. Here is where people do all sorts of things in order to convince themselves that God is now obligated to them. Some even go through great suffering or difficult ordeals in life with the view that because they have suffered so much in this life, God is now obligated to give them a right standing with Him in eternity. I recall the jackets worn by a number of soldiers returning from Vietnam in the 70's, that declared, 'I've already gone to Hell, so now I can go to Heaven'. The concept they had in mind was that their service in Vietnam accrued merit for them since it was such a horrible time of suffering, therefore they deserved to go to Heaven. It seems in the media and among politicians that we have most people passing through tragedies assigned to Heaven by virtue of their sufferings. It is a popular thought that if you have endured suffering in this life, then nothing more will be required of you beyond this life. You have a "right" to Heaven by virtue of what you endured. Such a view, however, denies the depths of one's own sinfulness and the degree of man's enmity against God. It is a denial of the infinite righteousness and holiness of God. It is actually a subtle form of idolatry. For when a person sets his own wisdom above the declaration of God in the gospel, he is denying God and exalting himself as wiser than God. So the conclusion we must see is that no one can be justified by anything which he has done. Justification takes place only by faith and that through Christ's righteousness on the sinner's behalf and His satisfaction of God's requirements for sinners at the cross. Such justification must be attributed completely to the grace of God. But when you make a statement like this, there is immediate confusion on the part of those who are seeking to justify themselves through their own works of righteousness. So Paul addresses this matter in the continuation of his arguments (Go on to Gal 2:17). Peter Kennedy - Yours for the Asking "Know that a man is not justified by observing 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 observing the law because by observing the law no one will be justified. "—Galatians 2:16 When the Spanish-American War broke out Clara Barton, the founder of the American Red Cross, was prepared to offer relief. A Red Cross team of doctors and nurses, and fourteen hundred tons of supplies arrived in Santiago, Cuba, as the fighting began. The American d Cuban field hospitals were located side by side and their conditions were deplorable. The American military surgeons refused the Red Cross's offers of help so Barton and her team gave aid to the Cubans. The Americans soon realized that the Cuban wounded were better taken care of than the American casualties. Under pressure, the American chief surgeon asked Barton for Red Cross help. Soon after the Battle of San Juan Hill, Colonel Theodore Roosevelt (the future president of the United States) came to Barton and offered to buy food and medicine for the sick and wounded Rough Riders. Barton refused. Roosevelt could not understand. He cared about his men and was willing to pay for the supplies out of his own funds. So Roosevelt went to the surgeon in charge who told him, "Colonel, just ask for id" Roosevelt smiled—now he understood—the provisions were not for sale. "I will ask for it," he said. He did so and received the supplies at once. The work of Jesus Christ is graciously given as a gift. We only need ask. Have you placed your faith in Christ? Today in prayer thank God that through faith in Jesus Christ you are healed from sin. (From Generation to Generation) "He has taken our place and died in our stead; He has met the descending stroke of justice, which would have fallen on our own heads if He had not interposed."—Albert Barnes Galatians 2:17 "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! Greek: ei de zētountes (V-PPA-NMP) [e] dikaiōthēnai (V-ANP) en Christō heurethēmen (have been found - V-AIP-1P) kai autoi hamartōloi ara ([is] then) Christos hamartias diakonos mē genoito Amplified: But if, in our desire and endeavor to be justified in Christ [to be declared righteous and put in right standing with God wholly and solely through Christ], we have shown ourselves sinners also and convicted of sin, does that make Christ a minister (a party and contributor) to our sin? Banish the thought! [Of course not!] Phillips Now if, as we seek the real truth about justification, we find we are as much sinners as the Gentiles, does that mean that Christ makes us sinners? Of course not! Wuest But if, as is the case, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we (Jews) ourselves also were found to be sinners, is Christ therefore a promoter of sin? Away with the thought.(Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) NET Galatians 2:17 But if while seeking to be justified in Christ we ourselves have also been found to be sinners, is Christ then one who encourages sin? Absolutely not! GNT Galatians 2:17 εἰ δὲ ζητοῦντες δικαιωθῆναι ἐν Χριστῷ εὑρέθημεν καὶ αὐτοὶ ἁμαρτωλοί, ἆρα Χριστὸς ἁμαρτίας διάκονος; μὴ γένοιτο. NLT Galatians 2:17 But suppose we seek to be made right with God through faith in Christ and then we are found guilty because we have abandoned the law. Would that mean Christ has led us into sin? Absolutely not! KJV Galatians 2:17 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. ESV Galatians 2:17 But if, in our endeavor to be justified in Christ, we too were found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! ASV Galatians 2:17 But if, while we sought to be justified in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is Christ a minister of sin? God forbid. CSB Galatians 2:17 But if we ourselves are also found to be "sinners" while seeking to be justified by Christ, is Christ then a promoter of sin? Absolutely not! NIV Galatians 2:17 "If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! NKJ Galatians 2:17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is Christ therefore a minister of sin? Certainly not! NRS Galatians 2:17 But if, in our effort to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have been found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? Certainly not! YLT Galatians 2:17 And if, seeking to be declared righteous in Christ, we ourselves also were found sinners, is then Christ a ministrant of sin? let it not be! NAB Galatians 2:17 But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? Of course not! NJB Galatians 2:17 Now if we too are found to be sinners on the grounds that we seek our justification in Christ, it would surely follow that Christ was at the service of sin. Out of the question! GWN Galatians 2:17 If we, the same people who are searching for God's approval in Christ, are still sinners, does that mean that Christ encourages us to sin? That's unthinkable! BBE Galatians 2:17 But if, while we were desiring to get righteousness through Christ, we ourselves were seen to be sinners, is Christ a servant of sin? In no way! while seeking to be justified in Christ: Ro 9:30-33 11:7 we ourselves have also been found sinners: Ga 2:11 Ro 6:1,2 1Jn 3:8-10 is Christ then a minister of sin?: Mt 1:21 Ro 15:8 2Co 3:7-9 Heb 7:24-28 8:2 1Jn 3:5 May it never be!: Ro 3:4,6 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries JUSTIFIED IN CHRIST 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! - We ourselves refers to Paul and the other Jewish believers (like the we of Gal 2:15,16). If speaks of a fulfilled condition which could be paraphrased "if, as is the case." The idea of seeking (zeteo) in this context speaks of desiring to possess (cf Mt 6:33, Col 3:1) I find this passage very difficult to interpret so will give a number of interpretations, some of which are similar and/or overlap. Howard Vos - Verse 17 is very difficult to interpret and numerous views have been given. One that seems to fit the tenor of the verse and the context goes like this: If we seek to be justified by Christ alone and no longer put ourselves under the restraints of the law, perhaps we are in this way giving license to sin. If free grace in Christ encourages men to continue in sin, then He is made a minister of sin. Paul finds such a view utterly repulsive and retorts with his characteristic “God forbid” (“perish the thought”). (Everyman's Bible Commentary - Galatians: A Call to Christian Liberty) James Montgomery Boice after discussing 5 possible interpretations gives the one he favors - A final interpretation is that Paul refers to the standard antinomian objection to the doctrine of justification by faith which, significantly enough, he also deals with elsewhere. This view is adopted by Ridderbos, Stamm, and Stott (in loc.). According to this interpretation, Paul would be answering the objection that to eliminate the law entirely as he is doing is to encourage godless living, living without norms. The argument would go, "Your doctrine of justification by faith is dangerous, for by eliminating the law you also eliminate a man's sense of moral responsibility. If a person can be accounted righteous simply by believing that Christ died for him, why then should he bother to keep the law or, for that matter, why should he bother to live by any standard of morality? There is no need to be good. The result of your doctrine is that men will believe in Christ but thereafter do as they desire." Paul's reply is abrupt. The form of his expression suggests that he was aware of the possibility that a Christian can (and that all Christians do) sin. But this is not the result of the doctrine of justification by faith, and therefore Christ is not responsible for it. Such a thought is abhorrent. "Absolutely not!" "God forbid!" If there is sin, as Paul acknowledges indirectly in the next verse, man himself is responsible ("I am a lawbreaker").This view is preferred by the present writer because it reflects Paul's arguments elsewhere (cf. Rom 6-8) and it best explains the presence of the following verses, as the commentary indicates. (The Expositor's Bible Commentary - 1973) Robert Rapa - It is clear that Paul’s meaning for “sinners” should, like the “we,” also be understood the same way in Gal 2:17 as in Gal 2:15. In the context of Paul’s propositio, this is best understood as an ironic mechanism intended by Paul to make a strong statement about the “sinner” Gentile-like status of himself and the Jewish Christians. In other words, Paul, Peter, and perhaps others had exercised their freedom in Christ to “live like a Gentile” (Gal 2:14). Having in certain matters of diet and association decided not to live like Jews, they had become, from the Judaizers’ perspective, “sinners” and “unclean.” They had put themselves, in terms of such behavior, outside the Mosaic covenant, as the Gentiles were. They had eaten like and with the Gentiles and perhaps disregarded other portions of the law as well (cf. Burton, 125). In doing so, they made themselves and their incipient Christian movement liable to charges of antinomianism, which was in fact one of the difficulties facing Paul in the Galatian congregation. The fact that the Judaizers offered the nomistic lifestyle of Judaism as a ready solution to such apparent antinomian propensities complicated the issue for Paul. The opponents could use Paul’s and Peter’s behavior to claim that Christ was the promoter of sin. Their becoming “sinners,” i.e., covenant breakers, from the Judaizers’ perspective makes the Christ preached by Paul to be the champion of sinful behavior. This was, again, an actual charge leveled against Paul, seemingly with some success (cf. Ro. 3:31; 6:1, 15; 13:14). His resounding, “Absolutely not!” to the notion of Jesus’ promotion of sinful behavior was intended to indicate just how far he wished to distance himself from such a preposterous contention. (Expositor's Bible Commentary - 2007) William Hendriksen gives his favorite of 3 interpretations he discusses "If the Judaizers are correct in maintaining that we, in seeking to be justified solely in Christ, and thus neglecting law, turn out to be gross sinners just like the Gentiles, then would you say that Christ, Who taught us this doctrine, is a sin-promoter?" In favor of this interpretation note the following: (a) It obviously suits the preceding context. In substance Paul is saying, "Peter and all of you who have followed his example, consider what you are doing! By your action you are really saying that Christ was wrong when he taught you: that it is not what enters a man from without that defiles him but rather what proceeds out of his heart (Matt. 15:1-20); that all meats are clean (Mark 7:19); and that men are saved by simply coming to him and trusting in him (Matt. 11:25-30; John 3:16). Is it really true, then, that Christ is a sin-promoter, that is, that he—by his teaching, example, death on the cross—makes you a greater sinner than you were already?" (b) It also establishes a smooth connection with the words which immediately follow. (Exposition of Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon) Grant Osborne - Paul now further clarifies his point, using what is called a condition of fact (an “if” saying that assumes the truth of the statement to follow): “If, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we Jews [inserted by the NIV for clarification] find ourselves to be sinners [which is indeed the case].” Some think this refers back to Paul’s and Peter’s conversions, when both realized that they, like the Gentiles, were sinners who could find forgiveness only in Christ. Others see this as a post-conversion experience when they fully realized that the law could not solve their sin problem and turned unequivocally to faith in Jesus. This would not, however, imply a second conversion. Paul was not referring to a conversion experience but to a later, fuller realization regarding their relationship to the law as Christians. Both views can make sense of the sentence, but I prefer the post-conversion interpretation because it fits the whole setting and argument of verses 15–21. Either way, however, Paul’s emphasis is on the reality of sin. As he worked through the implications of the gospel and his own salvation, Paul realized that the law could not have removed the reality that he was a sinner in need of grace. The presence of “in Christ” with “justified” indicates the mystical union with Christ that ensues in the experience of justification. In realizing that justification takes place apart from keeping the law, Peter and Paul in the eyes of the Jews had become “sinners,” just like the Gentiles who did not follow the law. At this point Paul points out a possible false conclusion (“Does this mean that Christ promotes sin?”), responding to his own rhetorical question with that strong negation made famous in his diatribes of Romans 3:4, 6 and others: “Absolutely not” (KJV: “God forbid”)! If faith in Christ means abandoning the law, these Judaizers charged Paul, then following him means turning Jewish Christians into sinners like the Gentiles. Paul unequivocally rejects such a charge. Far from promoting sin, Christ resolves and negates its. (Galatians Verse by Verse) John Stott - Paul’s critics argued like this: ‘Your doctrine of justification through faith in Christ only, apart from the works of the law, is a highly dangerous doctrine. It fatally weakens a man’s sense of moral responsibility. If he can be accepted through trusting in Christ, without any necessity to do good works, you are actually encouraging him to break the law, which is the vile heresy of “antinomianism”.’ People still argue like this today: ‘If God justifies bad people, what is the point of being good? Can’t we do as we like and live as we please?’ Paul’s first response to his critics is to deny their suggestion with hot indignation: ‘God forbid’ he says. (The Message of Galatians) John
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Spurgeon - If I once said I would not trust in my good works, and now go back to trust in them, I have already, whatever may be my outward conduct, perpetrated a great sin. Lovett - The man who tears down a bridge and then rebuilds it, admits he made an awful mistake in tearing it down in the first place. Again, returning to legal bondage after receiving the grace of Christ, is like a man who has been pardoned, returning to prison to serve out the balance of a life sentence. Such an act is stupid for it cancels the effect of the pardon. The very turning back to Law indicates there is no salvation in Christ. Imagine the effect of these words, though addressed to Peter, on the Galatians who were in danger of doing this very thing! (Lovett's Lights on Galatians) I prove myself to be a transgressor - Paul says he would be the one that "crossed over the line" if he reverted to the law and as explained he is actually alluding to Peter's transgression! If he returned to the Law after trusting Christ alone for salvation, the Law would only demonstrate that he was a transgressor! To put one’s relationship with God on a legalistic basis is to make oneself a transgressor (lawbreaker). Prove (demonstrate) (4921)(sunistemi/sunistao from sún = together with + hístemi = set, place, stand) means literally to set, place or put together. In this context the idea is to make known and conspicuous by exhibiting in one's conduct. Don Anderson - Peter was trying to erect the wall between the Jews and the Gentiles once again. By his actions in so doing he is showing himself a transgressor. Living as a Gentile, you tore down the law; and living like a Jew, you are tearing down the grace of God. Peter is CAUGHT ON THE HORNS OF A DILEMMA. On a chessboard, he has been put in CHECKMATE. Christians, many times, are brought to a point of real blessing when they recognize some of the truth about allowing Jesus Christ to live out His life in them and the utter futility of trying in themselves to live a life pleasing to God. (Notes) Transgressor (3848)(parabates from from pará = beyond or contrary to + baíno = to go; see study on cognate noun - parabasis) describes one who steps on one side and thus goes beyond or steps across a line. A transgressor is a violator of the law, one who goes beyond the law. It refers to the the person who steps beyond a fixed limit into forbidden territory. The point is that the law draws the line that should not be crossed or "stepped over". Where there is no law, people do not deliberately disobey God but they disobey in ignorance.
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Spurgeon - Through my sight of the law, which I have seen to be so stern that all it can do is to condemn me for my shortcomings, I am driven away from it, and led to come and live in Christ Jesus, under the rule of grace, and not under the law of Moses. (Galatians 2 Exposition) John MacArthur on died to the law - When a person is convicted of a capital crime and executed, the law has no further claim on him. So it is with the Christian who has died in Christ (who paid the penalty for his sins in full) and rises to new life in Him—justice has been satisfied and he is forever free from any further penalty (Ed: See Martin Luther's comment below). (Study Bible) Bartlett has a similar interpretation as MacArthur writing that "To die to a thing is to cease to have any relation to it. Paul is saying that, by his acceptance of CHRIST, he has been freed from bondage to the law as a legalistic system and has entered true liberty ("So that I might live to God."). A man who moves across the border into another state is no longer under the law of the state in which he formerly made his residence. So the sinner who takes JESUS as his SAVIOUR passes from the condemnation of the law into the glorious liberty that is in CHRIST: "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1, 2)." (Galatians 2:11-21 - Personal Explanation) John Stott on died to the law - the law’s demand of death was satisfied in the death of Christ (The Message of Galatians) Howard Vos - If we are joined to Christ by faith in His finished work, we share in His fulfillment of the righteous demands of the law. The law has killed Him and us and we are therefore no longer subject to the law. Just as a woman whose husband dies is no longer bound to him but is free to marry another, so we being freed from the law by the interposition of death are freed to be joined to another. With this orientation, “I through the law am dead to the law” takes on profound significance. (Everyman's Bible Commentary - Galatians: A Call to Christian Liberty) Osborne adds that "As a Jewish follower of the law, Paul was faithful to its demands. Yet when Christ came the divine purpose of the law, as well as of Paul’s obedience to it, was fulfilled. When the usefulness of the law ended, Paul in a sense died to it. Beyond making a personal, religious comment here, he is declaring a salvation-historical principle. In the new covenant era of Christ and the Spirit, Paul’s old life is over. Likewise for us, when we die in Christ we die not only to the law but also to sin. We are united with Christ and thus freed from the law. Paul will explore this further in the next verse in his comment on being “crucified with Christ.” (Galatians Verse by Verse) John
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Spurgeon - I do not know a better epitome of Christian experience than this (referring to Gal 2:19-20). This is the daily walk of a true child of God, if he liveth after any other sort, then he liveth not a Christian’s life at all. Christ living in us, ourselves living upon Christ, and our union to Christ being visibly maintained by an act of simple faith in him, this is the true Christian’s life. Bartlett adds that "the apostle says that he is freed from the law, not that he may live in sin, but that he may live unto GOD. This is a most important point for those who hold firmly to the doctrine of justification by faith to keep ever in mind. The purpose of grace is not to give freedom to sin but to bring freedom from sin. Freed from sin, the believer is now free to live for GOD. What, then, is the purpose of the law? Anticipating in a word what will receive fuller treatment in our exposition of chapter 3, we may say that the objective of the law is to lead to CHRIST by showing man his utter need of a SAVIOUR. The law is an X-ray which reveals his sin to the sinner but does not remove the sin from the sinner. It condemns for sin but cannot redeem from sin. It shows the malady without affording a remedy.Again, we might think of the law as a road that leads up to the one and only bridge over a frightful chasm that must be crossed - and that bridge is CHRIST. In CHRIST we die positionally to the sin for which He died." (Galatians 2:11-21 - Personal Explanation)
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Spurgeon says: How many personal pronouns of the first person are there in this verse? Are there not as many as eight? It swarms with I and me. The text deals not with the plural at all; it does not mention some one else, nor a third party far away, but the apostle treats of himself, his own inner life, his own spiritual death, the love of Christ to him, and the great sacrifice which Christ made for him. Bartlett says: “I am crucified with Christ . . .” It is hardly necessary to say that Galatians 2:20 is one of the pre-eminently great texts of Scripture. (Memorize it.) Better, perhaps, than any single verse, it summarizes Paul’s philosophy of life. And for untold numbers of believers it has been a polestar of faith, the very essence of what Christ means to them ILLUSTRATION - Think of a pianist sitting down at a piano to play. Anyone hitting a key can make a sound. Some can hit the keys and produce only noise. But some can sit down to that piano and by touching the right chord, playing the right notes together in certain combinations, can make sweet sounds. Suppose a person sits down to a piano with his hands over the keys. Now picture a master pianist inside that person. The master can put his hands on the hands of that person, his fingers on those fingers so that by some means he can guide the fingers to the right keys at the right time, so that it would appear that the person sitting on the stool was playing the piano. This is how a Christian lives. Christ Jesus is in him, moving the Christian as to what to do and how to do it, when to say it and how to say it. A Christian person in the home acts the way he is inwardly led; the Christian woman in the community acts the way she is inwardly led; a Christian young person in school acts the way he or she is led. This is because the Christian is led from within by the Holy Spirit of God, who makes the things of Christ real to him. “Christ liveth in me.” “Christ in you, the hope of glory.” (Plain talk on Galatians: Manford George Gutzke) Don Anderson - Paul describes the life which he is now living as a Christian as a LIFE OF FAITH. The faith that saved him is the faith that he is exercising daily in the sufficiency of Christ for all of his needs. It is not by his FEELINGS but by his FAITH. This life which is now being lived in the flesh is being lived on the principle of faith. Howard Vos says: Verse 20 is one of the most magnificent verses in all of Scripture. It makes abundantly clear the fact that Christianity is not a matter of some legalistic form—of carefully checking off a list of dos and don’ts. It is a life. Moreover, it is not human effort trying to bring off a superior kind of morality but divine life surging through the individual. “Old things are passed away . . . all things are become new” (2 Co 5:17). Verse 20 expands on the meaning of verse 19; Paul died to the law because he had been crucified with Christ; he lives to God because Christ lives in him. “I am crucified with Christ.” The tense is perfect in the Greek with the resultant meaning: “I have been and remain crucified.” This is how one dies to the law (v. 19) Romans 6:1-6 linked with 1 Corinthians 12:13 explains how one may be reckoned as crucified with Christ. By means of the Holy Spirit we are baptized into one body and into Christ. The Holy Spirit joins us to the church (the body of true believers) and to Him and causes us positionally to participate in His substitutionary death, burial, and resurrection. The old man or old nature with all its affections was crucified (Rom 6:6). Because I have been raised to newness of life, I live. But in a sense it is not I that live. It is not I in my own strength that achieves in this business of living the Christian life. Christ lives in me. How stupendous! A member of the divine Trinity living in me! The Saving Life of Christ by Ian Thomas - Israel lived in self-imposed poverty for 40 years because they would not believe that the God who brought them out was the God who could bring them in. Forty years it took before God was able through Joshua to teach His people that to get in takes precisely the same kind of faith that it takes to get out. When once they stood by faith in the waters of the Jordan, the river parted even as the Red Sea. Richard Halverson says: Christian growth is not the struggle to become the kind of person we think God wants us to be, but a surrender of our bodies, all our faculties, our right to ourselves, to God—that He may make us and mold us into the image of His Son, that through us His life and love and grace might flow. Tozer - The problem is not to persuade God to fill us, but to want God sufficiently to permit Him to do so. The average Christian is so cold and so contented with his wretched condition that there is no vacuum of desire into which the blessed Spirit can rush in satisfying fullness.
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Spurgeon - It is true that He loves us now, but Paul also wrote truly, “Who loved me.” The verb is in the past tense. Jesus loved me upon the cross, loved me in the manger of Bethlehem, loved me before the earth was. There never was a time when Jesus did not love His people. Believer, get a hold of the precious truth that Christ loved you eternally. The all-glorious Son of God chose you and espoused you unto Himself, that you might be His bride throughout eternity. Here is a blessed union indeed. FOR ME! Gave Himself up for me - I should have paid the penalty of death for my sin, but Jesus voluntarily took my place giving Himself over to the powers of evil to die a death He did not deserve, that I might live a life I do not deserve. John
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Spurgeon - Paul looks at the matter of salvation from the point of view suggested by grace. If any man might have said, “The Son of God, whom I have loved, and to whom I have given myself,” it would have been the apostle. On another occasion, speaking of the Lord, he said, “Whose I am, and whom I serve” (Acts 27:23). But here he does not think of himself—or of what he had been led to do for the Lord—but only of what the Lord had done for him. He dug down to the foundation of salvation; he traced the stream of grace back to the fountainhead. Therefore he spoke of “the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Jerry Bridges has an illustration of no longer I but Christ… Before battery-powered watches were invented, wristwatches had to be wound every day. A watch’s stem was used not only to adjust the hands but also to wind up the mainspring. The gradual unwinding of the mainspring throughout the day drove the mechanism of the watch to keep time. The Gospel of justification by faith in Christ is the mainspring of the Christian life. And like the mainspring in old watches, it must be wound every day. Because we have a natural tendency to look within ourselves for the basis of God’s approval or disapproval (Ed: Beloved, does this not hit a nerve so to speak - it certainly does in life, even after 25 years of walking clothed with His righteousness!), we must make a conscious daily effort (Ed: But even this God pleasing "effort" I would submit is initiated and enabled by the Spirit [see Php 2:13, Heb 13:20-21] Who indwells us [1Cor 3:16, 6:19], whose goal is ever to glorify Christ [Jn 16:14] - so He will continually be drawing our hearts and minds back to the "Source" of righteousness - Jer 23:5, 1Cor 1:30, 2Cor 5:21, Ro 3:21-25, Php 3:7-9) to look outside ourselves to the righteousness of Christ, then to stand in the present reality of our justification. Only then will we experience the stability that the first bookend is meant to provide… Paul’s resting in Christ’s righteousness rather than his own did not cause him to slack off in his pursuit of Christlikeness. Rather, it motivated him to press on and strain forward (Php 3:12-14). Now his zeal was motivated not by a desire to earn God’s favor but by love and gratitude for the righteousness of Christ that was his by faith. This is the motivating power of the Gospel… The Christian life may now be more of a duty than a joyous response to the gospel. Consequently we may not experience the motivating power of the Gospel. That’s why we need to intentionally bathe our minds and hearts in the Gospel every day. Remember, we need the Gospel not only as a door into an initial saving relationship with Christ, but also as the first bookend to keep our daily lives from becoming a performance treadmill. As we rely on Christ’s righteousness in this manner, far from leading to a license to sin, it actually motivates us to deal with the sin we see in our lives by presenting our bodies as living sacrifices to God. (The Bookends of the Christian Life - This book is highly recommended - But don't "speed read" it! In this book Bridges goes on to explain two other Gospel enemies besides [1] self-righteousness -- [2] Persistent guilt and [3] Self-reliance and then discusses in very practical manner the second bookend of the spiritual life = The Power of the Holy Spirit.) Christ Liveth in Me Daniel W. Whittle Once far from God and dead in sin, No light my heart could see; But in God’s Word the light I found, Now Christ liveth in me. As rays of light from yonder sun, The flowers of earth set free, So life and light and love came forth From Christ living in me. As lives the flower within the seed, As in the cone the tree, So, praise the God of truth and grace, His Spirit dwelleth in me. (Ed: How does Christ now live in me?) With longing all my heart is filled, That like Him I may be, As on the wondrous thought I dwell That Christ liveth in me. Refrain Christ liveth in me, Christ liveth in me, Oh! what a salvation this, That Christ liveth in me. (play hymn) D L Moody - Five aspects of Crucifixion in Galatians: I crucified in Christ. Gal 2:20. Christ crucified for me. Gal 3:1. The flesh crucified in me. Gal 5:24. The world crucified unto me. Gal 6:14. I crucified unto the world. Gal 6:14. Finding God’s Best by John Hunter John 12 records how the Lord had come to Jerusalem for the last time in His earthly life. Ahead of Him lay all the agony of Gethsemane and Calvary. In verse 24, the Lord spoke of this coming tragedy in an unusual way: “Verily, verily, I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” He told of the basic rule for reproduction in the vegetable kingdom: unless a seed dies it can never reproduce itself. He saw Himself as the heavenly corn of wheat which was to die so that the glorious harvest might appear. In one sense the Lord Jesus died so that He might never be alone. This we know, and this we believe. Then in verse 26 the Lord continues, “If any man serve me, let him follow me . . .” Make sure you really understand this basic pattern for service. If I want to serve Him, then I must follow Him. But notice where I first follow Him: into the grave. This is the whole point of this amazing illustration. If life is to come through me, in my service for Him, then I, too, must be willing to follow Him into the grave. This is what Paul says in Galatians 2:20: “I am crucified with Christ,” not “I was,” or “I will be,” but a continuing present tense experience of identification with Christ in the place of death. He saw himself as dead for Christ’s sake, but then he continued: “Nevertheless I live; yet not I but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” There was a special purpose in Paul seeing himself dead with Christ. He wanted the indwelling Christ to take over in his life so that the life of Christ might be made manifest in his mortal flesh. In this way the power would be released, fulfilling the power for service. In this way Paul would be a witness for the Living Christ—in thought, and word, and deed—thus fulfilling the plan for service. (source unknown) John Hunter says: This is how we are complete in Christ. Whether or not we realize it we as believers are indwelt by the risen Christ. He indwells us so that He can continue in our daily lives what He began through His death on the cross. By the saving death of Christ, He is the sin-bearer. Through the saving life of Christ, he is the burden-bearer. There are so many Christians today struggling hard to live the Christian life, facing problems, and bearing burdens God never intended them to bear This is the liberating truth of identification with Christ. I'm dead to sin through Christ my Lord, For in His death I also died; It's written clear in God's own Word, And, praise His name, I'm justified! I'm dead to sin, thus I must live, To Christ alone who gave His all; And for His love I can't but give My life and gifts, both great and small. I'm dead to sin, so I must serve My God and King each day and hour; What He commands I must observe, And seek to do with heav'nly pow'r. I'm dead to sin, O blessed thought! I now can rest from care and strife; My fight He has forever fought, And now I live His risen life. Stephen F. Olford Halverson points out: Actually that which a man does to help God’s redemptive work results in hindering it. To try to help God is as much a hindrance as to try to resist Him. The surgeon’s glove serves to illustrate this. It is almost transparent as he puts it on for the operation. That glove may hinder the surgeon in two ways: First of all, it must not resist the slightest movement of his finger. It must be almost as if the glove is not there at all, as he works through it in his delicate surgery. If there is the least rigidity, the slightest inflexibility, the trace of resistance to his touch, the glove must be discarded. But what would happen if that rubber glove would say, “I have some original ideas about this operation. I am going to contribute my own efforts.” For the glove to initiate its own efforts would be as disastrous as if it were to refuse to yield to the surgeon’s movements. Either way the work of the surgeon is hindered, whether the glove resists or assists. The life God requires is not difficult—it is impossible to live. There is no man or woman who can by their own efforts live the Christian life. The only one who is able to live the life required by God is the Son of God Himself. And the whole point of Christian faith is that He will live this life in and through the man who consents to Him. But by the farthest reach of the imagination, by all the struggle and effort of which man is capable, he will never come close to living the life or following the example of Jesus Christ. In fact, the man who is trying to live the Christian life is failing by the very fact that he is trying. We shall see a bit later that there is an effortlessness that ought to characterize the Christian life. Not I, but Christ my every need supplying, Not I, but Christ my strength and health to be. Christ, only Christ for body, soul, and spirit; Christ, only Christ live Thou Thy life in me. My body is just covering under which another lives, even Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ through you is fully adequate to do everything. Oh that the Holy Spirit might impress upon our minds the fact that Christ is fully capable of meeting all of my needs, and in living through me that life which is pleasing to God. (source unknown) Halverson goes on to point out: But what is even more tragic is represented by the person who takes Christianity seriously, and then allows himself to be hopelessly enslaved by a futile struggle to please God according to standards that are impossible of attainment and were never intended by God to be reached by a struggle. To these deluded and frustrated people the Christian life becomes a dogged, slavish observance of hard and inflexible rules with all the joy and spontaneity removed. This too is totally unlike the virile Christianity of the New Testament. The divine record portrays a life that is singularly free from this awful, impossible endless struggle to be good or to do good. This was neither the letter nor the spirit of the primitive church. There was an exhilaration and dynamic, a freshness, an aliveness, a drive and thrust about those first century Christians that is inescapable when one reads the New Testament with even a slight degree of understanding. They were not struggling to be something or to do something. They were not counting on human resources; they were channels for Divine resources. God had invaded their lives and was at work in them, for them, through them. They were simply letting God do His work, using them as the tools. Their bodies were the “temple of the living God,” and their faith was manifested by consent, submission and obedience. They suffered for this faith, to be sure, but even in their suffering and martyrdom there was a quality that could be explained on no other ground than that God was doing a superhuman work in them. The joy of their hearts was the supreme fact that “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself.” Certainly no one would dare to assume, by the farthest stretch of the imagination, that these early Christians were willing to lay down their lives simply for the privilege of struggling to be good. They were not martyrs for an ethical standard or for a set of religious rules and regulations. They had been given life through Jesus Christ, and death for His sake simply meant the inheritance of this life of which present peace and joy were but the foretaste. To die meant gain! The joy, the power, the vitality, the drive of those Christians will only be repeated when we learn to renounce the fruitless struggle and allow the life of God in Christ to fill us, possess us and use us in the Divine program. When we forsake our confidence in human resources and yield to the reign of God in our lives, the world will see a demonstration of true Christianity that will command itself to thoughtful men. Why did Hudson Taylor love that great old hymn “Jesus I am Resting, Resting”? The reason being he had found the secret. Play the Steve Green vocal as you meditate on Galatians 2:20 asking the Spirit of Christ to make it your daily reality for the glory of the Father. Amen and Amen. Jesus I am Resting, Resting Jesus, I am resting, resting In the joy of what Thou art I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart Thou hast bid me gaze upon Thee And Thy beauty fills my soul For by Thy transforming power Thou hast made me whole Oh, how great Thy loving kindness, Vaster, broader than the sea Oh, how marvelous Thy goodness Lavished all on me! Yes, I rest in Thee, Beloved, Know what wealth of grace is Thine Know Thy certainty of promise And have made it mine Jesus, I am resting, resting In the joy of what Thou art I am finding out the greatness of Thy loving heart Ever lift Thy face upon me, As I work and wait for Thee; Resting 'neath Thy smile, Lord Jesus Earth's dark shadows flee. Lord, Make My Life a Miracle by Raymond C. Ortlund - God is so patient. Think how many times He has flashed lightning across the sky. Through the ages it would splinter huge trees. It would run a cow down a path, while men watched and wondered. All the time God was trying to tell men something. One stormy day a man finally went out with a kite and a key. All heaven was probably bending over saying, “All these years we’ve been trying to tell them about electricity. Look, look, he’s got it! At last, he’s got it!” And soon the world lit up. How long, how long you and I have been vaguely aware—theoretically aware—of God’s presence with us! I think all heaven’s waiting, and perhaps saying, “I think they might get it. Look, look, maybe at last they’re going to get it!” Christian, you may have been saved for 15, 30, 40 years. Maybe at last you’re going to get it! The Christian life is to be lived from the center out, with God. How could you have missed it? Live from the center out. At the center is Jesus Christ and all His glory in you. (source unknown) Begin the sweet discipline of acknowledging Him, moment by moment. Live with Him, have a running conversation going with Him, rejoice in Him. CLICK HERE FOR NUMEROUS DEVOTIONALS Galatians 2:21 "I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly." Greek: Ouk athetō (I do set aside - V-PIA-1S) tēn charin tou Theou ei gar dia nomou dikaiosynē ara Christos dōrean (for nought) apethanen (V-AIA-3S) Amplified: [Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose]; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.] Phillips Consequently I refuse to stultify the grace of God by reverting to the Law. For if righteousness were possible under the Law then Christ died for nothing! Wuest l do not thwart the efficacy of the grace of God. For if through law comes righteousness, then Christ died without a cause.(Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) NET Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside God's grace, because if righteousness could come through the law, then Christ died for nothing! GNT Galatians 2:21 οὐκ ἀθετῶ τὴν χάριν τοῦ θεοῦ· εἰ γὰρ διὰ νόμου δικαιοσύνη, ἄρα Χριστὸς δωρεὰν ἀπέθανεν. NLT Galatians 2:21 I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. KJV Galatians 2:21 I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. ESV Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. ASV Galatians 2:21 I do not make void the grace of God: for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died for nought. CSB Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. NIV Galatians 2:21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!" NKJ Galatians 2:21 "I do not set aside the grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." NRS Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. YLT Galatians 2:21 I do not make void the grace of God, for if righteousness be through law -- then Christ died in vain. NAB Galatians 2:21 I do not nullify the grace of God; for if justification comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing. NJB Galatians 2:21 I am not setting aside God's grace as of no value; it is merely that if saving justice comes through the Law, Christ died needlessly. GWN Galatians 2:21 I don't reject God's kindness. If we receive God's approval by obeying laws, then Christ's death was pointless. BBE Galatians 2:21 I do not make the grace of God of no effect: because if righteousness is through the law, then Christ was put to death for nothing. I do not nullify the grace of God: Ga 2:18 Ps 33:10 Mk 7:9 *marg: Ro 8:31 for if righteousness comes through the Law: Ga 2:16 Gal 3:21 Gal 5:2-4 Ro 10:3 Ro 11:6 Heb 7:11 then Christ died needlessly: Isa 49:4 Jer 8:8 1Co 15:2,14,17 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries PAUL'S SHORT "MEDITATION" ON THE GRACE OF GOD I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly - The Amplified functions almost like a "mini-commentary" - "[Therefore, I do not treat God’s gracious gift as something of minor importance and defeat its very purpose]; I do not set aside and invalidate and frustrate and nullify the grace (unmerited favor) of God. For if justification (righteousness, acquittal from guilt) comes through [observing the ritual of] the Law, then Christ (the Messiah) died groundlessly and to no purpose and in vain. [His death was then wholly superfluous.]"
Gálatas 2
Spurgeon - Paul is arguing against the idea of salvation by works, or salvation by ceremonies; and he shows, beyond all question, that salvation is by the grace of God through faith in Jesus Christ. Mark the strength of the apostle’s argument in the 21st verse: “ If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in sin.” That is to say, there was no need for Christ to die, the crucifixion was a superfluity, if men can save themselves by their own good works. Paul is very emphatic about the matter. He puts it as plainly as possible: “If righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain.” Spurgeon in another note on Gal 2:21 - If a man can be saved by his own works, and willings, and doings, then Christ’s death was an unnecessary piece of torture; and, instead of being the most glorious manifestation of divine love, it was a shameful waste, putting upon Christ a terrible burden of suffering which was totally unnecessary. Needleslly (groundlessly) (1432)(dorean from dorea= “a gift,” something bestowed freely, without price, or compensation, as in Jn 4:10; Acts 2:38; 2 Cor 9:15) Hence dōrean also means “freely,” “gratuitously,” as in Mt 10:8; Ro 3:24; 2 Co 11:7; 2 Th 3:8; Rev 21:6; 22:17. But it also = “gratuitously” in the sense of causelessly, as in Jn 15:25 ( ‘THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE.’), of the hatred of the Jews for the Lord Jesus, and “vainly,” or without either purpose or result, as here in Gal 2:21. It means to be without purpose. Bartlett rightly remarks that "A man wanting to cross the Atlantic would be fit for a lunatic asylum if, instead of taking passage on an ocean liner, he insisted upon trying to beat the steamship by swimming the three thousand miles or more between New York and Liverpool. And yet his insanity would be wisdom alongside the folly of the sinner who despises the finished work of JESUS CHRIST and trusts to his own good works to get him into heaven." (Galatians 2:11-21 - Personal Explanation) If Righteousness Is by the Law, Christ Died in Vain "I do not frustrate the grace of God; for if righteousness come by the Law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Gal. 2:21). Those who are seeking salvation by the Law are ruthlessly committing two sins. 1. They are frustrating the grace of God. The sweetest note of the Bible is, "By grace are ye saved." But, "if it is of grace, it is not of works, otherwise grace is no more grace." If it is of works it is not of grace, "otherwise works are no more works." He who would be saved by Law is fallen from grace. 2. They are causing Christ to die in vain. The agonies of Calvary were needless if salvation is by works. We go a step further, and say — If it was possible for man to be saved by the Law, apart from the Cross of Christ, then the very birth of Christ, His life, His death, and His resurrection were all in vain. The one who seeks salvation through the deeds of the Law, compels God the Father to take the role of a cruel despot. He presents God as giving Christ to die, making His soul an offering for sin, and laying upon Him the iniquity of us all, when man, as he alleges, needs no atoning sacrifice. Away with the blasphemy of salvation by works! Let legalists and moralists consider carefully the results of their moral boastings. What is the need of a door, if one is going to climb up some other way? The "be good and be saved" frustrate the grace of God. They make Christ to die in vain. After all of this they are irrevocably lost, because there is no other way than grace and no other door than the Cross of Christ. - Robert Neighbour Sermons and Bible Studies EXCURSUS ON BARNABAS SON OF ENCOURAGEMENT Barnabas ("son of exhortation" "son of encouragement") - All God's children should be "Barnabases" for all have the Spirit indwelling them and it is He (the Parakletos - the one who comes alongside to encourage, to comfort - Jn 14:15KJV) Who enables us to be encouragers rather than discouragers (hinderers, dissauders). Beloved, how would you characterize your words to others today, yesterday, this past week, etc -- encouraging and uplifting or discouraging and deflating? Think upon these things! Luke records that Barnabas was a man filled with (controlled by, empowered by) the Holy Spirit Who I would submit enabled him to live up to his name!.... And the hand of the Lord was with them, and a large number who believed turned to the Lord. 22 And the news about them reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas off to Antioch. 23 Then when he had come and witnessed the grace of God, he rejoiced and began to encourage them all with resolute heart to remain true to the Lord; 24 for he was a good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And considerable numbers were brought to the Lord. 25 And he left for Tarsus to look for Saul; 26 and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it came about that for an entire year they met with the church, and taught considerable numbers; and the disciples were first called Christians in Antioch. 27 Now at this time some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. (Acts 11:21-27) W E Vine has a note on Barnabas - Barnabas,—a Heb. name, bar = son, nabas = prophecy; Luke gives as the Greek equivalent “son of exhortation” or “of comfort,” Acts 4:36 (paraklesis, see note on the corresponding verb, parakaleo, 1 Thessalonians 2:11); the two translations are reconciled by Paul’s words, “he that prophesieth speaketh unto men…comfort,” 1 Corinthians 14:3. This name was given him by the apostles, apparently to describe the prominent characteristic of his ministry. His own name was Joseph; his ancestors, of the tribe of Levi, had settled in Cyprus, where he was born. In the Bible laudatory words are used of few men, and of these Barnabas is one, “he was a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith,” Acts 11:24. It was Barnabas who introduced Paul to the apostles when he returned to Jerusalem after his conversion, vouching for the good faith of the onetime persecutor to those naturally suspicious of him. Barnabas stood high in the confidence of the apostles, and became their delegate when the Greeks began to turn to God at Antioch. Arrived at that city the sight of the grace of God gladdened him; he strengthened the hands of the believers, and many people were “added to the Lord.” Feeling the need of a colleague, and, it may be, remembering the word of the Lord concerning Saul at his conversion, that his life work was to lie among the Gentiles, Barnabas sought him out and from henceforth for some years the two were closely associated in the work of the gospel. Later, however, they separated in consequence of a disagreement over a younger fellow worker, John Mark. Thereafter the writer of the Acts is silent about Barnabas, though a brief and friendly reference to him by the apostle Paul at a later date shows him still actively engaged in the work of the Lord, 1 Corinthians 9:6. It is interesting to note that one of the titles of our Lord Jesus Christ is "The Consolation (paraklesis = Encouragement) of Israel" (Luke 2:25). Recall that the consolation describes one who is a source of comfort in a time of suffering, grief, saddness, disappointment. The next time you experience these feelings, run to the One named "The Consolation of Israel." The writer of Hebrews adds "since He Himself was tempted (tested) in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid (see study of this wonderful verb boetheo) of those who are (continually being) tempted (tested)." (Heb 2:18) Indeed, our Lord Jesus is the true "Barnabas, the Son of Encouragement and Consolation." In fact Jesus imparts to His brethren consolation and encouragement not just in time but throughout eternity! Indeed, because we as believers are indissolubly united to Him by the unbreakable New Covenant in His blood, we are in eternally one with Him and will be encouraged throughout eternity. Ponder that thought a moment if you think heaven will be dull! You and I will be encouraged eternally by the One Who is the preeminently perfect Consoler, Christ Jesus Himself! Hallelujah! Amen! Click for more devotionals related to Barnabas the Encourager Warren Wiersbe in Bible Personalities: A Treasury of Insights has this entry on Barnabas Thus we see that Barnabas staked his all—his reputation, his life, his church which was dearer than life—on Paul’s sincerity. He gave Saul the weight of his influence, which weight was like a mighty anchor to a ship tempest beaten. He gave his hand, which hand was like a keen sword to one sorely pressed in battle. Had it not been for that warm and strong extended hand of Barnabas, Saul might have been chilled into obscurity.… (R. G. Lee, Glory Today for Conquest Tomorrow, p. 89) Barnabas played second fiddle, but he played it so well that the Kingdom of God made progress. He rode second in the Gospel chariot, but he did it with such humility and joy and gratitude until heaven will forever rejoice that he was “a good man, full of the Holy Ghost and of faith” and that, because of him, “much people were added to the Lord” [Acts 11:24]. (Lee, Glory Today, p. 96) When Paul had gone back to Tarsus and Barnabas had gone to electrify with his wisdom the Church at Antioch, the older preacher was sad because he had all the glory. He wanted the young man to share it; he determined that he should share it. He went to Tarsus and brought him to the scene of triumph. He gave him a place among the Christian workers. He went about continually in his company, that men might say, “There go Barnabas and [Saul].” He knew well the power of association—how a tarnished name if linked with a great name may lose its tarnish; and he resolved that Paul should reap the advantage of such a union. (Read the entire 21 page article by George Matheson in The Representative Men of the Bible) "Are You A Barnabas?" - James Scudder Are you a person who likes to encourage others? I feel one of the best examples of an encourager is a teacher. They encourage the people they teach. There weren't many teachers who went out of their way for me when I was in school, but there are two that I remember as being a real encouragement to me. One in particular was a teacher I had in Jr. High. The class was supposed to nominate the one they thought had the best voice to represent the school team. At the end of the session, the teacher said, "I think you picked the wrong one. I think James Scudder has the best voice. You should have nominated him." I was floored. No one had ever done that for me before. The class voted again, this time for me. That teacher made it possible for me to be a preacher today. There is a man in the Bible named Barnabas. His name actually means "Son of Encouragement." He was a man whom everyone liked because he constantly thought of others. In one particular instance, Barnabas wanted to encourage a man the other Apostles didn't think too highly of. This man had made some mistakes, but Barnabas saw the good that was in him and continued to encourage him. Are you willing to look past other's faults and see the good? Then you are like Barnabas. Take a moment and be an encouragement in someone's life today. Encouragement is oxygen of the soul. BACKGROUND FOR PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS Charles Swindoll Source - Insight for Living Paul wrote to the churches in southern Galatia (See discussion by Wilkinson and Boa) after having a hand in starting them on his first missionary journey to Asia Minor. Paul’s close relationship to these churches helps to explain the extremely strong tone he took with them from the very beginning of the letter. Galatians exhibits Paul at his angriest, as he risked the good favor of the converts in those churches to make sure they were on the path of truth and not led off into deception. In fact, to emphasize the seriousness of his purpose, he took the pen from his scribe and wrote the end of the letter himself in large letters (Galatians 6:11). Upon arriving back in Antioch from his first missionary journey after eighteen months on the road, Paul received a report that the churches he had started in Galatia had fallen into hard times—specifically, they had fallen into error. A group of Judaizers—those who sought to make living under the Mosaic Law a requirement of the Christian faith—had gained an influence in the Galatian churches. Paul wrote the book a few months before his attendance at the Jerusalem Council in AD 49, a meeting where the apostles would take up this very topic (Acts 15:1–30) (See discussion of Timing). In advance of the Jerusalem Council, Paul’s letter speaks wisdom and clarity into the first real controversy that plagued the church in its early years—the relationship between Christian Jews and Christian Gentiles. Paul’s aggressive tone shows just how important it was to him that the people embrace unity in Christ, no matter their racial distinctions. For him, this was no minor issue, as he went so far as to call the Galatians deserters of Christ, people turning from the truth toward a gospel contrary to the one they had received from Paul (Galatians 1:6–9). When the Galatians fell away so quickly from the gospel of grace Paul had preached to them, they also made clear their disloyalty to Paul’s authority as an apostle. Therefore, Paul began the letter to the Galatians by spending two chapters defending that very issue. Only in chapter 3 did he begin to get to the heart of their error; namely, that these Galatians sought to be justified by the Mosaic Law. In contrast, Paul presented his argument that justification comes to people by faith in Jesus Christ, not by their works under the Law. Part of the problem that confronted the Galatians came in one of the arguments made by the Judaizers. These false teachers suggested that to live by grace and in freedom meant to live a lawless and therefore degenerate life. And so in the final chapters of the letter, Paul made clear that justification—an act of grace through faith—need not result in a sinful lifestyle. Because Christians have been freed from bondage to the sinful nature, we now have the path of holiness open to us. Unfortunately, the false teaching brought to the Galatian churches by the Judaizers has been extremely difficult to root out even today. We must walk a fine line—on one hand, we do not want to fall into the legalism that the Galatians struggled with, but on the other, we cannot just live as if anything goes. The Christian’s commitment to Christ is based on the free gift of grace through faith, but as Paul articulated at the end of Galatians, it also results in a life of walking by the Spirit. (Insight for Living) WHO ARE THE RECIPIENTS OF PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS? Bruce Wilkinson, Kenneth Boa The North Galatian Theory holds that Paul was speaking of Galatia in its earlier, more restricted sense. According to this theory, the churches of Galatia were north of the cities Paul visited on his first missionary journey. Paul visited the ethnographic Galatia (the smaller region to the North) for the first time on his second missionary journey, probably while he was on his way to Troas (Acts 16:6). On his third missionary journey, Paul revisited the Galatian churches he had established (Acts 18:23) and wrote this epistle either in Ephesus (A.D. 53–56) or in Macedonia (A.D. 56). This theory is supported by the church fathers, but this may be due to the exclusive use of the ethnographic sense of Galatia by the second century. Advocates of this view also point to Luke’s apparent use of Galatia in the northern sense (Acts 16:6; 18:23). Similarities between Galatians and Romans (written in A.D. 57) also help to support this late-date theory for Galatians. But it is hurt by the fact that Acts does not say Paul evangelized in North Galatia. In fact, he would have had to have taken a radical detour to the northeast on his second missionary journey to do so, whereas no such detour would have been necessary if he went to South Galatia. According to the South Galatian Theory, Paul was referring to Galatia in its wider political sense as a province of Rome. This means that the churches he had in mind in this epistle were in the cities he evangelized during his first missionary journey with Barnabas (Acts 13:13–14:23). This was just prior to the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15), so the Jerusalem visit in Galatians 2:1–10 must have been the Acts 11:27–30 famine-relief visit. Galatians was probably written in Syrian Antioch in A.D. 49 just before Paul went to the Council in Jerusalem. This theory is supported in several ways: (1) Paul consistently referred to geography in the political sense in his epistles. (2) If Galatians was written after the Jerusalem Council as the North Galatian theory holds, it is probable that Paul would have referred to that authoritative decree to bolster his argument in this epistle, yet it is not mentioned. (3) It is unlikely that Peter would have acted as he did (Gal. 2:11–21) after the Jerusalem Council. (4) This theory fits against the background in Acts 13–14, but the North Galatian theory has no corresponding background. (5) The South Galatian cities that Paul visited were more strategic from an evangelistic point of view than those in the North because of their location, population, and commerce. (6) Barnabas (mentioned three times in 2) would have been more familiar to the South Galatian churches than to the North Galatian churches because he was not with Paul on his second missionary journey, when the churches in North Galatia were supposedly established. Paul wrote this epistle in response to a report that the Galatian churches were suddenly taken over by the false teaching of certain Judaizers who professed Jesus yet sought to place gentile converts under the requirements of the Mosaic Law (Gal 1:7; 4:17, 21; 5:2–12; 6:12–13). (Talk Thru the Bible) TIMING OF PAUL'S TRIP TO JERUSALEM Phil Newton We need to consider the historical setting for Paul's visit to Jerusalem. Bible students are divided over the timing of the incident described in our text. It is a choice between whether its roots are in Acts 11:27-30 in which Paul and Barnabas were sent by the church in Antioch with an offering for the Jerusalem church, or whether it referred to the Acts 15 Jerusalem Council. Without going into all of the arguments for either position, I am of the opinion that what Paul is describing in Galatians 2 was the summation of his visit mentioned in Acts 11:27-30. Let me enumerate a few of the reasons for this interpretation. First, the Jerusalem Council (Acts 15) was a public meeting of the apostles and elders, then later with the entire Jerusalem church. Paul states that his meeting was instead "in private to those who were of reputation," referring to Peter, James, and John. No public meeting was mentioned. Second, the fruit of the Acts 15 Jerusalem Council was an official letter from the apostles, elders and brethren in Jerusalem which stated clearly the apostolic position against the necessity of circumcision or works of the law for salvation. In Galatians, Paul does not refer to this letter at all, which would have been a conclusive evidence that his opponents, the Judaizers, were out of sync with the apostolic gospel. It would have crushed the weight of the Judaizers' arguments against Paul.