Gálatas 2
Kenneth Wuest · Citado em PreceptAustin
Gálatas 2
Wuest - And I went up in accordance with a revelation. And I laid before them for their consideration, the gospel which I am preaching among the Gentiles, but privately to those of recognized eminence, lest by any means I should be running or had run in vain. (Eerdmans Publishing) NET I went there because of a revelation and presented to them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did so only in a private meeting with the influential people, to make sure that I was not running– or had not run– in vain. NLT I went there because God revealed to me that I should go. While I was there I met privately with those considered to be leaders of the church and shared with them the message I had been preaching to the Gentiles. I wanted to make sure that we were in agreement, for fear that all my efforts had been wasted and I was running the race for nothing. GNT Galatians 2:2 ἀνέβην δὲ κατὰ ἀποκάλυψιν· καὶ ἀνεθέμην αὐτοῖς τὸ εὐαγγέλιον ὃ κηρύσσω ἐν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν, κατ᾽ ἰδίαν δὲ τοῖς δοκοῦσιν, μή πως εἰς κενὸν τρέχω ἢ ἔδραμον. Greek transliterated: anebēn (AAI) de kata (according to) apokalypsin kai anethemēn (AMI) autois to euangelion ho kēryssō (PAI) en (among) tois ethnesin kat’ idian de (moreover) tois dokousin (PAP) mē (lest) pōs (hardly) eis kenon trechō (PAS = I should be running) ē edramon (AAI - have run). KJV Galatians 2:2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated unto them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were of reputation, lest by any means I should run, or had run, in vain. ESV Galatians 2:2 I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. ASV Galatians 2:2 And I went up by revelation; and I laid before them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles but privately before them who were of repute, lest by any means I should be running, or had run, in vain. CSB Galatians 2:2 I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles-- but privately to those recognized as leaders-- so that I might not be running, or have run the race, in vain. NIV Galatians 2:2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. NKJ Galatians 2:2 And I went up by revelation, and communicated to them that gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those who were of reputation, lest by any means I might run, or had run, in vain. NRS Galatians 2:2 I went up in response to a revelation. Then I laid before them (though only in a private meeting with the acknowledged leaders) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain. YLT Galatians 2:2 and I went up by revelation, and did submit to them the good news that I preach among the nations, and privately to those esteemed, lest in vain I might run or did run; NAB Galatians 2:2 I went up in accord with a revelation, and I presented to them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles-- but privately to those of repute-- so that I might not be running, or have run, in vain. NJB Galatians 2:2 My journey was inspired by a revelation and there, in a private session with the recognised leaders, I expounded the whole gospel that I preach to the gentiles, to make quite sure that the efforts I was making and had already made should not be fruitless. GWN Galatians 2:2 I went in response to a revelation from God. I showed them the way I spread the Good News among people who are not Jewish. I did this in a private meeting with those recognized as important people to see whether all my efforts had been wasted. BBE Galatians 2:2 And I went up by revelation; and I put before them the good news which I was preaching among the Gentiles, but privately before those who were of good name, so that the work which I was or had been doing might not be without effect. It was because of a revelation that I went up: Ac 16:9,10 18:9 23:11 and I submitted to them the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles: Ga 2:9 1:16 Ac 15:4,12 1Co 1:23 2:2 I did so in private to those who were of reputation: Ga 2:6,9 Ec 10:1 Ac 5:34 Php 2:29 for fear that I might be running, or had run, in vain: Mt 10:16 1Co 9:26 Php 2:16 1Th 3:5 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Related Passages Galatians 1:12+ For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation (apokalupsis) of Jesus Christ. Ephesians 3:3+ that by revelation (apokalupsis) there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. Psalm 37:23 The steps of a man are established by the LORD, And He delights in his way. 1 Corinthians 9:26+ Therefore I run in such a way, as not without aim; I box in such a way, as not beating the air; Philippians 2:16+ holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may have cause to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 1 Thessalonians 3:5+ For this reason, when I could endure it no longer, I also sent to find out about your faith, for fear that the tempter might have tempted you, and our labor should be in vain. PAUL'S MISSION: GOD DIRECTED, NOT MAN-MADE It was because of a revelation (apokalupsis) that I went up (anabaino) - Amplified - " I went because it was specially and divinely revealed to me that I should go." Paul did not go to Jerusalem because he was summoned by men or sent by men but because of a divine revelation (cp Acts 9:3-6+, Acts 22:17-18+). We see a similar testimony by Paul in Gal 1:12+ explaining "I neither received it (THE GOSPEL) from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ." Paul did not go to Jerusalem because of pressure from church leaders or to seek their approval. He went because God revealed to him that he should go. This reinforces Paul’s earlier claim in Gal 1:12+. The upshot is that Paul’s ministry was not man-centered, but God-directed. THOUGHT - Does this describe your ministry, God called, God directed? You do have a ministry don't you (all are priests 1Pe 2:9, all are gifted - 1Pe 4:10, 1Co 12:7, all called to serve - Eph 4:11-12, Col 3:12)? Dear follower of Christ, you can be certain that God has placed you where you are for a purpose. Your life is your ministry, so "Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men." (Col 3:23+) Paul’s trip to Jerusalem was not a strategic decision—it was obedience to divine instruction. Hansen - Acts reports that Paul received guidance by revelation in several different ways: through prophets (Acts 11:28; Acts 21:10-11), by the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2; Acts 16:6-7; Acts 20:22-23; Acts 21:4), in dream visions (Acts 16:9; Acts 18:9-10; Acts 23:11; Acts 27:23-24) and in estatic trances (Acts 22:17-21; see also 2 Cor 12:2-4). (IVP Galatians 2 Commentary) Donald Campbell adds that Paul "went because God directed him to, not because the Jerusalem leaders had summoned him or called him “on the carpet” for preaching to the Gentiles." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) If this visit refers to Paul's THIRD visit to Jerusalem to attend the "Jerusalem Council," it is another evidence that our Omniscient God knew that the early church was in imminent danger of perverting the Gospel by adding works to faith. And so in a sense "in the fullness of time", at the right time, God called on His "man Friday" to go and give a defense of the Gospel of grace to co unter "another gospel" that was really not a Gospel at all (Gal 1:7+). God's timing is always perfect! MacArthur feels that Paul emphasizes "the divine commissioning of his visit in order to refute any suggestion by the Judaizers that they had sent Paul to Jerusalem to have the apostles correct his doctrine.....During the previous seventeen years he had preached the Gospel without any human instruction, his message having been given to him entirely by God’s direct revelation (Gal. 1:11–12, 16–17)." (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Galatians) John
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Wuest adds that preach in the present tense emphasizes "that Paul was still (CONTINUALLY) preaching grace." (Galatians Commentary) MacArthur agrees that this refers to the Gospel which he had always preached among the Gentiles, "the gospel of salvation by God’s sovereign grace through man’s penitent faith-a gospel utterly contrary to the works-righteous belief of the Judaizers that “unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1+)." (SEE Galatians Commentary - Page 35) A T
Gálatas 2
Wuest explains that this phrase were of reputation is the verb "dokeo which in its intransitive use means, “to seem, to be accounted, reputed.” Thus the phrase could be rendered, “to those who were reputed” men of recognized position such as James, Peter, and John. The idea is “to men of eminence.” We have the idea repeated in Gal 2:6 and Gal 2:9, in the phrases “those who were of high reputation” and “who were reputed to be pillars." (Galatians Commentary) Vincent on were of reputation - Paul recognises the honorable position of the three and their rightful claim to respect (Galatians 2 Commentary - Greek Word Studies) The preacher of the gospel is pictured as a runner of a race concerned about his eventual success or failure in the race For fear that I might be running (trecho), or had run (trecho), in vain (kenos). - Amplified - "I wanted to make certain, by thus at first confining my communication to this private conference] that I was not running or had not run in vain [guarding against being discredited either in what I was planning to do or had already done]." This athletic metaphor of a stadium foot race is a reference to Paul's missionary efforts among the Gentiles and reminds us of Paul's last words "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course (RACE), I have kept the faith;" (2 Ti 4:7+, cf 1Co 9:24–27). Running (trecho) metaphorically speaks of Paul's ministry, his life’s work, the course God had marked out for him. 🙏 THOUGHT - Do you realize that God has a "lane for you to run in" in this short race called life? He does! Hebrews 12:1 exhorts us to “run with endurance the race that is set before us.” The phrase “the race” refers to the specific, unique course that God has foreordained for each believer. Ephesians 2:10 affirms the same truth: “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.” Your lane—your God-given path—was prepared before you were even born, before you were born again. This leads to a searching question: Are you running in the lane God has already marked out for you? Paul had gone up to Jerusalem “because of a revelation” to ensure the gospel he preached among the Gentiles was recognized as the same true gospel the apostles preached among Jews. His fear was not personal insecurity, but pastoral concern—that a divided message (law + grace) would nullify the gospel’s power. If Judaizers convinced believers that circumcision or law-keeping was necessary, then Paul’s gospel of grace would appear to have been “in vain” (kenos), and his missionary work would unravel. Jack Arnold - Why did Paul fear running in vain? He preached doing away with circumcision, and Jews and Gentiles had to approach God on the same basis—by faith in Christ. If the apostles did not accept his Gospel, there would be a separation in the church, making a Gentile and Jewish church, and unity would be impossible. He did not fear his Gospel preaching was in vain, but feared his work of bringing the two groups together would be in vain. (Sermon) Campbell explains had run (trecho) in vain - "If the Jerusalem leaders insisted on circumcision and other requirements of the Law for Gentile converts, Paul’s labor (running) among the Gentiles was in vain. It was not that the apostle had any doubts or misgivings about the gospel he had preached for 14 years (Gal. 2:1), but that he feared that his past and present ministry might be hindered or rendered of no effect by the Judaizers." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) Phil Newton on had run in vain - What Paul meant was not that he had failed to understand the gospel or had possibly preached the wrong gospel. But instead, in the joint race of gospel ministry, he might have found himself alone, with all of the others getting side-tracked by changing the gospel message. He might have found his fruit, the Galatian converts and others, being led away by the Judaizers for a false gospel. If the heart of the early church, the Jerusalem Christians, could not support his gospel preaching, then the Judaizers would have just what they needed to divert these young converts into their false teaching. So Paul submits the gospel to the leading apostles for their evaluation and for their confirmation, so that they might be running together in the unity of the gospel....We may have the same tag with them but we do not have unity with them apart from the gospel. This is why it is a futile effort on the part of some evangelicals to be united with the Roman Catholic Church. A number of leading evangelicals persist in trying to find some common ground for unity with Catholics. But unless we can agree on the gospel, we have no ground for unity. John Armstrong put it like this: The problem is not that there are no true believers within the Roman Catholic Church. That has never been the debate. God is the final judge of who, whether Roman Catholic or evangelical, is genuinely trusting Christ alone for salvation. The problem is that those who affirm the theological beliefs of the Roman Catholic Church do not have a Gospel that is biblical. We must share the Gospel with lost evangelicals but we must make sure it is the Gospel that we are preaching to them, not the gospel of Rome, which is no gospel at all [Viewpoint, Jan.-Feb., 1998, vol. 2, no. 1, 8]. ((Galatians 2:1-10 Affirming the Gospel Message) Hendriksen on ruin in vain - If, while Paul was preaching the gospel of justification by faith, without the works of the law, the other apostles, though in principle agreeing with him, would have been “soft” in their attitude toward those who seriously questioned the rightness of his convictions and of his preaching, the cause of mission work among the Gentiles would have been seriously undermined. The effectiveness of that which Paul had been doing in the past and was still doing would have been decisively weakened. Luther adds - Not that Paul himself ever thought he had run in vain. However, many did think that Paul had preached the Gospel in vain, because he kept the Gentiles free from the yoke of the Law. The opinion that obedience to the Law was mandatory unto salvation was gaining ground. Paul meant to remedy this evil. By this conference he hoped to establish the identity of his Gospel with that of the other apostles, to stop the talk of his opponents that he had been running around in vain.
Gálatas 2
Wuest: Now it was because of the false brethren who had been surreptitiously brought in, those of such a character that they sneaked in for the purpose of spying out our liberty which we are having in Christ Jesus, with the expectation of reducing us to abject slavery. (Eerdmans Publishing) NET Galatians 2:4 Now this matter arose because of the false brothers with false pretenses who slipped in unnoticed to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, to make us slaves. GNT Galatians 2:4 διὰ δὲ τοὺς παρεισάκτους ψευδαδέλφους, οἵτινες παρεισῆλθον κατασκοπῆσαι τὴν ἐλευθερίαν ἡμῶν ἣν ἔχομεν ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ, ἵνα ἡμᾶς καταδουλώσουσιν, NLT Galatians 2:4 Even that question came up only because of some so-called Christians there-- false ones, really-- who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations. KJV Galatians 2:4 And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: ESV Galatians 2:4 Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in-- who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery-- ASV Galatians 2:4 and that because of the false brethren privily brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage: CSB Galatians 2:4 This issue arose because of false brothers smuggled in, who came in secretly to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. NIV Galatians 2:4 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. NKJ Galatians 2:4 And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage), NRS Galatians 2:4 But because of false believers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might enslave us-- YLT Galatians 2:4 and that because of the false brethren brought in unawares, who did come in privily to spy out our liberty that we have in Christ Jesus, that us they might bring under bondage, NAB Galatians 2:4 but because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who slipped in to spy on our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, that they might enslave us-- NJB Galatians 2:4 but because of some false brothers who had secretly insinuated themselves to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, intending to reduce us to slavery- GWN Galatians 2:4 False Christians were brought in. They slipped in as spies to learn about the freedom Christ Jesus gives us. They hoped to find a way to control us. BBE Galatians 2:4 And that because of the false brothers let in secretly, who came searching out our free condition which we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might make servants of us; But it was because of the false brethren: Ga 5:10,12 Ac 15:1,24 20:30 2Co 11:13,17,26 1Jn 4:1 secretly brought in who had sneaked in: 2Ti 3:6 2Pe 2:1,2 Jude 1:4 to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus: Ga 3:23-26 5:1,13 Ps 51:12 119:45 Joh 8:31-36 2Co 3:17 1Pe 2:16 2Pe 2:19 n order to bring us into bondage: Ga 4:3,9,10,25 Isa 51:23 2Co 11:20 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries SPURIOUS SAINTS SNEAK IN AND SPY OUT OUR FREEDOM But it was because of the false brethren secretly brought in - Amplified - "[My precaution was] because of false brethren who had been secretly smuggled in [to the Christian brotherhood]" The New English Bible has "sham Christians"; Phillips paraphrase has "pseudo-Christians." NLT has "some so-called Christians." God's Word Translation has "False Christians." They were "professors" who claimed allegiance to Christ, but who demanded circumcision and obedience to the Mosaic Law for salvation. MacArthur rightly reminds us that "Satan, as always, was the primary instigator of the subterfuge. The Judaizers were first of all the devil's agents, whatever their human associations and loyalties." (MacArthur New Testament Commentary – Galatians) Donald Campbell - No doubt these were Judaizers, whose chief slogan is found in Acts 15:1: “Unless you are circumsized according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.” These “false brothers” (“sham Christians,” NEB) were like spies or fifthcolumn agents who penetrated to search out weak areas of enemy positions.(BKC)
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Wuest adds that hupotage "denotes a voluntary act, not one imposed from without." BDAG - "only passive the state of submissiveness, subjection, subordination, as opposed to setting oneself up as controller." Vine - hupotagē, used again in 2 Corinthians 9:13 of the submission of Christians to Christ; in 1 Timothy 2:11 of the position of women in the church; and in 1 Timothy 3:4 of the relationship between children and their parents. “Submission” is to be preferred to “subjection” here, inasmuch as to submit is to yield oneself, whereas to subject is to cause another person to yield. Hupotage - 4x in 4v (no uses in Septuagint): control(1), obedience(1), subjection(1), submissiveness(1) 2 Corinthians 9:13 Because of the proof given by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedience to your confession of the gospel of Christ and for the liberality of your contribution to them and to all, Galatians 2:5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain with you. 1 Timothy 2:11 A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. 1 Timothy 3:4 He must be one who manages his own household well, keeping his children under control with all dignity THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL So that the truth of the gospel would remain with you - "Paul’s defense of the Gospel he had received from God was not made for any personal or selfish reasons" (Boice) Preservation of the integrity of the Gospel was of paramount importance in the mind of Paul! So that (hina) introduces a purpose clause. What is the purpose? Paul stated why he yielded absolutely no ground to the Judaizers regarding the Gospel. There was absolutely no room for compromise when lives and eternity hang in the balance! As an aside the truth of the Gospel is the best way to expose the lies "the false brethren secretly brought in" in the previous passage. They offered a "false gospel" (really not a gospel - cf Gal 1:6-7+) and here Paul emphasizes the true Gospel. What is the truth of the gospel? Martin Luther wrote, "Now the truth of the gospel is, that our righteousness cometh by faith alone, without the works of the law. The corruption, or the falsehood of the gospel is, that we are justified by faith, but not without the works of the law." (Galatians). Phil Newton comments that "There are plenty who say they believe in being justified by faith, but they refuse to qualify that with by faith alone. For they will add to the gospel something of their own making. To this we must stand against without flinching. I agree with Martin Luther, "For a true and steadfast faith must lay hold upon nothing, but Christ alone, and in the terrors of conscience it hath nothing else to lean upon, but this diamond Christ Jesus". The truth of the Gospel speaks not so much of the "true Gospel" but of the "true teaching of the Gospel." True teaching stands in contrast to perversion by adulteration of elements such as necessity of obedience to the Law of Moses. John
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Wuest - This was a grave crisis. The entire status of Gentile Christianity was involved in the case of Titus. The question as to whether Christianity was to be merely a modified form of legalistic Judaism or a system of pure grace, was at stake. Justification by faith was on trial. Circumcision would have set it aside. (Galatians Commentary) A T Robertson on the truth of the gospel - It was a grave crisis to call for such language. The whole problem of Gentile Christianity was involved in the case of Titus, whether Christianity was to be merely a modified brand of legalistic Judaism or a spiritual religion, the true Judaism (the children of Abraham by faith). The case of Timothy (CIRCUMCISION IN Acts 16:1-3+) later was utterly different, for he had a Jewish mother and a Greek father. Titus was pure Greek. (Galatians 2 Commentary ) Anders says: Paul stood absolutely firm because the truth of the gospel was at stake. To impose circumcision on Titus would be to deny that salvation was by faith alone and to affirm the law as the means to God’s acceptance.(HNTC-Galatians) Paul never budged from his position of salvation by grace alone through faith alone. This is what Jude means "to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3+) Paul says he absolutely did not yield to assaults on the integrity of the message that one is to believe in in order to be saved. Writing to Titus who was going into the isle of Crete where there were false teachers Paul instructed him to appoint leaders who would be "holding fast the faithful word which is in accordance with the teaching, that he may be able both to exhort in sound doctrine and to refute those who contradict." (Titus 1:9+)
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Wuest adds that "The idea of firm possession is present in the compound verb diameno." NET Note - "Paul evidently viewed the demands of the so-called "false brothers" as a departure from the truth contained in the gospel he preached. This was a very serious charge (see Gal 1:8+)" (NET Note) Remain (1265)(diameno from dia = intensifies meaning + meno = to remain) remain permanently (of God the Son - Heb 1:11) or to continue in the same place. To stay the same (mute in Lk 1:22). When diameno is used to describe people it means to remain constant or to stand by (as those did with Jesus in Lk 22:28). It is used to describe a circumstance, state or condition that continues and thus remains the same (2Pet 3:4). In Hebrews 1:11 the idea is that it continues to exist. Here in Galatians 2:5 diameno is used figuratively of the Gospel continuing in association with the Galatians. Diameno is a stronger way of saying it than if one used just the root verb meno, abide. Diameno is used in the Septuagint (Lxx) of Psalm 119:89 to describe God's Word - "Forever, O LORD, Thy word is settled (Heb = natsab = to take one's stand, to appoint, to erect; Lxx = diameno) in heaven." Don't you love that truth! It also means God's Word of the Gospel is forever and our salvation based on that Gospel is settled forever in Heaven! Wuest on remain (rest) with you - With you is from pros humas. The idea is not that of simple rest. The preposition expresses the relation of an active bearing on life. One could translate for you, and paraphrase by the words with a view to your welfare. (Galatians Commentary) Galatians 2:5 Don Fortner-Grace for Today ‘To whom we gave no place by subjection’ Gal 2:5 In the early days of the Church there were some self-appointed, freelance preachers who came from Jerusalem to Antioch, perverting the gospel of Christ and subverting the souls of men. They were preaching the law of Moses, telling God’s people that faith in Christ is not sufficient; you must also keep the law of Moses. Paul and Barnabas refused to tolerate their heresy. Paul calls these legalists ‘false brethren’ and ‘spies’. His choice of terms was not accidental. Usually those who preach and promote the law of Moses spend a great deal of time spying on others, so that they may bolster their own claims to ‘righteousness’ by sitting in, judgment upon others. Paul shows us by his example that the spirit and doctrines of legalism must not be tolerated by the people of God. It matters not whether men preach the law of Moses as a basis for justification, as the measure of sanctification, as a rule of life, as a motive for Christian service, or as the grounds of reward in heaven—all preaching of law works is an intolerable evil. Let no one confuse the issue. The issue is not godliness or ungodliness of life. The issue is not what the believer does, or how the believer lives in this world. The issue is the motive and attitude of the heart. The legalist is motivated by fear. The believer is motivated by love. The legalist hopes to be rewarded for his work. The believer hopes to honor God in his work. All law service is looked upon and performed as a matter of duty. Prayer, Bible reading, attendance at public worship and tithing always have an element of either the fear of punishment or the promise of reward, as they are performed by the legalist. The believer prays because his heart longs to commune with God, reads the Word because he wants to know God, attends worship because he desires to hear from God and gives because he loves God. The service and work of love is considered a privilege by the one who performs it. And you can be sure of this: God will never accept anything except that which is done with a willing heart (2 Cor. 8:12). Galatians 2:6 But from those who were of high reputation (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)--well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. Greek: apo de ton dokounton (PAP) einai (PAN) ti ὁποῖοί pote ēsan ouden moi [e] diapherei (PAI) prosōpon ho Theos anthrōpou οὐ lambanei (PIA-3S) emoi gar hoi dokountes (V-PPA-NMP) ouden prosanethento (V-AIM-3P) Amplified: Moreover, [no new requirements were made] by those who were reputed to be something—though what was their individual position and whether they really were of importance or not makes no difference to me; God is not impressed with the positions that men hold and He is not partial and recognizes no external distinctions—those [I say] who were of repute imposed no new requirements upon me [had nothing to add to my Gospel, and from them I received no new suggestions]. Phillips And as far as the leaders of the conference were concerned (I neither know nor care what their exact position was: God is not impressed with a man's office), they had nothing to add to my Gospel. Wuest But to be something from (at the hands of) those who were of repute, whatever they were aforetime, is of no importance to me. God accepts not man’s person. For those who were of repute imposed nothing on me. (Eerdmans Publishing) NET Galatians 2:6 But from those who were influential (whatever they were makes no difference to me; God shows no favoritism between people)– those influential leaders added nothing to my message. GNT Galatians 2:6 ἀπὸ δὲ τῶν δοκούντων εἶναί τι,- ὁποῖοί ποτε ἦσαν οὐδέν μοι διαφέρει· πρόσωπον [ὁ] θεὸς ἀνθρώπου οὐ λαμβάνει- ἐμοὶ γὰρ οἱ δοκοῦντες οὐδὲν προσανέθεντο, NLT Galatians 2:6 And the leaders of the church had nothing to add to what I was preaching. (By the way, their reputation as great leaders made no difference to me, for God has no favorites.) KJV Galatians 2:6 But of these who seemed to be somewhat, (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth no man's person:) for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference added nothing to me: ESV Galatians 2:6 And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)-- those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. ASV Galatians 2:6 But from those who were reputed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were, it maketh no matter to me: God accepteth not man's person) -- they, I say, who were of repute imparted nothing to me: CSB Galatians 2:6 Now from those recognized as important (what they really were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)-- they added nothing to me. NIV Galatians 2:6 As for those who seemed to be important--whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance--those men added nothing to my message. NKJ Galatians 2:6 But from those who seemed to be something-- whatever they were, it makes no difference to me; God shows personal favoritism to no man-- for those who seemed to be something added nothing to me. NRS Galatians 2:6 And from those who were supposed to be acknowledged leaders (what they actually were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)-- those leaders contributed nothing to me. YLT Galatians 2:6 And from those who were esteemed to be something -- whatever they were then, it maketh no difference to me -- the face of man God accepteth not, for -- to me those esteemed did add nothing, NAB Galatians 2:6 But from those who were reputed to be important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)-- those of repute made me add nothing. NJB Galatians 2:6 but those who were recognised as important people -- whether they actually were important or not: There is no favouritism with God -those recognised leaders, I am saying, had nothing to add to my message. GWN Galatians 2:6 Those who were recognized as important people didn't add a single thing to my message. (What sort of people they were makes no difference to me, since God doesn't play favorites.) BBE Galatians 2:6 But from those who seemed to be important (whatever they were has no weight with me: God does not take man's person into account): those who seemed to be important gave nothing new to me; Those who were of high reputation: Ga 2:2,9 6:3 2Co 11:5,21-23 12:11 Heb 13:7,17 What they were makes no difference to me: Ga 2:11-14 Job 32:6,7,17-22 Mt 22:16 Mk 6:17-20 12:14 Lu 20:21 2Co 5:16 God shows no partiality: Job 34:19 Ac 10:34 Ro 2:11 1Pe 1:17 who were of reputation contributed nothing to me: Ga 2:10 Ac 15:6-29 2Co 12:11 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries NON-CONTRIBUTION FROM THOSE OF REPUTATION Campbell - "Having completed his discussion of Titus, Paul resumed the narrative relating to his conference with the apostles in Jerusalem." (BKC) Those who were of high reputation ("the influential men") - The apostolic leaders of the church at Jerusalem. Reputation is the verb dokeo which Paul uses 4 times in this section - Gal 2:2 "those who were of reputation", Gal 2:6 "those who were of high reputation," Gal 2:6 those who were of reputation," and Gal 2:9 "James and Cephas and John, who were reputed." Wuest - Not only did Paul successfully maintain his position with regard to the matter of Gentile immunity from the obligation of circumcision at the Jerusalem council, but the persons of eminence in the church there, imposed no restrictions nor commands upon him relative to the matter. (Galatians Commentary) What they were makes no difference to me - At first glance, this sounds a bit arrogant, but that is by no means meant to denigrate or deprecate the esteemed apostles! Don Anderson - He certainly is not degrading the Jerusalem leadership here. He is just emphasizing the fact that really the message of no Christian worker is right just simply because of the greatness of the worker. God is not accepting man’s person—He uses man as a mere vehicle to communicate His message, even as the apostle has referred to this in Galatians 1:11-12. (Notes) As Wuest explains "Paul means no disrespect. He is merely asserting his own independence of them, thus by contrast setting off his apostolic authority in the light of their’s. He says that it made no difference with him what their former position was, referring to their former intercourse with the Lord Jesus. The knowing Christ after the flesh (2 Cor. 5:16) gives one no position of preeminence in the Church. Furthermore, he says that God is no respecter of persons, literally, “God does not receive the face of a man.” He shows no partiality because of a man’s natural ability, his position or possessions in the various departments of human society." (Eerdmans Publishing) John Stott - “Paul’s words are neither a denial of, nor a mark of disrespect for, their apostolic authority. He is simply indicating that, although he accepts their office as apostles, he is not overawed by their person as it was being inflated (by the false teachers).” (Stott The Message of Galatians) John Butler - The Bible presents to us an impartial God. God can never be factually accused of unjust favoritism. God is always fair, impartial and equitable. His blessings and His curses are not without good reasons which substantiate his impartiality towards people. In his comments on Romans 2:11 John
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Wuest - In these words (contributed nothing) Paul says what he began to say at the beginning of the verse. The Jerusalem apostles imposed on him no burden of doctrine or practice, and imparted to him nothing in addition to what he knew. (Galatians Commentary) Contributed (4323) (prosanatithemi from prós = towards, in addition to + anatithemi from ana = up + tithemi = to put) means to lay up in addition, to impart or communicate further (as here in Gal 2:6) or by way of consultation, to confer with, consult as in the present passage. The idea is the leaders could not communicate any additional facts or truths regarding the basic Gospel message of salvation by faith plus nothing. Prosanatithemi is used only in Gal 1:16 and Gal 2:6. The root verb anatithemi means to set forth one's cause (Acts 25:14), to expound with a request for counsel, approval, or decision, to communicate (anatithemi in Gal. 2:2). The shorter form anatithemi, is the less intensive word simply signifying the imparting of information, rather than conferring with others to seek advice. In Gal 1:16 the idea is “to lay a matter before others so as to obtain counsel or instruction." (Vine) To present one's cause to another as for approval or judgment. To go to someone for advice something Paul absolutely did not (ouden = absolute negation) do in this visit to Jerusalem! Galatians 2:6-10 TODAY IN THE WORD In his album ""Present Reality,"" musician and writer Michael Card explores the Christ-centered heart of Paul. Introducing the album, he writes: ""Paul was caught up in the transforming power of the realization that Christ is both living and present. The mystery of Christ, he called it, the hope of glory."" One song contains these gospel lyrics, based on Galatians 3: [God] made a better way When the moment was right He sent His own Son And He opened the way so that everyone Could have hope. As Paul continues in today's reading to defend his apostleship, his commitment to the gospel is a constant theme. The greatness of the other apostles' reputations didn't matter to him--his gospel came from God Himself (v. 6). The message of a Christian worker is not superior or right because of the greatness of the worker. From the context it is clear that Paul does not mean to degrade the position of the Jerusalem leadership. The respect he gives them is evident from the very fact that he comes to them for a definitive solution to a knotty problem. James, Peter and John recognized that Paul had been made an apostle to the Gentiles as Peter had been to the Jews (v. 7). They also recognized that Paul had not launched into a ministry to the Gentiles on his own; God had entrusted it to him (1 Cor. 9:17). The other apostles reached the conclusion that Paul had a commission equal to Peter's because they saw that God had wrought just as great spiritual works through the one as through the other (Gal. 2:8). APPLY THE WORD When Paul was commissioned and sent off (vv. 7-9), he became the forerunner for world missions. How much do you know about the missionaries supported by your church or denomination? Are you up-to-date on their ministries and prayer requests? Here are several ideas for becoming more involved with your church's missions program: (1) Browse the bulletin board for recent prayer letters. Sign up to receive one. (2) As a family, adopt a missionary family to pray for and correspond with. (3) Begin financially supporting one missionary or missionary family on a regular basis. Galatians 2:6-10 TODAY IN THE WORD There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. - Galatians 3:28 Until just two years ago, tensions between minority Tamils and majority Sinhalese had plunged Sri Lanka into a decades-long civil war. Now that the war has ended, Tamils and Sinhalese are overcoming ethnic barriers and finding commonalities around two surprising things: cricket and cuisine. Once-bitter enemies have found themselves cheering for the same teams and enjoying the same food. Tragically, ethnic conflicts have simmered across the globe, from the distant past continuing to the present day. Ethnic identity can comprise an important part of who we are, but sometimes it is twisted into a dividing line to separate “us” from “them.” Even the church has suffered from this tendency. In the first-century, new Christian believers didn’t automatically lose the ethnic labels of “Jew” and “Gentile.” Jews who had converted to the Christian faith still retained a strong sense of their Jewish-ness. Gentiles struggled to overcome the “outsider” status that had been theirs in the worship of Yahweh for many centuries. The Galatian churches found themselves at the center of these ethnic tensions. Did identifying oneself with Jesus and choosing to follow Him mean shedding the ethnic distinctions of centuries past? What did it mean to be a Jew or Gentile in the light of the cross? In Galatians 2, Paul shares details of his second trip to Jerusalem, which turned out to be a very amicable meeting with Peter. They affirmed each other’s calling by God: Peter had been commissioned to take the gospel to the Jews, Paul to the Gentiles. Paul affirmed that God was indeed at work through the ministry of Peter, and despite their later disagreements, he did not seek to discredit Peter’s ministry in any way. But for all the respect and honor that Paul pays to Peter and to his ministry, there is no sign of Paul’s subordination to Peter. Paul knew that the false teachers had accused him of being a second-tier apostle with a second-rate gospel. But he will not back down from the defense of his apostleship. APPLY THE WORD Today’s reading paves the way for Paul to discuss the later disagreement he had with Peter. He models for us what constructive disagreement can look like in the church. Disagreement does not have to be synonymous with personal attack. Paul respected Peter and believed they were partnering together in the work of the gospel. And on the other hand, Paul didn’t assume any kind of false humility. He unapologetically confronted a fundamental compromise of the gospel. Galatians 2:7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised Greek: alla tounantion idontes (V-APA-NMP) hoti pepisteumai (V-RIM/P-1S) to euangelion tēs akrobystias kathōs Petros tēs peritomēs Amplified: But on the contrary, when they [really] saw that I had been entrusted [to carry] the Gospel to the uncircumcised [Gentiles, just as definitely] as Peter had been entrusted [to proclaim] the Gospel to the circumcised [Jews, they were agreeable]; Phillips In fact they recognised that the Gospel for the uncircumcised was as much my commission as the Gospel for the circumcised was Peter's. Wuest But on the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with (the responsibility of preaching) the gospel to the uncircumcised as Peter with (the responsibility of preaching) the Gospel to the circumcised. (Eerdmans Publishing) GNT Galatians 2:7 ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον ἰδόντες ὅτι πεπίστευμαι τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τῆς ἀκροβυστίας καθὼς Πέτρος τῆς περιτομῆς, NLT Galatians 2:7 Instead, they saw that God had given me the responsibility of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as he had given Peter the responsibility of preaching to the Jews. KJV Galatians 2:7 But contrariwise, when they saw that the gospel of the uncircumcision was committed unto me, as the gospel of the circumcision was unto Peter; ESV Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised ASV Galatians 2:7 but contrariwise, when they saw that I had been intrusted with the gospel of the uncircumcision, even as Peter with the gospel of the circumcision CSB Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised, NIV Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the Gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. NKJ Galatians 2:7 But on the contrary, when they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been committed to me, as the gospel for the circumcised was to Peter NRS Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel for the circumcised YLT Galatians 2:7 but, on the contrary, having seen that I have been entrusted with the good news of the uncircumcision, as Peter with that of the circumcision, NAB Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter to the circumcised, NJB Galatians 2:7 On the contrary, once they saw that the gospel for the uncircumcised had been entrusted to me, just as to Peter the gospel for the circumcised GWN Galatians 2:7 In fact, they saw that I had been entrusted with telling the Good News to people who are not circumcised as Peter had been entrusted to tell it to those who are circumcised. BBE Galatians 2:7 But, quite the opposite, when they saw that I had been made responsible for preaching the good news to those without circumcision, even as Peter had been for those of the circumcision seeing that I had been entrusted: Ga 2:9 Ac 15:12,25,26 2Pe 3:15 the Gospel to the uncircumcised: Ga 1:16 Acts 13:46-48 Acts 18:6 Acts 28:28 Ro 1:5 Ro 11:13 1Th 2:4 1Ti 2:7 2Ti 1:11 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries AU CONTRAIRE Au contraire is a French phrase which means contrary to expectations But on the contrary- What is he contrasting? The fact that the leaders communicated nothing additional to the Gospel Paul proclaimed. For seventeen years he had preached the gospel without their having had the least part in it. In sum Paul writes that James and Cephas and John acknowledged that his message was of divine origin and affirmed it as truth without reservation. Wuest - Paul states here that instead of the Jerusalem apostles championing the case of the Judaizers as certain had hoped, they came boldly over to Paul’s side after they had heard the issue discussed in private conference (Eerdmans Publishing) Eadie writes "They not only gave me no instructions, as if my course had been disapproved by them, “but on the contrary”- ἀλλὰ τοὐναντίον (alla tounantion) - their conduct was the very opposite; neither jealousy, nor disparagement of me-far from it,—“but on the contrary, they gave me the right hand of fellowship.” (Ibid) Seeing that I had been entrusted with the Gospel to the uncircumcised - The point here is that the apostles in Jerusalem fully recognized that Paul was entrusted by God to preach the Gospel. I like the Phillips paraphrase "In fact they recognised that the Gospel for the uncircumcised was as much my commission as the Gospel for the circumcised was Peter's." Entrusted is in the perfect tense which implies that Paul's commission was permanent, as long as there was breath in his lungs, there was a Gospel message for any Gentile willing to listen! O, to be so focused on this incredible privilege we have to proclaim the Gospel that sets captives free, now and forever. Amen! I had been entrusted (4100)(pisteuo) in active voice means to believe but here is in the passive voice which means to be entrusted with something as for example the Jews who "were entrusted with the oracles of God." (Ro 3:2) Here Paul a Jew has been entrusted with taking the Gospel to the uncircumcised, a metaphorical description of the Gentiles. Paul uses pisteuo 3 more times in Galatians but all of these are in the sense of believing in Christ Jesus for salvation (Gal 2:16, 3:6, 22). Wuest explains that "entrusted" (pisteuo) "was also a technical word used in the imperial government of Rome. The imperial secretary used the technical expression pepisteumai, I have been entrusted, the qualifying word being added which would designate the matter with which he was entrusted. The apostles were the imperial secretaries of the King of kings, the Lord Jesus, to whom was entrusted the writing and propagation of the New Testament message." (Galatians Commentary) Paul used entrusted (pisteuo) in the same "technical sense current in the Roman world at that time" (as discussed in previous paragraph) in several passages - 1 Cor 9:17 - "I have a stewardship entrusted (perfect tense) to me" 1 Th 2:4 - "we have been approved by God to be entrusted (aorist passive infinitive) with the Gospel" 1 Ti 1:11 - "according to the glorious Gospel of the blessed God, with which I have been entrusted. (aorist passive indicative)" Titus 1:3 - "at the proper time manifested, even His word, in the proclamation [the Gospel] with which I was entrusted (aorist passive indicative). In Paul's letter to the saints at Thessalonica, Paul wrote that "we (cp "Paul and Silvanus and Timothy" - 1 Th 1:1) have been approved by God to be entrusted with the Gospel (1Th 2:4+). With the Gospel (euaggelion), the good news. THE SAME GOSPEL TO TWO GROUPS Wuest - Paul speaks of the gospel of the circumcision and the gospel of the uncircumcision. His thought is not that there are two different gospels, two different types of messages adjusted to the needs of the Jews and the Gentiles respectively. He means that to him was committed the responsibility of taking the gospel of grace to the Gentiles, and that to Peter was given the commission of taking it to the Jews. (Galatians Commentary) Burton says that the context demonstrates that Paul regarded the distinction between the gospel entrusted to him and that entrusted to Peter as not one of content but of the persons addressed. Luke records "And Paul and Barnabas spoke out boldly and said, “It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first (Jews - cp Ro 1:16); since you repudiate it, and judge yourselves unworthy of eternal life, behold, we are turning to the Gentiles. 47 “For thus the Lord has commanded us, ‘I HAVE PLACED YOU AS A LIGHT FOR THE GENTILES, THAT YOU SHOULD BRING SALVATION TO THE END OF THE EARTH.’” 48 And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:46-48) Comment - Quoting Isa 42:6, Paul showed that he clearly understood God's intention for the Jewish nation to be a light to the Gentiles. Instead of quoting his own commission to the Gentiles given to him on the road to Damascus, he chose to quote God's commission of all Jews as found in the Old Testament. In rejecting that commission, the Jewish leaders who listened to Paul not only rejected the Gentiles and Paul but in effect rejected God Himself. As a result, Paul turned to the Gentiles, who immediately "began rejoicing and glorifying the work of the Lord." The result? "The Word of the Lord spread through the whole region." Yes, the nations are responsive to the gospel, if we will only bring it to them! Beloved, you may not be called to go to foreign soil but you can still go "vicariously" by praying for missionaries and for hidden people groups daily - see Joshua project unreached of the day and Global Prayer Digest. Writing to the saints at Rome Paul declared "through Whom (Jesus Christ our Lord - Ro 1:4) we have received grace (Note he mentions grace first and then his title) and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name’s sake. (Ro 1:5) Paul reminded Timothy "I was appointed a preacher and an apostle (I am telling the truth, I am not lying) as a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth." (1 Ti 2:7) Just as Peter had been to the circumcised - Peter was to go to the Jews. Of course this did not exclude proclamation of the Gospel to a Gentile named Cornelius in Acts 10+ and Acts 11+! They had just ONE MESSAGE but TWO DIFFERENT MISSION FIELDS.
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Wuest explains that Gal 2:8 "is a parenthetical statement. It confirms the contents of the preceding verse, namely that God delegated to Paul the responsibility of giving the Gospel to the Gentiles, and to Peter, the responsibility of giving the same message to the Jews. Paul’s reasoning is as follows. He recognizes without hesitation Peter’s apostleship and its divine source. Then he proves that the recognition of his apostleship given by the Jerusalem apostles was merited, because his experience in preaching the Gospel among the Gentiles was equal to and like in character to their efforts among the Jews. He says that God who wrought effectually in Peter’s work among the Jews, did the same with reference to his work among the Gentiles. All of which means that both Peter and Paul were recipients of the blessing of God in their work for Him, which is tantamount to saying that He gave recognition to each one as an apostle by divine appointment." (Galatians Commentary) And continuing Wuest's logic, the implication is that the Gospel of Paul and the Gospel of Peter both effectually worked because they were the very same Gospel independent of ethnicity and not two different Gospels. In addition "it speaks of God’s seal of approval resting upon the work of both Peter and Paul, and thus upon their apostleship." (Eerdmans Publishing) John Eadie has a similar remark - This parenthetical verse gives the ground of the preceding statement. The same God who wrought effectually for Peter wrought effectually for Paul too; therefore the mission of Paul, divine in its source and sustentation, could not but be recognised....The inworker is God, and that inworking comprehends every element of commission and qualification-outpouring of the Spirit, working of miracles, and all the various endowments and adaptations which fitted both men so fully for their respective spheres. (Acts 15:12). For (gar) is a term of explanation which should always prompt the simple question "What is being explained?" Effectually worked (energized) (1754) (energeo from en = in + érgon = work. English = energetic) means to work effectively to cause something to happen or produce results (in this context bringing about salvation of those who heard them preach the Gospel). In the NT energeo is used only of superhuman power. Gary Hill adds that "energeo ("energizing") generally refers to believers as divinely-energized by the Lord (His Spirit) working in (and through) them (Eph 1:11, 10, Eph 3:20, Php 2:13, Col 1:29, 1Th 2:13, James 5:16). The focus is on the internal transformation of the believer, i.e. God's energy at work in the inner-man." (Discovery Bible) God's Spirit supernaturally energized Peter and Paul to work to effectively and efficiently. Peter and Paul were "conduits" of the Gospel of grace, respectively to the circumcised Jews and to the uncircumcised Gentiles. Conduits work most effectively when they are empty of obstructing contents. Are you like Peter and Paul, a "conduit" of God's grace allowing the Gospel to flow through your body? What do you need to do to clear our obstructions so that you might redeem the time God has alloted you in this short life (Eph 5:16+)? Let me encourage you (as I need to do to myself) to "lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles (you so that you can)....run with endurance the race that is set before (you)." (Heb 12:1+) And remember is a grace race, not a works race. Apostleship (651)(apostole from verb apostello - from apo = from + stello = withdraw from; related = apostolos) means a sending forth, a sending off or away, a dispatching. In secular Greek it was used of an expedition. While not every believer is an apostle in the technical NT sense, every believer is in a real sense "sent forth" from God and privileged to be an ambassador for "we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God." (2 Cor 5:20) Are you fulfilling your purpose beloved? (cp Eph 2:10+) Galatians 2:9 and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Greek: kai gnontes (V-APA-NMP) charin tēn dotheisan (V-APP-AFS) moi Iakōbos kai Kēphas kai Iōannēs hoi dokountes (V-PAP) styloi einai (V-PNA) dexias edōkan emoi kai Barnaba koinōnias hina hēmeis (we [should go]) eis ta ethnē autoi de eis tēn peritomēn Amplified: And when they knew (perceived, recognized, understood, and acknowledged) the grace (God’s unmerited favor and spiritual blessing) that had been bestowed upon me, James and Cephas (Peter) and John, who were reputed to be pillars of the Jerusalem church, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, with the understanding that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised (Jews). John Eadie And coming to the knowledge of the grace which was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who are reputed pillars, gave to me and Barnabas right hands of fellowship; that we should go or preach to the Gentiles, but they to the circumcision. Phillips When, therefore, James, Peter and John (who were the recognised "pillars" of the church there) saw how God had given me his grace, they held out to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, in full agreement that our mission was to the Gentiles and theirs to the Jews. Wuest And having come to perceive the grace which was given to me, James, and Kephas, and John, those who in reputation were looked upon as pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, to the end that we should preach the gospel to the Gentiles and they themselves to the circumcision. (Eerdmans Publishing) NET Galatians 2:9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who had a reputation as pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we would go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. GNT Galatians 2:9 καὶ γνόντες τὴν χάριν τὴν δοθεῖσάν μοι, Ἰάκωβος καὶ Κηφᾶς καὶ Ἰωάννης, οἱ δοκοῦντες στῦλοι εἶναι, δεξιὰς ἔδωκαν ἐμοὶ καὶ Βαρναβᾷ κοινωνίας, ἵνα ἡμεῖς εἰς τὰ ἔθνη, αὐτοὶ δὲ εἰς τὴν περιτομήν· NLT Galatians 2:9 In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews. KJV Galatians 2:9 And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision. ESV Galatians 2:9 and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. ASV Galatians 2:9 and when they perceived the grace that was given unto me, James and Cephas and John, they who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision; CSB Galatians 2:9 When James, Cephas, and John, recognized as pillars, 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. NIV Galatians 2:9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. NKJ Galatians 2:9 and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. NRS Galatians 2:9 and when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged pillars, recognized the grace that had been given to me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. YLT Galatians 2:9 and having known the grace that was given to me, James, and Cephas, and John, who were esteemed to be pillars, a right hand of fellowship they did give to me, and to Barnabas, that we to the nations, and they to the circumcision may go, NAB Galatians 2:9 and when they recognized the grace bestowed upon me, James and Kephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas their right hands in partnership, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. NJB Galatians 2:9 and when they acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, then James and Cephas and John, who were the ones recognised as pillars, offered their right hands to Barnabas and to me as a sign of partnership: we were to go to the gentiles and they to the circumcised. GWN Galatians 2:9 James, Cephas, and John (who were recognized as the most important people) acknowledged that God had given me this special gift. So they shook hands with Barnabas and me, agreeing to be our partners. It was understood that we would work among the people who are not Jewish and they would work among Jewish people. BBE Galatians 2:9 When they saw the grace which was given to me, James and Cephas and John, who had the name of being pillars, gave to me and Barnabas their right hands as friends so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcision; recognizing the grace that had been given to me: Ro 1:5 Ro 12:3,5,6 Ro 15:15 1Co 15:10 Eph 3:8 Col 1:29 1Pe 4:10,11 James and Cephas and John: Ac 15:7,13,22-29 who were reputed to be pillars: Ga 2:2,6,12-14 Mt 16:18 Eph 2:20 Rev 3:12 21:14-20 gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship: 2Co 8:4 1Jn 1:3 so that we might go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised: Ac 15:23-30 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries PILLARS OF FAITH IN FULL AGREEMENT WITH PAUL And recognizing the grace that had been given to me - That the good hand of the Lord was on Paul was clear to these pillars of the Church. So here we see Paul was doctrinal harmony (the grace that had been given) with these pillars and then he says they were in personal harmony with him (right hand of fellowship). In sum we see their oneness in Christ, reminiscent of Paul's words about unity in Ephesians exhorting the believers to be... diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all. (Eph 4:3-6+)
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Wuest has an interesting comment - James is mentioned first by Paul, and for four possible reasons. First, Paul showed his respect to the mother-church at Jerusalem and its highly esteemed leader. Second, this James was the brother of our Lord. Third, he had presided at the Council. Fourth, his well-known strictness as to the observance of the Mosaic law gave special weight to his support of Gentile freedom from the law. (Galatians Commentary) Who were reputed to be pillars - Pillar literally refers to a tall vertical cylindrical structure standing upright and used to support a structure. A pillar is a firm upright support for a superstructure. These men were pillars of the "superstructure" of "the gospel of the grace of God." (Acts 20:24+). Pillar was used figuratively in Classical Greek in the same sense as Paul uses it in this passage, to refer to their stabilizing character.
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Wuest points out the significance of their clasping hands - The word koinonia defines the compact recognized and sealed by the right hands of fellowship as a partnership, in this case, a partnership in the preaching of the same Gospel. It was a mutual alliance, for Paul and Barnabas grasped the proffered hands of James, Kephas, and John. (Eerdmans Publishing) Fellowship (partnership)(2842)(koinonia from koinos = that which is in common, belonging to several) describes the experience of having something in common and/or of sharing things in common with others. It describes a close association involving mutual interests and sharing or to have communion (Which Webster defines as "intimate fellowship"). Koinonia denotes the active, joint participation, cooperation and/or sharing in a common interest or activity. So clearly in this context Paul and the "pillars" share a mutual interest in the integrity and propagation of the Gospel.
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Wuest - "This is not a request added to the agreement, but a part of the agreement itself. Remember is from mnemoneuo. This is the only instance in the New Testament where this word means “to remember” in the sense of “benefit or care for.” The force of the tense (present tense) and mode of the verb (subjunctive mood) causes us to translate, “that we should keep on remembering the poor.” Paul and Barnabas had done this before when they brought relief to the poor at Jerusalem on a previous occasion (Acts 11:27–30). Judaea often suffered from famine, and the Christians there were perhaps the worst sufferers because of the ill-will and persecution which came from the unsaved Jews. This passage implies that there was a state of chronic poverty there, as does Paul’s efforts in collecting money on his missionary journeys. He was not attempting to meet an emergency, since it took more than a year to collect the fund, the latter being organized to meet a permanent demand for continuous help." (Galatians Commentary)
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Wuest - "very thing I have made a diligent and eager effort to do." Paul certainly did remember the poor in Jerusalem. He put a lot of effort towards gathering a contribution among the Gentile churches for the sake of the saints in Jerusalem. (Eerdmans Publishing) Paul alludes to his his eagerness in his first letter to the saints (mainly Gentiles) at Corinth... Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I directed the churches of Galatia, so do you also....3 When I arrive, whomever you may approve, I will send them with letters to carry your gift to Jerusalem;(1 Corinthians 16:1, 3, read also 2Co 8:1-9:15) Eager (4704)(spoudazo from spoude = haste) conveys the idea of hastening to do something with the implication of associated energy or with intense effort and motivation. Spoudazo speaks of intensity of purpose followed by intensity of effort and concentration toward the realization of that purpose. Spoudazo is used in the papyri in such senses as “do your best, take care, hurry on the doing of something.” Wuest adds that spoudazo "does not refer merely to the apostle’s state of mind, but to his activity in relieving the necessities of the poor saint at Jerusalem." (Eerdmans Publishing)
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Wuest has an interesting comment noting that antihistemi "usually implies that the initial attack came from the other side. It was Peter, in Paul’s mind, who was the aggressor. Although not intentional, yet in effect it was an attack on the position which Paul was maintaining at Antioch." (Eerdmans Publishing) Stood condemned - Of course this had nothing to do with Peter's salvation which was secure even as Paul wrote in Ro 8:1+. Condemned is in the perfect tense speaking of the permanent effect of this condemnation. Before whom did Peter stand condemned? Some say he was condemned here by his own contradictory actions (Lightfoot) or by his own conscience. The NRS version in fact renders this passage as he was "self-condemned." The NIV has "because he was clearly in the wrong." Phillips paraphrases it "for he was then plainly in the wrong." Some say Peter was condemned by the Christians at Antioch. MacArthur on stood condemned - Peter was not condemned in the sense of losing his salvation but in the sense of being guilty of sin by taking a position he knew was wrong. He no doubt also stood condemned as a sinner in the eyes of the Gentile believers in Antioch, who, because they were well-grounded in the gospel of grace, were perplexed and deeply hurt by his ostracism of them. Stott on stood condemned - "That is to say, ‘he was clearly in the wrong’ (NEB). Not only so, but Paul rebuked Peter ‘before them all’ (Gal 2:14), openly and publicly." Machen says "It is not necessary to ask by whom Peter “was condemned”; Paul means that his very act condemned him. When he says that he “was condemned,” that is only a more forcible way of saying that he was worthy of condemnation.(NOTES ON GALATIANS) Condemned (2607)(kataginosko from katá = against + ginosko = know) literally means to know against (to know something against one) and then to find fault with, blame or condemn. Vine notes that kataginosko "is used in 1 John 3:20, 21, of the effect of an exercised and enlightened conscience. This is apparently the meaning here, with the further thought, involved in the continuous tense, that the inconsistency of Peter’s conduct was plain not only to himself, but to everybody else." THOUGHT- Before we criticize Peter, perhaps we had better examine our own lives to see how many familiar Bible doctrines we are actually obeying. As you examine church history, you see that, even with a complete Bible, believers through the years have been slow to believe and practice the truths of the Christian faith. When we think of the persecution and discrimination that have been practiced in the name of Christ, it embarrasses us. It is one thing for us to defend a doctrine in a church meeting, and quite something else to put it into practice in everyday life. (Wiersbe Bible Exposition Commentary) It is notable that no response is recorded from Peter. He stood condemned!
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Wuest adds that "Polybius used this word (hupostello) of the drawing back of troops in order to place them under shelter. This suggests a retreat on the part of Peter from motives of caution. The tense is imperfect, indicating that Peter did not start his withdrawal from the Gentile tables at once, but gradually, under the pressure of their criticism. It gives a graphic picture of the Jerusalem apostle’s irresolute and tentative efforts to withdraw from an intercourse that gave offense to these visitors. The verb also was used of furling the sails of a boat. Peter, the former fisherman, was expert at that. Now he was "trimming his sails" in a controversy that involved Jewish freedom from the Mosaic law which had been set aside at the Cross."(Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission)
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Wuest comments that "The church was split wide open on the issue. The love-feast, that bond of fellowship expressive of Christian love amongst the brethren, was divided into two groups. The friendly groups of Jews and Gentiles in the fellowship of the homes were discontinued. The fact that the Jews of the Antioch church followed Peter in his withdrawal from the Gentiles, shows that the entire group had eaten with the latter." (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) Recall what Luke had recorded earlier about Peter "Opening his mouth, Peter said: “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him." (Acts 10:34-35+) And yet her is Peter showing partiality! He was playing the part of a hypocrite! Anderson - Peter is COMPROMISING here instead of standing for his CONVICTIONS. One is reminded of the CHARACTER and COURAGE of MARTIN LUTHER at the Diet of Worms when he said: “Here I stand. God help me.” May it be God’s desire to give us more mighty oaks like the Apostle Paul that can stand the storms and pressure of life even if it means that it is necessary to stand alone Joined....hypocrisy (4942) (sunupokrinomai from sun/syn = together with + hupokrínomai [only in Lk 20:20] = feign, pretend) means to play a part with. It means “to pretend to act from one motive when one’s conduct is really actuated by another.” (Vine) See note below on related word hupokrisis. Friberg says sunupokrinomai means "join in pretending or playing a part; figuratively speak or act falsely along with, join in hypocrisy." (Borrow Analytical Lexicon of the Greek New Testament) The basic meaning of the Greek word for hypocrisy is “to answer from under” and refers to actors who, in playing a part, spoke from under a mask. The actors hid their true selves behind the role they were playing. The word indicates the concealment of wrong feelings, character, etc., under the pretense of better ones. Peter's actions of withdrawing concealed his genuine belief that one enters and enjoys the Gospel only by grace through faith and without addition of works of any kind. Peter's withdrawing from the Gentile believers in fact was in a sense a "work of the Law" (i.e., Jews should not eat with Gentiles) that he was adding to the Gospel of grace. Paul saw this as a dangerous detour from the truth of the Gospel and did not hesitate to "contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints." (Jude 1:3+). Vine explains that "In this case Paul charged Peter with pretending that his change of attitude toward the Gentiles was the expression of loyalty to the law of Moses, whereas it was really the outcome of fear of the Judaizers." Guzik on their hypocrisy - "In this case Peter, Barnabas, and the rest of the Jewish Christians in Antioch knew that these Gentile believers were really Christians. Yet, because of the pressure from the certain men from James, they acted like they were not Christians at all." (Galatians 2 Commentary) With the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy - Amplified = "with the result that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy (their example of insincerity and pretense)." It must have pained Paul deeply to write those words "even Barnabas," Paul's dear brother in Christ who had been such a son of encouragement to him! Campbell on Barnabas' defection - The pressure must have been great for Barnabas to succumb because he was from Cyprus, a Gentile center, and was involved in a missionary program with Paul to reach Gentiles with the gospel. (BKC) Peter had sown to the flesh and now was beginning to reap the corruption that always accompanies fleshly actions! (Gal 6:7-8+) Hansen adds that "After all, Barnabas, as the first pastor of the church in Antioch, had warmly welcomed Gentile believers. He had worked alongside Paul in that church and in their mission of planting Gentile churches in Galatia. He had stood with Paul in the Jerusalem conference. How could even loyal Barnabas deny the truth of the gospel now? Didn't he of all people know that Gentile believers were to be fully accepted? Yes, he must have known that. But the emotions stirred up in the crisis swept him along to act contrary to his convictions. And so along with the rest of the Jewish Christians he was guilty of hypocrisy: behavior inconsistent with basic beliefs." (Galatians 2 Commentary) Wuest notes that "From Paul’s viewpoint, it was their better knowledge (Ed: In other words PETER AND BARNABAS knew better -- they knew he did not need to withdraw) which they covered up by their misconduct, the usual type of hypocrisy that proceeds from fear. Paul, by characterizing their actions as hypocrisy, implied that there had been no real change of conviction on the part of Peter and the rest of the Jews (Ed: That is, they still genuinely believed the truth of the Gospel), but only conduct that misrepresented their true convictions. But now regarding Barnabas, and the fact that he was swept off his feet and carried away with their hypocrisy. It was bad enough for Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles and the champion of Gentile liberty from the law, to have Peter act as he did. But the hypocrisy of Barnabas was the cruel blow. With the single exception of Paul, Barnabas had been the most effective minister of the Gospel in the conversion of the Gentiles. He had been deputed with Paul by the Antioch church to the council at Jerusalem as its representative. He had come back with the news that the position held by Paul and himself with regard to Gentile freedom from circumcision had been sustained by the Jerusalem apostles (Ed: Wuest is referring to the Jerusalem council of Acts 15). Now, his withdrawal from social fellowship with the Gentiles, came with the force of a betrayal to Paul and the church at Antioch. The defection of Barnabas was of a far more serious nature with regard to Gentile freedom than the vacillation of Peter. Barnabas was Paul’s chief colleague in the evangelization of the Gentiles, and now to have him play the hypocrite and deserter, was a bitter blow to the great apostle. This may well have prepared the way for the dissension between them which shortly afterwards led to their separation (Acts 15:39). Barnabas, the foremost champion of Gentile liberty next to Paul had become a turncoat!" (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) While the defection of Barnabas must have been a deep blow to Paul as Vine observes "not even the defection of Barnabas had weakened Paul’s purpose to establish the freedom of the new faith....Even Barnabas, “good man, and full of the Holy Spirit and of faith” though he was, Acts 11:24, failed in this crisis." Carried away (4879)(sunapago from sun/syn = together + apágo = lead or carry away [apo = away]) means literally in the passive to be led together and is used only figuratively in the NT. The idea is to experience with others the force of that which carries away, to be "carried away with” as with a flood. Carried away is in the passive voice suggesting that Barnabas did not play an active role in the hypocrisy, but that he was swept away from what he knew was right. Recall that Peter was a leader and when leaders go even if they are "not walking orthopedically," (so to speak, cp Gal 2:14) others will follow.
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Wuest - But when I saw that they were not pursuing a straightforward course in relation to the truth of the gospel, I said to Kephas in the presence of everybody, If you, being a Jew, habitually are living after the manner of the Gentiles, and not after that of the Jews, how is it that you are compelling the Gentiles to live after the Jewish manner?(Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) NET Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were not behaving consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, "If you, although you are a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you try to force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" GNT Galatians 2:14 ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε εἶδον ὅτι οὐκ ὀρθοποδοῦσιν πρὸς τὴν ἀλήθειαν τοῦ εὐαγγελίου, εἶπον τῷ Κηφᾷ ἔμπροσθεν πάντων, Εἰ σὺ Ἰουδαῖος ὑπάρχων ἐθνικῶς καὶ οὐχὶ Ἰουδαϊκῶς ζῇς, πῶς τὰ ἔθνη ἀναγκάζεις Ἰουδαΐζειν; NLT Galatians 2:14 When I saw that they were not following the truth of the gospel message, I said to Peter in front of all the others, "Since you, a Jew by birth, have discarded the Jewish laws and are living like a Gentile, why are you now trying to make these Gentiles follow the Jewish traditions? KJV Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? ESV Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?" ASV Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Cephas before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest as do the Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, how compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? CSB Galatians 2:14 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 and not like a Jew, how can you compel Gentiles to live like Jews?" NIV Galatians 2:14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? NKJ Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were not straightforward about the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter before them all, "If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? NRS Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were not acting consistently with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas before them all, "If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" YLT Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they are not walking uprightly to the truth of the good news, I said to Peter before all, 'If thou, being a Jew, in the manner of the nations dost live, and not in the manner of the Jews, how the nations dost thou compel to Judaize? NAB Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were not on the right road in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Kephas in front of all, "If you, though a Jew, are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew, how can you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?" NJB Galatians 2:14 When I saw, though, that their behaviour was not true to the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of all of them, 'Since you, though you are a Jew, live like the gentiles and not like the Jews, how can you compel the gentiles to live like the Jews?' GWN Galatians 2:14 But I saw that they were not properly following the truth of the Good News. So I told Cephas in front of everyone, "You're Jewish, but you live like a person who is not Jewish. So how can you insist that people who are not Jewish must live like Jews?" BBE Galatians 2:14 But when I saw that they were not living uprightly in agreement with the true words of the good news, I said to Cephas before them all, If you, being a Jew, are living like the Gentiles, and not like the Jews, how will you make the Gentiles do the same as the Jews? when I saw that they were not straightforward: Ps 15:2 Ps 58:1 Ps 84:11 Pr 2:7 Pr 10:9 about the truth of the gospel: Ga 2:5 Ro 14:14 1Ti 4:3-5 Heb 9:10 I said to Cephas in the presence of all: Ga 2:11 Lev 19:17 Ps 141:5 Pr 27:5,6 1Ti 5:20 If you, being a Jew, live like the Gentiles and not like the Jews: Ga 2:12,13 Ac 10:28 11:3-18 how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews: Ga 2:3 6:12 Ac 15:10,11,19-21,24,28,29 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries PETER'S PERVERSION OF THE TRUTH OF THE GOSPEL In this last section (Galatians 2:14-21) Paul explains the justification for his rebuke of Peter. Swindoll outlines this last section Paul's Rebuke of Peter (Gal 2:14) Paul's Review of Justification by Grace Alone (Gal 2:15-16) Paul's Rejection of the Charge of License (Gal 2:17-18) Paul's Reflection on the Exchanged Life (Gal 2:19-20) Paul's Return to the Central Issue (Gal 2:21) But (alla) is a strong term of contrast. Paul realized that there was be an immediate response in order to bring about a change of direction from the ongoing defection!
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Wuest adds that orthopodeo "speaks of straightforward, unwavering, sincere conduct in contrast to a crooked, wavering, and more or less insincere course such as Paul had said Peter and the other Jews were guilty of. Keeping in mind the foregoing definition of the Greek word we could say, “But when I saw that they walked not orthopedically,” that is, in a straightforward, unwavering, and sincere way...The idea is, “He (Peter) did not pursue a straight course in relation to the truth of the gospel.” He did not deal honestly and consistently with it. His was an attitude that led him to juggle with its sacred truth, to warp it, to misrepresent it, to deal crookedly with it. What an indictment of Peter." (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) Vine has a pithy note on the truth of the Gospel - Paul charges them with nothing less than robbery of God, for to deny explicitly, or implicitly as Peter and the Judaizers were doing, that men are saved by faith in Christ alone, which is “the truth of the Gospel,” is to deny to God the glory of His grace, and to rob the Christian of “our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus,” Gal 2:4. Donald Campbell on the truth of the Gospel - The defectors (PETER, BARNABAS, OTHER JEWISH BELIEVERS IN THE CHURCH) were not acting according to the truth of the gospel, that is, they were denying by their actions the truth that on the basis of Jesus Christ's death and resurrection Jews and Gentiles who believe are accepted equally by God. (The Bible Knowledge Commentary) John
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Wuest comments on Peter's beginning to live like...the Jews - The word live here from zao, does not refer to the moral living according to Gentile or Jewish fashion, but to the shaping of the life with reference to the external social observances in the Christian fellowship, such as Levitical restrictions on eating. The present tense of live must not be pressed to the point of teaching that Peter at the time of this rebuke, was living as the Gentiles do, for he was not. It describes a mental attitude or habit which had in times past shown itself in outward actions (E.G., HIS WILLINGNESS TO EAT WITH THE GENTILE CORNELIUS), and which was still in force, but which was being hypocritically covered up by Peter’s action of withdrawing from fellowship with the Gentiles. It shows that Peter had not in principle abandoned it (THE GOSPEL), but had "trimmed his sails" to the sudden change of wind that came from Jerusalem. Paul, in his rebuke, forcibly sets forth Peter’s inconsistency in compelling the Gentiles to obey the Levitical legislation regarding foods, for the Gentiles had only one of two choices in the premises, either to refuse to obey the law in this respect and thus cause a split in the Christian Church, or to preserve harmony by coming under the law. And the apostle Peter did all this with a full understanding of the vision God had given him (Acts 10:9-16+), which clearly taught him that the Levitical legislation for the Jew was now a thing of the past (Acts 10:28, 29+), and that the line of separation had been broken down between Jew and Gentile by the Cross (ED: See Eph 2:14+, 15+). Peter’s action of refusing to eat with the Gentiles, did not merely have the effect of maintaining the validity of the law for Jewish Christians, but it involved the forcing of that law upon the Gentile Christians, that, or creating a wide-open division in the Church. This latter was what concerned the apostle Paul. He deemed it of utmost importance to maintain the unity of the Christian Church as against any division into Jewish and Gentile groups. (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission)
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Wuest writes that dikaioo is "the act of God it justifying a believing sinner consists of taking away his guilt and its penalty, since Christ bore both on the cross, and the imputation of a righteousness, even Christ Jesus Himself, in Whom the believer stands not only guiltless and uncondemned for time and eternity, but also positively righteous in the sight of the eternal laws of God." (See Kenneth Wuest's in depth discussion of Justify). Related Resource: Why does Christ's righteousness need to be imputed to us? Spurgeon on justified through faith - This is the primary truth to be proclaimed by the 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. Martin Luther on justification by faith - This is the truth of the Gospel. It is also the principal article of all Christian doctrine, wherein the knowledge of all godliness consisteth. Most necessary it is, therefore, that we should know this article well, teach it unto others, and beat it into their heads continually. Works of the law - By obedience to the law of God, as when one abstains from doing things God prohibits and by doing those things He prescribes. The writer of Hebrews calls these "dead works" (Heb 9:14) for they are "unproductive" in regard to achieving justification before God. As an aside, how are works related to salvation. As someone has said, faith alone saves, but the faith that saves is not alone. In other words faith is shown to be genuine by the fruit it bears. Good fruit testifies to a good root so to speak. The fruit does not save the root, but simply demonstrates that there is a root of real faith. (For more discussion on the relationship of saving faith and works see James 2:14-23 - Links to verse by verse notes: James 2:14 ; James 2:15; James 2:16; James 2:17; James 2:18; James 2:19; James 2:20; James 2:21; James 2:22; James 2:23; James 2:24; James 2:25; James 2:26
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Wuest - The Christian Jews, in seeking to be justified in Christ, were shown to be sinners just like and in the same class as the Gentiles. When they sought justification in Christ and thus by grace, it was an admission on their part that there is no justification by works, that the seeker is not justified, and is therefore a sinner. The attempt to be justified in Christ awakens the consciousness of sin, and compels the Jew to put himself on the plane of the Gentile. The Jew who calls the Gentile a sinner, in seeking to be justified by faith, is forced to admit that he is a sinner also. He has found that the law has failed him as a justifying agency. Paul repudiates the false assumption of the Judaizers who charged that Christ is the promoter and encourager of sin in that He causes the Jew to abandon the law as a justifying agency, and in doing so, puts himself on the common plane of a Gentile whom he calls a sinner and a dog. The Judaizers argued that in view of the fact that violation of the law is sin, therefore, abandonment of the law in an effort to be justified in Christ is also Sin. Thus Christ is the Promoter of sin. (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) S Lewis
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Wuest explains that "When kataluo is applied to the law as in this context it "means “to deprive of force, to abrogate.” Paul is really referring to Peter’s action of declaring the Levitical legislation regarding the eating of food, null and void by his eating with the Gentiles, and then declaring it valid by his act of withdrawing from that fellowship. But he tactfully puts himself into the picture and supposes an hypothetical case. His argument is to the effect that instead of committing sin by abandoning the law for grace, one becomes a transgressor by returning to the law which he has abandoned." (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) Richison writes that "Paul completely destroyed the law as a system of salvation and sanctification. Paul was in the business of destroying false doctrine. He will show in chapters 3 and 4 that the law never did save or sanctify. Biblical consistency is a core value of Christianity."
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Wuest - The word transgressor is from parabates. This word seems to have been chosen by the inspired apostle rather than the term used so far in the discussion, namely, sinner, from hamartolos, to get rid of the ambiguity of the latter word as it was used in this context. Parabates refers to one who disregards the ethical spirit of the law, hamartolos , to one who disregards the letter of the law. The use of the former word rather than of the latter, emphasizes the point here that one who is obedient to the statutes of the law yet may miss the real meaning of the law. Peter, by withdrawing from fellowship with the Gentiles, was obeying the letter of a law he knew had been set aside by God, and was ignoring its significance, namely that of a temporary measure for the time of the Old Testament dispensation, to be abrogated at the Cross. Peter became a transgressor in that he, declaring by his conduct that the law was null and void, now declares valid again that which he destroyed, thus admitting his guilt in that destruction. (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) John Stott explains "He specially denies the added allegation that he was guilty of making Christ the agent or author of men’s sins. On the contrary, he goes on, ‘I make myself a transgressor’ (Gal 3:18+). In other words, ‘if after my justification I am still a sinner, it is my fault and not Christ’s. I have only myself to blame; no-one can blame Christ.'" (The Message of Galatians) Galatians 2:19 "For through the Law I died to the Law, so that I might live to God. Greek: egō gar dia nomou nomō (to [the] law) apethanon (V-AIA-1S) hina Theō zēsō (V-ASA-1S) Amplified: For I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law] have [in Christ’s death for me] myself died to the Law and all the Law’s demands upon me, so that I may [henceforth] live to and for God. Phillips For under the Law I "died", and now I am dead to the Law's demands so that I may live for God. Wuest For, as for myself, I through the intermediate agency of the law died to the law, in order that I might live with respect to God.(Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) NET Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I may live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. GNT Galatians 2:19 ἐγὼ γὰρ διὰ νόμου νόμῳ ἀπέθανον, ἵνα θεῷ ζήσω. Χριστῷ συνεσταύρωμαι· NLT Galatians 2:19 For when I tried to keep the law, it condemned me. So I died to the law-- I stopped trying to meet all its requirements-- so that I might live for God. KJV Galatians 2:19 For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. ESV Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ASV Galatians 2:19 For I through the law died unto the law, that I might live unto God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. CSB Galatians 2:19 For through the law I have died to the law, so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ NIV Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. NKJ Galatians 2:19 "For I through the law died to the law that I might live to God. 20 "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. NRS Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law, so that I might live to God. I have been crucified with Christ; YLT Galatians 2:19 for I through law, did die, that to God I may live; 20 with Christ I have been crucified, and live no more do I, and Christ doth live in me; and that which I now live in the flesh -- in the faith I live of the Son of God, who did love me and did give himself for me; NAB Galatians 2:19 For through the law I died to the law, that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ; NJB Galatians 2:19 In fact, through the Law I am dead to the Law so that I can be alive to God. I have been crucified with Christ GWN Galatians 2:19 When I tried to obey the law's standards, those laws killed me. As a result, I live in a relationship with God. I have been crucified with Christ. BBE Galatians 2:19 For I, through the law, have become dead to the law, so that I might be living to God. 20 I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; For through the Law : Ga 3:10,24 Ro 3:19,20 4:15 5:20 7:7-11,14,22,23 8:2 10:4,5 I died to the Law: Ro 6:2,11,14 7:4,6,9 Col 2:20 3:3 1Pe 2:24 so that I might live to God: Ga 2:20 Ro 14:7,8 1Co 10:31 2Co 5:15 1Th 5:10 Tit 2:14 Heb 9:14 1Pe 4:1,2,6 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries THE "I" PROBLEM SOLVED DEAD TO THE LAW Grant Osborne writes that "Paul now solves the classic problem of the “I” and the desire to control my own salvation, either by keeping the law (for these Jewish Christians) or by being a morally upright person (for most of us)." (Galatians Verse by Verse) For (gar) (term of explanation) - "introducing a succinct statement of the conclusive reason why the law must be definitely abandoned as a means of justification." (Vine) For through the Law I died to the Law - Amplified = "I through the Law [under the operation of the curse of the Law] have [in Christ’s death for me] myself died to the Law and all the Law’s demands upon me." Notice that Paul does not say the Law is dead, but that he was now dead to the Law (in Christ). Paul's point is that he knew that the Law did not liberate him, but in fact condemned him. Christ threw out the "life preserver" so to speak to a dying man, by dying for that man! The Law demanded death for sin and gave no hope of ever attaining perfect righteousness, the only type of righteousness that our Holy God accepts! But praise God, what God demands, God provides in His Son (Jn 3:16, 2 Cor 5:21)! And now believers are no longer under (subject to, in bondage to) the Law. We have died to this old "master" Law. NO MASTER CAN GIVE ORDERS TO A DEAD SLAVE. In addition since Paul was dead to the law, then it was impossible for the law to be the way that he stood accepted by God. John
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Wuest has an excellent note on the Law - Paul’s use of the word law in this verse must be governed by its use in the context. The words, “works of the law” of Gal 2:16, speak of the divine law conceived of as a means of acceptance with God in the case of the sinner who obeys it. Paul does not say that he is dead to law, that is, a law to himself, thus a lawless individual. He still holds to the great ethical principles of love and justice, for instance, which are eternal in their significance, the great underlying principles that inhere in God’s character and in His government. When Paul says that he has died to a thing he means that he has ceased to have any relation to it, so that it has no further claim upon or control over him. It is law as conceived of as a body of legalistic statutes, that he has died to. He uses the personal pronoun ego (ἐγο), which indicates that he is speaking of his own personal experience. His attempt to fulfil the requirements of the Mosaic legislation as a means of salvation, had taught him his own inability to meet its demands, and its inability to make him righteous. Thus he finally abandoned it as a means of justification, and accepted salvation in Christ. He found that what the law did was to reveal sin, to provoke sin, in a certain sense, to create sin, for where there was no law, sin was not reckoned. He found that it provided no remedy for sin, but rather condemned him hopelessly, for no one can fulfil its requirements. It exercised a double power over him, for it made him a sinner and punished him for being one. The poet says, “Do this and live, the law commands, but gives me neither feet nor hands. A better word the gospel brings. It bids me fly and gives me wings.” Faith in Christ was the means whereby Paul’s; complete and irreparable break with the law was effected. The Lord Jesus lived under the law, fully obeyed that law, assumed the guilt and penalty which the human race incurred by having violated the law, and in dying under the law satisfied its requirements. Thus he passed out of the realm where law in its legalistic aspect had control over Him. All believers were identified with Christ in His death and also in His resurrection, and thus have passed out of the realm of divine law so far as its legalistic aspect is concerned. (Galatians Commentary - Verse by Verse ) ALIVE TO GOD Notice the antimony (a fundamental and apparently unresolvable conflict or contradiction) that death brings life! Only God could do that! Christ's life in us comes through death. Paul alludes to the transformation that occurs in believers. So that I might live to God - So that (hina) expresses purpose. Paul is not referring to living like every human being alive on earth lives, but of living on a higher plane, understanding that this temporal life is the first phrase of our eternal life with God. God is life and to really life one needs to live to God and only those who are in Christ (Christ our life - Col 3:4+) by grace alone through faith alone can truly live and enjoy this short life as our Creator meant it to be enjoyed (cp Jn 10:10b). THOUGHT - Too many people do not think their life has "purpose!" Well, here it is - live to God. Live to glorify and exalt God. If you do that you will have accomplished God's purpose for your life and you will reap the rewards in the life to come. Now that is amazing grace! Isaiah 43:7 says "Everyone who is called by My name, And whom I have created for My glory, Whom I have formed, even whom I have made.” Beloved, if you belong to Jesus, then you have been created for God's glory. Now enabled by the power of the indwelling Spirit obey your Lord's command to "Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven." (Mt 5:16+) If you obey His command, you are guaranteed to hear his commend! Well done, My good and faithful servant! John Stott summarizes it clearly - Justification is not a legal fiction, in which a man's status is changed while his character is left untouched....Our justification takes place when we are united to Christ by faith. And someone who is united to Christ is never the same person again. Instead, he is changed. It is not just his standing before God which has changed; it is he himself--radically, permanently changed. To talk of his going back to the old life [here, the life of legalism], and even sinning as he pleases [here, antinomianism], is frankly impossible. He has become a new creation and begun a new life (The Message of Galatians) Martin Luther - Blessed is the person who knows how to use this truth (dead to law, alive to God) in times of distress. He can talk. He can say: ‘Mr. Law, go ahead and accuse me as much as you like. I know I have committed many sins, and I continue to sin daily. But that does not bother me. You have got to shout louder, Mr. Law. I am deaf, you know. Talk as much as you like, I am dead to you. If you want to talk to me about my sins, go and talk to my flesh. Belabor that, but don’t talk to my conscience. My conscience is a lady and a queen, and has nothing to do with the likes of you, because my conscience lives to Christ under another law, a new and better law, the law of grace.’ (Galatians 2 Commentary)
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Wuest - Subjection to the law as a means of acceptance with God, in reality prevented him from living a life of unreserved devotion to God. This is one of the most grievous vices of legalism, that it comes between the soul and God. (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) Might live (2198)(zao) refers literally to natural physical life (1Cor 15:45), to come to life after death (Mt 9:18), to recover life after sickness (Jn 4:50). In this passage zao refers to supernatural, spiritual life (cf Jn 11:25, 26). Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me. crucified (KJV): Ga 5:24 6:14 Ro 6:4-6 8:3,4 Col 2:11-14 nevertheless (KJV): Ro 6:8,13 8:2 Eph 2:4,5 Col 2:13 3:3,4 but (KJV): Joh 14:19,20 17:21 2Co 4:10,11 13:3,5 Eph 3:17 Col 1:27 1Th 5:10 1Pe 4:2 Rev 3:20 the life (KJV): 2Co 4:11 10:3 1Pe 4:1,2 I now (KJV): Ga 2:16 3:11 Joh 6:57 Ro 1:17 5:2 2Co 1:24 5:7,15 Php 4:13 1Th 5:10 1Pe 1:8 4:2 the Son (KJV): Joh 1:49 3:16,35 6:69 9:35-38 Ac 8:37 9:20 1Th 1:10 1Jn 1:7 1Jn 4:9,10,14 5:10-13,20 who (KJV): Ga 1:4 Mt 20:28 Joh 10:11 15:13 Ro 8:37 Eph 5:2,25 Tit 2:14 Rev 1:5 Galatians 2 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries Greek: Christo sunestauromai (1SRPI) zo (1SPAI) de ouketi ego, ze (3SPAI) de en emoi Christos; o de nunzo (1SPAI) en sarki, en pistei zo (1SPAI) te tou huiou tou theou tou agapesantos (AAPMSG) me kaiparadontos (AAPMSG) heauton huper emou. Amplified: I have been crucified with Christ [in Him I have shared His crucifixion]; it is no longer I who live, but Christ (the Messiah) lives in me; and the life I now live in the body I live by faith in (by adherence to and reliance on and complete trust in) the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself up for me. Phillips As far as the Law is concerned I may consider that I died on the cross with Christ. And my present life is not that of the old "I", but the living Christ within me. The bodily life I now live, I live believing in the Son of God, who loved me and sacrificed himself for me Wuest - With Christ I have been crucified, and it is no longer I who live, but there lives in me Christ. And that life which now I live in the sphere of the flesh, by faith I live it, which faith is in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself on my behalf.(Eerdmans Publishing - used by permission) NET I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So the life I now live in the body, I live because of the faithfulness of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. GNT ζῶ δὲ οὐκέτι ἐγώ, ζῇ δὲ ἐν ἐμοὶ Χριστός· ὃ δὲ νῦν ζῶ ἐν σαρκί, ἐν πίστει ζῶ τῇ τοῦ υἱοῦ τοῦ θεοῦ τοῦ ἀγαπήσαντός με καὶ παραδόντος ἑαυτὸν ὑπὲρ ἐμοῦ. NLT My old self has been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. So I live in this earthly body by trusting in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. KJV I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. ESV I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. ASV I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I that live, but Christ living in me: and that life which I now live in the flesh I live in faith, the faith which is in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself up for me. CSB and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. NIV I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. NKJ I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. NRS I have been crucified with Christ; 20 and it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. YLT with Christ I have been crucified, and live no more do I, and Christ doth live in me; and that which I now live in the flesh -- in the faith I live of the Son of God, who did love me and did give himself for me; NAB I have been crucified with Christ; 20 yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in me; insofar as I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who has loved me and given himself up for me. NJB I have been crucified with Christ 20 and yet I am alive; yet it is no longer I, but Christ living in me. The life that I am now living, subject to the limitation of human nature, I am living in faith, faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me. GWN I have been crucified with Christ. 20 I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live I live by believing in God's Son, who loved me and took the punishment for my sins. BBE I have been put to death on the cross with Christ; still I am living; no longer I, but Christ is living in me; and that life which I now am living in the flesh I am living by faith, the faith of the Son of God, who in love for me, gave himself up for me. YLT with Christ I have been crucified, and live no more do I, and Christ doth live in me; and that which I now live in the flesh -- in the faith I live of the Son of God, who did love me and did give himself for me; PAUL'S "PHILOSOPHY OF LIFE" CHRIST LIVES IN ME BY HIS INDWELLING SPIRIT Technical note - Both the NA(27)/UBS(4 )Greek text and the NRSV place the phrase "I have been crucified with Christ" at the end of Gal 2:19 but most English translations place these words at the beginning of Gal 2:20. NOTE: Click Galatians 2:20 Commentary for more than 45 pages of commentary notes on this famous passage. Because this verse is discussed in such great detail on the separate page, the notes here are abridged. Donald Campbell comments that "In Galatians 2:20 Paul enlarged on the meaning of verse 19. He “died to the Law” because he was crucified with Christ; he was able “to live for God” because Christ lived in him. Basic to an understanding of this verse is the meaning of union with Christ. This doctrine is based on such passages as Romans 6:1–6 and 1 Corinthians 12:13, which explain that believers have been baptized by the Holy Spirit into Christ and into the church, the body of all true believers. Having been thus united to Christ, believers share in His death, burial, and resurrection. Paul could therefore write, I have been “crucified with Christ” (lit., “I have been and am now crucified with Christ”). This brought death to the Law. It also brought a change in regard to one’s self: and I no longer live. The self-righteous, self-centered Saul died." (The Bible Knowledge Commentary)
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Wuest says "Paul uses it to show that his identification with Christ at the Cross was a past fact, and that the spiritual benefits that have come to him through his identification are present realities with him. By this statement he also shows how he died to the law, namely by dying with Christ who died under its penalty. The law’s demands were satisfied and therefore have no more hold on Paul. But thus being crucified with Christ, meant also to Paul, death to self. When Paul died with Christ, it was the Pharisee Saul who died. What he was and did up to that time passed away so far as he was concerned Saul was buried, and the old life with him. The dominating control of the Adamic nature had its power over him broken." (Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) F F Bruce adds that “The perfect tense…emphasizes that participation in the crucified Christ has become the believer’s settled way of life.” (Epistle to the Galatians) Illustration - When James Calvert (see biography) went as a missionary to the cannibals of the Fiji Islands, the captain of the ship sought to turn him back, crying out “You will lose your life and the lives of those with you if you go among such savages” Calvert only replied,“We died before we came here.” In short, James Calvert had appropriated and had put into practice the truth of Galatians 2:20 and had identified with the Cross of Christ. He had relinquished his life, having died to James Calvert, to the world, to the flesh, and to the devil. When Jesus died upon the cross, He took our sin and shame; He offers us His righteousness, A gift for us to claim. —Sper Oswald Chambers - Galatians 2:20 is foundation truth and experimental truth in one—These words mean the breaking of my independence and surrendering to the supremacy of the Lord Jesus. No one can do this for me, I must do it myself. There is no possibility of debate when once I am there. It is not that we have to do work for God, we have to be so loyal to Jesus Christ that He does His work through us. We learn His truth by obeying it. (He shall glorify me : Talks on the Holy Spirit and other themes) Joe Ranney gives us a practical paraphrase of Galatians 2:20 which all believers can apply to their life "My pocketbook has been crucified with Christ and I no longer exclusively spend on my selfish wants, because Christ lives in me. The spending life I now live is by faith and obedience to the Great Commission's call and can be successfully achieved because He loved me and gave Himself for me." (BacktotheBible) No longer SELF CENTERED But now CHRIST CENTERED! And it is no longer I who live but Christ lives in me. Saul the self-righteous Pharisee, died, but Paul the great apostle, lives. The ego remained. It is no longer a self-centered life that he lives, but a Christ-centered one. His new life is a Person, the Lord Jesus living in Paul. And through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. the Lord Jesus is manifest in his life. The new life is no longer, like the former one, dependent upon the ineffectual efforts of a man attempting to draw near to God in his own righteousness. The new life is a Person within a person, living out His life in that person. Instead of attempting to live his life in obedience to a set of rules in the form of the legal enactments of the Mosaic law, Paul now yields to the indwelling Holy Spirit and cooperates with Him in the production of a life pleasing to God, energized by the divine life resident in him through the regenerating work of the Spirit. Instead of a sinner with a totally depraved nature attempting to find acceptance with God by attempted obedience to a set of outward laws, it is now the saint living his life on a new principle, that of the indwelling Holy Spirit manifesting forth the Lord Jesus." (Galatians Commentary) Paul had to state, “Christ lives in me,” (Gal.2:20) before he could declare, “For to me to live is Christ” (Phil. 1:21). In that phrase he sums up the whole of Christian experience. In that one comprehensive utterance is gathered up life FROM Christ, life WITH Christ, life IN Christ, and life FOR Christ. Paul, in effect, is affirming that “living IS Christ,” which parallels the statement that “Christ . . . is our life” (Col. 3:4). Spurgeon on no longer I who live - How many first-person pronouns 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 someone 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 that Christ made for him. This is instructive, for it is a distinguishing mark of the Christian religion that it brings out a man’s individuality. It does not make us selfish; on the contrary, it cures us of that evil. But still it does manifest in us a selfhood by which we become conscious of our personal individuality in an eminent degree. In one sense believers are to live as imitators of Christ (cf 1Cor 4:16, 11:1, 1 John 2:6, Eph 5:1,2+, Php 3:17+) but Galatians 2:20 teaches us that this new life is more than imitation -- it is "incarnation"! "Christ lives in me". It is this living and loving union with Christ that enables me to moment by moment overcome the world, the flesh and the devil and to accomplish God’s good and perfect will in my life. As discussed above Christ has sent His "Chief Operating Office" (so to speak), the Holy Spirit, Who provides the supernatural power to life a life that imitates Christ. Indeed, Christ was enabled by the same Holy Spirit to life His life on earth and give us a perfect example of how it is even possible to imitate Him (cp Acts 10:38, 39 sums up in two verses Jesus' 3.5 year ministry on earth beginning with His "anointing [at His baptism] with the Holy Spirit and with power.") John
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Wuest adds that "All these meanings (of atheteo) could be applied here to the act of adding law-works to faith as the ground of a sinner’s justification (which was the message Paul figured would be given by Peter's withdrawal from eating with the Gentiles). One may preach that Christ died for our sins, but if he adds works to faith as the means of the acceptance of the salvation Christ procured for lost sinners at the Cross, he has thwarted the efficacy of grace, for the fundamental meaning of grace is that salvation is given free, without money and without price. There is no salvation for the sinner who depends in the least upon good works as a means of acceptance with God."(Wuest Word Studies - Eerdman Publishing Company Volume 1, Volume 2, Volume 3 - used by permission) In contrast to Paul's denial that he set aside the grace of God, that is exactly what the Judaizers did by adding works. W E Vine explains that "if salvation is by grace it is no more of works, and, conversely, if it is of works it is no more of grace; works and grace are incompatibles, they are mutually exclusive; see Romans 11:6." I like the KJV rendering "I do not frustrate the grace of God" - As Bartlett comments "To attempt to earn by merit what GOD gives in mercy is to frustrate the grace of GOD, so far as our experience of it is concerned. "There is," as K.S. Wuest puts it, "no salvation for the sinner who depends in the least upon good works as a means of acceptance with GOD." How important it is then for us to emphasize this in dealing with souls whom we seek to lead to CHRIST! If men could be saved by works of the law, there was no need for CHRIST to give His life a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28)." (Galatians 2:11-21 - Personal Explanation) Marvin Vincent on the grace of God - Charis is, primarily, that which gives joy (chara). Its higher, Christian meaning is based on the emphasis of freeness in a gift or favor. It is the free, spontaneous, absolute loving-kindness of God toward men. Hence often in contrast with the ideas of debt, law, works, sin. Sometimes for the gift of grace, the benefaction, as 1 Cor. 16:3; 2 Cor. 8:6, 19; 1 Pet. 1:10, 13. So here: the gracious gift of God in the offering of Christ. The grace of God - In effecting salvation works and grace are diametrically opposed. In Romans Paul declared "But if it ("remnant according to God’s gracious choice" Ro 11:5) is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works, otherwise grace is no longer grace." (Ro 11:6) Warren