You cannot earn God’s favour. True religion is not an instrument for controlling other people. Paul had set up Churches in Galatia and now legalists had come to intimidate these Churches with their legalistic teachings. Paul is going to fight against them. His message can be summarised as “get lost”! The enemies of the Gospel are shrewd. They try to make out the Paul’s message is different from the other Apostles. Paul argues that they have the same source and are therefore the same.

1 – Paul’s Appointment in Jerusalem (vs. 1-2)

• The sequence of events – Paul was converted on the road to Damascus and then spent three years in Arabia and then just began to preach for 14 years. He met the church at Jerusalem for about 15 days and then he went about preaching the Gospel among the other churches. Paul did not get his message from the other Apostles but it is the same message. The Gospel message was the same or everyone.
• The selection of his companions – Paul took two companions with him called Barnabas and Titus. Barnabas was a great encourager. Titus was a Greek convert to Christianity and yet had not been compelled to be circumcised. They were further witnesses.
• The source of his instruction – It was God who had revealed to Paul that he was to go to Jerusalem.
• The submission of his Gospel – Paul got together with the leaders in Jerusalem and had a private meeting. He had written down his submission and here it is well known.
• The seriousness of his concern – Paul was concerned that these false teachers would make his work in the Gospel of no value. Paul wants the leaders to either endorse him or the false teachers. It can’t be both ways. Those teaching that observance to the law were necessary for salvation had to be treated as a serious threat. Paul has for 14years built these Churches on the Gospel of Jesus Christ and these false teachers from Jerusalem were attempting to disrupt things with their false teachings.

2 – Paul’s appearance in Jerusalem (vs. 3-5)

• Paul’s friend – Titus was a Gentile and he had not been compelled to be circumcised. For Titus to be circumcised and follow all the laws then the grace of Jesus Christ is lost. Titus walked into that meeting a Gentile and Christian and walked out the same. The letter from the meeting that was sent to the Churches is found in Acts 15:23-29. No one could entice Titus to be circumcised!
• Paul’s foes – Paul had enemies in the meeting. There were false teachers in the meeting. They had got in by stealth. They were deceitful. They had sent spies to the Churches and attempted to hijack the meeting.
• Paul’s fight – Paul is a freedom fighter. These false teachers did not intimidate Paul. He has great courage for the Gospel. The false teaching of legalism cannot be allowed and it is totally opposed to grace. With the gospel at stake Paul stood firm for the truth. Paul didn’t give them an inch! Paul was a hero.

3 – Paul’s Acceptance in Jerusalem (vs. 6-9)

• His authority as an apostle – See Galatians 2:6. Paul is likely using some sarcasm. There were those who thought the other apostles were the pillars and Paul was not. Paul does not need the acceptance of Peter, James and John. He is taking his orders from God.
• His approval as an apostle – See Galatians 2:7-8. The apostles from Jerusalem realised that the gospel that Paul was presenting was the same. It may be a different audience but the message was the same.

4 – Paul’s Affirmation in Jerusalem (vs. 9)

The leaders in Jerusalem agreed that Paul and Barnabas should go to the Gentiles, while they would be responsible for the evangelisation of the Jews (v. 9). The people groups to be evangelised were simply divided into two different spheres: the Jews and the Gentiles. Paul always had a burden for his own people, the Jews. When he began his evangelistic work in a city, he always began in a synagogue; however, he was clear about his primary calling to be the apostle to the Gentiles. We also know from Acts that Peter was the first apostle to evangelise Gentiles, when he went to the house of Cornelius. So the agreement reached at the conference cannot be viewed as a strict geographical or even ethnographical division of labour. They give Paul the right-hand of fellowship. The right-hand was in token of fellowship or favour. We cannot extend the right hand of fellowship to Christians who are false teachers, who are living immoral lives, or whose behaviour is in serious conflict with Christian principles. Paul has been affirmed by the early leaders at the church in Jerusalem.

5 – Paul’s Assignment in Jerusalem (vs. 10)

The leaders of the Jerusalem church supported Paul’s mission to the Gentiles but at the same time they asked Paul to keep the needs and welfare of the Jewish church in mind. His Gentile mission should support, not harm, the Jewish church. Paul affirmed his eager desire to express the unity of the church by his practical support of the Jerusalem church (v. 10). We know from his letters to the churches in Corinth and Rome that a major theme of his teaching to his Gentile churches was their obligation to support the Jerusalem church. Paul saw the collection that he took from his Gentile churches for the Jewish believers in Jerusalem as an indispensable expression of the unity of the church. “For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews’ spiritual blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings” (See Romans 15:27). From Paul’s account of the Jerusalem conference we learn how to maintain the unity of the church so that the preaching of the gospel to different audiences in different cultures will be effective.

Categories: Galatians