Gal 2:11-14 | KingComments | STEP | . Paul is still refuting the accusation of the false brethren that between him and the twelve apostles there could be no agreement. A rift between him and the apostles would of course serve the interests of those people. Before Paul demonstrates how they totally agreed and that there is no question of a rift, he stresses again that he has received nothing from the twelve that he needed for his preaching. That’s why he also says: “Those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.” He means to say that the twelve and others too had found no lack in the content of the gospel he preached. They couldn’t add anything to his message. . Paul received the authority for his preaching from Christ alone and not from the respected place the twelve had. By taking that stand he wasn’t denigrating them. He acknowledges the place they received from God and they acknowledge the place God gave him. Paul and the twelve didn’t preach a different gospel, but each got their own working area from God for his preaching, his own audience. . God gave Paul a task among the Gentiles – the uncircumcised; to Peter and the others He gave a task among the Jews – the circumcised (cf. ). In the same way God gives you a task in your own sphere – that is the area in which you live. . It must have been a splendid scene, those five men standing there together. You see them standing, they shake hands together, committing themselves to preach the gospel to the world of both Jews and Gentiles. That is real ‘fraternity’. No jealousy, no competition, but together pursuing the same goal, together convinced of the necessity of preaching the gospel. [By the way: four of these five men have together written twenty-two of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.] By giving each other the right hand, they express their fellowship in the work for the Lord. From the side of the brethren in Jerusalem it also means that they acknowledge the special mission of Paul to the nations. The difference in the working sphere between Paul and Peter is also an important matter with regard to the history of the church. How often it is said of Peter that he is the head of the church, while God by Paul founded His church among the Gentiles. The claim of the roman-catholic church for Peter to be ‘the first pope’ is therefore totally ill-founded. . After the division of labor is confirmed, the five go their own ways. The only request that is given to Paul has to do with the care of the poor. Nothing is said about the preaching of the Word. Here you can see how the great apostle is not only concerned for the soul, but also for the physical condition of the fellow believers. In Hebrews 13 and 1 Corinthians 16 the same thing is said to us ( ; ). . In this verse you read about the third meeting between Paul and Peter, after the first one in chapter 1 and the second one in this chapter ( ). But this meeting is not as friendly as the other ones. You may ask how it was possible that Peter started to act in such a way that Paul had to resist him publicly. After what God had shown to Peter in Acts 10 and after his own declaration in Acts 15 and after what he has acknowledged in Galatians 2, it is hard to understand why he is withdrawing from the Gentiles and siding with the Judaists. He does it, because he was “fearing the party of the circumcision”. In Proverbs 29 you read: “The fear of man brings a snare” ( ). I hope you know yourself a little. How often do we do or not do something out of fear of what others might say? We shouldn’t blame Peter too much, while at the same time we can also be grateful for the clear correction Paul gives. Paul understands what is happening. In the same way as Paul did not yield to false brethren ( ), he here does not yield to a real brother when he makes the same mistake. . That Peter was wrong is clear. First he is very pleased that he can eat with the believers of the nations. Therewith he accepts that the difference is gone, just as he himself told in Acts 15 that God “made no distinction between us and them” ( ). But now he is making this distinction again by withdrawing himself. By this, what had been prevented in Jerusalem happens here: a schism is created. Now in fact there are two churches in Antioch: one for the Gentile Christians and one for the Jewish Christians. This is not different to the divisions we see in professing Christianity today: people want a church to their own taste. We should be just as indignant about those divisions as Paul is here. Divisions don’t do any justice to the truth of the gospel; they conflict with the gospel. We can add something else to Peter’s attitude here: you never walk alone if you go astray, away from God. You will always take other people with you. Peter is taking a lot of people with him ( ). The more prestige someone has, the more fatal are the consequences if he errs. Peter is a warning example. Paul is an encouraging example in his firm stand against the mistake that is made, even if it concerns someone like Peter. The public reproof by Paul didn’t cause bad feelings with Peter. We can see that in the second letter Peter wrote. There he writes about “our beloved brother Paul” and draws the attention of his readers to “all his letters”, i.e. the letters of Paul ( ), to which also belongs the letter to the Galatians. This is greatly to be praised in Peter and important for us to follow. Now read Galatians 2:6-14 again. Reflection: Which task and which work sphere did you receive from God?

‏ Galatians 2:11-14

Paul With and Against Peter

Gal 2:6. Paul is still refuting the accusation of the false brethren that between him and the twelve apostles there could be no agreement. A rift between him and the apostles would of course serve the interests of those people. Before Paul demonstrates how they totally agreed and that there is no question of a rift, he stresses again that he has received nothing from the twelve that he needed for his preaching. That’s why he also says: “Those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me.” He means to say that the twelve and others too had found no lack in the content of the gospel he preached. They couldn’t add anything to his message.

Gal 2:7. Paul received the authority for his preaching from Christ alone and not from the respected place the twelve had. By taking that stand he wasn’t denigrating them. He acknowledges the place they received from God and they acknowledge the place God gave him. Paul and the twelve didn’t preach a different gospel, but each got their own working area from God for his preaching, his own audience.

Gal 2:8. God gave Paul a task among the Gentiles – the uncircumcised; to Peter and the others He gave a task among the Jews – the circumcised (cf. 2Cor 10:13). In the same way God gives you a task in your own sphere – that is the area in which you live.

Gal 2:9. It must have been a splendid scene, those five men standing there together. You see them standing, they shake hands together, committing themselves to preach the gospel to the world of both Jews and Gentiles. That is real ‘fraternity’. No jealousy, no competition, but together pursuing the same goal, together convinced of the necessity of preaching the gospel. [By the way: four of these five men have together written twenty-two of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament.] By giving each other the right hand, they express their fellowship in the work for the Lord. From the side of the brethren in Jerusalem it also means that they acknowledge the special mission of Paul to the nations.

The difference in the working sphere between Paul and Peter is also an important matter with regard to the history of the church. How often it is said of Peter that he is the head of the church, while God by Paul founded His church among the Gentiles. The claim of the roman-catholic church for Peter to be ‘the first pope’ is therefore totally ill-founded.

Gal 2:10. After the division of labor is confirmed, the five go their own ways. The only request that is given to Paul has to do with the care of the poor. Nothing is said about the preaching of the Word. Here you can see how the great apostle is not only concerned for the soul, but also for the physical condition of the fellow believers. In Hebrews 13 and 1 Corinthians 16 the same thing is said to us (Heb 13:16; 1Cor 16:2).

Gal 2:11. In this verse you read about the third meeting between Paul and Peter, after the first one in chapter 1 and the second one in this chapter (Gal 1:18 ; Gal 2:1-10). But this meeting is not as friendly as the other ones. You may ask how it was possible that Peter started to act in such a way that Paul had to resist him publicly. After what God had shown to Peter in Acts 10 and after his own declaration in Acts 15 and after what he has acknowledged in Galatians 2, it is hard to understand why he is withdrawing from the Gentiles and siding with the Judaists. He does it, because he was “fearing the party of the circumcision”. In Proverbs 29 you read: “The fear of man brings a snare” (Pro 29:25).

I hope you know yourself a little. How often do we do or not do something out of fear of what others might say? We shouldn’t blame Peter too much, while at the same time we can also be grateful for the clear correction Paul gives. Paul understands what is happening. In the same way as Paul did not yield to false brethren (Gal 2:5), he here does not yield to a real brother when he makes the same mistake.

Gal 2:12-14. That Peter was wrong is clear. First he is very pleased that he can eat with the believers of the nations. Therewith he accepts that the difference is gone, just as he himself told in Acts 15 that God “made no distinction between us and them” (Acts 15:9). But now he is making this distinction again by withdrawing himself. By this, what had been prevented in Jerusalem happens here: a schism is created. Now in fact there are two churches in Antioch: one for the Gentile Christians and one for the Jewish Christians.

This is not different to the divisions we see in professing Christianity today: people want a church to their own taste. We should be just as indignant about those divisions as Paul is here. Divisions don’t do any justice to the truth of the gospel; they conflict with the gospel.

We can add something else to Peter’s attitude here: you never walk alone if you go astray, away from God. You will always take other people with you. Peter is taking a lot of people with him (Gal 2:13). The more prestige someone has, the more fatal are the consequences if he errs. Peter is a warning example. Paul is an encouraging example in his firm stand against the mistake that is made, even if it concerns someone like Peter.

The public reproof by Paul didn’t cause bad feelings with Peter. We can see that in the second letter Peter wrote. There he writes about “our beloved brother Paul” and draws the attention of his readers to “all his letters”, i.e. the letters of Paul (2Pet 3:15-16), to which also belongs the letter to the Galatians. This is greatly to be praised in Peter and important for us to follow.

Now read Galatians 2:6-14 again.

Reflection: Which task and which work sphere did you receive from God?