Galatians
Chapter
2
1~~Then
fourteen years after {Paul's visit to Jerusalem in 1:18}
I
went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas
and
took Titus with me also.
{Note: 14 years after the visit to Jerusalem mentioned above in Chapter 1:18 - Paul and Barnabas go to the Jerusalem Counsel recorded in Acts 15. They take Titus who was an uncircumcised Gentile. Titus later becomes the troubleshooter for Paul . . . but in Jerusalem the legalists were saying Titus was not saved if he was not circumcised!}
2~~
And I went up according to the standard of revelation
and
communicated unto them
-
to their advantage -
that
gospel which I keep on preaching among the Gentiles
but
privately to them which were of reputation
lest
I should run {teach doctrine} - or had run - in vain.
{Note: Paul is saying when he explained his teaching to James and the others, he did it privately so as not to embarass them in public.}
3~~
But neither Titus with me - being a Greek -
was
compelled to be circumcised.
{Note:
Paul made it clear to the leaders of the Jerusalem - Peter, James
and John - in private - that Christ was the issue of
salvation
. . . NOT being circumcised. Paul does not want the other leaders
saying Paul did not preach the truth and possibly undermining his
ministry of the past or future.}
4~~
And that
because
of false brethren 'unawares brought in' {pareisaktos}
-
men such as came in privily {pareiserchomai} -
to
spy out our freedom
which
we keep on having in Christ Jesus
that
they might bring us into bondage.
{Note: Pareisaktos is the Greek word for 'secretly infiltrating a city with spies to bring it down'. And, pareiserchomai was a word used in Greek drama that referred to a minor actor who sneaked into a scene. Paul is refering to the legalistic Jews who were following him on his missions. After Paul left town, they would tell the Greeks, Paul's message of salvation by faith is 'only the start'. Now you have to be circumcized, honor the sabboth, etc. to really be saved!}
{Note: Liberty starts at the cross! Freedom from the slave market of sin. And, being bound to ritual is its own form of slavery.}
5~~
To whom {the legalists}
{did}
we 'give place'/'yield to them' by subjection? No!
Not
for an hour!
That
the truth of the gospel might continue
face
to face with you
once
and for all.
6~~
But of these who think they are VIP's
(whatsoever
they were
it
makes no difference to me
God
accepts no man's person {is a respecter of no human})
for
they, who seemed to be somebody in conference
'taught
me nothing I did not already know'/'added nothing to me'.
{Note: Paul is saying that members of the conference - apparently his detractors - said nothing in the conference that Paul did not already understand. See II Peter 3: 15-16 - where Peter emphasizes that Paul was one the greatest Bible doctrine teachers after the Cross.}
7~~
But, in contrast,
when
they saw/'mentally understood'
that
the gospel of the un-circumcision
was
deposited with me {they learned something!}
as
the gospel of the circumcision/Jews was unto Peter.
{Note: Peter was the leader in taking the gospel to the Jews, Paul was the leader taking the gospel to the gentiles . . . but it was the same gospel.}
8~~
(For He {God the Holy Spirit}
Who
communicated the power and savvy to Peter
-
to the Apostleship of the circumcision/Jews -
the
Same {God the Holy Spirit} was mighty in me
toward
the Gentiles.)
9~~And
when James, Cephas {Peter}, and John
having
been judged/'seemed to be' pillars {of the Church}
perceived
the grace that was given unto me
they
gave to me and Barnabas
'the
right hands of fellowship'/'recognition of authority'
that
we should go unto the heathen {Gentiles}
and
they unto the circumcision/Jews {to evangelize the Jews}.
{Note: So as not to cause divisions in the Church, it was important to Paul that he and Barnabas be seen to have the support of the leaders of the Church in Jerusalem.}
10~~
Only {they would/requested}
that
we should remember the poor.
The
same thing which I also was zealous/diligent to do.
{Note: It was agreed that Paul would take doctrine to the Gentiles, but he did need to gather aid for the relief of the people made destitute by persecution - and Paul agreed of course.}
11~~
But {in contrast to agreement above}
when
Peter was come to Antioch
I
braced/ opposed/resisted/'stood up against' him
-
to his face - for he {Peter}
'was
wrong according to divine viewpoint'/'stood condemned'.
12~~
For before that {time when}
certain
{men} came from James with a purpose,
he
{Peter} did eat
in
the company of the Gentiles {which was a Jewish taboo}.
But
when they {legalistic Jews} were come,
he
{Peter} made a strategic withdrawal
and
gradually separated himself {from eating with the Gentiles}
-
keeping on fearing them
who
were of the circumcision {legalistic Jews}.
13~~
And the other Jews {racially Jewish and saved believers}
dissembled
likewise with him {Peter led others into reversionism}.
Insomuch
that Barnabas also was carried away
with
their dissimulation/'two-faced-ness'/hypocrisy {hupokrisis}!
{Note: The principal here is 'a little leaven leavens the whole loaf'. Peter reverted to legalism and Barnabas was influenced to do the same. And, Barnabas was one of the greatest champions of Grace of all time - see Acts 15:35-39.}
{Note: Hupokrisis means to be a hypocrite - to speak behind a mask or a false face - to be 'two-faced'.}
{Verses
14-21 broke the back of legalism in Antioch and Antioch became a
GREAT Church}
14~~
But when I {Paul} perceived
that
they habitually did not walk uprightly {did not 'walk in grace'}
face
to face with the doctrine/truth
of
the gospel {the 'good news' doctrines of Jesus Christ}
I
said unto Peter
-
to his disadvantage -
before
them all,
"If
- and it is true -
you
{who} 'came into existence' being born a Jew
{then}
live as a Gentile {including eating with the Gentiles}
-
and you did/do -
'instead
of how'/'and NOT as' do the Jews
why
do you compel the Gentiles to live as Jews?"
15~~ We - Jews by nature - are not sinners of the Gentiles.
{Note: The Pharisees always referred to the Gentiles as 'sinners'. The religious Jews were saying the Gentiles who did not honor the sabboth and be circumcized were living in sin and were not saved. Continues the thieme of the false doctrine of 'salvation by circumcism, keeping the sabboth, being baptized, anything but the True doctrine - salvation by Faith in Jesus Christ - accepting HIS WORK on the cross 'as a substitue for'/'on behalf of' you.}
16~~
Knowing that a man
is
not justified by means of the works of the law
but
by means of faith in Jesus Christ
even
we {Peter and Paul} have believed in Jesus Christ
that
we might be justified - once and for all -
by
faith in Christ
and
not by the works of the law.
For
by the works of the law shall
no
member of the human race be justified.
17~~
But if while we keep on seeking
to
be justified in the sphere of Christ,
we
ourselves also are found sinners
-
and we are sinners -
is
therefore Christ the minister of sin?
Let
it NOT BECOME SO!
{Note: Here this means being sinners according to the standards of the Mosaic Law.}
18~~
But if I begin to build again the things which I destroyed,
I
keep on making myself a transgressor {of Christ's teachings}.
{Note: Paul is saying Christ's teachings lead Peter and Paul away from the Mosaic Law and they both socialized with Gentiles and even ate with them. Now Peter backed away from doing so the legalistic Jews would not get on him. Paul says if Peter goes back into the Mosaic Law that he 'tore down', he would 'build it again'. Christ taught that salvation is by faith in Christ not by works . . . Paul is really beating up Peter here.}
19~~
For I {Paul continues}
by
means of the law {Mosaic Law}
am
dead to the law
that
I might enter into life with God.
{Note: The wages of sin under the Mosaic Law is death. By being out from under the Law, Paul is saying he 'has life'.}
20~~
I have been crucified with Christ
in
the past with result that I keep on being crucified
with
Christ forever.
And,
I no longer live {with reference to the Mosaic Law}
but
Christ keeps on living in me.
And
now I keep on living {Christ} in the flesh
by
means of faith in the Son of God
Who
- once and forever - loved me
and
gave Himself for me {and all the rest of us with Paul}.
{Note:
This is the Doctrine of Retroactive Positional Truth. We are in
union with Christ at the point of salvation. Under the Mosaic Law,
'The wages of sin is death'. Christ died under the 'law' and paid
that price. Therefore, Christ said he 'fulfilled the Law'. And we are
in union with Christ. And, in Philippians, Paul explains
'For
me . . . living . . . Christ . . . dying . . . gain'.}
{Note:
This verse is discussing imitating the Character of
Christ
. . . producing the character of God IN your life. Christ truly does
indwells in all believers, but that is not what is meant here - See
Romans Chapter 8 also.}
21~~
I do not keep on canceling the grace of God.
For
if righteousness comes by the law
-
and let us assume it does {to prove it wrong!} -
then
Christ died in vain!
{Now Paul is going to leave Peter's chewing out and is chewing on the Galatians!}
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