Today’s sermon audio can be found on Castbox at 167 “Then After Fourteen Years” Galatians 2:1-5.

Our text for July 5 was Galatians 2:1-5. We read 2:1-10 for context. Our first reading was Acts 11:19-30. Paul writes about his second visit to Jerusalem in Galatians 2:1-10. I think that Luke writes about that same second visit in Acts 11:19-30. The reasoning for this choice is complex. Part of the analysis depends on other decisions such as when Paul wrote Galatians and to whom did Paul write Galatians. But the following points cover the argument at a high level:

  • In Galatians 2:1 Paul goes to Jerusalem with Barnabas.
  • In Acts Paul goes to Jerusalem with Barnabas twice: in 11:30 and in 15:2.
  • Acts 11:30 fits better than 15:2 with an early date for the letter to the Galatians (AD 48) and with the south Galatia recipients.
  • If the Galatians 2 visit to Jerusalem corresponds with the Acts 15 visit then Paul has omitted a visit to Jerusalem in Galatians. This seems highly unlikely since Paul is arguing against influence from Jerusalem. Omitting a visit to Jerusalem would have been very counterproductive.
  • Paul would most likely mentioned the Council of Acts 15 in the letter to the Galatians if the Council had already taken place.
  • It seems to me that correlating Galatians 2 with Acts 11 provides the most coherent reading of Acts, Galatians, and the rest of Paul’s letters.

Paul’s thesis for the historical section of the letter (Galatians 1:11-2:14) is stated in Galatians 1:11-12:

11For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Galatians 1:11-12, ESV

We have restated Paul’s historical thesis (Galatians 1:11-12) as follows:

  • Paul’s gospel was not of human origin.
  • Paul’s gospel was not received through human communication by Paul.
  • Paul’s gospel was of divine origin.
  • Paul’s gospel was received through divine communication to Paul.

Text

1Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2I 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. 3But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4Yet 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— 5to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. 6And 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. 7On 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 8(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 9and 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. 10Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

Galatians 2:1-10, ESV

Sermon Outline

"Then After Fourteen Years" Galatians 2:1-5

  1. Overview (2:1-10)
  2. Up Again to Jerusalem (2:1-2)
  3. We Did Not Yield (2:3-5)
  4. False Brothers (2:4)

Scripture References: Acts 11:19-30; Galatians 2:1-5; John 3:3;

1. Overview (2:1-10)

In Galatians 1:11ff Paul showed that before he was saved he had opposed Christianity. But Paul had been set apart by God before he was born. And he had been called by the grace of God. Paul’s gospel was revealed to him directly by Jesus Christ. His apostolic ministry to the Gentiles was also so revealed to him. Paul had not conferred with the other apostles nor gone up to Jerusalem immediately after he was saved. But then three years after his conversion Paul briefly met with Peter and James in Jerusalem. After that brief meeting Paul went to Tarsus and then to Antioch. Paul could report that the Judean Christians praised God because of what they knew about Paul’s ministry.

In Galatians 2:1-10 fourteen years after his conversion Paul makes a second post-conversion visit to Jerusalem. He tells why he went and what he had to resist in vv1-5. Then in vv6-10 he tells us the outcome:

  • 2:1 Paul goes to Jerusalem with Barnabas and Titus;
  • 2:2 Paul goes to Jerusalem because God revealed to him supernaturally that he should do so;
  • Paul meets privately with Peter, James, and John (and possibly others);
  • Paul meets with the pillars to present the gospel that he preached among the Gentiles;
  • Paul tells them the gospel as he preaches it
    • in order to make sure [he] was not running or had run in vain;
    • we will have to think carefully about this whole section of Galatians;
  • 2:3 Paul then notes that Titus, the Gentile,
    • was not forced to be circumcised while they were in Jerusalem;
    • this aside is not a random thought;
    • no doubt, circumcision was the crucial issue in Galatia;
    • and it was also a key issue in Jerusalem at that time;
  • 2:4-5 Paul then proceeds to discuss his theological opponents (false brothers)
    • these heretics were in Antioch or Jerusalem or possibly both cities;
    • they or their like were found in several other cities as well;
    • they wanted to enslave believers to the Law of Moses thereby distorting the true gospel;
    • but Paul was having none of it;
  • 2:6-9 Paul records the pillars’ reaction to Paul’s gospel:
    • it was the same gospel that they also preached;
    • so Peter, James, and John shook hands with Paul and Barnabas to signify the validity of Paul’s gospel and apostleship
  • 2:10 The only thing that the Jerusalem apostles asked of Paul and Barnabas
    • was to remember the poor Jerusalem Christians;
    • that was exactly how Paul thought about it as well.

2. Up Again to Jerusalem (2:1-2)

1Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along with me. 2I 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.

Galatians 2:1-2, ESV

‘1Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas’.
As we have been saying Paul asserts that this is only the second time he has gone to Jerusalem since he was converted. The first time had been about three years after he was converted. Now in 2:1 Paul goes ‘up again’ for the second time about fourteen years after his conversion. The words ‘Then’ and ‘again’ strongly emphasize that Paul is not omitting any other visits to Jerusalem up to the time of this visit. This time Paul goes with Barnabas.

‘taking Titus along with me.’.
Paul also brings Titus with him on this visit. Of course there may have been others with Paul but Barnabas and Titus are germane to the the historical argument.

‘2I went up because of a revelation’.
Paul, by the words ‘I went up because of a revelation’ most likely refers to a specific communication from God to Paul to go up to Jerusalem at that time. We should not be surprised that God communicated with the apostle to the Gentiles in this way since Paul, in his letters, mentions multiple times when this type of communication occurred.

‘and set before them … the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles’.
God told Paul why he was to go to Jerusalem. Paul was to tell the pillars (Peter, James, John) of the Jerusalem church the substance of his gospel message. Paul qualifies this gospel message as that which he ‘proclaim[s] among the Gentiles’. But we must not suppose that he preached a different gospel when he went into the synagogues. He qualifies the message in this way to highlight the fact that it is the same gospel that the Pillars preach to the Jewish folks.

‘(though privately before those who seemed influential)’.
Paul made this presentation ‘privately’ to the pillars. The issue of whether or not Gentiles had to be circumcised to be saved was at this point best handled privately. But Paul would not be shy about the issue if necessary as we will see in Galatians 2:11ff. It takes good judgment and the leading of the Holy Spirit to know which way to handle these cases at times. We should probably not read too much into Paul’s description of the pillars as ‘those who seemed influential’. In verse 6 he will elaborate on his thinking about the pillars.

‘in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain.’.
Here Paul’s concern is the unity of the whole Church and the salvation of the Gentiles. He does not think he might be wrong. He thinks the whole Church needs to be united in the primary doctrines.

3. We Did Not Yield (2:3-5)

3But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4Yet 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— 5to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Galatians 2:3-5, ESV

In verses 3-5 Paul digresses from the main focus of this section. We will get to the main focus in 6-10. But this aside about Titus and circumcision is very pertinent to the overall argument which is that Paul correctly understands and preaches the gospel because he received it directly from the Lord.

‘3But even Titus, who was with me,’.
Titus was an important ministry colleague of Paul’s. Some scholars think that Paul brought Titus with him to Jerusalem as an exemplar of an uncircumcised and spiritually mature believer. Others think Paul brought Titus with him to force the issue of circumcision with his opponents. Titus probably also came to show that the Gentile Christians in Antioch cared about the poor Christians in Jerusalem.

‘was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek.’.
Even though Titus was a Gentile he was not compelled to be circumcised. Here in 2:3 Paul first brings up the problem of circumcision in this letter. Paul mentions this problem in multiple other letters as well. In first century Judaism you could not join the people of God (the Jewish people) unless you were circumcised. But Jesus told Nicodemus that ‘unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God’ (John 3:3). The circumcision party of Jewish Christians had a very different idea as we can see from Acts 15:1: ‘“Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”’. So the fact that Titus was not compelled to be circumcised was very important. The pillars did not agree with Paul’s opponents. They instead agreed with Paul.

‘4Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in’.
We will come back to these ‘false brothers’ in our conclusion. But Paul is calling them fake Christians or pseudo-brothers. The false brothers had sneaked into the churches. They are the instigators of the attempt to force Titus to be circumcised.

‘—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, …’.
The false brothers sneaked into the churches to determine if there were any uncircumcised Gentiles being admitted to those churches. They were in fact spying on the churches. They did not want anyone to so easily and freely be admitted to the churches.

‘… so that they might bring us into slavery—’.
The false brothers probably would have protested about calling their position slavery. But that is what Paul called it with very good reason. As we work through the letter we will see why Paul calls all forms of legalism slavery.

The words ‘freedom’ and ‘slavery’ refer to spiritual liberty from sin, death, and the wrath of God (salvation). Paul was not throwing the law away. He was not conflating law and gospel either. He was distinguishing law and gospel. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.

‘5to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment,’.
Paul would not submit to the false brothers’ slavery, not even for a very short time. Paul was willing to tolerate many things but corruption of the gospel was not something he could tolerate at all. During the Protestant Reformation freedom of conscience became a very important issue.

‘so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.’.
The ‘truth of the gospel’ was what Paul needed protect so that the gospel was preserve. Paul made this effort for the Galatians, for all Gentile believers, and really for all believers including us.

4. False Brothers (2:4)

3But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. 4Yet 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— 5to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you.

Galatians 2:3-5, ESV

I want to conclude with a brief analysis of the ‘false brothers’. Their goal was to enslave Gentile believers to the Law of Moses. Paul is calling them unbelievers here by calling them false brothers. They are not born again. They are not trusting in Christ alone by grace alone through faith alone.

I think that many today who call themselves Christians should admit that they are trying to save themselves. That is the essence of the false doctrines of those false brothers sneaking around trying to impose their own religion on true Christians. Trying to save oneself is also the essence of many so-called Christians in our own day.

We need to be on our guard for such belief systems. Satan would love to so distort the truth of the gospel that no one could be saved by hearing it. Recall the theological thesis of this letter:

15We ourselves are Jews by birth and not Gentile sinners; 16yet we know that a person is not justified by works of the law but through faith in Jesus Christ, so we also have believed in Christ Jesus, in order to be justified by faith in Christ and not by works of the law, because by works of the law no one will be justified.

Galatians 2:15-16, ESV