|
GALATIANS Chapter 2 "After Paul's Conversion, in Jerusalem [1-14]." This Bible Study is provided by http://www.theseason.org with permission from it's author R. Christopherson. There are some false brethren in Galatia, and Paul is going to correct them and give instruction to the churches in Galatia as to how to deal with them. After Paul had been there and taught them that discipline that we have in Christ, it seemed that there were many that wanted to put themselves back under the ceremonies of the old laws and customs of the traditions of the Jews. They wanted to follow the old laws, statutes and ordinances as part of their salvation. It just wasn't necessary. Paul is relating to them that he didn't learn the gospel of Christ from men, but he learned from God Himself. God chose him from before the foundations of this world age. Paul was an exceptional student of God's Word, who studied under one of the greatest scholars of God's Word. In this second chapter of Galatians Paul continues to relate to these churches the authority that he has in preaching God's Word. Galatians 2:1 "Then fourteen years after, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, and took Titus with me also." So we see that fourteen years after that first missionary journey, and Paul's short visit with Peter, they still have these hang-ups of hanging on to the old ways and traditions, and binding the Christians with parts of the old ways. As we look around the church world today many churches are doing the same thing as Paul is addressing here. There are many legalist church doctrines that are accepted as part of the Christianity, and many feel that they just can't let them go. You might call them their security blanket. 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." To go up by revelation, means that God told Paul to go to Jerusalem, and that also was not an order by man. Paul wanted to tell the leaders of the church at Jerusalem exactly what God had revealed to Him, and explain what he was lead to teach in the gospel to the Gentiles. This was the gospel that Jesus Christ had given him personally after his conversion, and it was important that the other apostles were aware of the reasons for Paul's teachings. Galatians 2:3 "But neither Titus, who was with me, being a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised:" All blood sacrifices, including circumcision were nailed to the cross of Christ. Circumcision was of the Jews of the Old Testament, and in the death of Jesus Christ, all need for blood sacrifices were ended. This is not saying that circumcision is not good, but don't make it a religious issue, one that is demanded in Christian practices, but do it only for health reasons. Titus was a Gentile, with one of his parents of Israel, and the other a Greek. Even though at this time he was not circumcised, at a latter time he became circumcised. He did it because he felt that it was better to go along with it then to spend the time defending himself when the gospel should be preached. 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:" The "false brethren" is not referring to Peter and James and the rest of the Apostles, but this is talking about those Kenites that were the spies for the religious leaders, and planted there to cause confusion in the Christian community. These religious spies were planted for the sole purpose of bringing the Christians at Jerusalem back into bondage with their old rules, traditions and customs. The next question is; how do you spy on a man to find out if he is not circumcised? It is obvious that it can only be done in one way, and this should alert you to the type of people that these Kenite fake Christians were. Galatians 2:5 To whom we gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour; that the truth of the gospel might continue with you." Paul made it clear that neither he nor Titus or Barnabas listen to these babblings for one moment, that would have brought them under the subjection to the old laws and ordinances. 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:" However those that claimed to be the great men of God, the super preachers tried to sway men to their teaching, but there was not one thing that they added to my teaching of the gospel of Christ. Paul could cite the Torah inside and out, yet these people claimed to be super preachers, and Paul would have nothing to do with their man made regulation. This is even common today, where many so called super preachers like to peddle their legalism, and when it comes to the Word of God, they give out much and yet understand very little of it. 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;" Paul is calling attention that the ceremonial statutes, and blood sacrifices just did not exist any longer. It doesn't matter if you are of the circumcision or uncircumcision, Jew or Gentile, laws governing blood ordinances just doesn't exist any longer since Jesus went to the cross. Now though, these leaders at Jerusalem were beginning to see what Paul's gospel to the Gentiles was all about. Galatians 2:8 "(For He That wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)" In other words, the Holy Spirit, the leading of God, and the revelation that Jesus Christ gave to Paul made Paul an apostle of God. 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." When James, Cepas [Peter], and John came to understand the teaching that Christ had given to Paul, they gave Paul and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship, which means their support. They now understood what Paul was teaching, and exactly where Paul's ministry was to go. This then is the start of two separate ministries; Peter and the apostles to the circumcision, the house of Judah, and Paul to the Gentiles, as well as the ten tribes that had been scattered. Notice here also that Paul refers to Peter as "Cephas", the name that Jesus Christ called Peter. It is Aramic for the word "rock", and is in reference to John 1:42; "And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, He said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt be called Cephas," (which is by interpretation, A stone.)" Though there will now be two messages, both missionary ministries will seek out those that have eyes to see and ears to hear and understand the salvation message of Jesus Christ. God will use each of these men, even though their ministries seem to heading in different directions, the gospel of Jesus Christ of the love of God is still the same, and the offer of forgiveness to those that will believe in Jesus Christ and repent of their sins, there is complete forgiveness for sins, and freedom to those bonds that would hold you down. In every generation there has been a remnant that knew the truth, and who has understood when the Word of God was presented to them. Galatians 2:10 "Only they would that we should remember the poor; the same which I also was forward to do." Paul agreed with the church in Jerusalem that they must always remember the poor, even though Paul would not receive monetary gifts for the preaching of the Word. Paul was a tent maker, and he worked and paid his own way while preaching the Word of God. However, where ever Paul would go he took offerings to send to the poor, who were the Christians locked up in Jerusalem. The Church leaders in Jerusalem are now reminding Paul also to keep up the sending of gifts to help the needy Christians there. The persecution of Christians by the Kenite religious leaders was the greatest in Jerusalem and to commit your life to Jesus Christ meant a loss of your earthly wealth. Galatians 2:11 "But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed." Paul is getting bold here, as he is reminding these Church leaders and apostles what had happened many years ago in Antioch. Paul had arrived in Antioch first, and later Peter came to teach at Antioch with Paul. While Peter was with these converted Gentiles in Antioch, Peter sat down and ate what the Gentiles ate, which was against the Jewish laws and customs. Galatians 2:12 "For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision." Then when the church leaders from Jerusalem came up to Antioch, Peter pulled away from these Gentiles and wanted to separated himself from them. Peter was ashamed of having been caught eating food from the Gentile Christians. The problem in the minds of the church leaders from Jerusalem, was that the ceremonial customs of washing were not heeded, and the food itself may not have conformed to the strict methods of preparation required by the old laws. It is not unusual even in our day that when people hold a tradition to be very high, and when the leaders of a church come around, the people will go out of their way to place emphasis that they are keeping that tradition. Even to the point of calling attention to it. Peter was trying to go with the flow here, and impress his elders, and Paul didn't like it. It is important that you protect your credibility in the community and not cause contention, but don't become a people pleaser. God doesn't like it, and to amount to something, you have to stand for something. This is what discipline in the Word is all about, to know and understand the Word, and stand in what you believe to be right. Peter had a little problem in making that stand when on his own, yet God used that to demonstrate a point to establish Paul's ministry, and allowing the Jerusalem leaders to accept Paul. When Peter was away from the circumcision of Jerusalem, he did not follow the customs of sprinkling before you wash, and all the other traditional bathing ceremony that came before you ate. It simply didn't matter to him how the food was prepared, or ever what the food was. However, now when they had arrived in Antioch, Peter was back following the traditions with James, and the other Jews. This was not just a matter of washing to be clean for the dinner. This also was the reason that Jesus Christ was not accepted by the Jewish Leaders when He was on earth during His ministry. They called Him a wine bibber and an eater with the publicans. Many people believe that this does away with the health laws, but the health laws of the Bible are not blood ordinances, they are just common sense of what you should and should not eat. One of the misconceptions of the Gentiles was that they always ate things that were strangled, and that is not always true. Even the Gentiles knew that any time you strangle an animal for eating, that meat will not keep. So basically the majority of peoples bled all animals that they partook of. Today it doesn't matter where you go in the world, all slaughtering operations bleed the animals. Galatians 2:13 "And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation." Later after this incident Barnabas had a falling out with Barnabas, and many think that this is what it was all about. That the friction started with this very happening, and for these reasons. 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?" Paul is saying to Peter, lets use a little common sense. Just because you don't want to live as the Gentiles do, why then would you make them conform to your laws and customs. Why are you trying to put our burdens on them? The prime root to the problem is that no person can be saved by the law through their living. The reason is that we all fall short, and where Christ has given us life and Grace through the washing away of our sins, we have a way of forgiveness open to us. There is only one way that we can find that perfection within us and that is upon repentance, to have Christ blood cleanse us. Not even the Israelite could do this under the law. My friend, if you are going to go by the law, and if you break even the least part of the law, then you are condemned as if you have broken them all. It is a matter of all or nothing. There is no salvation or eternal life in the law. So Paul is asking these Christian leaders in Jerusalem what they are trying to do here, when they are hanging on to the old Jewish customs, and forcing it on the Gentiles. Galatians 2:15 "We who are Jews by nature, and not sinners of the Gentiles, " Galatians 2:16 "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified." There was only one entity in the flesh that has ever been justified, and He is Jesus Christ. Though we try and strive to live and maintain the law within us, there comes a time when each of us in the flesh will loose it, and break part of the law. When that happens it is as if you have broken the entire law, in the eyes of God. It is impossible for any one to keep the law, and even to say your are pure within the law is a lie, and breaks the entire law before God. "Justified" in the Strong's numbered Greek Dictionary is # 1344; "Dikaioo, dik-ah-yo'-o, to render (e.i. show or regard as) just or innocent: free, justified righteous." We fall short under the law of God's standard, and no one can be justified by the law, which is to say to be made innocent and made perfect by the law. The law is given only to condemn, and that is why we need Christ to obtain salvation. Your perfection must come through your faith in Jesus Christ. That "faith" is to believe on Jesus Christ, that He was the Son of God, and in shedding His blood, He has the power and the love to forgive our sins when we come to that cross in repentance. You come to the cross by knowing in your mind that that is how it is, and believing in your heart and mind that Christ's death on the cross is all that is necessary for the full payment for all your sins. Jesus Christ was the only perfect one that could die on the cross to fulfill the prophecies of the Old Testament that God promised would come. Have you ever stopped to think that out of the billions of souls that have ever lived on their earth in the flesh, that there has only been one that was perfect? That one person is Jesus Christ, and He went to the suffering and shame of the cross so that you could have the right to approach your creator, our Heavenly Father and repent and receive eternal life of your soul. Sure the flesh will grow old and in the end die, but the part of you that gives life and feeling to that body of you will never die, when you are under the blood of Christ that was shed on the cross. It is a gift that no one else can offer you, but as a gift it has to be received and you receive your salvation when you repent of your sins, in Jesus name, and accept it. Then by "faith" you let the guilt of those sins go from your mind. Friend, when you accept an apology in the flesh from another, you don't hold contempt for that person anymore, and that is exactly what God is doing for you. When you accept the gift of God, Christ's death on the cross, and you believe in your mind that Christ's blood is all that is necessary for the forgiveness of your sins, God will blot out those sins from the record in heaven that you would be judged. John 3:16 "God so loved this world [His Children of this world age], that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever shall believe in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." Galatians 2:17 "But if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid." Paul is asking them if we seek to be judged under the mercy that is given us by the blood of Christ, does this mean that Jesus Christ Himself was a minister of sin? No way. Galatians 2:18 "For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor." If after Christ paid the price with his blood to remove all the ceremonial blood rituals, such as circumcision, along with many other things, if I destroyed the old ways through my accepting Christ and believing His gospel, then I would make myself a transgressor if I bring those old ceremonies and blood rituals back into my religion. In other words, Christ is either true, or He isn't. Salvation by faith is either true, or it is a lie. You can't have it both ways. Paul is telling these Church leaders in Jerusalem, that you can't have it both ways, for when you bind the Gentiles by the law then you bring them back under the law, and you make to no avail what Christ did on the cross. My friend, I assure you that it is the truth, Salvation comes only through the blood of Christ when it is accepted and believed in a repented heart before the Heavenly Father. Galatians 2:19 "For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God." The law would make us all dead in the end because we all fall short of God's laws. When those evil thoughts pop into your mind from time to time, that is your flesh trying to take control of you mind and soul. What do you do with them? Have you ever yielded to any of those thoughts? When you yield to even one of them, you have broken the entire law. Do you see now, why we need the blood of Christ, for when one of those thoughts causes us to react, we sin and that sin needs to be repented in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Father. This is why repentance is a daily thing while we are in the flesh, for as long as your life in your flesh body, those thoughts will come, and cause you to do and say things that are against God's law. Many times our jealousy and pride take hold before we can get them under control, and we say and do things that later we know we should not have. This is the freedom that you have in Christ, that when you repent you are freed from the guilt of those sins, and are assured that God will not remember them nor judge you for them either. It is a gift from our Heavenly Father just to you. Remember that God can read your thoughts and you can't hide anything from Him and don't try. You just can't make it under the law, and don't try. It is only through repentance and the perfection that is in Christ is their forgiveness and eternal life. Galatians 2:20 "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." I was crucified with Christ when I was baptized in the death burial and resurrection of Christ, and through Christ I live. Yet I will never live a perfect life in the flesh, but while I am living in the flesh, I will live by my faith in the Son of God who is Jesus Christ. Jesus though enough of you and I that he shed His blood on the cross, whereby when we do fall short, with Christ in us, Our Heavenly Father will forgive us. In the flesh we are week, but in believing in the death burial and resurrection of Christ, and the shedding of His blood, and by inviting Him into your heart, mind body and soul, at least you will have a little perfection about you. Our Heavenly Father is offering eternal life to you just for making the step of accepting His Son as the covering for your sins. Galatians 2:21 "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." Paul is saying that he does not want to make this sound confusing, but if you will take up all those old ceremonies, and blowing your pride and calling yourselves perfect through your following of those old laws and customs, then you have made the righteousness in Christ dead and vain. Don't make your circumcision, and the health laws part of religion, and tie it to your salvation, but use common sense and see them for what they are. They were given to keep you healthy while you are living in the flesh, and those things of the law have nothing to do with your salvation. All the blood that can ever be shed for salvation has already been shed when the Kenite Jews sent Christ to the cross for the perfect sacrifice. If you are going to bring all of the legalism back into your faith and religion, and feel that you must keep the law for salvation, then you are not going to make it. It is one or the other; Christ's shed blood on the cross, or keeping of the whole law. In placing yourself under any part of the law for salvation, you are making Christ to die in vain. If your church today is not teaching about the Kenite, those that claim to be of our brother Judah, and are not but are of the Synagogue of Satan, and making that very clear, you had better be on guard. God's Word backs it up over and over, then you are not in a church that God is pleased with. It is absolute and it doesn't take a very intelligent person reading Revelation chapters two and three to understand that. So be careful as to how you allow people to lead you, that you are not led by these false brethren into false doctrine. You are betting your eternal life on what you accept to be the truth and follow. In most cases today your betting your eternal life on their system. Even in the Jerusalem Church mixed amongst the Apostles that Paul was addressing here were these Kenites that would spy out the true believer in Christ, and try to bring them back under the subjection of their laws and traditions. Keep in mind as you attend any denominational church house today. There is not one Church denomination that teach what the founders of that denomination taught. Each one has varied to different degrees, and some have changed to a complete 180 degree change, to head in the exact opposite direction for their church system. Think for yourself, and let the Word of God by your final instruction, and study your Father's Word because Christ did not die in vain.
Home .~ Plough .~ Seeds .~ Vine .~ Potter .~ Seasons .~ Sonshine .~ Rain .~ Field |