May 11, 20229 min read

Paul Was Accepted by the Apostles & Paul Opposed Peter. Bible Study. Galatians Ch 2

Here is a teaching on chapter 2 of the book of Galatians. If you want to check out previous Bible studies and chapters going forward, join our group here. Once you get added to that Facebook group, you can go to the "units" tab and you'll see all of the chapters and their study guides as they are being taught.

I did want to say a quick prayer... Lord, I pray that you lift up every single person reading this right now. Please give us knowledge and understanding to know exactly what it is that we are reading and the wisdom to implement it in our daily lives. Holy Spirit please guide us and help us to see the truth, know the truth, discern the truth, and live by the truth. I pray that whatever it is that each person is supposed to receive from this Bible study, they receive it and implement it in their daily lives. Lord, I can't thank you enough for every single thing that you've done and I am beyond grateful for you. I love you with every ounce of my being. In Jesus' name, Amen.

Galatians Chapter 2:

1 Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, this time with Barnabas. I took Titus along also. 2 I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I did this privately to those who seemed to be leaders, for fear that I was running or had run my race in vain. 3 Yet not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. 4 This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves. 5 We did not give in to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might remain with you.

Alright, so I am going to stop right there and discuss these verses with you guys here. So in verse 2, Paul had gone to Jerusalem in response to a revelation from God to go. God had called Paul to go to Jerusalem and he was led by the Holy Spirit. He didn't go because a man or a person told him to go. Paul approached the leaders of the church in private and he preached the gospel of Jesus to them, and the gospel that he preached is that Jesus dying on the cross was sufficient to forgive them of their sins. Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through him. The Gentiles didn't have to follow the laws of Moses to be saved by Jesus. What Paul means by "running his race" is doing his best to stay fully submitted to the will of God the Father and the mission that God gave him. Paul didn't doubt his message to the Gentiles but he thought that there may be a divide from the apostles if they didn't preach the same message that he preached.

In verse 3, it seems here that the apostles agreed with Paul and the Jewish leaders of the church accepted Titus even though he wasn't circumcised. In verses 4-5, some false brothers wanted to make all of the Christians slaves to the law and steal the freedom of the gentiles in Christ, so they tried to make it an issue that Titus wasn't circumcised. Paul and the others stood firm in their faith that Jesus is the only way to salvation and the Gentiles don't have to be circumcised in order to be saved by Jesus.

6 As for those who seemed to be important—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance—those men added nothing to my message. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the gentiles, just as Peter had been to the Jews. 8 For God, who was at work in the ministry of Peter as an apostle to the Jews, was also at work in my ministry as an apostle to the Gentiles. 9 James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews. 10 All they asked was that we should continue to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.

In verse 6, these Christians or leaders that were well known and highly respected didn't overly impress or intimidate Paul. He preached the gospel of Jesus because of revelation from God and he was guided by the Holy Spirit. These people had no influence on the gospel that Paul preached because it didn't come from man. In verses 7-10, the same God that was at work in the ministry of Peter was also at work in the ministry of Paul. We also see here that James, Peter, and John accepted and approved of Paul's ministry to the gentiles.

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11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. 13 The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

14 When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, “You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs?

15 “We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' 16 know that a man is not justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.

17 “If, while we seek to be justified in Christ, it becomes evident that we ourselves are sinners, does that mean that Christ promotes sin? Absolutely not! 18 If I rebuild what I destroyed, I prove that I am a lawbreaker. 19 “For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. 20 I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

Alright, so those are all of the verses of chapter 2 of the book of Galatians, but I'm going to discuss these verses with you guys here. So like we saw in our BIble studies from chapter 11 of the book of Acts in verses 1-18, Peter explained the vision that he had, and then through all the things that had happened in verses 1-15 he says in verses 16-17, 16 "Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17 So if God gave them the same gift as he gave us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I to think that I could oppose God?” Then the people that heard him say that didn't have any objections and they praised God saying that "God has granted even the Gentiles repentance unto life." Alright so back to what Paul said in verses 11-13 of chapter 2 of the book of Galatians, in verses 19-30 of chapter 11 of the book of Acts it talks about the church in Antioch and how some believers were telling the message only to the Jews in Antioch, Phoenicia, and Cyprus, but then there were men from Cyprus and Cyrene that went to Antioch and began to speak to the Greeks as well. It talks about the different people that were in Antioch spreading the gospel and how Barnabas went to Tarsus to look for Saul (which is Paul) and when he found him he brought him to Antioch. So even though it doesn't specifically say that Peter was in Antioch at the time, based on what Paul says in verses 11-13 of chapter 2 of the book of Galatians it seems that Peter was in Antioch and that Paul had opposed him to his face because before James had come with certain men he would eat with the Gentiles. Whenever James arrived, Peter began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles. Peter was being a hypocrite and the other Jews joined in on this hypocrisy and it even led Barnabas astray. In verse 14, Paul said that he told Peter in front of all of them that he was a Jew but he lived like a Gentile so how could he force the Gentiles to follow Jewish customs. As we know from the verses above, the Gentiles didn't need to follow the laws of Moses in order to be saved by Jesus. Peter was living his life like a Gentile and associating with other Gentiles, but whenever the other circumcised believers came around he would separate himself from the Gentiles and try to force the Jewish customs on them.

In verses 15-16, Paul is saying here that the only way to be justified is by faith in Jesus Christ. Observing the law will not justify anyone and those who are Jews by birth and not the Gentile "sinners" know that. So they have to put their faith in Christ Jesus and not try to force the law on anyone because salvation only comes from believing in Jesus Christ.

In verses 17-21, Christ doesn't promote sin but he died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and we are only forgiven whenever we ask Jesus for forgiveness, whenever we believe in him, and we are saved. Whenever we are saved then we are dead in our sins and we die to the law so that we may live for God. Whenever we are saved we are crucified with Christ and we have a new life through Christ Jesus. The life that we live in the body is by faith in the Son of God who died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and that is what Paul is saying here. As believers of Jesus Christ, we shouldn't live our life for ourselves but for Jesus Christ and we should seek to live and have a heart like him. We have to let the Holy Spirit guide us and be fully submitted to the will of God the Father. Following the law does not make you righteous and as Paul says in verse 21 if righteousness can be gained from the law then Christ died for nothing. Jesus Christ is the only way to be saved and observing the law does not get you into heaven. It's only by the grace of God that Jesus Christ died on the cross to forgive us of our sins and we have to believe in him and ask him to come into our hearts, and that is the only way to get into heaven and Paul knew that.

Here are 3 takeaways to write down:

1. Paul was sent by Jesus to preach the good news

2. There is no other good news than that of Jesus Christ

3. God can use and change anyone by His great power

Galatians Ch 2 Study Guide

In verses 1-2, why did Paul go up to Jerusalem?
Why did Paul approach the leaders in private?
In verse 4, why did these false believers try to make it an issue that Titus wasn’t circumcised?
Why did Paul preach the gospel of Jesus?
In verse 11, why did Paul oppose Peter?
What happens when Jesus saves us?
What is your biggest takeaway from this Bible study?

So that concludes this Bible study on chapter 2 of the Book of Galatians. Next week we're going to go into chapter 3, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

I love you guys so much.

Never forget to choose faith over fear.

-Lorena Camille (Faith Fuels My Fire)

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