Galatians 2

CHAPTER 2THEME: Experience of Paul with the apostles in Jerusalem; experience of Paul in Antioch with Peter; justification by faith statedNow we come to the second division of this personal section in Galatians. We have seen that the Lord Jesus Christ communicated the gospel directly to Paul. Was it the same gospel that the other apostles had received from the lips of the Lord? We will see the oneness of the gospel and Paul’s experience with the apostles in Jerusalem. We will see the communication of the gospel and see that the church in Jerusalem approved Paul’s gospel.

Galatians 2:1

EXPERIENCE OF PAUL WITH THE APOSTLES IN JERUSALEMIt was a master stroke of Paul to take Titus with him. Titus was a young preacher and a Gentile. This, I believe, was the first great council in Jerusalem as recorded in Acts 15. The question to be settled was whether men are saved by the grace of God, or whether they should come in under the Mosaic Law. Paul had Titus there as exhibit number one. Titus had not been circumcised. Will he be forced to become circumcised? This was to become a very important matter. You see, the Judaizers were going about saying that the church in Jerusalem held that all believers in Christ should be under the Mosaic Law. All of the men there at the Jerusalem church, which was an all-Jewish church, had certainly been under it. Many of them still went to the temple to worship. In fact, that must have been the Christian’s meeting place. Paul and Barnabas came there to get the official word regarding law and grace.

Galatians 2:2

Paul recognized that if he were preaching a different gospel from what the other apostles were preaching, there was something radically wrong. Paul was willing to admit, “If I were preaching a different gospel, I would be wrong. I have run in vain. I have certainly been disillusioned and misinformed.” So he goes to Jerusalem and communicates that gospel to the apostles there.

Galatians 2:3

Out where Paul was preaching some folk had come into the church under false colors. Apparently they were not believers. They just came in to spy out the liberty which believers had in Christ. They found out that this young preacher, Titus, was a Greek and Paul had not compelled him to be circumcised. So what will the church at Jerusalem decide about him? Paul says, “Well, they didn’t compel him to be circumcised. They didn’t listen to the false brethren. If they had, we would be put right back under the bondage of the Mosaic Law rather than enjoying the freedom by the Spirit of God and the freedom of Christ.”

Galatians 2:5

Paul stood by his guns. These false brethren said, “This man Titus who is here meeting with the church (and it was practically all Jewish then) has not even been circumcised!” Paul says, “No, and he’s not going to be circumcised. He is as much a believer as any of you. He has been saved by faith apart from the Law. He is not about to follow any part of the Law for salvation.” This is a tremendous stand that Paul is taking.

Galatians 2:6

Paul says, “We sat down with the apostles (at least he did, and I suppose Barnabas and Titus were there also) and communicated the gospel.” They said, “Now, Brother Paul, we’ve been hearing these reports. Tell us what you preach.” And Paul told them. Paul finds out that these apostles didn’t have anything to add to what he was preaching. He was preaching the grace of God; they were preaching the grace of God. They find they are in full agreement. They all are preaching the same gospel. This is tremendous!

Galatians 2:7

Let’s understand that there were not two gospels in the sense of Peter’s gospel and Paul’s gospel. These men were in complete agreement. The gospel of the circumcision and the gospel of the uncircumcision refer to the groups the gospel was going to. The Gentiles were the group that Paul was speaking to. He was called to go to the Gentiles, the uncircumcised. Peter was called to go to his own Jewish brethren who were the circumcised.

Galatians 2:8

The proof of the pudding, of course, is always in the eating. What results were they getting? When Peter preached the gospel, quite a few people were saved. When Paul preached the gospel, quite a few people were saved. They were both preaching the same gospel. Now bringing this principle down to where we live, the real test of any Christian work is not promotion. The real test is the result it gets. God’s people should be very sure that they are supporting a ministry that gets results. If it is not producing results, why in the world do you support it?

Galatians 2:9

The apostles accepted Paul’s apostleship. “The right hands of fellowship"fellowship is the Greek koinonia, one of the great words of the gospel and the highest expression of a personal relationship. It means sharing the things of Christ.

Galatians 2:10

Paul came back later with an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem because that church had been persecuted and was in a sad condition. Because Paul himself before his conversion had led the persecution, he wanted to bring the gift for the Jerusalem church with his own hands. This was social service. A thing that we fundamentalists are guilty of is a lack of real service in this area. James, in his very practical epistle, says, “If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone” (Jas_2:15-17). And the apostles there in Jerusalem said, “Now, Brother Paul, don’t forget to help the poor folk.” And Paul said, “That was the very thing I was eager to do.”

Galatians 2:11

EXPERIENCE OF PAUL IN ANTIOCH WITH PETERIn this personal section of Paul’s life we have seen his experience in Arabia with the Lord Jesus Christ, and his experience with the apostles in Jerusalem. Now we see Paul’s experience in Antioch with Simon PeterI love this section. The church in Antioch was largely a gentile church, although it was a mixture of Jew and Gentile. We will not understand what happened there unless we consider how the early church operated. They had a love feast which was held in connection with the Lord’s Supper. Paul has a great deal to say about this subject in 1 Corinthians. The early believers came together for a meal, a love feast, before they celebrated the Lord’s Supper. When Gentiles were saved, a problem was raised.

In the congregation were Jews who had never eaten anything which had been sacrificed to idols. The Gentiles had been idolaters, and they were accustomed to eating meat that had first been offered to idols. They also ate pork and other animals designated as unclean in the law of Moses. It made no difference to them because they had been reared that way. What was going to be done to keep from offending the Jewish Christians? Well, in Antioch two tables were established. One was the kosher table; the other was the gentile table. Paul ate at the gentile table. Although he was a Jew, he ate with the Gentiles because he taught that whether you eat meat or you don’t eat meat makes no differencemeat will not commend you to God. When Simon Peter came up to visit Paul in Antioch, it was a new experience for him because, although converted, he had never eaten anything unclean. Remember what Peter told the Lord on the roof in Joppa before he went to the home of Cornelius. He had a vision of heaven opening and a sheet being lowered in which were all kinds of unclean animals. “And there came a voice to him, Rise, Peter; kill, and eat. But Peter said, Not so, Lord; for I have never eaten any thing that is common or unclean. And the voice spake unto him again the second time, What God hath cleansed, that call not thou common” (Act_10:13-15). Peter had been a believer for some time when he came to visit Paul in Antioch, but he had still followed the Jewish eating pattern. When Peter came to the church, he found there a gentile table and a kosher table. Now notice Peter’s reaction: Now this is probably what happened. When the time came to eat, Simon Peter went over to the kosher table, while Paul went over to the gentile table. Peter noticed that there was pork roast on the gentile table. After dinner Peter joined Paul and they went outside for a little walk. Peter said, “I noticed that you ate at the gentile table.” “Yes,” Paul said. “And I noticed that you ate pork tonight. Is it good?

I never have tasted it.” “Yes,” Paul said, “it’s delicious.” Then Peter asked, “Do you think it would be all right if I ate over there?” And Paul said, “Well, it is my understanding that we are going to have some nice pork chops in the morning for breakfast. Why don’t you try it?” So in the morning when he came to breakfast, he went over to the gentile table, sat down gingerly and rather reluctantly took a pork chop. After he had tasted it, he said to Paul, “It is delicious, isn’t it?” Paul said, “Yes. After all, under grace you can either eat it or not eat it. It makes no difference. Meat won’t commend you to God.” So Simon Peter said, “I’ll be here tonight and I understand you are having ham tonight.

I want to try that.” So at dinner time he starts rushing for the gentile table when he looks over and sees some of the elders from the Jerusalem church who had come to visit also. So Simon Peter went all the way around that gentile table, went over to the kosher table, and sat down like a little whipped puppy. Paul saw him do that, and this is what happened:

Galatians 2:13

It was all right for Peter to eat at either table, kosher or Gentile. But after he had been eating at the gentile table and for fear of the brethren from Jerusalem goes back to the kosher table, he is saying by his action that the gentile table is wrong and the kosher table is right. Now these brethren from Jerusalem were austere legalists. And under grace that was their privilege. I have no objection to folk today who feel that they should not eat certain meats. But they are also to give me the liberty of eating what I choose to eat. Frankly, I do not eat much pork myself for health reasons. But it is not a religious matter at all. Simon Peter turned from the liberty he had in Christ back to Judaism again. The nature of Paul’s rebuke shows, first of all, the inconsistency of lawkeeping. If it was right for Simon Peter to live as the gentile believers lived, why should he desire the Gentiles to live as the Jews? That is what he was saying when he left the gentile table for the kosher table. If gentile living under grace apart from the Law was good enough for Peter, was it bad for the Gentiles themselves? If Simon Peter was free to live outside the Law, was it not lawful for the Gentiles to do the same?

Galatians 2:15

DOCTRINALJUSTIFICATION BY FAITHThis brings us to the doctrinal section of this marvelous epistle, which deals with justification by faith. In this section Paul takes his position as a Jew. The Jew in that day looked upon the Gentile as a sinner. In fact, Gentile and sinner were synonymous terms. Therefore, the rebuke that Paul gave shows the folly of lawkeepinghow really foolish it is.

Galatians 2:16

This is a clear-cut and simple statement of justification by faith. Believe me, the legalist has trouble with this verse. I once heard a legalist preach on it, and it was certainly a travesty of interpretation. This verse will upset every legal system there is today. To say that you have to add anything to faith in Christ absolutely mutilates the gospel. Notice what Paul says here. If a Jew had to leave the Law behindthat is, forsake itin order to be justified by faith, Paul’s question is, “Why should the Gentile be brought under the Law?” That was the great argument at the council of Jerusalem in Acts 15: “Should the Gentile be brought under the Law?” Thank God, the answer, guided by the Spirit of God, was that the Gentile was not under the Law for salvationnot for his daily living, as he was called to a much higher plane. Could the Gentile find justification under the Law when the Jew had already proven that it was impossible? The Jews had had the Law for almost fifteen hundred years and had not been able to keep the Law at all. Why force the Gentile under that which had not saved even one Israelite? Gentile believers were already justified by grace. It would be folly for the Gentiles to turn from grace to the Law which had been unable to justify the Jew. “Knowing that a man.” Now let’s pick this verse apart. This is something you can knowyou can know whether you are saved or not. What kind of “man” is this verse speaking about? Anthropos is the Greek word, a generic term meaning “mankind.” It speaks of the solidarity of the race, the common humanity that we all have. This breaks the social barrier of color. It breaks the barrier of race. It breaks the social barrier. All men are on one level before the Cross, and that level happens to be “sinner.” You are a sinner. I am a sinner. I don’t care who you are, you are a sinner in God’s sight. “Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law"the word the is not in the original; so it should read “not justified by works of law.” This includes the Mosaic system, and it includes any legal system. This is what I mean: if you say that you have to join a certain church, or that you have to have a certain experience, or that you have to be baptized to be saved, you are contradicting this verse. “Knowing that a man is not justified by works of law"any law. Paul embraces the whole legal system that is found in every religion. This makes Christianity different from every religion on topside of the earth. Every religion that I know anything aboutand I have studied many of the cults and religions of this worldinstruct us to do something. Christianity is different.

It tells us that we are justified by faith; that is, faith is an accomplished act and fact for you. Every other religion says do. Christianity says done. The great transaction is done, and we are asked to believe it. Let me call your attention to an important verse in 1 Corinthians: “Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost” (1Co_12:3). Now the question for you and me is: how can we call Jesus accursed? If you say to me, “McGee, when you came to Christ and accepted Him as your Savior, you didn’t get all that was coming to you. The Holy Spirit can give you something that you didn’t get in Christ, and you ought to seek that today?” My friend, to do that depreciates the work of the Lord Jesus on the cross when He came to this earth to die for you and work out a salvation so perfect that when He went back to heaven He sat down at the right hand of God (see Heb_1:3). He sat down because there was nothing else to be done. If there had been anything else, He would have done it before He sat down.

When you say that He didn’t do it all for me, you are saying that Jesus is accursed. And you can’t say that by the Holy Spirit of God. That is, you are not giving me the word of the Holy Spirit. Jesus said, “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you” (Joh_16:13-14). My friend, when you came to Christ, He gave you everything you will need in this life.

Christ is the One who administers all the gifts. The Holy Spirit is the One who gives them, but He is working down here under the supervision of the second Person of the Godhead. The Lord Jesus Christ is the Head of the church. My friend, we have everything in Him. He is the Alpha and the Omega. He is the Amenand when you say “amen,” you are through, my friend.

Christ did it all. This verse is so clear it is impossible to misunderstand it. “Knowing that a man (any human beingman or woman, black or white, rich or poor, Roman, American, Chinese) is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ.” It is not faith plus something; it is faith plus nothing. The verse continues: “even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ.” Who does Paul mean by “we”? He includes himself, meaning we Israelites. He is saying that he and his fellow Jews had to leave the Law, come to Christ, and trust Him in order to be justified by the faith of Christ rather than by the works of law. The conclusion of this verse is so clear I feel that anybody can understand it: “for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Let’s not depreciate the work of the Lord Jesus by saying that we didn’t get everything from Him. I was a hell-doomed sinner. I trusted Him as my Savior, and I received a perfect salvation from Him. Now the next verse, I am frank to say, is a little more difficult to understand.

Galatians 2:17

The word justified is the Greek dikaioo, which means “to declare a person right,” or “to make him right.” We are declared to be right by our faith in Jesus Christ. It means that a sinner who is guilty before God, who is under condemnation and judgment, is declared to be right with God on the basis of his faith in the redemption which we have in Christ. It is not only forgiveness of sins, which is subtraction; it is the addition of the righteousness of Christ. He is declared righteous. The righteousness I have is not my own righteousness, because my righteousness is not acceptable; but I have a perfect righteousness which is Christ. The sense of this verse seems to be this: Since the Jew had to forsake the Law in order to be justified by Christ and therefore take his place as a sinner, is Christ the One who makes him a sinner? Paul’s answer is, “Of course not.” The Jew, like the Gentile, was a sinner by nature. He could not be justified by the Law, as he demonstrated. This same thought was given by Peter in his address before the great council at Jerusalem: “Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they” (Act_15:10-11). You see, Peter and Paul were in agreement on the doctrine of justification by faith.

Galatians 2:18

In other words, Paul is saying, “If I go back under law, I make myself a transgressor.” However he is free from the Law. How did he become free from the Law?

Galatians 2:19

Paul is saying, “When Christ died, He died for me. He died in my stead because the Law had condemned me.” You see, the Law was a ministration of condemnation; a ministration of death is what Paul calls it in 2Co_3:7. It condemns me. Even under the legal system God would have had to destroy the nation Israel. But He gave the sacrificial systemfive sacrificesall of them pointing to Christ. God, by His marvelous grace, was able to save.

Therefore the mercy seat was a throne of grace where a nation could find forgiveness of sins. The Law, therefore, condemned me. The Law has accused man. We stand guilty before the Law. So the Law actually is responsible for Jesus’ dying for us. The Law condemned ussaid we had to die.

All right now, if I am dead to the Law, then I am no longer responsible to the Law. The Law has already killed me. It has executed me, and I am deaddead to the Law. Therefore, the Law could not do for me what Christ has done for me. He not only took my place and died for me, but He also did something else. He was able to give me life.

He came back from the dead. You see, the Law arrested, condemned, sentenced, and slew usthat is all the Law could do for us. If you want to come by the Law route, you’ll get death. Only Christ can give you life. And, after all, life is what we need today.

Galatians 2:20

This verse states a fact which is true of every believer. We are not to seek to be crucified with Christ. I have been to many young people’s conferences, and I do not think I am exaggerating when I say that I have seen thousands of young people accept Christ. I have also heard many of those young people at testimony meetings quote verse Gal_2:20 as they put a faggot on the fire. They did not know any more about what this verse means than does a goat grazing on a hillside. There are many people today who talk about wanting to live the “crucified” life. That is not what Paul is talking about in this verse. We are not to seek to be crucified with Christ. We have already been crucified with Him. The principle of living is not by the Law which has slain us because it found us guilty. Now we are to live by faith. Faith in what? Faith in the Son of God. You see, friend, the death of Christ upon the cross was not only penal (that is, paying the penalty for our sins), but it was substitutionary also. He was not only the sacrifice for sin; He was the substitute for all who believe. Paul declares, therefore, that under the Law he was tried, found guilty, was condemned, and in the person of his Substitute he was slain. When did that take place? It took place when Christ was crucified. Paul was crucified with Christ. But “nevertheless I live.” How do I live? In Christ. He is alive today at God’s right hand. We are told that we have been put in Christ. You cannot improve on that. That ought to get rid of the foolish notion that we can crucify ourselves. When I was a pastor in Los Angeles, a young man came to me after a service and asked, “Dr. McGee, are you living the crucified life?” I think I rather startled the boy when I replied, “No, I am not.” Then I asked him, “Are you?” He hesitated for a moment and then said, “Well, I am trying to.” Then I told him, “That is not the question you asked me. You wanted to know if I am living the crucified life. I told you no. Now you tell me yes or no about your life. Are you living the crucified life?” Once again he replied, “I am trying to.” I said to him, “You are either living it, or you are not living it.

The fact of the matter is you cannot live it.” “Oh,” he said, “why can’t I?” So I pointed out to him that there is something interesting to note about crucifixion. You can commit suicide in many different ways. You can hang yourself, shoot yourself, take poison, jump off a high building, or jump in front of a truck. There are many ways to end your life, but you cannot crucify yourself. When you nail one hand to the cross, who is going to nail your other hand to the cross? You cannot do it yourself.

You must understand what Paul is talking about when he says, “I am crucified with Christ.” Paul was crucified with Christ when Christ died. Christ died a substitutionary death. He died for Paul. He died for you. He died for me. In Romans 6 we are told that we have been buried with Christ by baptism, by identification. We have been raised with Him in newness of life, and now we are joined to the living Christ. Paul says that we do not know Him any more after the flesh. He is not the Man of Galilee walking around the Sea of Galilee. I walked about in that area some time ago and did not see Him; He is not there today. He is at God’s right hand. He is the glorified Christ. Paul is saying, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live.” You see, the Law executed us. The Law could not give us life. Who gave us life? “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live.” How do you live? “Yet not I, but Christ liveth in me.” My friend, that is the important thing. He died for me down here that I might live in Him up yonder and that He might live in me down here. “And the life,” Paul says, “which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God.” What kind of life is this? It is a life of faithsaved by faith, live by faith, walk by faith. This is what it means to walk in the Spirit. “I live by the faith of the Son of God"how tender this is"who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Christ loved me, but He could not love me into heaven. He had to give Himself for me. The gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus. You can receive a gift only by faith. This applies to any gift, for that matter. You have to believe that the giver who holds out the gift to you is sincere. You must believe that he is telling the truth when he holds it out to you and says, “It is yours.” You have to reach out in faith and take it before it belongs to you. God offers you the gift of eternal life in Christ Jesus. The content of this verse leads me to believe that Paul was present at the crucifixion of Christ. Paul was a Pharisee, and they were the ones who led in the Crucifixion. Paul was a leader in the persecution of the church. He was also one who hated the Lord Jesus Christ. He probably was attending school in Jerusalem, in the school of Gamaliel, at the time of the Crucifixion. I cannot believe this zealous young man would stay home on the day Jesus was crucified. The Scriptures tell us that the Pharisees ridiculed Jesus. They told Him to come down from the cross. Then they sat down and watched Him dieyou cannot sink any lower than that. I believe Paul was there that day. Now after Paul came to know the glorified Christ, the One who died down here, the One who rose again and is at God’s right hand, Paul could remember that day and say, “While I was there ridiculing Him, shooting out the lip at Him, expressing my hatred for Him, He loved me and He gave Himself for me!” He gave Himselfthe supreme sacrifice. Paul called himself the chief of sinners, which was not hyperbole or an oratorical gesture. It was an actual fact; he was the chief of sinners. My friend, you can tread underfoot the precious blood of Christ by ignoring Him, turning away from Him, or turning against Him as Paul did. But it was for that crowd that Jesus prayed, “…Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do …” (Luk_23:34). Even if you hate Him, He was loving you and giving Himself for you.

Galatians 2:21

The main thought in this verse is simply that if there had been any other way to save sinners, then God would have used that method. If a law or a religion could have been given that would save sinners, God would have given it. The only way that an infinite God could save you and me was to send His Son to die. He was willing to make the supreme sacrifice.