232 Galatians 2 - a podcast by Dr David Petts - Pentecostal preacher, former AoG Bible College Principal

Galatians   Talk 4   Galatians 2

So far in this series we have seen that Paul’s purpose in writing Galatians was to correct a serious doctrinal error. Some were teaching that faith in Christ was not sufficient for salvation and that obedience to the law of the Old Testament, especially with regard to circumcision, was required as well. The situation was so serious that Paul went so far as to say that if anybody preached a gospel other than the one that he had preached and which the Galatians had accepted, they should be eternally condemned!

 

If this seems rather strong, we need to remember that our only hope of salvation is through believing that Jesus took the punishment our sins deserved when he died on the cross. This and this alone is all that is necessary for salvation. To teach that something else is necessary is to deny the efficacy of Christ’s sacrifice (v21) and encourages people to put their hope in a false ‘gospel’ by trying to get right with God by our own good works.

 

In defence of the gospel he preached, Paul begins in chapter 1 by making it clear to his readers that:

·       He had not received it from any human source.

·       He had received it from Jesus Christ himself by personal revelation.

And as we saw last time, Paul’s determination not only to preach that message, but also to defend it at all costs, was emboldened by three things:

1.     He remembered the futility of his old way of life

2.     His sole desire was to please God

3.     He knew God had called him.

Now, as we move into chapter 2, Paul continues to speak of his own experience (1-10).

He bases his argument against the need for circumcision on the fact that when he had gone up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, James and John:

 

·       They had not compelled Titus to be circumcised although he was Gentile (3)

·       They had added nothing to his message (6)

·       They had endorsed his ministry to the Gentiles (7-10).

It was important for Paul to stress these things because the Judaizers, with their insistence on obedience to the Jewish law,  probably felt a loyalty to the apostles in Jerusalem and he needed to make it clear that they had endorsed his message. These points will become clear as we now read verses 1-10, which I shall read without further comment.

 

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 brothers 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.

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.

 

However, although Paul was glad of the approval of these brothers, he was not afraid to point out the inconsistency of Peter on these matters. In verses 11-13 he says:

 

11 When Peter came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was clearly in the wrong. 12 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?

 

Peter

Peter was afraid and hypocritical. He was not infallible. He was in the wrong.

He was still capable of giving in to the fear of what others might think of him (cf. his denial of Jesus).

This was after Jesus had forgiven him and after he had been filled with the Spirit at Pentecost.

This shows that the baptism in the Spirit is not an experience of entire sanctification, as some have taught.

If our actions are not consistent with our professed beliefs, we may lead others astray.

 

Paul

Paul was not afraid to confront Peter publicly.

He opposed him to his face (not behind his back).

He told Peter first, before telling others about it (e.g. writing to the Galatians).

Confronting people when they are in the wrong takes courage. But if we don’t speak up, we may be guilty of condoning their attitude and actions by our silence.

 

The beginning of the theological argument (15-21)

Having made his case from his own personal experience, Paul now uses the substance of what he had said to Peter to begin his theological argument.

 

"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!"

 

I’m not intending to deal with all these verses in detail. We’ll be concentrating on verses 19-20. But first my attempt at a paraphrase of verses 15-18, the meaning of which is not immediately clear.

 

15-16 Paul appeals to the experience of his Jewish Christian readers. They have put their faith in Jesus Christ and they know that no one can be saved by observing the law.

 

17 But that doesn’t mean that, although we still sometimes sin after we are saved, the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ is promoting sin (cf. Romans 6:1).

 

18 If we rebuild the law after we have rejected it as a way of salvation, by our inability to keep it we will only prove that we are breakers of the law.

 

But now let’s turn our attention to verses 19-20.

 

19  For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God.

 

What does Paul mean by died to the law?

It’s probably best to understand this as meaning that Paul started to think of himself as dead as far as the law was concerned. Compare Romans 6:11, where he says something similar:

 

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

 

As we shall see later in the series, the law was given to make us aware of our need of Christ because of our inability to keep it in its entirety. We are to think of ourselves as dead to the law because obedience to it cannot save us.

 

When Paul was confronted by the risen Christ on the Damascus Road, the direction of his life was completely changed. Until then he had been preoccupied with obedience to the law and his understanding of it had led him to persecute Christ’s followers (Acts 22:3-4). But once he had met Christ he began to see himself as dead as far as the law was concerned because now he was to live in obedience to Christ. His question in Acts 22:10, Lord, what shall I do? makes this clear. And when we come to chapter 5 we’ll see how all this works out in practice.

 

Like Paul we are to think of ourselves as dead to the law and dead to sin. This is because of what Paul says in verse 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.

 

The Greek verb that’s used here is sustauroo. It’s the same verb as is used in the Gospels where we’re told that there were two thieves crucified with Jesus (Matthew 27:44). The Greek word for cross is stauros and stauroo means to crucify. The prefix su- or sun- means with. So sustauroo means to crucify with… Now there are at least ten Greek verbs in the New Testament that begin with the prefix su- or sun- and which speak of different aspects of our relationship or identification with Christ.

 

This would be a whole series of studies in itself, but here’s a quick summary. The New Testament teaches that we:

 

·       Were crucified with Christ (Galatians 2:20, Romans 6:6)

·       Were buried with Christ (in baptism) (Colossians 2:12, Romans 6:4)

·       Have been raised with Christ (Ephesians 2:6, Colossians 2:12, 3:1)

·       Have been made alive with Christ (Ephesians 2:5, Colossians 2:13)

·       Are seated with Christ (Ephesians 2:6)

·       Are joint-heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17)

·       Suffer with Christ (Romans 8:17)

·       Will reign with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12)

·       Will be glorified with Christ (Romans 8:17).

At first sight, this subject of our identification with Christ is rather difficult to understand. So let me explain it like this. When Jesus came to earth he identified himself with humanity. At his baptism, although he was sinless, he identified himself with sinners. At Calvary he offered himself as a sacrifice for our sin. He was, in effect, saying to God, Let my death count as their death. The penalty for sin is death (Romans 6:23), but because Jesus’ death counts as ours, the penalty has already been paid. By faith we are made righteous in God’s sight. He sees us as he sees Jesus. By his death on the cross Jesus identified himself with us. When we believe this and accept him as our Saviour, we identify ourselves with him.

 

With this in mind, let’s go back to Galatians 2:20

 

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.

 

Because Jesus loved us and gave himself for us, and because we have put our faith in him, we are identified with him. We are in Christ and Christ lives in us. By accepting him as our Saviour we accepted his death as our death (and that’s why our sins are all forgiven). So if his death was our death, we’re dead! We no longer live, but Christ lives in us.

 

And finally in verse 21 Paul makes the obvious point in defence of his gospel, if it were possible to be saved by obeying the law, there was no point in Christ dying for us.

 

But thank God, he did. And because he did, and because by accepting him we identified ourselves with him, we should think of ourselves as dead. Dead to thinking that we can save ourselves by our good works. And dead to sin, because Christ now lives within us.

 

How can we live our lives by faith in the Son of God?

By remembering that he loved us and gave himself for us.

That’s my motivation for living.

I hope it’s yours too.

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