INTRODUCTION
Which way should the toilet paper goes on the holder? Should the toilet seat stay up or down? How do you squeeze the toothpaste tub? (When I was growing up, toothpaste tubes were metal and this mattered!). When the kids don’t get what they want from Mum, what do that do? Go to Dad!?
When people are trying to drive you apart, how do you stay together? When there are major differences between us, how do we stay united? Does it even matter?
These are some of the questions Paul was trying to address as he staved off an attack by false teachers in the churches he’d started in Galatia, in modern day Turkey.
CONTEXT
To understand what Paul’s doing in this passage we need to remember the situation in Galatia. Reading not too far between the lines, apparently some of the false teachers had come to the province claiming to come from the Jerusalem apostles. They accused Paul of not being a real apostle and of teaching a distorted gospel. Instead of becoming part of God’s family by faith, they said the Gentiles had to be circumcised.
At the end of chapter 1 and in this reading, Paul goes to great pains to establish the timeline of his contact with the Jerusalem apostles to prove that both his apostleship and his gospel were not of human origin but divine.
Gal 1.11-24
In Gal 1.11-24 Paul established that when he was saved, he didn’t go directly to Jerusalem but to Arabia. It wasn’t until three years later that he went to Jerusalem where he spent two weeks with Peter and also met James.
Paul’s language in this section is very precise because he has to carefully lay out a timeline and make the point that he was not instructed or authorised by the Apostles (two weeks wasn’t enough time for that) – rather, his calling and instruction came from Christ himself.
GALATIANS 2.1-10
Paul continues his account in chapter 2, our reading today. Let’s unpack these verses a little before we look at how they apply.
Paul says that after fourteen years he went back to Jerusalem. Some think this visit refers to the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15, but that was his third visit and he met with the whole church on that occasion. Paul is careful to establish that this is only his second visit, prompted by some revelation, and privately with the Jerusalem apostles. Acts 11 fits better, when the Antioch church sent a donation to Jerusalem with Paul and Barnabas
v.2b NOT IN VAIN
In v.2 In verse 2 Paul expresses a fear that he may have been running in vain. What exactly does he mean? That somehow his gospel of grace may have been wrong?
I don’t think so. Paul had a call directly from the Lord and he makes clear he wasn’t going to let any man, even another Apostle, disqualify him. I think what he’s talking about his his radical vision for the time. Rather than separate Jewish and Gentile churches, Paul had a vision for one church comprising these two disparate peoples – Jews and Gentiles – based on God’s grace through Christ (Eph 2.11-22) rather than through Law.
Some Jewish Christians were undermining this unity, and if the Jerusalem Apostles didn’t recognise the Gentile Churches it would have undone Paul’s vision.
v.4 FALSE BROTHERS
In verse 4 Paul says that the matter arose because ‘false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ in order to enslave us.’
This is strong language but, of course, Paul isn’t just talking about history. He expects the Galatians to draw a line from the false brothers in Acts 11 to the false brothers who were now infiltrating the Galatian churches. Paul doesn’t pull punches.
JUDGING AND DISCERNING
It’s popular in nowadays to condemn judging. As soon as someone calls someone out on Facebook you might see some comment about not judging, usually because Jesus said, ‘Do not judge.’ The problem is it completely ignores the biblical admonition to discernment.
Paul had no problem judging these people, because he knew Jesus also warned us against wolves in sheep’s clothing, and shepherds don’t let the wolves run amok among the flock! Paul was compelled to make this judgment because he had a very clear standard he needed to protect – the gospel.
We don’t have to condemn people and get into culture wars but we do need to use discernment with the gospel as your guide.
v. 6 THEY ADDED NOTHING
But happily, this wasn’t the case. He says in v.6 that ‘they added nothing to me.’ Titus the Greek didn’t even have to be circumcised, which was the chief sign of entering the old covenant (v.3). The Apostles recognised God at work in Paul, his apostolic authority, his call to the Gentiles, the unity of his gospel with theirs, and that the gentiles didn’t need to become Jews to become part of God’s family.
All the same, Paul’s language is a little dismissive here, he says ‘Those recognised as important (what they once were makes no difference to me…)’. This isn’t to be disrespectful but to make clear to the Galatians that, despite what the spies infiltrating them may say, Paul did not care for or need the Apostles approval.
But that he had their approval, proved that his opponents were liars and imposters.
POINT: THERE IS ONLY ONE GOSPEL
The overall point in this passage is that, despite Paul’s independence from the Jerusalem Apostles, contrary to the apparent claim of his opponents, they recognised his Apostolic calling and message. It was the same message; he just had a different audience.
A couple of weeks ago I made the point that there is no other gospel. Anything that requires a different way of becoming part of God’s family apart from faith in Christ is not the true Gospel. Here, Paul emphasises a related point – that there is only one gospel, and all Christians are united in that one gospel.
Despite different traditions and cultural practices, and despite the mission to the gentiles not having started in Jerusalem, the Apostles to the Jews and the Apostle to the Gentiles were called by the same God, both Jews and Gentiles believe in the same Gospel and serve the same Lord.
APPLICATION: UNITY IN THE GOSPEL
Sadly, what Paul feared ended up happening to the church. There have always been small groups who have been excluded from the church because of serious heresy, but in 1054 the Pope in Rome and Archbishop of Constantinople excommunicated each other forming what we now know as the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Then in 1517, Martin Luther nailed his 95 Theses to a public noticeboard, which led to the split within Western Christianity we know as the Protestant Reformation.
This division is still real even where there is a desire to overcome it. Years ago, I was in a prayer retreat with Church leaders from across the Perth and a Catholic priest was present. That was good. The problem was, as a priest he wasn’t able to participate in communion with us. Nor can we as Protestant Christians in a Catholic or Orthodox communion.
We lament the great number of denominations that have arisen since the Reformation, but I don’t think that’s such an issue as the big splits. Some denominations are divisive or cults, and doctrinal differences can lead to division. But more often, new denominations are simply an expression of new wine looking for new wineskins, and fellowship with the wider body continues.
In fact, when you think about it, the Jerusalem Church and the Gentile Churches were almost like different denominations. They recognised each other’s leadership but looked to specific apostles. They had cultural differences and traditions that they strove to not be a point of division but inevitably led to different ways of expressing church.
The question isn’t how we unite the different denominations as organisations, but how we express our unity in Christ despite institutional differences.
The Apostles give us a good model for this.
v.9 UNITY IN FELLOWSHIP
First, in v.9 the Jerusalem apostles extended the right hand of fellowship to Paul and Barnabas and recognised their ministry.
We sometimes lose the force of the word ‘fellowship’ because we associate it with the social aspects of church, but it’s deeper than that. To have fellowship as Christians is something that happens in Christ through the Spirit.
There was a time when denominational labels divided us but, fortunately, they mean much less nowadays and there’s a lot of cooperation between churches. We gather together for prayer and worship events and we work together in ministry and mission.
Perth had a reputation for this kind of thing in the 2000’s. God was really doing something profound, and I think we’re still seeing the fruit of that through movements like Perth Together.
v.10 UNITY IN GENEROSITY
The second expression of unity is generosity expressed on the part of the Gentile churches to Jerusalem.
In v.10 the Jerusalem Apostles ask Paul to remember the poor. Charity is good but that’s not what they’re talking about here – or at least not charity in general. Commentators agree that the Poor probably meant the Jerusalem Christians specifically, who had been plunged into poverty. It probably included financial aid (which Paul had just delivered) but also the bonds of fellowship. In other words, the Apostles were asking for the sort of unity Paul longed for. Win win!
One of my favourite passages on giving is in 2Corinthians 8 where Paul goads the Corinthian church to generosity by boasting in the Macedonian churches. He says in 2 Corinthians 8:1–5,
“We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia: During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. I can testify that, according to their ability and even beyond their ability, of their own accord, they begged us earnestly for the privilege of sharing in the ministry to the saints, and not just as we had hoped. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us by God’s will.”
Can you Greeks out-give the Macedonians!?
The fact is that what we do with our money is one of the biggest indicators of what we value. That’s why tithing is such an important and powerful act of worship. When you give to God’s church, you’re making a statement about him.
It’s good to give to charity in general and studies show that, on average, Christians are more generous than non-religious people, even towards secular charities. But it’s our giving to other Christian ministries that really demonstrates our unity in the Gospel.
I had a call this week from someone seeking donation to an animal shelter. It’s a good cause, but Jesus said let the dead bury their own dead and I’d rather help people, and especially the Jesus’ people.
When I donate to Compassion or to persecuted Christians or any number of Christian organisations helping the poor, it’s not just an act of human compassion but a statement of Gospel unity.
CONCLUSION
When people are trying to tear us apart, how do we stay together? We don’t give in. We reach out with a hand of fellowship and the resources God has given us to overcome division with unity.
There is only one Gospel. The challenge for each of us is, how are we contributing to the unity of Christ’s church through fellowship and generosity?
