AISBT ReaderGal 2:1–21
Notes · 22 on Gal 2:1–21
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Notes · Gal 2:1–21

The Gospel Recognized, the Rebuke at Antioch, and Justification by Faith

22 approved team notes on Gal 2:1–21.
Read Gal 2:1–21

Gal 2:1

exegeticalGal 2:1–10
The gospel recognized in Jerusalem
  • SaysAfter fourteen years Paul went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus, in accordance with a revelation, and set his gospel before those of repute privately. The leaders added nothing to him. James, Cephas, and John, reputed pillars, gave the right hand of fellowship, and asked only that they remember the poor.
  • ImpliesBecause the leaders added nothing and gave the right hand of fellowship on recognizing the grace given to him, the text presents his gospel as unaltered by them.
  • UncertainWhich visit in Acts this is, and from what point the fourteen years are counted, are set out from their holders in the commentary; no verdict is given here.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0
exegeticalGal 2:1–21
Overview of Galatians 2
  • SaysGalatians 2 has three sections: 2:1–10, the gospel recognized in Jerusalem; 2:11–14, Cephas opposed at Antioch; and 2:15–21, justified by faith, not by works of the law. After fourteen years Paul went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus, in accordance with a revelation. The leaders added nothing and gave the right hand of fellowship. At Antioch he opposed Cephas to his face. A person is not justified by works of the law but through faith; we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus. Through the law he died to the law; he has been crucified with Christ, who loved him and gave himself up for him. He does not set aside the grace of God.
  • ImpliesThe letter presents itself as Paul’s own word. The Jerusalem leaders recognized the grace given to him and did not alter his gospel. The charge at Antioch is the one the text itself gives. The believer’s life is now Christ’s life in him.
  • UncertainWhich visit in Acts 2:1–10 describes, how the fourteen years are counted, how the men from James stood to James, where the words to Cephas end, what works of the law are, how the genitive after pistis is to be read, and how he died to the law through the law, are set out on their grounds below; no verdict is given here.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0
historicalGal 2:1–10
The second visit to Jerusalem and Acts (2:1–10)
  • SaysGal 2:1: then after fourteen years Paul went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus; Acts 11:30 tells of relief sent with Barnabas and Saul, and Acts 15:2 of Paul and Barnabas sent up about the question of circumcision.
  • UncertainWhich visit in Acts Gal 2:1–10 describes, and from what point the fourteen years are counted, are open; the background does not fix the meaning.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Wesley, Notes NT (1755) public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain
historicalGal 2:1–21
Early readings of Galatians 2: the visit, Cephas, and Antioch
  • SaysGal 2:2, 7–9, 11: Paul set his gospel before the leaders for fear he had run in vain; he names Peter and Cephas, a pillar with James and John, and says that when Cephas came to Antioch he opposed him to his face.
  • UncertainHow the rebuke at Antioch (2:11–14) is to be read is open; the early and later readings do not fix the meaning.
✓ Approved BSB public domain Chrysostom, Galatians (NPNF1 13) public domain NPNF2 1 public domain Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain
languageGal 2:1; Gal 2:2
I went up by revelation (2:1–2)
  • SaysGalatians 2:1–2 says Paul went up to Jerusalem again after fourteen years, with Barnabas and Titus, in accordance with a revelation, and set his gospel before those of repute privately.
  • ImpliesThe visit is framed by revelation, keeping the point of 1:11–12 that the gospel was not received from men.
  • UncertainWhich visit in Acts this is, and from what point the fourteen years are counted, is not stated; no lean is taken.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:3

exegeticalGal 2:3–5
Freedom and the truth of the gospel
  • SaysTitus, a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised. The sentence of 2:4 breaks off after the false brothers who slipped in to spy out their freedom; the BSB supplies a linking clause. The printed text of 2:5 says they did not yield in subjection even for an hour, so that the truth of the gospel would remain; the BSB leaves the word for subjection unrendered. Some witnesses lack the words for not even.
  • ImpliesBecause Titus was not compelled, and Paul did not yield so that the truth of the gospel would remain, the text ties the demand to the gospel itself.
  • UncertainHow 2:3–5 is to be read, including the 2:5 unit, is set out from its holders in the commentary; no verdict is given here.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 RP2018 Unlicense TR (Scrivener 1894) public domain
historicalGal 2:3–5
Titus, circumcision, and the false brothers (2:3–5)
  • SaysGal 2:3–5: Titus, a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised; false brothers had slipped in to spy on the freedom believers have in Christ Jesus, and Paul did not yield to them for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would remain.
  • ImpliesBecause Titus was with Paul and was not compelled, and Paul refused to yield so that the truth of the gospel would remain, the text ties the demand for circumcision to the gospel itself.
  • UncertainHow Gal 2:3–5 relates to Acts 15:1–2 and Acts 16:3 is open; the background does not fix the meaning.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain
languageGal 2:3; Gal 2:4; Gal 2:5
Titus and the false brothers (2:3–5)
  • SaysGalatians 2:3 says Titus, a Greek, was not compelled to be circumcised; 2:4 names false brothers brought in secretly to spy on our freedom and enslave us, and the sentence breaks off; 2:5 says we did not yield in subjection even for an hour.
  • SaysThe BSB supplies This issue arose because in 2:4 and leaves the word for subjection unrendered in 2:5.
  • UncertainWhether Titus was pressed and stood firm or yielded in some way is not settled by the syntax or the 2:5 reading; no lean is taken.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:6

languageGal 2:6; Gal 2:7; Gal 2:8; Gal 2:9
Those of repute and the right hand of fellowship (2:6–9)
  • SaysGalatians 2:6 says those reputed to be something added nothing to Paul, with a parenthesis that God does not receive a man’s face; 2:7–8 set the gospel of the uncircumcision beside Peter’s apostleship of the circumcision.
  • SaysIn 2:9 James, Cephas and John, reputed pillars, gave Paul and Barnabas right hands of fellowship; the BSB supplies my apostleship in 2:8.
  • ImpliesThe leaders recognized the grace given to Paul and did not alter his gospel.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain RP2018 Unlicense SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:7

historicalGal 2:7–10
The pillars and the poor (2:7–10)
  • SaysGal 2:7–10: the leaders saw that Paul had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised as Peter to the circumcised; James, Cephas and John, reputed pillars, gave Paul and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship and asked only that they remember the poor, which Paul was eager to do.
  • ImpliesBecause the leaders added nothing to Paul (2:6) and gave the right hand of fellowship on recognizing the grace given him (2:9), the text presents his gospel as unaltered by them.
  • UncertainWhether the poor of 2:10 are the Jerusalem believers in particular, and how 2:10 relates to Rom 15:25–26 or Acts 11:29–30, are open; the background does not fix the meaning.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Ramsay, Galatians public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain NPNF2 1 public domain

Gal 2:11

exegeticalGal 2:11–14
Cephas opposed at Antioch
  • SaysWhen Cephas came to Antioch, Paul opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. The printed text has Cephas at 2:11 and 2:14; the Byzantine text and the Textus Receptus have Peter; 2:7–8 have Peter in every edition compared here. Before certain men came from James, Cephas used to eat with the Gentiles; when they arrived he drew back for fear of those of the circumcision. In 2:13 the Greek names Barnabas before their hypocrisy; the BSB puts their hypocrisy before Barnabas. Paul asked how Cephas, living in Gentile fashion, could compel the Gentiles to live like Jews.
  • ImpliesThe charge, as the text gives it, is inconsistency joined to compulsion: one who lives in Gentile fashion presses Gentiles to conform to Jewish practice.
  • UncertainCalvin, Luther, Wesley, and Lightfoot read a real fault in Cephas; Chrysostom reads an arranged contest, which Calvin and Luther report and reject. These are their readings; no verdict is given here. How the men from James stood to James, and where the words to Cephas end, are also left open in the commentary.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain Luther, Galatians (Middleton 1833) public domain
historicalGal 2:11–14
Antioch: table fellowship and the men from James (2:11–14)
  • SaysGal 2:11–14: when Cephas came to Antioch Paul opposed him to his face; before certain men came from James he ate with the Gentiles, but then drew back and separated himself for fear of the circumcision group; Paul asked how he could compel the Gentiles to live like Jews. Acts 10:28 and 11:3 speak of Jews associating and eating with Gentiles.
  • ImpliesBecause Cephas ate with the Gentiles until the men came and then withdrew for fear (2:12), the text presents his withdrawal as a change of conduct, which Paul opposed openly.
  • UncertainHow the men from James stood to James, and what the shared meals at Antioch involved, are open; the background does not fix the meaning.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain
languageGal 2:11; Gal 2:12; Gal 2:13
He drew back, and the hypocrisy (2:11–13)
  • SaysGalatians 2:11 says Paul opposed Cephas to his face because he stood condemned; 2:12 says he used to eat with the Gentiles and, when men came from James, drew back and separated himself, fearing those of the circumcision.
  • SaysIn 2:13 the Greek names Barnabas before their hypocrisy; the BSB puts by their hypocrisy before even Barnabas.
  • UncertainThe nature of the dispute and how the men from James stood to James are not stated; no lean is taken.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:14

languageGal 2:14
Walking straight, and living like a Jew (2:14)
  • SaysGalatians 2:14 says Paul saw that they were not walking straight toward the truth of the gospel and asked Cephas before all how, living in Gentile fashion, he could compel the Gentiles to Judaize.
  • ImpliesThe charge is inconsistency joined to compulsion of the Gentiles.
  • UncertainWhere Paul’s words to Cephas end in 2:14–21 is not marked in the Greek; no lean is taken.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:15

exegeticalGal 2:15–16
Justified by faith, not by works of the law
  • SaysThose who are Jews by birth know that a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith of Jesus Christ. The genitive is not itself the preposition in. We, too, have believed in Christ Jesus, that we may be justified by faith and not by works of the law, because all flesh will not be justified, the BSB’s no one will be justified.
  • ImpliesThe verse states three times that a person is justified through faith and not by works of the law, and it states as fact that we, too, have believed in Christ Jesus.
  • UncertainCalvin, Luther, and Wesley read works of the law of all that the law requires. Burton (p. 120) takes the phrase of deeds of obedience to formal statutes done in the legalistic spirit. These are their readings; no verdict is given here. The holders for the genitive after pistis are set out in the commentary.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain Luther, Galatians (Middleton 1833) public domain
languageGal 2:15; Gal 2:16
Justified not by works of the law (2:15–16)
  • SaysGalatians 2:16 says a man is not justified by works of the law but through faith of Jesus Christ, that we too believed in Christ Jesus to be justified, and that by works of the law no flesh will be justified.
  • ImpliesThe verse states three times that a person is justified through faith and not by works of the law.
  • UncertainWhat works of the law are is not defined in the verse; no lean is taken.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:16

languageGal 2:16; Gal 2:20
Faith of Christ (2:16, 20)
  • SaysPistis is joined to a genitive naming Christ twice in 2:16 and the Son of God once in 2:20, while the verb in 2:16 takes eis with Christ Jesus.
  • SaysAs grammar the genitive admits more than one reading; the BSB renders faith in.
  • UncertainBurton takes it as an objective genitive, Wesley glosses by faith in him, and Lightfoot paraphrases faith in Jesus Christ; no lean is taken.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain Lightfoot, Galatians public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:17

exegeticalGal 2:17–18
Is Christ a minister of sin?
  • SaysIf, seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves were found sinners, that does not make Christ a minister of sin. If I rebuild what I tore down, I prove myself a lawbreaker.
  • ImpliesThe refusal denies that Christ serves sin and places the fault in rebuilding what was torn down, not in seeking to be justified in Christ.
  • UncertainThe Greek has no quotation marks. The BSB closes the address at the end of 2:14. Calvin would not connect 2:17 with the preceding verse as part of the speech addressed to Peter, and leaves each reader to form an opinion. Burton holds that how much of what follows was uttered on that occasion cannot be said with certainty, and that it is improbable the report is limited to a single sentence. These are their readings; no verdict is given here.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain
languageGal 2:17; Gal 2:18
A minister of sin, and a transgressor (2:17–18)
  • SaysGalatians 2:17 asks whether, if seeking to be justified in Christ we were found sinners, Christ is a minister of sin, and answers may it not be.
  • SaysGalatians 2:18 says that if I build again what I tore down, I show myself a transgressor.
  • ImpliesThe refusal denies that Christ serves sin and places the fault in rebuilding what was torn down.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:19

exegeticalGal 2:19–20
Crucified with Christ
  • SaysThrough the law Paul died to the law, that he might live to God. In 2:20 (SBLGNT 2:19) he has been crucified with Christ; he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him. The life he lives in the flesh, the BSB’s in the body, he lives by faith of the Son of God, who loved him and gave himself up for him; Tregelles prints of God and Christ. The gift is of a piece with 1:4.
  • ImpliesThe believer’s life now is Christ’s life in him, grounded in union with Christ in His death; Christ’s love is personal, for me.
  • UncertainBurton, Calvin, Lightfoot, and Wesley read through the law of the law’s convicting work, which drives a person to Christ. These are their readings; no verdict is given here.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0 Burton, Galatians (ICC) public domain Calvin, Galatians (Pringle) public domain
languageGal 2:19; Gal 2:20; Gal 2:21
Died to the law, crucified with Christ (2:19–21)
  • SaysGalatians 2:19 says through the law I died to the law that I might live to God; 2:20 (SBLGNT 2:19) says I have been crucified with Christ, and 2:20 that Christ lives in me, who loved me and gave himself for me.
  • SaysGalatians 2:21 says Paul does not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, Christ died in vain.
  • ImpliesThe believer’s life rests on union with Christ in His death and life, and Christ’s self-giving is personal, as in 1:4.
  • UncertainHow Paul died to the law through the law is not explained; no lean is taken.
✓ Approved Abbott-Smith public domain BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0

Gal 2:21

exegeticalGal 2:21
Not setting aside the grace of God
  • SaysPaul does not set aside the grace of God. If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died for nothing.
  • ImpliesIf righteousness were through the law, Christ’s death would be for nothing; the grace of God and that death stand or fall together.
  • SaysThe claim belongs with 2:16 and 2:20: justification is not by works of the law, and the life now lived is the life of the Son who gave himself.
✓ Approved BSB public domain SBLGNT CC BY 4.0
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