Paul's Apostolic Mission

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Opening

Opening

We are well into our series on Galatians, which we are calling “Dear Church”. We’ve looked at chapter 1, and today we will move on to the first part of chapter 2. Let’s stand in honor of the Word of God as we read through verses 1-10 of Galatians chapter 2:

Galatians 2:1–10 CSB

1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also. 2 I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain. 3 But 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 in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you. 6 Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)—they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised, 8 since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James, Cephas, and John—those recognized as pillars—acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.

Pray, and pray for the victims and families of both mass shootings (El Paso and Dayton) yesterday.

This passage contains several things that we need to look at and address, so what we are going to do this morning is study through it, and then make application to us at the end.

You may recall from a couple of weeks back, we looked at the context of this letter to the churches of Galatia. I argued that Paul was writing this letter to the churches that he and Barnabas had established on their first missionary journey in the Roman province of Galatia: the churches in Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. This letter is the only one of Paul’s letters written to the churches in a region, rather than a city or an individual person. Paul must have been writing it very soon after his missionary journey through Galatia.

Paul had gone up

Remember from our study two weeks ago that the reason that Paul is writing this letter is because of what I called “The Galatian Situation”: some people had come in, claiming to be apostles from Jerusalem, and had begun to preach a “different gospel” that was no gospel at all. In fact, they were preaching that in order to truly be saved, the Gentile believers had to become cultural Jews by following the Law of Moses.

These “false apostles” had also called into question Paul’s calling as a true Apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ. They had contested his presentation of the Gospel, and Paul shared his conversion story and early ministry testimony as a part of his defense of his position as Apostle (big A apostle: a select group of people who had personally seen and been called by the Lord Jesus Christ, such as Paul, Peter, John, and James).

Study (longer than normal)

In our passage today, Paul is continuing his defense of his apostleship, and is showing the churches in Galatia not only that he had been acknowledged as an apostle by the apostles in Jerusalem, but that he had already dealt with this question of “Jesus plus Moses” for salvation before. Ultimately, this issue would be clearly addressed at the Jerusalem Council, which was still to take place at the time of the writing of Galatians (in 48).

With all of this setup

Let’s look at verse 1:

Galatians 2:1 CSB

1 Then after fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas, taking Titus along also.

Paul writes that “after fourteen years” I went up again to Jerusalem.

How does this time square with what I’ve taught the last couple of weeks? This statement of time is one of the major reasons many scholars place the writing of Galatians much later, after the Jerusalem Council, and to a different set of churches. And I’ll agree: it’s a difficulty.

If the Jerusalem Council happened in 49 AD, and thus Paul’s first missionary journey took place during about 46 or 47 AD, and Jesus was crucified in the early 30’s AD, how do we have time for the growth of the church, the persecution of the church, Paul’s conversion, his time in Arabia and Damascus, his return to Jersusalem “after three years” (), and this statement of fourteen years’ time before his first missionary journey with Barnabas? See? It’s a difficulty. But it’s not an insurmountable one when we consider how people back then tracked time.

There are three issues to address: First, what does Paul mean when he says “Then after so many years...” in both and ? Second, is it even possible to square the 14 years with the timing? And third, is there any evidence of this “fourteen years” later meeting? We’ll address these quickly one at a time, and then get on with the message. I just didn’t want to leave you with any questions about my position on the letter, because I feel that understanding the timing of it is very important.

First, we know that the first church grew extremely rapidly. So much so, in fact, that it would not be outlandish at all for the church to

First: In our language, when we say, “Then, after this much time I did this. Then, after this much time, I did that.” We normally mean that we telling a story in sequence. So in Paul’s case, we would look at (we won’t go back and read it) as Paul was saved, then he went to Arabia, then he came back to Damascus, then he spent three years, then he went to Jerusalem, then he went to Syria and Cilicia, and then fourteen years later, he went to Jerusalem this second time in . This gives us a minimum of 17 years, and probably more, between Paul’s conversion and whenever this second visit to Jerusalem was.

But for Paul, this is not what he means. See, Paul is looking back to a single fixed point in his life when he makes these statements: He’s looking back at his conversion, as he stated in :

Galatians 1:15–16 CSB

15 But when God, who from my mother’s womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone.

Then, three years after that point, he went to Jerusalem the first time. And then fourteen years after that point, he went the second time.

This is more like how Melanie and I look back at our wedding day as a fixed point. Compared to that day, I would say that after nearly 10 years, Maggie was born. And then after 18 years, Abbie was born. The question is the point of reference, not the total number of years.

How many years were there from Paul’s conversion to his first visit to Jerusalem, about three. How many years were there from Paul’s conversion to his second visit to Jerusalem? About 14.

Secondly, how does this square with the timing, compared to Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection? If Jesus was crucified say in 33 AD (which is kind of the latest time scholars think for His crucifixion), how do we have time for even the 14 years, given that Paul was in Galatia in 46? It’s obviously much easier to deal with if you place Jesus’ crucifixion in 30 or 31 AD. But for the sake of argument, let’s use the 33 AD date. It’s reasonable to believe that the church grew extremely quickly, and faced persecution very early. Acts bears this out. But still, how do we get 14 years between Paul’s conversion and his second visit to Jerusalem?

It’s because in New Testament times, people counted a part of a period of time as the whole. We don’t ordinarily do this now, unless we’re rounding. But for their way of counting, a part of a day was a day if you were counting by days, and a part of a year was a year if you were counting by years. We see this in the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus and we don’t struggle with the terminology of the “third day,” when we would only count two days, or even less considering that Jesus would have been in the tomb for less than 48 hours. So the difference between Paul’s conversion and his second visit to Jerusalem could have been as short as 12 years and 2 months by our reckoning, and still be called 14 years by them: (last month of the first year, 12 years, and the first month of the last year). So we have nearly the rest of 33 for the growth and persecution of the church, then Paul’s conversion in late 33, which would put his second visit to Jerusalem in early 45 by this reckoning.

And finally, is there some biblical record of this second visit to Jerusalem? Yes, there is:

Acts

Acts 11:27–30 CSB

27 In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28 One of them, named Agabus, stood up and predicted by the Spirit that there would be a severe famine throughout the Roman world. This took place during the reign of Claudius. 29 Each of the disciples, according to his ability, determined to send relief to the brothers and sisters who lived in Judea. 30 They did this, sending it to the elders by means of Barnabas and Saul.

Remember that Paul’s first missionary journey is recorded in . So we can reasonably answer each question: Paul was reflecting on the fixed point of time of his conversion as he wrote these things to the Galatians, that he had used the standard convention of the day for time reckoning, and we have biblical evidence that Paul made a second trip to Jerusalem with Barnabas before his first missionary journey.

Sorry that took so long, but my understanding and presentation of this epistle is based on my belief that it was written to the churches that Paul founded on his first missionary journey, so I had to go through it at some point if we’re every going to make use of and 14 in this series. =o)

Now, Paul and Barnabas go to Jerusalem, accompanied by Titus. Why?

Galatians 2:2 CSB

2 I went up according to a revelation and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles, but privately to those recognized as leaders. I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain.

Paul and Barnabas went up to Jerusalem “according to a revelation.” I doubt this was the message from Agabus from believe that within the “some prophets” that came from Jerusalem to Antioch in were the very ones who caused the problems that Paul needed to get addressed. I think that Paul speaks of this in verse 4:

Galatians 2:4 CSB

4 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us.

We’ll come back to them in a moment. But for now, we have to address Paul’s statement in verse 2, “I wanted to be sure I was not running, and had not been running, in vain.” What does Paul mean here?

It doesn’t hold up to what we see in Paul’s life and writings that he was concerned that his message was wrong. No, he was preaching the Gospel of the grace of God through Christ. He wouldn’t waver from that. It also doesn’t hold up that he was concerned that his mission of preaching to the Gentiles was wrong. No, Jesus had specifically called him to that task. So what does he mean that he wanted to be sure he was not and had not been running in vain?

I believe that Paul was concerned that this issue of the Gospel and the Law was big enough to destroy the unity of the church. When these “false brothers” came from Jerusalem and started saying that Gentile believers had to follow the Jewish Law, Paul knew that this was not correct. But Paul’s message had been that Christ had come and died for all people, Jew and Gentile alike, and as a result, to tear down the wall of separation between Jew and Gentile (see for an example).

Tim Keller put it this way in his commentary:

On the one side of this dispute we have Paul, who is saying: The gospel of faith in Christ is for people of all cultures. On the other we have his opponents, claiming: Not all Jewish people are Christians, but all Christians must become Jewish.

This would have ripped the church in two pieces if the apostles in Jerusalem were teaching this. The Gentile believers wouldn’t have accepted the Jews and their Jesus plus Moses “gospel,” and the Jewish believers wouldn’t have accepted what they considered the “easy believism” of Paul’s message. The very unity and purpose of the church was at stake in this. It had to be addressed.

So Paul and Barnabas take Titus, an uncircumcised Greek believer, along with them to address this. Would the Jerusalem apostles accept Titus?

Galatians 2:3 CSB

3 But not even Titus, who was with me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek.

They don’t force circumcision (one of the first steps of becoming a Jewish man) on Titus, and they receive him as a brother. Now, back to verse 4:

Galatians 2:4–5 CSB

4 This matter arose because some false brothers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel would be preserved for you.

This all had happened because some “false brothers” had come to Antioch, and had seen the freedom of the Gentile believers, and had started to try to “enslave” them by telling them that they had to keep the whole Law in order to be saved… something that they themselves had certainly been unable to do.

But Paul stood up to them, and did not submit to them for even a moment, so that the truth of the gospel of grace would be preserved for this moment in the life of the Galatians, and for all those who read the letter to the churches of Galatia.

You see, these “false brothers” were preaching the same fake “gospel” that had begun to infiltrate the churches in Galatia. Paul could defend his apostleship because he had already dealt with this issue, and the apostles in Jerusalem had already agreed with him! Now those who were “troubling” the Galatians () were having their apostleship called into question by Paul, because the church at Jerusalem certainly didn’t send these guys… they were preaching heresy. The tables in Galatia were turning.

Galatians 2:6 CSB

6 Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)—they added nothing to me.

“They added nothing to me.” Paul’s message was spot on. They saw that he was preaching the same gospel that they were, and didn’t see that there was any problem.

You see, these “false brothers” were preaching the same fake “gospel” that had begun to infiltrate the churches in Galatia. Paul could defend his apostleship because he had already dealt with this issue, and the apostles in Jerusalem had already agreed with him! Now those who were “troubling” the Galatians () were having their apostleship called into question by Paul, because the church at Jerusalem certainly didn’t send these guys… they were preaching heresy. The tables in Galatia were turning.

Paul is telling the Galatians this because these “false brothers” who came to Antioch were preaching the same fake “gospel” that had begun to infiltrate the churches in Galatia, and they had called Paul’s apostleship into question. Who was Paul to tell the Gentiles that they didn’t need to follow the Jewish Law? He hadn’t even come from Jerusalem!

Paul could defend his apostleship like this because he had already dealt with this issue, and the apostles in Jerusalem had already agreed with him! Now those who were “troubling” the Galatians () were having their apostleship called into question by Paul, because the church at Jerusalem certainly didn’t send these guys… they were preaching heresy. The tables in Galatia were turning.

galatians 2:7-

Galatians 2:7–8 CSB

7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, just as Peter was for the circumcised, 8 since the one at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles.

Paul had a mission that Christ had given him: to preach message of the Gospel of grace to the Gentiles, so that they could be saved. This was what he was all about. And the apostles in Jerusalem saw and recognized that fact. The splitting up of the leadership of this task between Peter and Paul was a useful one.

Timothy George said this:

The decision to divide the missionary task of the church into two major thrusts, one led by Peter to the Jews and the other by Paul to the Gentiles, was a matter of practical necessity and wise stewardship. It would be a mistake depress the distinction too far, as though Peter and the apostles with him would be allowed to witness to Jews only, while Paul and Barnabas could speak to Gentiles only.… We know in fact that the gospel had first broken through to the Gentiles through the witness of Peter in his preaching to the household of Cornelius. Likewise, Paul continued to preach to the Jews, finding in their synagogues many God fears and proselytes who responded to his message and who frequently became the beachhead of a new Christian community in their city.

Paul was going to preach the Gospel wherever he found himself, but God had set him apart for being the Apostle to the Gentiles (, ). It was thus in working in different directions that they would best work together.

Galatians 2:6 CSB

6 Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)—they added nothing to me.

Paul visits the

Galatians 2:9–10 CSB

9 When James, Cephas, and John—those recognized as pillars—acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I had made every effort to do.

The apostles in Jerusalem to the Jews and Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles, have fellowship: koinonia (students) with one another as a result of this meeting. They are going to partner together in the gospel of grace to make a difference in the world. They are unified in their mission, even as they divvy up the work according to each person’s calling and strengths.

The statement in verse 10 wraps this up well, because you’ll recall that part of the reason for Paul and Barnabas going to Jerusalem in the first place from was that they were bringing financial relief to the brothers in Jerusalem from the brothers in Antioch. They were already unified in the work of the Gospel.

Application

So, “Thanks Bill for the really long study on these 10 verses. I’m not really seeing what that has to do with us.” Well, the application of this passage comes down to seeing Paul as our example of having a mission:

I see in Paul three things that he did, which I’ve already mentioned: He preserved the Gospel of grace; he preached the Gospel of grace; and he partnered in the Gospel of grace. It’s funny that they all start with P. That wasn’t actually on purpose, but it went that way, so I left it.

Don’t forget that we all come from a spiritual lineage that goes all the way back to the first apostles in some way. Their mission is our mission:

Matthew 28:18–20 CSB

18 Jesus came near and said to them, “All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. 19 Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe everything I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

We are commanded to make disciples of all nations, bringing them into the fellowship of the church and teaching them to obey the Lord. Note that it is not the baptism nor the outward obedience that saves. It is Jesus alone who saves.

But we are called to continue to carry on the mission of the first apostles (we are “little a apostles”… those who are sent out), and I think that Paul’s example here in is a framework to hang our hats on.

1: We must preserve the Gospel of grace.

How did Paul preserve the Gospel of grace? He knew the Gospel, he understood the Gospel, and he stood up against those who would mess with the Gospel. We’ve spent the last couple of weeks, and really the last couple of months, talking about the Gospel.

Let me share again just to be clear: The Gospel is the good news of God’s love for mankind expressed in the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ through which we will have eternal life if we believe in Him alone for our salvation. Our salvation is nothing that we can earn, and nothing we can do can obligate God to save us. It is purely by His grace that Jesus came and lived and died and rose.

I personally like to use the term “surrender” when talking about believing in Christ. That’s because instead of surrendering being something that we “do,” it’s really something that we “stop doing.” We stop resisting. We stop trying to save ourselves. We stop going our own way. We stop being our own god. If you haven’t trusted in Christ for your salvation, this morning you’re invited to surrender to Jesus as your Savior and your Lord. That happens right where you are… there in the pew.

And once we are in Christ, we can stand firm in the Gospel:

1 Corinthians 16:13 CSB

13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.

The problem is that we really like very clear, very doable tasks. If we can have a checklist for our salvation, then it’s super easy to know if we’re making the grade. And not only that, but it also makes it really easy to tell other people how to make the grade as well.

But the issue in both the story that Paul was telling and in Galatia, and even in us today is that we tend to think that faith in Jesus isn’t quite enough to save us. Surely we have to do something more to merit God’s favor? No! And to add anything to faith in Jesus for salvation is to cheapen the Gospel.

The problem is that we really like very clear, very doable tasks. If we can have a checklist for our salvation, then it’s super easy to know if we’re making the grade. And not only that, but it also makes it really easy to tell other people how to make the grade as well. This will come up over and over again in the book of Galatians, but here’s just one verse to illustrate this point:

1 Corinthians 16:13 CSB

13 Be alert, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.

Galatians 5:1 CSB

1 For freedom, Christ set us free. Stand firm then and don’t submit again to a yoke of slavery.

1 Peter 5:12 CSB

12 Through Silvanus, a faithful brother (as I consider him), I have written to you briefly in order to encourage you and to testify that this is the true grace of God. Stand firm in it!

Now, I’m not saying that there’s not some actions that should follow our salvation. There certainly are. We are not to lie, steal, commit adultery, etc. We aren’t free from the moral law as a way to live, but as a means of being saved! We don’t obey because we are trying to earn or to keep our salvation out of fear or insecurity, but we obey in gratitude to our wonderful God who has given us freedom and security in our salvation in Christ!

We preserve the Gospel by keeping salvation about God’s grace in Christ. We also preserve the Gospel by teaching disciples to observe everything that Jesus commanded us. That’s what being a disciple is: we don’t become disciples by imitating Christ, we become disciples in surrendering to Jesus’ invitation. But disciples necessarily are to take on the characteristics of their master. And that’s Jesus.

So we must be willing to stand firm, preserving the integrity of the Gospel and resisting the idea that our salvation is Jesus + anything else. And part of standing firm is to preach the Gospel.

2: We must preach the Gospel of grace.

Disciples are those who will make more disciples. And how do we make more disciples of Jesus? By preaching the message of the Gospel of God’s amazing grace! I have been given the responsibility by the church family at Eastern Hills to shepherd this congregation. But that doesn’t mean that I’m the only one who is supposed to be preaching the Gospel. I’m just the one who does so in front of the whole congregation, yes, with the hope that those who come here who don’t belong to Christ would surrender their lives to Him, but even more so with the aim of spurring the entire family on toward preaching the Gospel everywhere.

Address the “what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism” in application? That we all have the calling to be missionaries where we are (not the church building, but outside)?

Paul addressed this in what he wrote in Galatians: in verse 6 of , Paul said:

Galatians 2:6 CSB

6 Now from those recognized as important (what they once were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism)—they added nothing to me.

While the church had recognized the apostles as “important,” it didn’t really make them any more important in the sharing of the Gospel. They weren’t “more apostle-y” than Paul was. They were to lead the church to share the Gospel and to walk as disciples.

Beloved brothers and sisters in Christ: you can be MUCH more effective than I can in preaching the Gospel. Look at how many mouths there are in here! We are to preach the Gospel! We all have the calling to be missionaries where we are (not the church building, but outside)?

That we all have the calling to be missionaries where we are (not the church building, but outside)?

1 Corinthians 9:16 CSB

16 For if I preach the gospel, I have no reason to boast, because I am compelled to preach—and woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!

2 Timothy 4:2 CSB

2 Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; rebuke, correct, and encourage with great patience and teaching.

And how we are most effective is when we partner together in the sharing of the Gospel… we do more together than we can alone.

3: We must partner in the Gospel of grace.

3: We must partner in the Gospel of grace.

We must be ready and willing to work together with those of like faith to advance the message of the Gospel of grace. They may have strengths or resources that we need, and we might have strengths and resources that they need.

Shine with Monterey for Manzano.

We gain strength from working alongside each other.

2 Timothy 2:22 CSB

22 Flee from youthful passions, and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.

But this doesn’t mean that only the SBC denomination has everything right. In fact, we know that we don’t always get everything right. That’s why we should be willing to work alongside other evangelical denominations to advance the message of the Gospel.

Part of preserving is NOT partnering in ways that will dilute or hinder the clarity of the message of the Gospel.

2 Corinthians 6:14 CSB

14 Don’t become partners with those who do not believe. For what partnership is there between righteousness and lawlessness? Or what fellowship does light have with darkness?

We are to work together, as a body, as a team, to proclaim the Gospel of God’s grace in Christ to those who are lost.

Closing

Paul preserved the Gospel of grace, he preached the Gospel of grace, and he partnered with other like-minded believers in the work of the Gospel of grace. And we must do the same! We as the local body of believers at Eastern Hills are to work together to preserve and preach the Gospel, and we are to work together with other fellowships of believers who share our faith to preserve and preach the Gospel in this city. And we are to join together in supporting other believers around the world as they preserve and preach the Gospel in places that maybe we ourselves can’t reach… or maybe… we can reach, and be those who are then supported.