Galatians 2:4 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery—

NIV: This matter arose because some false believers had infiltrated our ranks to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus and to make us slaves.

NASB: Yet it was a concern because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who had sneaked in to spy on our freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us.

CSB: 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.

NLT: Even that question came up only because of some so-called believers there — false ones, really — who were secretly brought in. They sneaked in to spy on us and take away the freedom we have in Christ Jesus. They wanted to enslave us and force us to follow their Jewish regulations.

KJV: And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:

NKJV: And this occurred because of false brethren secretly brought in (who came in by stealth to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage),

When the church was born, most of the new believers in Jesus were Jewish people who had grown up following the law of Moses. Males among this group would have been circumcised at a young age; this distinctive practice is often used as a shorthand for the entire law of Moses. As faithful Jews, these early Christians would have been raised to avoid associating with non-Jewish people—Gentiles—in specific situations.

After these people believed in Jesus, many of them continued to follow at least some of the practices of the Law. But what if you told the good news of salvation through faith in Jesus to someone who had never been Jewish, had never followed the Law? What did they have to "do" to be included in this new thing called Christianity?

Paul preached what Jesus gave to him to say: these non-Jewish believers didn't have to "do" anything differently to be saved and included. That, in fact, is a core message of the gospel, that Jesus already did it all on the cross. So, in the case of Gentile believers, they didn't need to be circumcised as if they were joining Judaism under the law of Moses (Exodus 12:48). Paul has reported that the most influential Christian leaders in Jerusalem, all Jewish and mostly apostles, agreed with him. They did not require, for instance, that Paul's Greek friend Titus be circumcised to be saved (Galatians 2:3).

But some others in Jerusalem did think Titus should be circumcised. Paul called these men "false brothers." Their position is stated clearly in Acts 15:1: "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved." Paul said emphatically: That is not the gospel of Jesus. That is false. This is a crucial aspect of how the New Testament explains salvation; Scripture is explicitly clear that any attempt to add works, rituals, or any other requirements to salvation by grace through faith is false and worthy of condemnation (Galatians 1:8–9).

Paul even accuses those teaching a requirement of works in the Christian church of being spies, practicing espionage for the purpose of taking away the freedom Christ gives and replacing it with a slavery to the Law.

Galatians 2:1–10 describes an important meeting in Jerusalem between Paul and the other apostles. Paul is pleased to learn they preach the same gospel of God's grace through faith in Christ that he does. They agree that Gentiles should not be made to follow the law, and they endorse Paul's God-given calling to preach to the Gentiles. Peter, James, and John offer to him and Barnabas, his partner in ministry, the right hand of fellowship, a symbol of their support, approval, and unity with them.

Paul holds a crucial meeting with the other apostles. Do they preach, as he does, that salvation can only be found through faith in Christ and not by following the law? He learns that they do, though ''false brothers'' in their midst are opposed to this gospel of God's grace. After receiving official approval from Peter and the others, Paul later opposes Peter for publicly trying to distance himself from Gentile Christians out of fear of how others might respond. Paul declares that justification comes only through faith in Christ and not by the works of the law.

In Galatians 1, Paul defended himself in order to defend the trustworthiness of his message. He made the case that he was a legitimate apostle. He shows in Galatians 2 that the other apostles stand with him in teaching the gospel of salvation through faith in Christ. He describes a moment in which he rebuked Peter for hypocrisy and then makes the case that only faith in Christ can bring justification for any person in the eyes of God. The works of the law can never make anyone righteous, or Christ would not have had to die.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.