Galatians 2:9 - Printer Friendly

ESV: and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

NIV: James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as 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 circumcised.

NASB: and recognizing the grace that had been given to me, James and Cephas and John, who were reputed to be pillars, gave to me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, so that we might go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised.

CSB: 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.

NLT: In fact, James, Peter, and John, who were known as pillars of the church, recognized the gift God had given me, and they accepted Barnabas and me as their co-workers. They encouraged us to keep preaching to the Gentiles, while they continued their work with the Jews.

KJV: And when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and they unto the circumcision.

NKJV: and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

The Christians of Galatia are being influenced by a group known as the Judaizers. These false teachers claim that Gentiles need to be circumcised and to follow Old Testament law in order to be saved. These same men are claiming that Paul's authority is suspect. In response, Paul has pointed out how he obtained his understanding of the gospel directly from Christ, and that he was in total agreement with the other apostles.

Paul now makes his strongest point to the Galatian believers: his message of salvation through God's grace without following the Law has been formally approved by the other apostles. Paul met with the other apostles in Jerusalem. The three most influential leaders, James, Peter (Cephas), and John, saw the grace given to Paul by God to carry out his ministry (Galatians 1:15). In other words, they agreed with Paul's testimony that Christ had been revealed to him and had called him as an apostle. So those three gave to Paul and Barnabas, his partner in ministry, their seal of approval called "the right hand of fellowship." We might assume this is a kind of official hand shake, but what "the right hand of fellowship" represents in the New Testament is acceptance and inclusion in the group.

Paul wanted the Galatian Christians to fully understand that he was not some rogue teacher running around the world teaching a maverick version of the gospel. He preached the same message Jesus' closest disciples did. They saw the grace of God in him, and they approved of his ministry. Anyone who would reject the gospel as Paul preached it would also be rejecting the teaching of those most famously connected to Jesus at the time. And, as Paul clarified earlier, this means all who attempt to add additional requirements to salvation, beyond faith in Christ, are false teachers, "false brothers," (Galatians 2:4) and subject to condemnation (Galatians 1:8–9).

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.