Unified Together On Mission
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. (Galatians 2:6-10)
Closing out this section of Paul’s testimony with his interactions with the apostles in order to prove the validity of his message against the Judaizers, in verse 6, Paul states that the apostles did not add anything to his message, “Now from those recognized as important (the apostles), they added nothing to me.” There was no need to add or change anything about Paul’s gospel message. In fact, in verses 7 and 8, they came to the conclusion through prayer that Paul was indeed called by God to reach the Gentiles just as how Peter was called to reach the Jews.
In verse 9, the ones the Judaizers held in high regard, James, Cephas, and John, acknowledged publicly Paul’s importance to reaching the Gentiles, “they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.” The only request, in verse 10, was that Paul would “remember the poor,” who were among the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. The leadership may have logically thought that since Paul would be focusing on the Gentiles, that he would start neglecting the Jews and their needs. Paul would make “every effort to do [so],” by collecting an offering on his third missionary journey and sending it to the church, as seen in 1 Corinthians 16:1-3:
Now about the collection for the Lord’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 3 Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
The Lord may call believers to different ministries and different people groups. One ministry is not above another; all are equally important in the overall mission: to preach the gospel to everyone. Paul and the apostles were called to different groups, but were unified together on mission with God. In the same manner, may we support one another’s ministries, always focusing on accomplishing the mission set before us by our Lord and Savior.
Blessings,
Isaac De Guzman
