◄ Galatians 2 Devotional Commentary ►

Galatians 2:3

The question of legalism was perhaps the most important issue in the early Church that needed to be addressed. Jews that were steeped in the Mosaic Law were prepared to add elements of Christianity to their Judaism by believing in Jesus for the forgiveness of sin, but they were not prepared to live by faith alone - preferring to revert back to the Law as they lived out their daily lives through works of the flesh. Foolishly, they chose to remain read more...

Galatians 2:4

Although much of Paul's ministry was independent from the other apostles of Christ, there was always a fundamental unity between them, and his visit to the Holy City and attendance at the Jerusalem Council, demonstrates the importance of Christian unity through doctrinal purity.

Following his conversion and the years he spent in Arabia, Paul began to minister around Syria and Cilicia. However, he received revelation from the read more...

Galatians 2:8

All Christ's chosen apostles were men who accompanied the Lord Jesus from the very beginning until the day He ascended into heaven. They all witnessed His Resurrection and were all men who travelled with Jesus when He started "to go in and out among them," during John the Baptist's ministry (when he challenged the lost sheep of the house of Israel to "repent of their sins," for the kingdom of heaven was at hand and their King was in their read more...

Galatians 2:9

Paul had been entrusted to go to the Gentiles and preach the gospel of grace to 'the uncircumcised' while Peter had been given a responsibility towards Israel, 'the circumcised'. Both were empowered by the same Spirit of God, Who equipped both men for their respective ministries.

It was necessary for both Peter and Paul to receive revelation from the Lord about the post-Cross dispensation of the grace of read more...

Galatians 2:11

Both Peter and Paul were apostles of Christ who had been called and chosen by the Lord, but like every one of us, they were also able to slip back into carnality and sin – and like each of us, there were times when they also had to be corrected by another brother in Christ and re-examine their faith to see if they were adhering to the truth of the gospel or being led astray, into legalism.

After Paul had been so gloriously saved on the road to read more...

Galatians 2:12

The book of Galatians was written by the apostle Paul, who had been called and chosen to be God's apostle to the Gentiles. He was commissioned as an apostle by the risen, ascended, glorified Lord Jesus Christ, and the gospel he taught came to Paul by a revelation from the Lord Jesus Himself. The epistle to the Galatians makes it clear from the start, that the gospel preached by Paul was not based on human thought. He did not receive it from any human source, read more...

Galatians 2:14

The glorious gospel of salvation, by grace through faith in the sacrificial death and wonderful Resurrection of the Lord Jesus, should delight the worst of sinners. He paid the price for our sin on the Cross. He freed us from the curse of the Law which shows that the wages of sin is death. Christ died to pay the price for our sin so that we do not need to die to pay the price for our sin. He paid it ALL and He ROSE from the dead read more...

Galatians 2:16

The Law had been given to Israel through Moses, and even those religious Jews who prided themselves that they lived by the letter of the Law were incapable of keeping the spirit of the Law. It is no surprise that no-one could keep the Law completely, for God had designed His perfect Law to be a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, the one and only perfect Man Who lived His life, from start to finish, in accordance with God's perfect standard.

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Galatians 2:18

The epistle to the Galatians is not only a great proclamation of the liberty we enjoy in Christ and the amazing grace that is afforded to all who believe in the person and work of the Lord Jesus, it is also a serious warning against turning away from biblical truth to a false gospel. It is an important denunciation against religiosity. It is an outstanding polemic against legalism. 

The gospel of grace was the good news that Paul read more...

Galatians 2:19

As believers, we have been saved by grace through faith in Christ and not by keeping works of the Law. As Christians, we are identified in every way with the Lord Jesus. He identified with our sin so that we could identify with His righteousness. He became sin for us so that in God's eyes, we would be considered to be as righteous as Christ, Himself.

The Lord Jesus was not condemned by the Law, for the condemnation of the Law is read more...

Galatians 2:20

The death, burial, and Resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, are the critical elements of salvation. Nothing but faith in the Person and Work of Jesus is sufficient to reconcile us back to God and save us from our sin. The key truths of the gospel are believing that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that He was buried, and was raised on the third day, according to the read more...

Galatians 2:21

The Law was not given to tell sinners what to do to gain righteousness. The Law was given to show fallen men that godly righteousness is impossible to achieve through keeping the Law, because we are all sinners by nature, and we have all fallen short of God's perfection. The Law was the means God used to help sinful men see that we are all in need of a Saviour. Because God is righteous, He must punish sin.

God in His grace read more...