And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), 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. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do. (Galatians 2:6–10, ESV)
In our final segment of Galatians 2:1-10, we learn that the beautiful, acceptable gospel is versatile, not rigid. Here, Paul detailed his private interactions with three of the most significant apostles in Jerusalem, James, Peter (or Cephas), and John (9). Three times in our text, Paul highlights how these apostles seemed to be influential or seemed to be pillars (2, 6, 9). He almost sounds condescending in his description of them, saying, "What they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality" (6). Paul was not being disrespectful of the apostles when he said these things, but respectful of God while challenging the legalists. Paul knew God and his gospel were superior to the apostles—he'd even said he should be cursed if he contradicted the gospel (1:8-9). But he also knew the legalists had appealed to the apostles, saying they approved of adding the law onto the gospel. So, now, here he describes their meeting by saying, "They seemed like a big deal. And what did they say? They said my gospel was legit. The same gospel they—especially Peter—preached to the Jewish world, I preached to the Gentile world. It has different points of emphasis because it reaches different types of people with different beliefs, but it is the same gospel! And I would think the apostles would know! And the only real request the apostles had was that caring for the poor be part of our message—and I was already about that!" This part of the story reminds us of the versatility of the gospel. It is not a message that changes, but it has something for every culture that has ever or will ever exist. It is versatile. In the classic children's book Charlotte's Web, Charlotte the spider tells Wilbur the pig that she is versatile. "What does 'versatile' mean — full of eggs?" Wilbur asks. "Certainly not," Charlotte replies. "'Versatile' means I can turn with ease from one thing to another."[1] And the gospel message is versatile—it can turn to address one thing or another. It can target the abuser or the abused. It can target highly conservative or religious societies (Iran) or very lax and liberal ones (France). It can target the poor or the rich. It can target people on both extremes of the political spectrum. It can target every tribe, nation, and tongue. It can impact a teenager who is battling anxiety or an octogenarian who is battling aging. It can go into the jungles of South America or the concrete jungles of modern society and reach people right where they are. It has a versatility to it that allows it to survive and thrive in any environment. It is not like a factory line, forcing people to come out the other side looking a specific way. It is more like a garden, causing individuals to flourish as God intended, bearing all sorts of fruit. But legalism makes people rigid. Everyone must look and act the same way. Conformity. Jesus said,
"No one puts new wine into old wineskins. If he does, the new wine will burst the skins and it will be spilled, and the skins will be destroyed. But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins." (Luke 5:37–38)
The context of these words was Jesus' willingness to eat with tax collectors and sinners, along with the absence of fasting as a regular practice for his disciples. Religious groups all around Jesus wanted to know why he and his team were vastly different from them. Jesus' answer was his way of saying he was bringing a fresh work—new wine—and only those still flexible could contain it. The rigid, old wineskin could not expand with the new, unfermented wine. So, new wine has to go into new wineskins, just as the gospel cannot fit into rigid religiosity. The gospel is versatile, and those who try to fit people into a legalistic box will only burst trying to contain the gospel's work. As Tim Keller wrote:
"If you forget that there is no culture-less presentation of the gospel, you will think there is only one true way to communicate it, and you are on your way to a rigid, culturally bound conservatism. If you forget that there is only one true gospel, you may fall into relativism, which will lead to a rudderless liberalism. Either way, you will be less faithful and less fruitful in ministry."[2]
Conclusion This passage tells us Paul's story of presenting this unearnable, freeing, and versatile gospel to the apostles in Jerusalem nearly 2,000 years ago, who stood up and recognized the gospel of grace as the gospel transmitted from Christ to them. We face a similar decision today. Our decision does not impact church history as much as theirs did, but it dramatically influences us, the people around us, and even subsequent generations. Will we think of acceptance by God as something we can earn through good works or religious ceremonies? If so, we have destroyed the gospel. Will we allow ourselves to come under human controls that tell us we must add this or that behavior to the gospel to be approved by God? If so, we have destroyed the gospel. And will we preach a message that forces everyone into a particular mold? If so, we have destroyed the gospel. We must accept this unearnable, freeing, and versatile gospel message just like the apostles did.
[1] White, E. B. 2013. Charlotte’s Web. London, England: Puffin. [2] Keller, Timothy. 2012. Center Church: Doing Balanced, Gospel-Centered Ministry in Your City. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.