Galatians 2:6 6 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.
Paul now clarifies any misunderstanding about how much his message relied on the confirmation of others. His answer is none at all. His message came from God who shows no partiality. This raises the question of Pal’s motivation for visiting Jerusalem. His message did not depend on any authorization from Jerusalem, but his mission effectiveness did. If the agitators, who were preaching circumcision as part of the gospel, came from these Jerusalem authorities, then there was a problem and Paul needed to resolve it. He obviously wanted unity in the early church. Going to those who had influence and discussing this issue seemed like the best way to resolve the tension out in the harvest fields.
Paul’s message would not change with this visit to Jerusalem. The effectiveness of the gospel in changing the lives of Gentiles would not change because this was the authentic and God-revealed message about salvation in Jesus Christ. What would change was how the early church was going to carry out its mission. Were they going to be on the same page, united in their efforts? Or was there going to be some type of split, with the legalistic Jewish Christians going down one path, and Paul with his message of freedom in Christ going down another?
Paul visited those who seemed to have influence, such as the Peter, James, and some of the other apostles. They had not influence on Paul but they did have influence on many others, and this could make the mission difficult. When we read Paul’s other letters, there are hints of similar issues of legalism in places like Ephesus, Corinth, and other places. This issue needed to be resolved at the possible source.
Cooperation as the body of Christ is essential in moving forward with the mission Christ left for us to do. For Paul, the central issue was orthodoxy. There can be no compromise about the gospel of freedom in Jesus Christ. Paul did not need the approval of any leaders in Jerusalem to preach this gospel. Likewise, a person does not need approval of any denomination or leader to preach the gospel, but it must be the genuine truth and not a distortion. Paul realized the importance of working together, even though he did not need approval. One example of this in modern times is women in ministry. God has called them to preach and teach. They do not need the approval of any church body to do this. They have patiently worked within structures to preserve unity and further the mission, but they are not beholden to any human for their call or preaching the gospel.
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