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NASB | Galatians 2:11 ¶ But when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Galatians 2:11 ¶ Now when Cephas (Peter) came to Antioch, I opposed him face to face [about his conduct there], because he stood condemned [by his own actions]. |
Bible Question:
I've got what I consider to be a tough question. Let me set it up for you to see. Most everyone knows the story of Cornelius in Acts 10 and the fact that Peter reiterates the story to his fellow Jews in Acts 11. I'm sure a few of you but maybe not all might know about the time one Apostle "chewed out" another Apostle, "opposed him to his face." Check out the story in Gal 2:11-21 from Paul himself. Yes, Paul opposed Peter in this touchy subject, set him straight and reminded of what he supposedly learned as cited in Acts 10 and 11. Now, my question: Where was the Holy Spirit if He was supposed to "dwelling in" the Apostles, including Peter? Why did He allow Peter to make this big goof and maybe even "embarass" the church at that time? As I'm sure this confrontation between Apostles caused quite a stir. Another minor question: Why did Paul see fit to spread this "gossip" to the brethren in Galatia if he discourages gossiping elsewhere as in 1 Tim 5:13? Please respond to both if you can. And of course, cite scriptures in support of your answers to these questions. |
Bible Answer: I'd almost forgotten about this post of mine... Well, my little question only got you two to respond so I'll give you my chop on the matter. EdB and Parable: I was striving to solicit your response/answer to the deeper question but maybe it wasn't clear. Both Paul and Peter were inspired by the same Holy Spirit and yet this happened and to me this seem a "biggie" as it surely should have embarrassed the church, especially those gathered at this time. So my question is: Why would the Holy Spirit allow such an infraction to go on with Peter in spite of his realization that God had placed His seal of approval on the whole Gentile nation being added to the body of Christ as cited earlier in Acts 10 and 11? I'm drawing another conclusion here so beware. In my mind the only reason why the Holy Spirit allowed this confrontation to display itself was to make a point for all time, for all of us throughout the world. Yes, the Holy Spirit descended on Cornelius and his household but you know us humans. Most of us like yours truly like to go back to the School of Hard Knocks. Me, I'm working on my PhD. The Holy Spirit had to make certain that all of us got the point. He wants the whole world to know that ALL of mankind knows we're all entitled to go to Heaven. God's Plan of Salvation is for every living human since the ressurrection of our Lord. Sometimes, we see this kind of special emphasis in other places. For example: we see Paul and Barnabas split up on their missionary journey because of Mark's immaturity. Paul takes Silas and Barnabas goes with Mark. My point is the Bible shows all the good AND bad of the major characters of the Bible. Everyone gets the same treatment. The second point is that even we christians can disagree now and again on a minor point but we still MUST maintain the harmony in the body for which our Lord prayed His last prayer on earth. I would be remiss if I failed to mention Paul's accepting Mark back into his closest circle with 2 Tim 4:11 Only Luke is with me. Get Mark and bring him with you, because he is helpful to me in my ministry. This also answers (at least in my mind) why Paul told the story in Galations. Well, what do you think? Am I all wet? God bless. --Rowdy |