top of page

The Two-Hundred-Thirtieth (Galatians Part 3)

Writer's picture: RobRob

We’re going to continue our study of Galatians this week in chapter two, but first, there’s something interesting that is showing up often lately and it needs a mention.  It has to do with some scientific experiments done relatively recently and what those experiments suggest.  The experiments actually earned the physicists involved a Nobel prize in 2022.


Without getting into too much detail, the suggestion is that the universe we live in is a simulation.  The experiments conducted showed that where once we thought nothing could move faster than the speed of a photon, light, we now know that at a minimum, information, or characteristics, of our universe travel at faster than the speed of light.  They found that light changes its characteristics based on whether or not it is being observed, and that change can even occur after the light has left its source.


For a little bit more context, in these experiments they sent a photon from its source to a destination.  When they saw its effects once it reached its destination, it showed that the photon had certain characteristics.  They then used a measurement device mid-stream between the source and destination at a location where the photon would have to have a different characteristic and thereby arrive at its destination with a different result.  When they had this measurement device on, the photon acted differently than when it was off.  They even turned it on after the photon left its source but before it reached its destination and the photon’s characteristics were just as if the measurement device was on the whole time (in other words, the photon somehow “knew” before it left its source that it was going to be observed).  They even tried to “trick” the photon by having the measurement device in position, but not having it plugged in, and somehow the photon “knew” that it wasn’t going to be observed despite the measuring device being there.


If none of that makes sense and you’re thoroughly confused at this point, don’t worry!  It’s ok!  The bottom line realization that I came to with all this is that they unknowingly proved that YHWH exists!  There are three things that I believe these experiments prove, if they were conducted properly (and I don’t think they would have received the Nobel prize if they weren’t): 1) there is an intelligent being (YHWH) that exists outside of time and “runs” the universe, 2) what we see, feel, taste, touch and hear is influenced by a dimension that is beyond the physical (i.e. a spiritual one), and 3) a photon, or light, is something that YHWH uses to “run” the universe and also communicate, or pass information, to us.  


Just to be perfectly clear and obvious, these are things we already know from studying scripture!  We know YHWH exists because scripture told us, and it’s not that He’s running a “simulation” it’s that He, as a spiritual being, is the source of what we see physically and He is in control of all things.  We also know from scripture that He exists outside of what we perceive as time, which explains why a photon could “know” before it left its source whether or not it would be observed during its travel.  And how many times do we see in scripture that Yeshua, the Son of YHWH, said He is light?! (John 3:19, 8:12, 9:5, 12:46)


Anyway, I just figured that might be something you found interesting, so I hope you did!  Now, back to Galatians!      


Moving on to chapter two, Paul continues his “proof” that he brings a message from YHWH and Yeshua vice from any man, even the apostles, by recounting how he was led by the Holy Spirit to go to Jerusalem (Galatians 2:1-10).  This is one of the unique situations where we can cross-reference a non-Pauline writing with a letter Paul wrote because this event was also written of by Luke in the book of Acts (Acts 15:5-21).  Paul makes a point to say he went to Jerusalem based on a revelation, rather than being told to by another believer, and he even sought the Christian leaders when he got there to make sure he wasn’t going to “step on any toes” or that his mission to the Gentiles wasn’t wrong or pointless.


While in Jerusalem, he found out that those “highly esteemed” individuals in Jerusalem were preaching a message of reverting back to slavery in the Law instead of freedom in Yeshua’s grace.  What we find in Acts is that, unsurprisingly, those esteemed individuals were actually formerly Pharisees.  Their indoctrination into, and love for, the ordinances had made its way into how they interpreted how to follow Yeshua, and they were trying to impose that view on the Gentiles that were coming into the faith.


Peter spoke first with his experience preaching to the Gentiles and the fact that YHWH chose for them to hear and believe (Acts 10).  In a vision commonly used to “prove” that YHWH authorized eating any animal, Peter rightfully came to understand that YHWH was actually telling him he needed to preach the good news to the Gentiles so they could also believe.  He pointed out to the former Pharisees that to YHWH, the Gentiles were no different than the Jews and their hearts were cleansed by faith rather than by following the Law.  


Then, Paul, along with Barnabas, described all the miraculous things YHWH had done through them for the Gentiles.  To this, the former Pharisees were silent, knowing that YHWH would not have done those things if He did not cleanse by faith rather than compliance to the Law.  Then, James says something interesting that is also used by many to justify following certain laws rather than others.


James specifies that they should tell the Gentiles to not eat food polluted by idols or meat from animals that were strangled, not commit sexual immorality, and also to not drink blood.  The thing that most seem to ignore however, is James’s following sentence.  He says “for…,” meaning they should only mention those things to the Gentiles because the Law of Moses has been ubiquitous in all the cities for a very long time and is also read in the synagogues every Sabbath.


What does this tell us?  First off, that believers during that time became intimately involved with the Jewish believers at the time.  Acting out their faith included talking to and interacting with the Jews that believed, those who grew up in the Law of Moses, even to the point where they were attending synagogue with them every Sabbath.  James’s whole point was to address what they were to do regarding the Gentiles.  For this, he wouldn’t have given the basis for his viewpoint as something solely to do with the Jews unless it had some impact or relation to the Gentiles.  


The second thing this tells us is that in his proposal, James didn’t intend for the Gentiles to completely ignore the Law of Moses.  He didn’t want to “cause trouble” for those turning to YHWH, and bombarding them with hundreds of commandments would certainly have caused trouble in the form of anxiety from being overwhelmed!  It probably would have led to some giving up on the faith as well as they struggled to keep up with it all.  James knew that these Gentiles would be talking to Jewish believers regularly and even going to synagogue with them on Shabbat, so they would hear about all the commandments that way.  You see, James proposed hitting the high points of some key parts of the Law and then letting the Holy Spirit work in the Gentiles for the rest of it.  To think about it another way, why would James suggest telling the Gentiles to follow any commandment if they were meant to follow none of them?  I mean, didn’t Paul say that those who only do some of the Law are cursed? (We’ll get to that next week!)


Back in Galatians, Paul’s point is that these Pharisees were trying to make the Law a requirement for believers in order for them to be saved.  He again points out that the fact that these individuals were highly regarded meant nothing as far as supporting their argument that the Law should be a requirement.  He also mentions that whatever one man thinks of another doesn’t matter to YHWH because He does not favor anyone based on what they do or say or how they look.  We know from scripture elsewhere that He judges based on the heart (1 Samuel 16:7, Hebrews 4:12).  


To close out that event, Paul talks about how the leaders of believers, James, Peter and John, gave him and Barnabas their blessing to preach to the Gentiles.  They then focused on the Jews while Paul and Barnabas went to the Gentiles.  Above all however, they were to make sure to take care of the poor whenever they could.  He definitely followed this direction as we read elsewhere of him taking up offerings for the poor (Romans 15:25-27).


In the next portion of this chapter, Paul shows that even so-called “pillars” of the faith should not be seen as doing no wrong or being above how we should walk as believers (Galatians 2:11-14).  He confronts Peter about how he changed the way he acted based on fear of what others might think.  Peter was fellowshipping with Gentiles, but then started to distance himself based on what some Jewish believers were saying.  This attitude ended up spreading to other Jewish believers like Barnabas, naturally, because Peter was one of the top leaders in the faith.


Paul didn’t hesitate to call Peter out in front of others though, which is another lesson for us today.  Part of being a Christian is holding each other accountable in our walk with Yeshua.  If someone, especially a leader, is not walking in line with the truth of the gospel, we shouldn’t be afraid to confront them about it.  Maybe doing it in front of a group of believers isn’t an appropriate first step, but Yeshua did give us a model by which we should address these types of things (Matthew 18:15-17).    


First, talk to the individual privately.  If he or she listens and repents, not only have you helped a fellow believer they will appreciate the discreet way in which you did it.  If he or she does not repent, bring a couple others to confront the person.  This will not only give credibility to your point, because more than one person agrees with it, but it gives the individual another opportunity to change with a minimum number of people having knowledge of the situation.  If that still doesn’t work, the whole group/congregation should be involved, that through numbers and agreement it should influence the individual to change.  Finally, if that doesn’t cause repentance, the individual should be cast out of the church.


My personal view is that if this model was being followed by all believers, we would have far fewer scandalous situations where church leaders make it into the news by their sinful acts.  We would also be better believers, as acting this way in these situations not only gives us confidence in our faith but brings us together in it.  And not to mention, dealing with these situations in this way would give credence to non-believers that our faith is something we live by, rather than giving them a reason to label us as hypocrites.


We’re going to leave it there for this week, because the last part of this chapter is better studied by including the beginning of the next and we don’t have time to get into all that right now.  Some key aspects of this week’s study to remember is that like we saw last week, we should consider anything we receive by the Holy Spirit as being a higher authority than any person, regardless of their stature in life or in the faith.  We also should remember that one of our jobs as a believer is to help each other stay in the truth of the gospel and live by it.  Even if that individual is a leader in a church.


We hope you have a wonderful week! Shabbat shalom and YHWH bless you!


-Rob and Sara Gene

0 views0 comments

Recent Posts

See All

Comments


bottom of page