“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.” (Galatians 2:9, ESV)
In the mid-seventies, I served in the United States Army as a tank platoon leader. In our company there were three tank platoons and, in the battalion, there were three tank companies. On several occasions, we went to the field to train in combat operations. In most cases, when we were given a joint mission with the other tank platoons in the battalion, we were given specific company objectives and subsequent platoon orders. One of the things that we were given in these orders were basic lanes of operation to the objective. These were zones on a map that each platoon was to maneuver within so that the entire battlefield was covered and to prevent the possibility of accidentally engaging a friendly unit.
On one occasion while we were on a training exercise, it happened that another platoon crossed over into our area of operation. It was not intentional, but the platoon leader of that unit which was supposed to be on our right flank got lost. We nearly engaged them with simulated fire from our tanks until I saw the platoon leader standing on his tank’s turret with his map spread out. So, we did not engage that unit. If this were a real combat situation, the results would have been disastrous.
The point is this, lines of demarcation have an appropriate role in various situations. In the beginning of Paul’s letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul has validated his apostolic authority and his message as truth in a variety of ways. Now, he presented an additional proof. It was the authenticated lines of demarcation in the ministry.
Paul met with the leaders of the Jerusalem church and in this meeting many important things happened. In these verses we see the demarcation of responsibilities. Peter and the Jerusalem leaders were reach the “circumcised,” that is the Jews. Paul was to take the gospel to the “uncircumcised,” that is to the Gentile regions.
It is important to note that this demarcation was not set up by Paul and the Jerusalem leaders. If we look carefully at these verses, we see that the Lord had established this.
“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),” (Galatians 2:7–8, ESV)
The key words hear are “entrusted” and “worked through.” These reveal to us that the Lord established and empowered both Peter’s ministry to the Jews and Paul’s to the Gentiles. So, what happened in this meeting? We see it in the following verse.
“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.” (Galatians 2:9, ESV)
The Jerusalem leaders perceived that the power of God’s grace had been given to Paul for his ministry to the Gentiles. Seeing this, they affirmed Paul’s calling to preach the gospel in the remote regions and extended to Paul and Barnabas the “right hand of fellowship,” concluding that Paul would go to the uncircumcised with the gospel and they to the circumcised.
God is a God of order. We are to sense and follow His leading in areas of ministry. Moreover, we see a precedent here of receiving affirmation from spiritual men in our calling. This is what happens when churches ordain people to the gospel ministry. The Lord is the one who ultimately appoints a person to a specific ministry. Yet it is a council of men, through observation and examination, who will affirm that the Lord indeed has chosen a specific person for an area of ministry.
Renewing the Heart 