Galatians 2:8
(for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles),
Truth to Learn
The Holy Spirit of God is effective and at work today.
Behind the Words
The word translated as “worked effectively” in the current verse is the Greek verb “energaysas” from which we get our English word energy. The Greek word means, “to be at work, to be effective, or to be operative.” It refers to the source of working power.
The word “apostleship” is a form of the Greek word “apostolos,” which is made up of “apo,” meaning “from or away from” and “stello,” meaning “to be sent.” Hence, “apostolos” means “one who is sent away from” (with a message).
Meaning Explained
Paul is now asserting that in the same way that Peter is an apostle of the Jews, he (Paul) is the apostle of the Gentiles. He asserts that it is so by the power, that is, the effective working, of the Holy Spirit. His purpose in making this point is that the false teachers in the churches of Galatia were claiming they had an angelic or apostolic source for their message, but Paul is demonstrating that he did not get his message from an angel or an apostle, rather he IS an apostle and he got his message directly from the risen Christ.
The question that we have to ask ourselves here is, what is Paul referring to when he says “worked effectively in”? Clearly, the one who did this effective work is the Holy Spirit. And, some commentators would have us believe that Paul is referring to the working of miracles by the Holy Spirit, particularly miracles of healing. Both Paul and Peter performed miracles of healing through the power of the Spirit as part of their ministry, including bringing people back to life. I submit to you, however, that “worked effectively in” has nothing to do with miraculous healings. Instead, it has everything to do with the miracle of salvation, brought about by the preaching of the gospel message. In Peter’s case, it was preaching the gospel to the Jews and in Paul’s case it was to the Gentiles.
In his explanation of this interaction with Peter, Paul never once mentions healing miracles. He does, however, mention the gospel. In verse two Paul talks about the gospel that he preached among the Gentiles and in verse seven he says that the key piece of the evidence of his apostleship was the gospel for the Gentiles which had been committed to him. Hence, Paul says that it is the gospel message, or more importantly, its effect, which is the evidence of his apostleship, not the working of miracles.
Application
Let’s take our focus off the working of miraculous healings today as evidence of a person’s ministry. Instead, let us look to the working of the Spirit of God in drawing sinners to Jesus Christ through faith. If you are looking for the miraculous working of the Holy Spirit today, then proclaim the gospel message. When you witness to someone and that person accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, you are seeing the Holy Spirit perform the miracle of salvation through faith.
In God’s service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2007 Will Krause. All rights reserved.
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