Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Galatians 2:6

Galatians 2:6. From those reputed to be something; lit., ‘those who have the estimation of being something,' that is, something great, or ‘those who are held in chief reputation,' ‘who are looked up to as authorities,' the ‘pillar' apostles, Galatians 2:9, or as Paul expresses it in 2 Corinthians 11:5; 2 Corinthians 12:11, ‘the very chiefest apostles.' It appears from Galatians 2:9 that he means the older Apostles, James, Peter, and John, who were justly regarded as the pillars of the Church. The expression may be depreciatory (comp. Galatians 6:3), according to the context. He does not, as already remarked, depreciate his colleagues, but disapproves the extravagant overestimate put upon them by the Judaizers in behalf of their own narrow and exclusive system and in opposition to Paul. His high sense of independence, far from being identical with pride, rested in his humility and was but the complement to his feeling of absolute dependence on God.

‘ What they once (formerly) were,' refers to their advantages in the personal intercourse with Christ, on which the Judaizers laid great stress, and on which they based the superiority of the Twelve. Paul made no account of the knowledge of Christ ‘after the flesh' (2 Corinthians 5:16), which was of no benefit to the Jews without faith.

God accepteth not man's person, or God is no regarder of person. A Hebraizing expression for impartiality. To regard a man's person, his face, wealth, rank, and external condition, as distinct from his intrinsic merits, is partiality, and this God never exercises (comp. Acts 10:34; Romans 2:11; Ephesians 6:9; Colossians 3:25).

For to me those, I say, reassumption of the unfinished sentence in another form, instead of: ‘From those of chief reputation I received no new instruction.'

Added (or communicated, imparted) nothing, i.e., by way of supplementing or correcting my exposition of the Gospel (Galatians 2:2), but on the contrary they were satisfied with it and with my mode of converting the Gentiles. (Others explain: laid no additional burden on me, namely, the ceremonial law; but they laid no burden on him at all.)

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Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Galatians 2:6

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