Galatians 2:4

And that--that is, What I did concerning Titus (namely, by not permitting him to be circumcised) was not from contempt of circumcision, but "on account of the false brethren" (Act 15:1, Act 15:24) who, had I yielded to the demand for his being circumcised, would have perverted the case into a proof that I deemed circumcision necessary. unawares--"in an underhand manner brought in." privily--stealthily. to spy out--as foes in the guise of friends, wishing to destroy and rob us of our liberty--from the yoke of the ceremonial law. If they had found that we circumcised Titus through fear of the apostles, they would have made that a ground for insisting on imposing the legal yoke on the Gentiles. bring us into bondage--The Greek future implies the certainty and continuance of the bondage as the result.

The apostle, in this chapter, continues the relation of his past life and conduct, which he had begun in the former; and, by some further instances of what had passed between him and the other apostles, makes it appear that he was not beholden to them either for his knowledge of the gospel or his authority as an apostle, as his adversaries would insinuate; but, on the contrary, that he was owned and approved even by them, as having an equal commission with them to this office. I. He particularly informs them of another journey which he took to Jerusalem many years after the former, and how he behaved himself at that time (Gal 2:1-10). And, II. Gives them an account of another interview he had with the apostle Peter at Antioch, and how he was obliged to behave himself towards him there. From the subject-matter of that conversation, he proceeds to discourse on the great doctrine of justification by faith in Christ, without the works of the law, which it was the main design of this epistle to establish, and which he enlarges more upon in the two following chapters.

2:4-5 The false Christians entered the church there (either Jerusalem or Antioch) to subvert Paul’s message that Gentiles are free from Jewish requirements such as circumcision. 2:4 By labeling some so-called believers as false, Paul denied that they were Christians at all. They did not understand or truly receive the Good News, in contrast with the apostles in Jerusalem (2:3). • were secretly brought in: Paul implies that a larger group of Jewish “Christians” opposed his preaching (cp. Acts 15:5) and stood behind the false teachers who entered the church. • Requiring Gentile Christians to observe Jewish law would enslave them to regulations (see Gal 3:23–4:11) and deny the Good News of Christ.