Paul Defends His Apostleship

11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not based on human thought. s 12 For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation t from Jesus Christ. u

13 For you have heard about my former way of life v in Judaism: w I persecuted x God’s church to an extreme degree and tried to destroy it. 14 I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. y 15 But when God, who from my birth set me apart and called z me by His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son a in me, so that I could preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. b 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem c to those who had become apostles d before me; instead I went to Arabia e and came back to Damascus. f

18 Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem g to get to know * Cephas, h i and I stayed with him 15 days. 19 But I didn’t see any of the other apostles except James, j the Lord’s brother. 20 Now I am not lying in what I write to you. God is my witness. k

21 Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria l and Cilicia. m 22 I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches in Christ; 23 they simply kept hearing: “He who formerly persecuted n us now preaches the faith o he once tried to destroy.” 24 And they glorified God because of me.

Paul Defends His Gospel at Jerusalem

2 Then after 14 years I went up again p to Jerusalem with Barnabas, q taking Titus r along also. 2 I went up according to a revelation s and presented to them the gospel I preach among the Gentiles—but privately to those recognized as leaders—so that I might not be running, or have run the race, in vain. 3 But not even Titus who was with me, though he was a Greek, was compelled to be circumcised. 4 This issue arose because of false brothers t smuggled in, who came in secretly to spy on the freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, in order to enslave us. 5 But we did not give up and submit to these people for even an hour, so that the truth u of the gospel would be preserved for you.

6 Now from those recognized as important (what they really were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism v w)—they added nothing to me. 7 On the contrary, they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel for the uncircumcised, x just as Peter y was for the circumcised, 8 since the One at work in Peter for an apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in me for the Gentiles. 9 When James, z * Cephas, a and John, b recognized as pillars, c acknowledged the grace that had been given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to me and Barnabas, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 They asked only that we would remember the poor, d which I made every effort to do.

Freedom from the Law

11 But when Cephas e came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face because he stood condemned. f 12 For he regularly ate with the Gentiles before certain men came from James. However, when they came, he withdrew and separated himself, because he feared those from the circumcision party. 13 Then the rest of the Jews g joined his hypocrisy, h so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they were deviating from the truth of the gospel, I told Cephas i in front of everyone, “If you, who are a Jew, live like a Gentile j and not like a Jew, k how can you compel Gentiles to live l like Jews?” m