And when he had saluted them, he declared particularly what things God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry.
Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles arrived at Jerusalem and was received gladly by the brethren, whose hearts were open to the glad tidings he brought and who loved him for the sake of Christ and the truth, though everywhere he met prejudice, envy, and jealousy. That cheering greeting did not remove his anxiety about the attitude of the church at Jerusalem toward himself and his work, whose real feelings would be fully seen in the meeting with the elders of the church on the morrow.
The verse describes that meeting with James and the elders at Jerusalem, where Paul with his companions and delegates from the Gentile churches presented contributions from the Gentile churches to support the poor Jewish believers. Those gifts reflected the loyalty of the Gentile converts to the wider work of God and involved sacrifice and hardship, proving the faithfulness of the new Gentile churches. They cost Paul much time, anxious thought, and wearisome labor, and far exceeded what the Jewish elders expected, so they should have drawn warm gratitude and appreciation. Instead they were received coldly, fulfilling Paul's half-acknowledged fears about how they would be received, and Paul found comfort only in the consciousness that he had done his duty and had encouraged a spirit of generosity and love in his converts.
After presenting the gifts, Paul gave a detailed, factual report of what God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry during the four years since he had parted from them, covering his manner of labor and its results. The report was tidings of gospel progress and evidence that God's power and heaven's blessing were working with his efforts. The account included the work at Ephesus that raised up a large church in the very stronghold of heathenism, the experience in Galatia with difficulties from Judaizing teachers who misrepresented his teaching and perverted his converts, and the work at Corinth with those who spread confusion and strife in the church there. He gave the whole account with great gentleness and courtesy, avoiding everything that would unnecessarily wound his brethren and dwelling especially on topics where they could harmonize, yet necessarily touching points that irritated cherished prejudice against him.
The report stood before the same audience in the same city where years before at the apostolic council he had related his conversion and the great work God had wrought through him among the Gentiles, and the same battle with the same prejudices had to be fought again. The report, with the liberal offerings before them, was blessed by the Spirit to impress minds and affect hearts, softening the brethren's feelings toward Paul. It convinced all hearers, even doubters, that their prejudice against him was unfounded and that heaven's blessing had accompanied his labors and his methods of labor bore heaven's approval. It led them to glorify God for the wonders of His grace and to join at the close in solemn praise, with many voices swelling the Amen in hearty sanction of his work.
It opened the eyes of those leaders who had urged arbitrary measures of control to see his ministry in a new light and to recognize their own course had been wrong. They saw that they had been held in bondage by Jewish customs and traditions, and that they had greatly hindered the work of the gospel by failing to recognize that Christ's death had broken down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile.
Paul as the apostle to the Gentiles arrived at Jerusalem and was received gladly by the brethren, whose hearts were open to the glad tidings he brought and who loved him for the sake of Christ and the truth, though everywhere he met prejudice, envy, and jealousy. That cheering greeting did not remove his anxiety about the attitude of the church at Jerusalem toward himself and his work, whose real feelings would be fully seen in the meeting with the elders of the church on the morrow.
The verse describes that meeting with James and the elders at Jerusalem, where Paul with his companions and delegates from the Gentile churches presented contributions from the Gentile churches to support the poor Jewish believers. Those gifts reflected the loyalty of the Gentile converts to the wider work of God and involved sacrifice and hardship, proving the faithfulness of the new Gentile churches. They cost Paul much time, anxious thought, and wearisome labor, and far exceeded what the Jewish elders expected, so they should have drawn warm gratitude and appreciation. Instead they were received coldly, fulfilling Paul's half-acknowledged fears about how they would be received, and Paul found comfort only in the consciousness that he had done his duty and had encouraged a spirit of generosity and love in his converts.
After presenting the gifts, Paul gave a detailed, factual report of what God had wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry during the four years since he had parted from them, covering his manner of labor and its results. The report was tidings of gospel progress and evidence that God's power and heaven's blessing were working with his efforts. The account included the work at Ephesus that raised up a large church in the very stronghold of heathenism, the experience in Galatia with difficulties from Judaizing teachers who misrepresented his teaching and perverted his converts, and the work at Corinth with those who spread confusion and strife in the church there. He gave the whole account with great gentleness and courtesy, avoiding everything that would unnecessarily wound his brethren and dwelling especially on topics where they could harmonize, yet necessarily touching points that irritated cherished prejudice against him.
The report stood before the same audience in the same city where years before at the apostolic council he had related his conversion and the great work God had wrought through him among the Gentiles, and the same battle with the same prejudices had to be fought again. The report, with the liberal offerings before them, was blessed by the Spirit to impress minds and affect hearts, softening the brethren's feelings toward Paul. It convinced all hearers, even doubters, that their prejudice against him was unfounded and that heaven's blessing had accompanied his labors and his methods of labor bore heaven's approval. It led them to glorify God for the wonders of His grace and to join at the close in solemn praise, with many voices swelling the Amen in hearty sanction of his work.
It opened the eyes of those leaders who had urged arbitrary measures of control to see his ministry in a new light and to recognize their own course had been wrong. They saw that they had been held in bondage by Jewish customs and traditions, and that they had greatly hindered the work of the gospel by failing to recognize that Christ's death had broken down the wall of partition between Jew and Gentile.