Acts 15:2 - Exposition

And when for when therefore, A.V.; questioning for disputation, A.V.; the brethren (in italics) appointed for they determined, A.V. Certain other of them . One of these would be Titus ( Galatians 2:1 ). The circumstance that, on this occasion, St. Paul did go up to those who were apostles before him, to consult with them on a matter of doctrine, shows at once why he refers so pointedly to this visit in Galatians 2:1 , etc., and is almost conclusive evidence that this visit is the one there referred to. The companionship of Barnabas; the agreement of the expression, "I went up by revelation," with the fact that he was sent by the Church, doubtless in obedience to some voice of the Spirit, like that mentioned in Acts 13:2 ; the occasion, a dispute about the circumcision of Gentile converts; the line taken by Paul and Barnabas in declaring the conversion of the Gentiles ( Acts 15:4 , Acts 15:12 ; Galatians 2:1-21 :27), and the result ( Acts 15:19 ; Galatians 2:5 , Galatians 2:7 , Galatians 2:9 ), are all strong, not to say conclusive, marks of the identity of the two visits. The apostles and elders . This phrase marks the constitution of the governing part of the Church of Jerusalem. The addition in Acts 13:22 and Acts 13:23 of "the whole Church," and (according to the T.R.) of "the brethren," shows the part the body of the believers had in approving and sanctioning the decisions of the elders. The transaction marks the position of the Church of Jerusalem as the metropolitan Church of Christendom.