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For the One who was at work in Peter’s apostleship to the circumcised was also at work in my apostleship to the Gentiles.
Galatians 2:8 · Berean Standard Bible
Parallel translations
  • WEB (for he who appointed Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision appointed me also to the Gentiles);
  • KJV (For he that wrought effectually in Peter to the apostleship of the circumcision, the same was mighty in me toward the Gentiles:)
  • NKJV (for He who worked effectively in Peter for the apostleship to the circumcised also worked effectively in me toward the Gentiles),
  • NASB (for He who was at work for Peter in his apostleship to the circumcised was at work for me also to the Gentiles),
  • NLT For the same God who worked through Peter as the apostle to the Jews also worked through me as the apostle to the Gentiles.

Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Quick answer

The same God who empowered Peter's apostleship to the Jews also empowered Paul's to the Gentiles. Both ministries had one divine source.

Overview

Paul attributes both his and Peter's apostolic work to God's effective calling. This shared divine commission places his Gentile mission on equal footing with Peter's. The unity of source confirms that the gospel of grace was God's design for all peoples.

Cross-references & the web

Cross-references · 22

  • Acts 9:15“Go!” said the Lord. “This man is My chosen instrument to carry My name before the Gentiles and their kings, and before the people of Israel.
  • Acts 22:21Then He said to me, ‘Go! I will send you far away to the Gentiles.’”
  • Acts 21:19Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
  • Acts 2:14–41Then Peter stood up with the Eleven, lifted up his voice, and addressed the crowd: “Men of Judea and all who dwell in Jerusalem, let this be known to you, and listen carefully to my words.
  • Acts 15:12The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
  • Acts 19:11–12God did extraordinary miracles through the hands of Paul,
  • Acts 8:17Then Peter and John laid their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
  • 1 Cor 15:10But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace to me was not in vain. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.
  • Acts 5:12–16The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.
  • Acts 1:25to take up this ministry and apostleship, which Judas abandoned to go to his rightful place.”
  • Acts 1:8But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
  • 1 Cor 9:2Even if I am not an apostle to others, surely I am to you. For you are the seal of my apostleship in the Lord.
  • Acts 4:4But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.
  • Acts 14:3–11So Paul and Barnabas spent considerable time there, speaking boldly for the Lord, who affirmed the message of His grace by enabling them to perform signs and wonders.
  • Acts 13:2–11While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
  • Acts 3:12–26And when Peter saw this, he addressed the people: “Men of Israel, why are you surprised by this? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
  • 2 Cor 11:4–5For if someone comes and proclaims a Jesus other than the One we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit than the One you received, or a different gospel than the one you accepted, you put up with it way too easily.
  • Acts 26:17–18I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them
  • Col 1:29To this end I also labor, striving with all His energy working powerfully within me.
  • 1 Cor 1:5–7For in Him you have been enriched in every way, in all speech and all knowledge,
  • Gal 3:5Does God lavish His Spirit on you and work miracles among you because you practice the law, or because you hear and believe?
  • Acts 19:26And you can see and hear that not only in Ephesus, but in nearly the whole province of Asia, Paul has persuaded a great number of people to turn away. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.

Themes, concepts, people & topics

Topics (3)

Resources, by level

Commentaries & study tools

  • VideoBibleProject — Galatians videosBibleProject · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.

  • VideoWatch teaching on Galatians 2:8YouTube · Lay · Free

    Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.

  • CommentaryEnduring Word — verse-by-verseDavid Guzik · Lay · Free · evangelical

    Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.

  • CommentaryClassic commentaries for this verseBibleHub (20+ works) · Pastoral · Free

    Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.

  • CommentaryMatthew Henry on GalatiansMatthew Henry · Pastoral · Free · evangelical

    The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).

  • ReferenceInterlinear, lexicon & Strong'sBlue Letter Bible · Seminary · Free

    Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.

Christ at the center

Christ became a curse for us to redeem us from the law's curse, that we might receive the Spirit and be sons — justified by faith in him, not by works.

How Galatians 2:8 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.

Original language

Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.