Church Unity: Galatians 2:11-16, especially vs. 11:
"...I withstood him to his face...."
The Lord prayed that, after the time of the Apostles, the Church would draw its unity from the oneness of God the Holy Trinity (Jn. 17:21). Consistently, the Lord Jesus always manifested His unity with the Father in His words and deeds. So, also, He prayed that the Church would ever express its Divine and Apostolic unity, both visibly and tangibly. Such oneness, however, does not come without unwaveringly adherence to "the truth of the Gospel" (Gal. 2:14).
Gospel truth may not be "of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:20,21). Hence, even as the source of Church unity remains invisible in the Godhead, the Church still expresses concretely her unbroken Communion with the coming Kingdom of God. In today's Epistle, we have St. Paul's account of a major challenge to this manifest unity that occurred in the New Testament era, caused by no less than the Apostle Peter himself. By God's grace, from the Apostles themselves, we are given an example of how threats to disunity are to be resolved.
Notice, first of all, that both Apostles accepted the reality that men are fallible. When St. Paul saw that the Apostle Peter "was to be blamed" (Gal.2:11), he openly questioned St. Peter before the whole assembly in Antioch (vs. 14). At stake was the primary place of "faith in Jesus Christ" (vs. 16), a doctrine so critical and necessary to the foundation of the Gospel that the Apostle Paul repeats the point three different ways in this one verse. Knowing that St. Peter always admitted error (see Acts 11:17), we can only assume that he agreed quickly with St. Paul.
The issue of "faith in Christ" came to the fore during a time when St. Peter came to Antioch in the course of his itinerant labors as chief Apostle "to the circumcised" (Gal. 2:7), that is, to the Jewish Christians. Early in his visit, he readily partook in the Agape feasts, which were shared by all in connection with the Eucharistic Liturgy (see 1 Cor. 11:20-27). Both Jewish and Gentile Christians (Gal. 2:12) sat at table eating together, and St. Peter, following the official counsel of the Council of Jerusalem (Acts 15:23-29), unquestioningly joined the rest.
However, when "certain men came from James" (vs. 12) the Brother of the Lord and the head of the Jewish Christian Jerusalem Church, the Apostle Peter separated himself from the Gentiles "fearing those of whom were of the circumcision" (vs. 12). Hypocritically, "the rest of the Jews" did the same, putting obedience to the Mosaic Law ahead of "faith in Christ" (vs.13). The change in behavior exposed the fallibility even of St. Peter and made confrontation inevitable.
More important, notice that the infallibility of the Church was affirmed. As one Apostle stumbled, another stood forth for the truth of the Gospel (vs. 14) and called all to the greater doctrine of justification for all Christians, "by faith in Christ" (vs. 16). St. James' "private interpretation" of a counsel given by the Holy Spirit at the Jerusalem Council was challenged, because "a man of God" spoke as he was "moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet. 1:20,21).
The visible, tangible unity of the Church has been realized in this fashion repeatedly through history. Not always have those at fault had the humility and responsiveness to the Spirit manifested by St. Peter. Heretics, like Arius and the iconoclasts, have persisted in their individual opinions against the whole Church. Schismatics, rather than submit to the truth of the Spirit spoken through the counsels of holy men, have asserted their power and position, as St. Peter might have done. Let us, as St. Peter, ever heed the Spirit and follow the truth in Christ.
Most blessed art Thou, O Christ our God, Who didst show the fishermen as most wise, having sent down upon them the Holy Spirit: O Lover of mankind, glory to Thee.