The Right Hand of Fellowship

“On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised (for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do.”

(Galatians 2:7-10 ESV)

As we look around at the Church, we see that ministry is carried out in various ways. There are wonderful preaching and teaching ministries. There are beautiful music ministries. There are exciting humanitarian ministries. There are engaging apologetic ministries.  There are ministries to specific people groups.  There are ministries targeting specific language groups.  There are ministries targeting specific age groups. There are ministries of translating Scripture, establishing congregations, and of evangelistic outreaches. And the list could go on for some time.



However, that being said, we have a tendency to believe that there is only one way to do ministry rightly. We have a tendency to believe that the best way to do ministry is the way that we do it. And only if others would get on board, if only they would do things our way, we think that the ministry of the Church as a whole would be so much better, and so much more effective.



As we look at the above passage, Paul was in the midst of a controversy. As he was reaching out to the Gentiles, some of the Jewish believers were insisting that they must be circumcised and follow all of the Jewish Law. Paul then went to the leaders of the church in Jerusalem to ensure that his ministry was not a waste of time. And he went to them to have his message validated.



As he did so, they added nothing to him. They added nothing to his message. And they recognized the specific nature of his ministry.



They acknowledged the fact that Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised. They acknowledged that they should go to the circumcised. And they acknowledged that Paul had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised. They acknowledged that he and Barnabas should go to the uncircumcised. And they gave to Paul the right hand of fellowship.



In other words, they acknowledged Paul as a brother in the Lord. They acknowledged him as a partner in ministry. They recognized his ministry, they validated it, and encouraged him to continue in it.



As we encounter our fellow believers who have a specific gifting, or a specific calling, we should do the same. Instead of arguing which form of ministry is more important, instead of bickering about which form of ministry is more effective, we should do the same. As long as their ministry is consistent with the gospel, we should give to them the right hand of fellowship and commend them to their ministry.