But I was personally unknown to the Christian churches in Judea;

They had only heard it said about me, "This person, who had once persecuted us [Christians], is now preaching the faith he once made havoc of."

My concern was because of the false brothers [those people masquerading as Christians] who had been secretly smuggled in [to the community of believers]. They had slipped in to spy on the freedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to bring us back into bondage [under the Law of Moses].

For until certain men came from James he used to eat with the Gentile Christians, but when they came, he began to draw back and to separate himself, because he was afraid of the circumcision party.

And the rest of the Jewish Christians also dissimulated with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy.

But, when I saw that they did not act in harmony with [the principles of] the truth of the Gospel [message], I said to Cephas in front of everyone, "If you, being a Jew, act like a Gentile [by showing such discrimination], how do you expect to persuade Gentiles to live like Jews [i.e., like Christian Jews who are taught to love all people]?"

Are you so foolish [as to believe that after] having begun [your Christian lives] through [the power of] the Holy Spirit, you can [now] become complete by [living according to your human strength]?

for as many of you as have been baptized into christianity, have been invested as christians.

So also we [whether Jews or Gentiles], when we were children (spiritually immature), were kept like slaves under the elementary [man-made religious or philosophical] teachings of the world.

But the heavenly Jerusalem [Heb. 12:22] consists of free people, and is the mother of us [Christians].

Now, brothers, you [Christians] are children of the promise [made to Abraham. See 3:29] just like Isaac, [Abraham's son] was.

Therefore, brothers, we [Christians] are not the [spiritual] children of the slave woman [Hagar] but of the free woman [Sarah].

for in the christian-dispensation, neither circumcision avails any thing, nor uncircumcision, but an active benevolent faith.

You [Christians] were running [the race of life] well; who hindered you [from making further progress] so that [now] you are no longer obeying the truth?

But let those who receive instruction in Christian truth share with their instructors all temporal blessings.