Galatians 2:10

The only point James, Peter, and John made was that Paul should not neglect the poor in his ministry. Paul had already made a commitment to do this. This could be a shorthand reference to the poor saints in Jerusalem. [Note: Ibid., p. 165; Fung, p. 102.] Or it could simply be a reference to the poor in general.

"Thus the events of Paul’s second post-conversion visit to Jerusalem, like the events of his life both before and after his call by God, substantiate his claim that he received both his gospel and his apostleship directly from the risen Lord. If the earlier set of events supports this by showing that there was never a time when he was in a position to have derived his gospel and apostolic commission from the Jerusalem leaders, the events of the second visit support it by showing the full recognition given by those leaders to the gospel and apostolic office which already were his prior to the meeting of the two parties. A third major support will be furnished by the Antioch incident (Galatians 2:11-21). [Note: Ibid., p. 104.]

This section helpfully illustrates the diversity within the unity of Christ’s body. Different Christians can minister to different segments of humanity and to people in different regions. Nevertheless there must be unity in the message we proclaim. Paul expounded other types of differences that exist within the body elsewhere in the New Testament (e.g., Romans 14; 1 Corinthians 12:28-31; Ephesians 4:1-16; et al.).