Does Paul reject the idea that Peter was the first pope? Some Christians think so, especially in Galatians 2:6. Paul writes,
And from those who were reputed to be something (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who were of repute added nothing to me.
It would seem Paul is asserting an equal authority with Peter and thereby rejecting the idea that Peter is of a higher rank. Protestant apologist Jason Engwer from triablogue reads it this way, and he appealed to it in a 1999 debate with Mark Bonocore:
Paul asserted his equality with, not his superiority to, the other apostles ( . . . Gal. 2:6-8). Paul was not a pope, nor was Peter or any other apostle. It is the express testimony of Paul that what Peter and other prominent church leaders were meant nothing to him. . . . The equality and independence of Paul are a contradiction of the doctrine of the papacy.
So does Galatians 2:6 prove that Paul didn’t see Peter as having a higher rank of authority? No, it doesn’t!
First, the argument assumes that Peter’s authority meant nothing to Paul. But that’s not the case. What meant nothing to Paul was the high esteem Peter (along with James and John) was held in by the Christians in Galatia. As Evangelical Richard N. Longnecker writes in his book Galatians,
Contrary to many who deny irony in Paul’s usage, it seems hard to ignore at least a certain “dismissive” tone in Galatians 2—a dismissal, however, not of [Peter or] the Jerusalem apostles themselves, but of the Judaizers’ claims for them.
What might these claims be? D.B. Orchard explains: “the fact that the Twelve knew Jesus in the flesh before his Resurrection.” It was this fact that made them of “repute” in relation to Paul.
That their esteem was Paul’s focus becomes clear in context:
- v. 2—“those who were of repute”
- v. 6—“who were reputed to be something”
- v. 9—“who were reputed to be pillars.”
The thrust of Paul’s argument is that he is just as legit an apostle as the three held in high esteem: James, Cephas, and John (v. 9).
Paul’s point is that just because these guys are the most reverenced by those in Galatia, he is still equal to them insofar as he is an apostle. He has been called directly by Jesus, and therefore they must accept him as such. To state it differently, the circumstances of his calling didn’t make him any less an apostle than the three pillars.
But being equal as an apostle doesn’t mean Peter and Paul have equal authority among the college of the apostles. For example, my wife and I are equal as human beings, but I have the role of headship within the family. Chris Check and we apologists at Catholic Answers are equally and fully employees of Catholic Answers (it’s not like we’re just half-employees). Yet Chris Check is at the helm.
So Paul emphasizing his equality with Peter as an apostle doesn’t take away from the fact that Peter has a higher rank of authority as the “chief apostle” (Matt. 10:2—“first [Gk., protos; “first, chief”] Simon”).
Another response is that the argument fails to consider the contextual details that support Paul’s recognition of Peter’s authority.
Consider, for example, Galatians 1:18-19, where Paul speaks of his first trip to Jerusalem shortly after his conversion and implies that Peter’s in charge. He writes, “Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, and remained with him fifteen days. But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.”
Why would Paul go to visit Cephas unless he viewed him to be in charge?
Galatians 2:2 is another contextual detail. There, Paul writes,
I went up by revelation; and I laid before them (but privately before those who were of repute) the gospel which I preach among the Gentiles, lest somehow I should be running or had run in vain.
Greek-English lexicons note that the Greek word translated as “laid before them” (anatithemi) connotes “laying for the sake of consideration.” For example, the Greek-English Lexicon for the New Testament and Early Christian Literature (famously referred to as BDAG, which is an abbreviation for names of the editors), defines the Greek word anatithemi as
to lay something before someone for consideration, communicate, refer, declare w. connotation of request for a person’s opinion . . . I laid my gospel before them Gal. 2:2. Cp. Nägeli 45; on the use of ἀ. as an administrative term s. Betz, Gal, 86, 268. —M-M. TW.
Why would Paul feel the need to lay his preaching before Peter for consideration if he didn’t think Peter was the visible principle of unity for the preaching of the gospel?
Galatians 2:6 may appear to some Christians as a challenge to the idea of Peter as the first pope. But upon a deeper examination of the context, Paul’s words aren’t rejecting Peter’s unique authority among the college of the apostles. Rather, they’re addressing the inflated view of Peter and other prominent apostles on account of the circumstances of their calling as apostles. Additionally, the wider context of Galatians reveals that Paul recognized Peter’s authority and leadership within the early Church. Therefore, Galatians 2:6 can’t be used to support the notion that Paul rejects the idea of Peter being the first pope.