• Paul rebukes Peter in Antioch: Soon after the Jerusalem Conference mentioned in Act 15:1-35, Paul chastised Peter (Cephas) in Antioch for his hypocrisy. At the time both Peter and Paul had been in Antioch, and both Peter and Paul had been eating together with the Gentiles, which was contrary to Jewish law but consistent with Christian justification by living faith rather than justification by ritual acts. When the disciples of James (Jesus' brother) arrived in Antioch, Peter disassociated himself from his earlier unprejudiced acceptance of the Gentiles of the Antioch church. In Gal 2:12 Paul said that Peter "drew back and would not eat with the Gentiles, because he was afraid" of the more Jewish-oriented followers of James who favored circumcision and strict adherence to Jewish law. Paul then publicly rebuked Peter for his hypocrisy. As Paul stated in Gal 2::11 (TEV), "I opposed him in public, because he was clearly wrong." In Gal 2:13 (TEV) Paul also expressed disappointment that "even Barnabas was swept along by their cowardly action." To further explore this, see "Part 2. An illustration of repeated need for correction of an early church leader" at http://www.bibletexts.com/qa/qa078.htm.
• Paul disagrees with Barnabas in Antioch, and they then take companions and routes: Gal 2:13 provides the real explanation of the fallout between Paul and Barnabas that is mentioned in Act 15:37-39. The sharp contention between Paul and Barnabas appears to have arisen from Barnabas' following Peter's lead in distancing himself from the Gentiles. According to Act 15:39-41 Barnabas sailed with his cousin John Mark to Cyprus and Paul took Silas throughout Syria and Cilicia. (Outside of the Book of Acts, Silas is known in 2Co 1:19, 1Th 1:1, 2Th 1:1, and 2Pe 5:12 by the Latinized name of Silvanus).
• In a direct display of fellowship with Barnabas, written after they parted ways, Paul defends Barnabas' rights to be paid for his Christian services:
• 1Co 9:6, TEV - Are Barnabas and I the only ones who have to work for our living?
• In an indirect display of fellowship with Peter/Cephas, written after Paul had publicly chastised Peter, it may be said that Paul recognizes/respects Peter and Apollos as peers and fellow ministers in Christ:
• 1Co 9:6, TEV - 21 No one, then, should boast about what human beings can do. Actually everything belongs to you: 22 Paul, Apollos, and Peter; this world, life and death, the present and the future—all these are yours, 23 and you belong to Christ, and Christ belongs to God.

The historical record: It is useful to note that Paul's letter to the Galatians was written in about 53-54 A.D. and that the Book of Acts was written approximately 30 or 40 years later, somewhere between 85 and 95 A.D.; thus, Paul's own account is considered to be more reliable.

Luke-Acts: The Gospel of Luke and the Book of Acts were written as a single work in two separate volumes. Though Luke-Acts is traditionally attributed to "Luke, the beloved physician" (Col 4:14), who is believed to have traveled with Paul during his later journeys, there is uncertainty as to who actually wrote this two-volume work. Even if the author of this work is Luke, he would not have been traveling with Paul at the time of the events described in Gal 2:1-14. This reaffirms the greater reliability of Paul's own first hand account of the events.

The man Luke in the New Testament: The two references to "Luke" in the New Testament are in Col 4:14 and 2Ti 4:11, both of which are seen by many scholars as not having been written or composed by Paul. Colossians is often believed to have been written sometime before 80 A.D. by an actual disciple of Paul, and 2 Timothy is usually believed to have been written around 115 A.D. by a later Christian.

• Gal 4:17, TEV - Those other people show a deep interest in you, but their intentions are not good. All they want is to separate you from me, so that you will have the same interest in them as they have in you.