Why did the false brethren spy out the believers' liberty in Galatians 2?
The false brethren spied out the believers' liberty in order to bring them into bondage—back under the law. Having been brought in secretly, they opposed the freedom from the law that believers have in Christ Jesus, seeking to subject Paul, Barnabas, and the Antioch Gentiles to Jewish legal requirements.
Les explains that the setting is Paul ministering to Gentiles at Antioch, where believers were first called Christians. Jerusalem believers, including Peter and the rest, were shaken that Paul claimed these Gentiles were saved though they were not keeping the law of Judaism. Because of false brethren brought in unawares, who came in secretly or privately, they spied out the liberty—freedom from the law—that believers have in Christ Jesus. Their purpose was to bring them into bondage, meaning back under the law. Les says these Jerusalem Jewish believers were still trying to hang the law not only on Paul and Barnabas but also on the Antioch Gentile believers. Paul responded that they gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour—they did not give in.
And that because of false brethren unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they might bring us into bondage:
More Questions
Why does Galatians 2:4 say the false brethren were 'brought in' instead of sneaking in?
Galatians 2:4 says the false brethren were 'brought in,' not that they snuck in, which means the leaders no doubt had something to do with their arrival.
Where else in the Bible is the same word about false brethren used that Galatians 2:4 uses?
The little book of Jude uses that same word as Galatians 2:4 about false teachers, and Jude is only one chapter long, located just in front of Revelation, in verses 3-4.
How do false teachers get into a church according to Galatians?
Galatians shows the same modus operandi as the false teachers today: false teachers are brought in without the congregation knowing who they really are.
What does Paul mean by liberty in Galatians chapter 2?
When Paul speaks of "liberty" in Galatians, he means that he, Barnabas, and Titus in particular were no longer under the demands of the Mosaic Law but were set at liberty from it.