> [[galatians-00|← Previous]] | [[galatians-00|TOC]] | [[galatians-02|Next →]] --- # Galatians, Chapter 1 ## Chapter 1 # I. Address **Greeting.** 1 Paul, an apostle not from human beings nor through a human being but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead, ^galatians-01-1 2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches of Galatia: ^galatians-01-2 3 grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ^galatians-01-3 4 who gave himself for our sins that he might rescue us from the present evil age in accord with the will of our God and Father, ^galatians-01-4 5 to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. ^galatians-01-5 # II. Loyalty to the Gospel 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly forsaking the one who called you by \[the\] grace \[of Christ\] for a different gospel ^galatians-01-6 7 (not that there is another). But there are some who are disturbing you and wish to pervert the gospel of Christ. ^galatians-01-7 8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach \[to you\] a gospel other than the one that we preached to you, let that one be accursed! ^galatians-01-8 9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one that you received, let that one be accursed! ^galatians-01-9 10 Am I now currying favor with human beings or God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ. ^galatians-01-10 # III. Paul’s Defense of His Gospel and His Authority **His Call by Christ.** 11 Now I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. ^galatians-01-11 12 For I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it, but it came through a revelation of Jesus Christ. ^galatians-01-12 13 For you heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it, ^galatians-01-13 14 and progressed in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my race, since I was even more a zealot for my ancestral traditions. ^galatians-01-14 15 But when \[God\], who from my mother’s womb had set me apart and called me through his grace, was pleased ^galatians-01-15 16 to reveal his Son to me, so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult flesh and blood, ^galatians-01-16 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; rather, I went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. ^galatians-01-17 18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas and remained with him for fifteen days. ^galatians-01-18 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles, only James the brother of the Lord. ^galatians-01-19 20 (As to what I am writing to you, behold, before God, I am not lying.) ^galatians-01-20 21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ^galatians-01-21 22 And I was unknown personally to the churches of Judea that are in Christ; ^galatians-01-22 23 they only kept hearing that “the one who once was persecuting us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ^galatians-01-23 24 So they glorified God because of me. ^galatians-01-24 \* (1:1] – [5) See note on ([[romans-01|Rom 1]]:1] – [7], concerning the greeting. \* (1:1) Apostle: because of attacks on his authority in Galatia, Paul defends his apostleship. He is not an apostle commissioned by a congregation ([Phil 2:25]; ([[2-corinthians-08|2 Cor 8]]:23]) or even by prophets ([1 Tm 1:18]; [4:14]) but through Jesus Christ and God the Father. \* (1:2) All the brothers: fellow believers in Christ, male and female; cf. [Gal 3:27] – [28]. Paul usually mentions the co-sender(s) at the start of a letter, but the use of all is unique, adding weight to the letter. Galatia: central Turkey more likely than the Roman province of Galatia; see Introduction. \* (1:4) The greeting in v. [3] is expanded by a christological formula that stresses deliverance through the Lord Jesus from a world dominated by Satan; cf. ([[2-corinthians-04|2 Cor 4]]:4]; [Eph 2:2]; [6:12]. \* (1:6] – [10) In place of the usual thanksgiving (see note on ([[romans-01|Rom 1]]:8]), Paul, with little to be thankful for in the Galatian situation, expresses amazement at the way his converts are deserting the gospel of Christ for a perverted message. He reasserts the one gospel he has preached ([Gal 1:7] – [9]) and begins to defend himself ([Gal 1:10]). \* (1:6) The one who called you: God or Christ, though in actuality Paul was the divine instrument to call the Galatians. \* (1:8) Accursed: in Greek, anathema; cf. [Rom 9:3]; [1 Cor 12:3]; [16:22]. \* (1:10) This charge by Paul’s opponents, that he sought to conciliate people with flattery and to curry favor with God, might refer to his mission practices (cf. ([[1-corinthians-09|1 Cor 9]]:19] – [23]) but the word still suggests it refers to his pre-Christian days (cf. [Gal 1:14]; [Phil 3:6]). The self-description slave of Christ is one Paul often uses in a greeting (([[romans-01|Rom 1]]:1]). \* (1:11] – [2:21) Paul’s presentation on behalf of his message and of his apostleship reflects rhetorical forms of his day: he first narrates the facts about certain past events ([Gal 1:12] – [2:14]) and then states his contention regarding justification by faith as the gospel message ([Gal 2:15] – [21]). Further arguments follow from both experience and scripture in [Galatians 3]; [4] before he draws out the ethical consequences ([Gal 5:1] – [6:10]). The specific facts that he takes up here to show that his gospel is not a human invention ([Gal 1:11]) but came through a revelation of Jesus Christ ([Gal 1:12]) deal with his own calling as a Christian missionary ([Gal 1:13] – [17]), his initial relations with the apostles in Jerusalem ([Gal 1:18] – [24]), a later journey to Jerusalem ([Gal 2:1] – [10]), and an incident in Antioch involving Cephas and persons from James ([Gal 2:11] – [14]). The content of Paul’s revealed gospel is then set forth in the heart of the letter ([Gal 2:15] – [21]). \* (1:12) Although Paul received his gospel through a revelation from Christ, this did not exclude his use of early Christian confessional formulations. See note on [Gal 1:4]. \* (1:13] – [17) Along with [Phil 3:4] – [11], which also moves from autobiography to its climax in a discussion on justification by faith (cf. [Gal 2:15] – [21]), this passage is Paul’s chief account of the change from his former way of life ([Gal 1:13]) to service as a Christian missionary ([Gal 1:16]); cf. ([[acts-of-the-apostles-09|Acts 9]]:1] – [22]; [22:4] – [16]; [26:9] – [18]. Paul himself does not use the term “conversion” but stresses revelation ([Gal 1:12], [16]). In [Gal 1:15] his language echoes the Old Testament prophetic call of Jeremiah. Unlike the account in Acts (cf. ([[acts-of-the-apostles-22|Acts 22]]:4] – [16]), the calling of Paul here includes the mission to proclaim Christ to the Gentiles ([Gal 1:16]). \* (1:16) Flesh and blood: human authorities (cf. ([[matthew-16|Mt 16]]:17]; [1 Cor 15:50]). Paul’s apostleship comes from God ([Gal 1:1]). \* (1:17) Arabia: probably the region of the Nabataean Arabs, east and south of Damascus. \* (1:18] – [24) Paul’s first journey to Jerusalem as a Christian, according to Galatians (cf. ([[acts-of-the-apostles-09|Acts 9]]:23] – [31] and the note on ([[acts-of-the-apostles-12|Acts 12]]:25]). He is quite explicit about contacts there, testifying under oath ([Gal 1:20]). On returning to Syria (perhaps specifically Damascus, cf. [Gal 1:17]) and Cilicia (including his home town Tarsus, cf. ([[acts-of-the-apostles-09|Acts 9]]:30]; [22:3]), Paul most likely engaged in missionary work. He underscores the fact that Christians in Judea knew of him only by reputation. \* (1:18) After three years: two years and more, since Paul’s call. To confer with Cephas may mean simply “pay a visit” or more specifically “get information from” him about Jesus, over a two-week period. Cephas: Aramaic name of Simon (Peter); cf. ([[matthew-16|Mt 16]]:16] – [18] and the notes there. \* (1:19) James the brother of the Lord: not one of the Twelve, but a brother of Jesus (see note on ([[mark-06|Mk 6]]:3]). He played an important role in the Jerusalem church (see note on [Gal 2:9]), the leadership of which he took over from Peter ([.[[acts-of-the-apostles-12|Acts 12]]:17]). Paul may have regarded James as an apostle. a. (1:1] – [3) ([[romans-01|Rom 1]]:1] – [7]; ([[1-corinthians-01|1 Cor 1]]:1] – [3]. b. (1:1) [1:11] – [12]. c. (1:4) [2:20]; [Eph 5:2]; [1 Tm 2:6] / ([[1-john-05|1 Jn 5]]:19] / [Rom 12:2]; [Eph 5:16]; [Heb 10:10]. d. (1:5) [Rom 16:27]; [2 Tm 4:18]. e. (1:6] – [7) [5:8], [10]; ([[acts-of-the-apostles-15|Acts 15]]:1], [24]; [2 Cor 11:4]. f. (1:8] – [9) [1 Cor 16:22] / [5:3], [21]; [2 Cor 13:2]. g. (1:10) ([[2-corinthians-05|2 Cor 5]]:11] / [1 Thes 2:4]. h. (1:11] – [12) [1 Cor 15:1] / [1:1]; [Eph 3:3]. i. (1:13) ([[acts-of-the-apostles-08|Acts 8]]:1] – [3]; [9:1] – [2]; [1 Cor 15:9]. j. (1:14) ([[acts-of-the-apostles-26|Acts 26]]:4] – [5]. k. (1:15) [Is 49:1]; [Jer 1:4]. l. (1:16) [1:11] – [12]; ([[romans-01|Rom 1]]:5]; [1 Cor 15:10]; ([[acts-of-the-apostles-09|Acts 9]]:3] – [9] / [2:2], [7] / ([[matthew-16|Mt 16]]:17]. m. (1:18) ([[acts-of-the-apostles-09|Acts 9]]:26] – [30] / ([[john-01|Jn 1]]:42]. n. (1:19) [2:9]; ([[matthew-13|Mt 13]]:55]; ([[acts-of-the-apostles-12|Acts 12]]:17]. o. (1:20) [Rom 9:1]; [2 Cor 11:31]. p. (1:21) ([[acts-of-the-apostles-09|Acts 9]]:30]. q. (1:23) [1:13]. --- _New American Bible, revised edition_ (2010, 1991, 1986, 1970) Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Washington, D.C. > [[galatians-00|← Previous]] | [[galatians-00|TOC]] | [[galatians-02|Next →]]