Chapter 1 Galatians
Chapter 1
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
Galatians 1:2
2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
Galatians 1:3
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
Galatians 1:4
4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
Galatians 1:5
5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Galatians 1:6
No Other Gospel
6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—
Galatians 1:7
7 not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ.
Galatians 1:8
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:9
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
Galatians 1:10
10 For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
Galatians 1:11
Paul Called by God
11 For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel.
Galatians 1:12
12 For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
Galatians 1:13
13 For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it.
Galatians 1:14
14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people, so extremely zealous was I for the traditions of my fathers.
Galatians 1:15
15 But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace,
Galatians 1:16
16 was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone;
Galatians 1:17
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
Galatians 1:18
18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days.
Galatians 1:19
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.
Galatians 1:20
20 (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!)
Galatians 1:21
21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
Galatians 1:22
22 And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
Galatians 1:23
23 They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.”
Galatians 1:24
24 And they glorified God because
In 1:6, Paul moves directly to the letter body. He expresses his amazement that the Galatians have turned away so quickly from the One who called them by grace “to a different gospel”—which he considers to be no gospel at all, but rather the work of “troublemakers” (“some are troubling you”; 1:6–7). Paul therefore issues an atypical double-imprecation (curse) on anyone who would preach a contrary gospel (1:8–9; compare 1 Cor 16:22 and the rhetorical self-imprecation of Rom 9:3). The forceful tone of Galatians is further signaled in 1:10, which serves as a transition to Paul’s broader arguments in the letter body (two rhetorical questions and a formal denial).
GALATIANS, LETTER TO THE A letter from the Apostle Paul to the churches in Galatia, a region of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Among the 13 New Testament letters traditionally ascribed to Paul, Galatians is perhaps second in influence, following Romans.
Galatians is one of the most-studied letters of the New Testament. It was the object of attention in early and medieval Christianity, and its influence increased during the Reformation period.
• Luther (1483–1546) lectured on Galatians in 1519 and 1523. The substance of his lectures was later compiled into a commentary bearing his name (see Graebner, “Preface,” iv—v).
• Calvin (1509–1564) cited Galatians frequently in his Institutes, wrote a commentary on it, and preached on it.
• More recently, Boice described Galatians as the “Magna Carta of Christian liberty” (“Galatians,” 403).
• Longenecker and Bruce, in large measure owing to the influence of Galatians, characterized Paul as the “Apostle of Liberty” and the “Apostle of the Free Spirit” (in works bearing these titles, respectively).
1 Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—
Galatians 1:2
2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
Paul’s letter to the Galatians has had an impact on the life and thought of the Christian church far exceeding its modest length. Though less than 150 verses (compared to more than 1000 in Acts, nearly 870 in the Gospel of John, and 303 in Hebrews), it has exercised a profound influence on theologians struggling with the issues of freedom and faith, gospel and law, the Spirit and ethics. In the second century when Marcion developed his controversial canon of NT books, he divided it into two sections: Gospel and Apostle. Galatians, for theological reasons, headed the list in the latter section. During the patristic period commentaries on Galatians seem to have been more numerous than on any other of Paul’s letters. The influence of the epistle on Martin Luther is well known. He found it immediately relevant to the situation of the church in the sixteenth century and wrote unquestionably the most influential commentary on the letter. John Calvin took an interest in Galatians, too, but his commentary is less a theological treatise and more a practical exposition of the text. During the nineteenth century Galatians became the focal point of a discussion on the history of the early church, in which Paul as spokesman for Gentile Christianity was set in sharp conflict with the original apostles. Galatians 2, containing the report of the meeting between Paul and the Jerusalem leaders and the confrontation with Peter at Antioch, was subjected to close examination. More recently, interpreters have found in Galatians clarification about the meaning of justification by faith, help with the identity and character of the people of God, and guidance for the responsible use of freedom. The epistle contains the strongest statement of the equality of females and males to be found in the NT (3:28).
In 1:6, Paul moves directly to the letter body. He expresses his amazement that the Galatians have turned away so quickly from the One who called them by grace “to a different gospel”—which he considers to be no gospel at all, but rather the work of “troublemakers” (“some are troubling you”; 1:6–7). Paul therefore issues an atypical double-imprecation (curse) on anyone who would preach a contrary gospel (1:8–9; compare 1 Cor 16:22 and the rhetorical self-imprecation of Rom 9:3). The forceful tone of Galatians is further signaled in 1:10, which serves as a transition to Paul’s broader arguments in the letter body (two rhetorical questions and a formal denial).
Using a quotation from Genesis 15:6 (LXX), Paul recites what he believed to be the most explicit statement concerning God’s means for justifying humankind: “He believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness” (v. 6). The faith of Abraham is interpreted to be that which operated on the premise that God was who he said he was, and was worthy of trust (see Rom. 4:17).