Galatians 1

Paul asserts his apostolic authority, declaring it to be directly from Jesus Christ and God the Father, not from human appointment. He immediately rebukes the Galatians for quickly abandoning the true gospel for a perverted one, pronouncing a curse upon any who preach a different message. Paul then defends the divine origin of his gospel, stating it was received by revelation from Jesus Christ, not from man. He recounts his past as a zealous persecutor and his subsequent call to preach among the Gentiles, emphasizing his initial independence from other apostles.

Paul begins his epistle by establishing his apostleship as directly from Jesus Christ and God the Father, not through human agency. He greets the Galatian churches with grace and peace, highlighting Christ's sacrifice for sins to deliver them from the present evil world. Paul then expresses profound astonishment that the Galatians are so swiftly turning to a different, perverted gospel, declaring a severe anathema upon anyone, even an angel, who preaches contrary to what they received. He clarifies that his gospel was not received from man but by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. To underscore this, he recounts his former life as a zealous persecutor of the church and his subsequent divine call to preach among the Gentiles, emphasizing his initial independence from consulting human authorities or other apostles.

Paul opens his letter to the Galatian churches by unequivocally asserting his apostolic authority, declaring it to be directly from Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Christ from the dead, rather than from human appointment or mediation. He conveys a standard greeting of grace and peace, emphasizing the redemptive work of Jesus Christ, who gave himself for their sins to deliver them from the present evil world according to God's will. Immediately, Paul expresses his profound dismay and astonishment that the Galatians are so swiftly departing from the true gospel of Christ, by which they were called, and embracing a different, perverted message. He sternly warns that this "other gospel" is not truly another but a distortion, pronouncing a severe anathema upon anyone, be it himself, another man, or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a gospel contrary to what they initially received. Paul then defends the divine origin of his message, stating that his gospel was not received from man, nor was he taught it by human means, but rather by direct revelation from Jesus Christ. To underscore this, he recounts his past life within Judaism, where he was exceedingly zealous for his ancestral traditions and violently persecuted the church of God. However, God, who had set him apart from birth, called him by His grace and revealed His Son within him, specifically so Paul might preach among the Gentiles. Paul stresses that upon this divine call, he immediately consulted no human authority, nor did he travel to Jerusalem to confer with those who were apostles before him, but instead went into Arabia and then returned to Damascus. After three years, he made a brief visit to Jerusalem to see Peter, staying for fifteen days, and saw no other apostle except James, the Lord's brother, affirming the truth of these statements before God. Subsequently, he ministered in the regions of Syria and Cilicia, remaining personally unknown to the churches of Judaea, who only heard the report that their former persecutor was now preaching the faith he once sought to destroy, leading them to glorify God for this transformation.