Galatians 1:1 - Printer Friendly

ESV: Paul, an apostle — not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead —

NIV: Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

NASB: Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through human agency, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),

CSB: Paul, an apostle—not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead —

NLT: This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.

KJV: Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)

NKJV: Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Him from the dead),

Galatians is one of Paul's earliest letters, also known as "epistles." It was the custom of the times to begin a letter by identifying oneself. Paul always follows that pattern, but he does so here much more abruptly. He immediately describes himself as an apostle. In Greek, the word apostle means someone who is sent to accomplish a specific purpose. In the New Testament, the word is mostly used of the 12 men Jesus called and trained during His ministry on earth and then commissioned to represent Him in the world.

Paul was called by Jesus to be an apostle after the resurrection (Acts 9:3–9). In Galatians 1, he describes in some detail how and when Christ trained and sent him out to preach the gospel of Jesus.

Paul is writing Galatians to confront the lies being told to Christians about the truth of Jesus' gospel. In order to attack the true message of Jesus—the one Paul has been preaching and people have been believing—those men have been attacking Paul's credentials. He's not one of the 12, after all. Is he really an apostle or is he just teaching his own version of Christ's message?

So Paul begins his letter by stating outright that he is, in fact, a genuine apostle. He wasn't given the title by any human person. His position comes straight from Jesus Christ and God the Father, "who raised [Jesus] from the dead." Paul will insist that he was trained and sent out by the resurrected Son of God, giving him all the authority he needs to declare what it means to be saved by grace through faith in Christ.

Galatians 1:1–5 begins Paul's letter to the Christians in Galatia with a brief greeting. Paul immediately defends the fact that he has been made an apostle of Jesus Christ by the same God that raised Christ from the dead. He is not a ''man- made'' apostle, as his accusers are saying. His authority is genuine. Next, Paul gives a quick, beautiful explanation of the trustworthy gospel that he preaches: Jesus gave Himself for our sins to deliver us from this age of evil according to God's will.

Paul begins his letter to the Galatian churches abruptly, compared to his other writings. He has heard they are deserting the gospel which he preached and they believed: the good news that Jesus died to fully pay for all our sins on the cross. The Judaizers taught that these Gentiles must also follow the law of Moses to be saved and openly questioned Paul's authority. Paul makes the case that he has been made an apostle by Christ, who appeared to him and revealed the truth to him apart from the other apostles.

Galatians 1 begins one of the most-loved books about God's grace in all of Scripture. This and the following chapter detail Paul's biography, as he makes the case that he has been made an apostle by Christ and therefore his message is trustworthy. Chapters 3 and 4 go into depth about exactly what the gospel of God's grace is and why it is true. In chapters 5 and 6, Paul teaches about how Christians should live in the world as people who have received the grace of God through faith in Christ.

Galatians is sometimes called “a short Romans” for its similar themes of justification and sanctification through faith. A group of Christians known as “Judaizers” were preaching a gospel of legalism, rather than grace. Paul’s main purpose in writing the letter to the Galatians was to reiterate the true nature of the gospel: we are justified (made righteous) and sanctified (made more Christlike) through our faith in Jesus Christ alone. This letter was probably written shortly before the church elders in Jerusalem issued their official refutation of the Judaizers, commonly called the Jerusalem Council.