Galatians 1:14 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

NASB: and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions.

CSB: I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

NLT: I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.

KJV: And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.

NKJV: And I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my own nation, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

Paul is sharing his personal story to make the case that he received the gospel as he taught it to the Galatians directly from Jesus Christ. He reminded them of his great fury and violence against Christians when he was still following Judaism. He had been motivated to do whatever it took to oppose the name of Jesus (Acts 26:9).

Now he reminds them of his great success as a Pharisee (Acts 23:6). He was so enthusiastic, so zealous for the traditions of his fathers, that he was advancing beyond other Pharisees his own age. Paul thrived in Judaism.

What is his point in telling them this? When it came to comparing their "Jewish credentials," these Judaizers trying to discredit Paul had nothing on him. He had studied and mastered all the same texts they had. He, too, started out in Jerusalem, though he didn't learn about the gospel there. He knew everything they knew and more. Next, he will show why he turned his back on all of his advancement to follow the One he had been persecuting.

Galatians 1:11–24 begins with Paul's statement that he did not receive the gospel which he taught to the Galatians from any man-made religion, nor training from other people. He received it from Christ Himself. God revealed His Son Jesus to Paul, by His grace, even after Paul spent years as a Pharisee trying to destroy the Christian church. After Christ commissioned Paul to preach the good news to the Gentiles, he went off by himself for a few years and came to know the gospel through Christ directly.

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.

Accessed 5/4/2024 7:54:42 PM