Paul starts his address to the churches of Galatia by showing that his qualifications are given by God and not men.
Paul starts his address to the churches of Galatia by showing that his qualifications are given by God and not men.
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia: (vs.1-2)
The letter to the churches in Galatia begins with Paul establishing his authority as an apostle. The word apostle simply means “one who is sent.” There were 12 original apostles, who were with Jesus, but Paul was added to their number after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. In Acts 9, he sees the glorified Jesus on the Road to Damascus, and was subsequently appointed to ministry by Christ.
Luke, the author of Acts, records that Paul’s commission was verified with named witnesses—Ananias in Damascus, who also was spoken directly to by Jesus concerning Paul’s ministry appointment, and the disciples in Jerusalem who eventually received him (Acts 9:10-19, 26-28)—so his apostleship is anchored to events the early church could verify rather than to a private spiritual experience.
However, Paul was not appointed to ministry from men nor through the agency of man. This is important because the competing Jewish “authorities” who have misled the Galatians are claiming authority, and the Galatians are responding to their false teaching by submitting to it, seeking the approval of men. As Paul says further on in this chapter, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
Paul will explain in this chapter and Chapter 2 his friendship with the other apostles, but his appointment as an apostle came directly from Jesus Christ Himself, not by any institution of men. It is God whom Paul serves. In this letter, he will describe a moment where he disagreed with something the Apostle Peter was doing for the approval of men and publicly corrected him back toward the truth (Galatians 2:11-14). Paul is not in submission to human institutions or hierarchies.
Paul was granted authority as an apostle through God and Christ, not through man. This point of authority is key to the arguments Paul makes throughout this letter. Establishing the authority Paul has through Christ shows how he supersedes the competing Jewish “authorities” who have led these Galatian churches away from the truth. Paul’s authority comes from being an eyewitness of the risen Christ, appointed to preach the gospel of grace by God.
Anyone teaching anything contrary to the gospel of grace through faith is teaching a false gospel, including Paul himself if he were to suddenly tweak what he first taught the Galatians. This entire letter is one big reminder to the Galatian believers; ultimately, it is the sameness and purity of the gospel that matters, and any man who changes the message is in defiance of God (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul’s competitors focus on works of the law as a way to make a person right before God, instead of the gospel of Christ’s death as full payment for our sins, and the power of His resurrected life as our means of living.
Unlike his corrective letter to the Romans whom he had not met face-to-face (where Paul also answered slanderous charges from competing Jewish “authorities”), the Galatians were people he had personally ministered to (Acts 18:23). Paul planted these churches (Acts 13:49, 52, 14:1, 21-23). So while the basic arguments in Galatians and Romans have much in common, the tone of Galatians is more like a father scolding a child, whereas Paul’s letter to the Romans takes a far more diplomatic tone.
Paul was the Galatians’ first teacher, their “father” in the faith (1 Corinthians 4:14-15), who preached the gospel to them despite suffering greatly during the process. He had crowds harassing him and his ministry partner Barnabas in every city, pressuring them to be silent or to leave (Acts 13:50, 14:5). Paul suffered to the point of being stoned nearly to death by a mob for the sake of the Galatians, that they should hear the gospel. But God sustained Paul’s life so that he could keep preaching the gospel to the Galatians (Acts 14:19-20). He knows these believers personally and is alarmed by how quickly they are drifting from what he taught them.
Paul is deeply unnerved and concerned by their willingness to follow teachings that are not in step with the truth. This is why this letter is filled with so much frustration and urgency. It is a corrective letter—stern and colorful—but written in love to reorient the Galatians to walk in the Spirit, and not try to earn righteousness through converting to Judaism or submitting to manmade control (Galatians 5:4, 14, 18).
Galatia refers to a region in what is now central Turkey. At the time Paul wrote this letter these cities would have been Roman colonies, occupied primarily by Greek-speaking Gentiles. The region included cities mentioned on Paul’s missionary journeys in the book of Acts such as Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe. (Acts 14 andActs 16:1-5). Paul’s disciple Timothy was from Lystra (Acts 16:1).
Paul does not write alone. By including all the brethren who are with me (v. 2) in the greeting, he shows that this correction is the shared conviction of other teachers of the faith. Depending on when this letter was written, it is possible that Barnabas, who also planted these churches, has a voice in this letter. This is a consensus coming from a body of men who are aligned in the truth, with.
Galatians 1:1-2
Introduction
1 Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),
Set to dark mode
Galatians 1:1-2 meaning
Paul starts his address to the churches of Galatia by showing that his qualifications are given by God and not men.
Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through the agency of man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead), and all the brethren who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia: (vs.1-2)
The letter to the churches in Galatia begins with Paul establishing his authority as an apostle. The word apostle simply means “one who is sent.” There were 12 original apostles, who were with Jesus, but Paul was added to their number after Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. In Acts 9, he sees the glorified Jesus on the Road to Damascus, and was subsequently appointed to ministry by Christ.
Luke, the author of Acts, records that Paul’s commission was verified with named witnesses—Ananias in Damascus, who also was spoken directly to by Jesus concerning Paul’s ministry appointment, and the disciples in Jerusalem who eventually received him (Acts 9:10-19, 26-28)—so his apostleship is anchored to events the early church could verify rather than to a private spiritual experience.
However, Paul was not appointed to ministry from men nor through the agency of man. This is important because the competing Jewish “authorities” who have misled the Galatians are claiming authority, and the Galatians are responding to their false teaching by submitting to it, seeking the approval of men. As Paul says further on in this chapter, “For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).
Paul will explain in this chapter and Chapter 2 his friendship with the other apostles, but his appointment as an apostle came directly from Jesus Christ Himself, not by any institution of men. It is God whom Paul serves. In this letter, he will describe a moment where he disagreed with something the Apostle Peter was doing for the approval of men and publicly corrected him back toward the truth (Galatians 2:11-14). Paul is not in submission to human institutions or hierarchies.
Paul was granted authority as an apostle through God and Christ, not through man. This point of authority is key to the arguments Paul makes throughout this letter. Establishing the authority Paul has through Christ shows how he supersedes the competing Jewish “authorities” who have led these Galatian churches away from the truth. Paul’s authority comes from being an eyewitness of the risen Christ, appointed to preach the gospel of grace by God.
Anyone teaching anything contrary to the gospel of grace through faith is teaching a false gospel, including Paul himself if he were to suddenly tweak what he first taught the Galatians. This entire letter is one big reminder to the Galatian believers; ultimately, it is the sameness and purity of the gospel that matters, and any man who changes the message is in defiance of God (Galatians 1:6-9). Paul’s competitors focus on works of the law as a way to make a person right before God, instead of the gospel of Christ’s death as full payment for our sins, and the power of His resurrected life as our means of living.
Unlike his corrective letter to the Romans whom he had not met face-to-face (where Paul also answered slanderous charges from competing Jewish “authorities”), the Galatians were people he had personally ministered to (Acts 18:23). Paul planted these churches (Acts 13:49, 52, 14:1, 21-23). So while the basic arguments in Galatians and Romans have much in common, the tone of Galatians is more like a father scolding a child, whereas Paul’s letter to the Romans takes a far more diplomatic tone.
Paul was the Galatians’ first teacher, their “father” in the faith (1 Corinthians 4:14-15), who preached the gospel to them despite suffering greatly during the process. He had crowds harassing him and his ministry partner Barnabas in every city, pressuring them to be silent or to leave (Acts 13:50, 14:5). Paul suffered to the point of being stoned nearly to death by a mob for the sake of the Galatians, that they should hear the gospel. But God sustained Paul’s life so that he could keep preaching the gospel to the Galatians (Acts 14:19-20). He knows these believers personally and is alarmed by how quickly they are drifting from what he taught them.
Paul is deeply unnerved and concerned by their willingness to follow teachings that are not in step with the truth. This is why this letter is filled with so much frustration and urgency. It is a corrective letter—stern and colorful—but written in love to reorient the Galatians to walk in the Spirit, and not try to earn righteousness through converting to Judaism or submitting to manmade control (Galatians 5:4, 14, 18).
Galatia refers to a region in what is now central Turkey. At the time Paul wrote this letter these cities would have been Roman colonies, occupied primarily by Greek-speaking Gentiles. The region included cities mentioned on Paul’s missionary journeys in the book of Acts such as Lystra, Iconium, and Derbe. (Acts 14 and Acts 16:1-5). Paul’s disciple Timothy was from Lystra (Acts 16:1).
Paul does not write alone. By including all the brethren who are with me (v. 2) in the greeting, he shows that this correction is the shared conviction of other teachers of the faith. Depending on when this letter was written, it is possible that Barnabas, who also planted these churches, has a voice in this letter. This is a consensus coming from a body of men who are aligned in the truth, with.