Galatians Introduction:
Gala'tia. (land of the Galli, Gauls). The Roman province of Galatia may be roughly described as the central region of the peninsula of Asia Minor, bounded on the north by Bithynia and Paphlagonia; on the east, by Pontus; on the south, by Cappadocia and Lycaonia; on the west, by Phrygia. — Encyclopedia Britannica. Galatia is literally the "Gallia" of the East. Roman writers call its inhabitants Galli. From the intermixture of Gauls and Greeks (Pausan. 1:4), Galatia was also called Gallo-Graecia and its inhabitants Gallo- Graeci. The Galatians were in their origin a stream of that great Celtic torrent apparently which poured into Macedonia about B.C. 280 Galatia was not a city. It was a territory[consisting of South and North]. It encompassed an area that is now in Turkey. There were several churches founded by Paul in Galatia. And following Paul’s evangelistic efforts through the area and the founding of many churches, there were men who came in and they began to pervert the gospel that Paul had taught, the gospel of grace. And they began to preach another gospel which is not a gospel. Because the word gospel means good news. And if you tell me that God will forgive me all of my sins and account me righteous, if I will simply believe in Jesus Christ, that’s good news. But if you tell me that I must then follow certain rules and regulations and be obedient to the law and keep the law of God in order to be righteous, that’s not good news because no one’s been able to do that. And so Paul is writing to the Galatians to correct this teaching that had followed his ministry in their midst and to free them again from that bondage of the law that men were seeking to put them under.
We in the Gentile church today have so much to be thankful for because of this man, Paul the apostle. Had it not been for his strong stubborn stand on salvation through grace, Christianity could have reverted to just another Jewish sect. But Paul made his stand in front of all of them against all of them really insisting on this gospel of grace. Salvation through faith and through the grace of God.
And so Galatians is a very strong treatise against any form of legality. Any attempt to become righteous by our works or more righteous through our obedience to the law and it is really setting forth in a very powerful way the gospel of grace and justification by faith. It was this epistle to the Galatians that brought on the Protestant revolution, the revolution, yes; reformation which was a revolution from the corruptive practices of the church of that day. Martin Luther, shows up 1500 years later, was much like Paul the apostle in that he was one of those fellows who went all out in his religious practices. He was one of the most monkish of all of the monks. And had gone to Rome and in order to appease God was climbing the steps on his knees, one step at a time, offering the prayers and all at each step. And as he was going up these steps the Spirit of God spoke to his heart out of Paul’s letter to the Galatians, Martin, the just shall live by faith. And that burned in his heart. And thus was born the Protestant reformation.
This glorious epistle that has set men free and has brought men into a vital relationship with God through faith. This epistle that opens the door to all men so that I may come freely unto God because I come to God and I learn to come to God through this epistle on the basis of God’s love and God’s grace, not on the basis of my merit, my works, my efforts.
Now these false teachers that came in, one of the first things they always sought to do was to discredit Paul. This is a typical ploy of false teachers. If you have been studying and learning under a minister, a man of God, they’ll come in and their first thing is to try to discredit the one that you have been studying under or the one that you were converted under. Now it seems that these false teachers never really seek to evangelize. But they’re always trying to go into those who believe and change their beliefs. (Chuck Smith)
When we read these letters we find the private letters we read that there is a pattern to which nearly all conformed. We find that Paul's letters reproduce exactly that pattern. Here is one of these ancient letters. It is from a Roman soldier, called Apion, to his father Epimachus. He is writing from Misenum to tell his father that he has arrived safely after a stormy passage:
"Apion sends heartiest greetings to his father and lord Epimachus.
I pray above all that you are well and fit; and that things are going
well with you and my sister and her daughter and my brother. I thank
my Lord Serapis [his god] that he kept me safe when I was in peril
on the sea. As soon as I got to Misenum I got my journey
money from Caesar—three gold pieces. And things are going fine
with me. So I beg you, my dear father, send me a line, first to let me
know how you are, and then about my brothers, and thirdly, that I
may kiss your hand, because you brought me up well, and because of
that I hope, God willing, soon to be promoted. Give Capito my heartiest greetings, and my brothers and Serenilla and my friends. I sent you a little picture of myself painted by Euctemon. My military name is Antonius Maximus. I pray for your good health. Serenus sends
good wishes, Agathos Daimon's boy, and Turbo, Gallonius's son.
Little did Apion think that we would be reading his letter to
his father 1800 years after he had written it. It shows how little
human nature changes.
As you begin to read Paul’s letter to the Galatian Christians, you can tell immediately that something was radically wrong, because he does not open his letter with his usual praise to God and prayer for the saints. He has no time! Paul is about to engage in a battle for the truth of the Gospel and and the liberty of the Christian life. False teacher are spreading a false “gospel” which is a mixture of the Law and grace, and Paul is not going to stand by and do nothing. (Warren Wiersbe)
The introductory greeting. The style of this greeting, compared with those found in St. Paul’s other Epistles, gives indications of his having addressed himself to the composition of the letter under strong perturbation of feeling. This transpires in the abruptness with which, at the very outset, he at once sweeps aside, as it were, out of his path, a slur east upon his apostolic commission, in protesting that he was "apostle, not from man nor through a man." (Pulpit Commentary)
Chapter 1 Galatians *This may need to be trimmed or summarized.
Gal. 1:1. Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) (KJV)
1:1. Paul, an apostle (not commissioned and sent from men nor through the agency of man, but
through Jesus Christ—the Messiah—and God the Father, who raised Him from the
dead), (Amplified)
A. Remember “Galatia” and the Gauls.
This matter of the founding of the Galatian churches has kept serious Bible students at
work for many years. The problem stems from the meaning of the word “Galatia.”
Several hundred years before the birth of Christ, some fierce tribes migrated from Gaul
(modern France) into Asia Minor, and founded Galatia, which simply means “the country
of the Gauls.” When Romans reorganized the ancient world, they made Galatia a part of
a larger province that included several other areas, and they call the entire province
Galatia. So, back in Paul’s day, when a person talked about Galatia, you could not be
sure whether he meant the smaller country of Galatia (North)or the larger Roman
province (South). (WW)
B. Bible students divided:
The evidence seems to indicate that Paul wrote to churches in the southern part of the
province of Galatia—Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe—churches Paul founded on his
first missionary journey [Around 51 A. D.]. (WW)
C. Paul loved his converts:
He always had a loving concern and a deep desire to see them and to hear they were
glorifying Christ, not going back under the law due to Judaizers. They were bringing in
parts of Jewish law into Christianity and by doing so restricted the freedom that Christ
brings. [They were sowing seeds of doubt about Paul’s authority]. (WW)
D. His apostleship was not from human selection and approval, but by divine appointment.
1. In the early days of the church, God called special men to do special tasks. Among
them were the apostles. The word means “one who is sent with a commission.”
While He was ministering on the earth, Jesus had many disciples (“learners”), and
from these He selected 12 Apostles. Later, one of the requirements for an apostle
was that he have witnessed the Resurrection. Of course, Paul himself was neither
a disciple nor an apostle was during Christ’s earthly ministry, but he had seen the
risen Lord and been commissioned by Him. Acts 9:1-18 (WW)
2. Therefore, he had the authority to deal with the problems in the Galatians churches.
Paul had a second basis for authority: he had founded the churches in Galatia. He
was not writing to them as a stranger, but as the one who had brought them the
message of life in the beginning! (Warren Wiersbe) [We are brothers and sisters
not strangers. You are my children in the Lord.]
3. Here he asserts the divine basis of the authority which he himself claimed. Paul meant
to say that in no respect did his office depend on human authority.
a. This title is evidently to be taken here in its strictest sense, as St. Paul is
insisting upon his equality in every respect with the Twelve. He wasn’t at
the resurrection, but he saw the resurrected Christ. (Ellicott)
b. The intervention of Jesus Christ took place in the vision through which, from a
persecutor, St. Paul became a “chosen vessel” for the propagation of the
gospel. (Charles Ellicott)
c. Here it was necessary for Paul to assert his authority, otherwise he is very
modest in the use of this title. He seldom mentions it when he joins others
with himself in the salutations, as in the epistles to the Philippians and
Thessalonians; or when he writes about secular affairs, as in that to
Philemon: nor yet in writing to the Hebrews.
d. Not of men: Not commissioned from them. It seems the false teachers had
insinuated, if not openly asserted, that he was merely an apostle of
men; made an apostle by the church at Antioch, or at best by the apostles
in Jerusalem. This false insinuation, which struck at the root of his
authority and usefulness, in the exercise of his office, St. Paul saw it
necessary to contradict, in the very beginning of his epistle.
(Joseph Benson)
e. They even gave ear to the insinuation that Paul himself observed the law
among the Jews, though he persuaded the Gentiles to renounce it, and
that his motive was to keep his converts in a subordinate state, excluded
from the full privileges of Christianity, which were enjoyed by the
circumcised alone; and that in "becoming all things to all men," he was an
interested flatterer, aiming at forming a party for himself: moreover, that
he falsely represented himself as an apostle divinely commissioned by
Christ, whereas he was but a messenger sent by the Twelve and the
Church at Jerusalem, and that his teaching was now at variance with that
of Peter and James, "pillars" of the Church, and therefore ought not to be
accepted. (JFB)
f. Ananias is given the situation concerning Paul, by the Lord: Acts 9:15 “But
the Lord said unto him, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to
bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel:”
g. The word apostle means "sent," and Paul means to say, that he was not "sent"
to execute any purpose of human beings, or commissioned by them. His
was a higher calling; a calling of God, and he had been sent directly by
him. Of course, he means to exclude here all classes of people as having
had anything to do in sending him forth; and, especially, he means to
affirm, that he had not been sent out by the body of apostles at Jerusalem.
This, it will be remembered (see the introduction to Galatians) was one of
the charges of those who had perverted the Galatians from the faith which
Paul had preached to them. (Albert Barnes)
Gal. 1:2. And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia:
1:2. and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
A. All the brethren which are with me—i.e.,
all his travelling companions. We are unable to say exactly who these were, the more so
as we do not know with any certainty the place from which St. Paul was writing. He may
have had in his company most of those who are mentioned in Acts 20:4 as
accompanying him back into Asia: Sopater, son of Pyrrhus (according to an amended
reading); Aristarchus and Secundus, of Thessalonica; Gaius, of Derbe; Tychicus and
Trophimus, of Asia; in any case, probably Timothy, and perhaps Titus.
It was usual with St. Paul to join with his own name that of one or other of his
companions in the address of his Epistles. Thus, in the First Epistle to the
Corinthians he associates with himself Sosthenes; in the Second Epistle to
Corinth, and in those to the Philippians and Colossians, Timothy and Silvanus. In
writing to the Galatians, St. Paul includes all his companions in his greeting,
hardly with the view of fortifying himself with their authority, for he is ready
enough to take the whole defense of his own cause upon himself, but, perhaps,
not altogether without the idea that he is possessed of their sympathy. (CE)
B. Not Paul’s usual greeting style:
This opening salutation is intentionally abrupt and bare. Usually it was the Apostle’s custom to begin with words of commendation. He praises all that he can find to praise even in a Church that had offended so seriously as the Corinthians. But the errors of the Galatians, he feels, go more to the root of things. The Corinthians had failed in the practical application of Christian principles; the Galatians (so far as they listened to their Judaizing teachers) could hardly be said to have Christian principles at all. The Apostle is angry with them with a righteous indignation, and his anger is seen in the naked severity of this address. (CE)
C. To the Churches
Letter was written to the Churches of Galatia. As mentioned before, Galatia was a territory. Some possibilities: Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, Derbe
Gal. 1:3. Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ,
1:3. Grace to you and peace [inner calm and spiritual well-being] from God our Father and the
Lord Jesus Christ,
Grace be to you … Christ] “These two words, grace and peace, comprehend in them whatsoever belongeth to Christianity. Grace releaseth sin, and peace maketh the conscience quiet.” Luther. We have here another indirect, but clear proof of the Godhead of our Lord Jesus Christ. He is with the Eternal Father the source and giver of grace and peace, and therefore He is “the God of all grace” (1 Peter 5:10), and “the God of Peace” (Hebrews 13:20). (Cambridge)
Gal. 1:4. Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world,
according to the will of God and our Father:
1:4. who gave Himself [as a sacrifice to atone] for our sins [to save and sanctify us] so that He
might rescue us from this present evil age, in accordance with the
will and purpose and plan of our God and Father—
A. Gave Himself:
1. Gave = To offer, give; I put, place. A prolonged form of a primary verb; to give.
2. The Father gave the Son. The Son gave Himself.
3. Surrendered Himself, of His own free act and will, to those who sought His death. The
phrase has a parallel in Titus 2:14, and appears in its full and complete form in the
Gospel saying (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45): “The Son of Man came to give His
life a ransom for many “; and in 1Timothy 2:6 : “Who gave Himself a ransom”
(the word is here a compound, which brings out more strongly the sense of
vicariousness) “for all.” (CE)
4. Who gave himself for our sins - The reason why Paul so soon introduces this
important doctrine, and makes it here so prominent, probably is, that this was the
cardinal doctrine of the Christian religion, the great truth which was ever to be
kept before the mind, and because this truth had been in fact lost sight of by
them. They had embraced doctrines which tended to obscure it, or to make it
void. They had been led into error by the Judaizing teachers, who held that it was
necessary to be circumcised, and to conform to the whole Jewish ritual. (AB)
5. That it was wholly voluntary on the part of the Lord Jesus. No one compelled him to
come; no one could compel him. It is not too much to say, that God could not,
and would not compel any innocent and holy being to undertake the great work of
the atonement, and endure the bitter sorrows which were necessary to redeem
man. God will compel the guilty to suffer, but he never will compel the innocent
to endure sorrows, even on behalf of others. The whole work of redemption must
be voluntary, or it could not be performed. (AB)
6. The gospel centers in a Person—Jesus Christ, the Son of God. This Person paid a
price—He gave himself to die on the cross. (WW)
B. For our sins
1. for our sins—which enslaved us to the present evil world.
2. Not merely to denounce sin—Moses and the prophets had done this; not merely to
set us a perfect example—this would have been to mock the misery of
unpardoned, unsanctified men and women. His death was for our
sins. (Cambridge)
C. That he might deliver us = "take out"
1. Deliver = Rescue actively, to tear out; middle voice, to select; figuratively, to release.
2. In the sense of "deliver;" it points to "the present state" as one of helpless misery or
danger. (Pulpit Comm.)
3. The Judaizers wanted to lead the Christians out of the liberty of grace into the
bondage of Law. Paul knew that bondage was not part of the message of the
Gospel, for Christ died to set men free. (WW)
D. From this present evil world
1. Evil, bad, wicked, malicious, slothful.
2. Christ gave his own very self for this end, that he might deliver us out of this
wretched state of things to which we belonged. (Pulpit Comm.)
E. According to His will
1. Will = An act of will, will; plur: wishes, desires. From the prolonged form of ethelo; a
determination, i.e. choice or inclination.
2. It is, perhaps, of no great consequence whether we understand this clause as
pointing to the whole preceding sentence, "Who gave himself... world," or to the
last clause of it, "That he might deliver... world." But the former is the more
probable construction:
(a) there is no reason for restricting it to the last words;
(b) it is in perfect accordance with the apostle's usual reference of Christ's coming into the world and dying for us to the Father's appointment, that he should here too be understood as referring to this work of delivering grace also.
Titus 3:5 “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
Gal. 1:5. To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
5. to Him be [ascribed all] the glory through the ages of the ages. Amen.
A. The false teachers were not ministering for the glory of Christ, but for their own glory. Like
false teacher today, the Judaizers were not busy winning lost people to Christ. Rather
they were stealing other men’s converts and bragging about their statistics. But Paul’s
motive was pure and godly; he want to glorify Jesus Christ. (WW)
B. To whom be glory.
1. By this sudden exclamation of thanksgiving, he intends to awaken powerfully in his
readers the contemplation of that invaluable gift which they had received from
God, and in this manner to prepare their minds more fully for receiving
instruction. It must at the same time be viewed as a general exhortation. Every
instance in which the mercy of God occurs to our remembrance, ought to be
embraced by us as an occasion of ascribing glory to God. (John Calvin)
2. Let Him have all the praise and honor of the plan and its execution. It is not
uncommon for Paul to introduce an ascription of praise in the midst of an
argument. It results from the strong desire which he had, that all the glory should
be given to God, and showed that he believed that all blessings had their origin in
God, and that God should be always acknowledged. (Albert Barnes)
Gal. 1:6. I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
6. I am astonished and extremely irritated that you are so quickly shifting your
allegiance and deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different [even
contrary] gospel;
A. Galatian churches were Gentiles, yet these were soon infected by Judaizing teachers, and
almost suffered themselves to be persuaded to undergo circumcision. (Jamieson,
Faussett, and Brown=JFB)
B. Without prefixing, as in other epistles, even in those to the Corinthians, a conciliatory
preamble setting forth what was commendable in his readers, Paul at once plunges in
mediam rem. He probably wrote without delay, immediately on receiving the accounts
which arrived as to the falling away of his readers, while his mind was still in that state of
agitated feeling which prevented him from using his customary preface of thanksgiving
and conciliation,—a painful irritation, which was the more just, that in the case of the
Galatians, the very foundation and substance of his gospel threatened to fall to pieces.
(F. B. Meyer)
C. These words were well calculated to startle the Galatians out of their levity. They are like a
lightning-flash which shows one to be standing on the edge of a precipice. We see at once
the infinite seriousness of the Judaic controversy, the profound gulf that lies between Paul
and his opposers. He is for open war. He is in haste to fling his gage of defiance against
these enemies of the cross. With all his tact and management, his readiness to consult the
susceptibilities and accommodate the scruples of sincere consciences, the Apostle can
find no room for conciliation here. He knows the sort of men he has to deal with.
(Expositor’s Bible)
D. I marvel – “I’m shocked.” Amplified = “Astonished”
1. The verb is used here with reference to something disappointing, something felt to be
painful as well as strange. (Pulpit Comm)
2. He perceives that the whole truth of the Gospel is at stake. Not circumstantials, but essentials; not his personal authority, but the honor of Christ, the doctrine of the cross, is involved in this defection. He must speak plainly; he must act strongly, and at once; or the cause of the Gospel is lost. "If I continued any longer to please men," he says, "I should not be a servant of Christ." To stand on terms with such opponents, to palter with this "other Gospel," would be treason against Him. There is but one tribunal at which this quarrel can be decided. To Him "who had called" the Galatians believers "in Christ’s grace," who by the same grace had called the Apostle to His service and given him the message he had preached to them-to God he appeals. In His name, and by the authority conferred upon him and for which he must give account, he pronounces these troublers "anathema" (a formal curse by a pope or a council of the Church, excommunicating a person or denouncing a doctrine.) They are enemies of Christ, by their treachery excluded from His kingdom. (Expositor’s Bible)
3. It is unnecessary again to remark on the disturbance of mind indicated by the abruptness with which the apostle plunges into the language of reproof. It cannot fail to strike every careful reader. I marvel; I do marvel. The verb is used here with reference to something disappointing, something felt to be painful as well as strange.
4. It appears, however, that through some means, of preachers, or others, the Galatians had been tempted to remove from this faith, unto what for the moment the Apostle called, though he allowed not the expression, another gospel. They still preached Christ as the Head, and thereby deceived the unwary; but they did not preach Christ as the whole of salvation. To the Jews (as should seem by what Paul said in another part of this Epistle, Gal_5:2-4.) they taught, that it was necessary to add circumcision to a faith in Christ; and to the Gentiles they contended, that the works of the law were essential to salvation. (Robert Hawker)
E. Soon removed
1. Soon = briefly, that is (in time), speedily, or (in manner) rapidly, hastily, quickly,
shortly, soon, suddenly
F. Into grace . . . another gospel?
1. The Gospel-- They were called into the grace of Christ. They were taught salvation
through faith. That it is not something you can earn, it is not something you
deserve, it is not something you can purchase, it is something that you can only
receive as a free gift of God on the basis, not of your works, not of your efforts,
not of your merit but on the basis of your simple trust in Jesus Christ. The gospel
of the grace of Christ. (Chuck Smith)
2. As he reflects on the case, whatever feeling of resentment mingled with his surprise
turns off upon the pseudo-evangelists misleading them; and accordingly it is upon
these that his anathema is pronounced, not upon them at all. They, indeed, by
listening to the false teaching, were in danger of falling from grace; but this he
rather compassionates than angrily denounces. (Pulpit Comm = PC)
3. I wonder. He commences by administering a rebuke, though a somewhat milder one than they deserved; but his greatest severity of language is directed, as we shall see, against the false apostles. He charges them with turning aside, not only from his gospel, but from Christ; for it was impossible for them to retain their attachment to Christ, without acknowledging that he has graciously delivered us from the bondage of the law. But such a belief cannot be reconciled with those notions respecting the obligation of ceremonial observance which the false apostles inculcated. They were removed from Christ; not that they entirely rejected Christianity, but that the corruption of their doctrines was such as to leave them nothing more than an imaginary Christ. (John Calvin)
Romans 3:20 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.”
Gal. 1:7. Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of
Christ.
1:7. which is really not another [gospel]; but there are [obviously] some [people masquerading as
teachers] who are disturbing and confusing you [with a misleading, counterfeit teaching]
and want to distort the gospel of Christ [twisting it into something which it absolutely is
not].
Paul later faced a similar threat in Corinth:
2 Corinthians 11:1-4 “1 Would to God ye could bear with me a little in my folly: and indeed bear with me. 2 For I am jealous over you with godly jealousy: for I have espoused you to one husband, that I may present you as a chaste virgin to Christ. 3 But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 4 For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him.”
A. The apostle desired to preserve the Corinthians from being corrupted by the false
apostles. There is but one Jesus, one Spirit, and one gospel, to be preached to
them, and received by them; and why should any be prejudiced, by the devices of
an adversary, against him who first taught them in faith? They should not listen
to men, who, without cause, would draw them away from those who were the
means of their conversion. (Matthew Henry)
B. Not another
1. For what ye have now received is no gospel at all. It is not glad, but heavy
tidings, as setting your acceptance with God upon terms impossible to be
performed. (JB)
2. Different spirit … different gospel.
3. Different in kind, another sort of gospel?
which is undeserving of the name, since there is but one gospel, namely,
that to which you were called by God. Hence Paul immediately adds a
correction of this paradoxical expression, which he uses simply in
accommodation to the language of the Judaizing pseudo-evangelists.
4. THE APOSTLE EXPRESSES SURPRISE AT THE SUDDEN DEFECTION
OF HIS CONVERTS FROM THE ONLY TRUE GOSPEL, AND
PRONOUNCES ANATHEMAS ON ALL PERVERTERS OF THE
TRUTH.—Paul is evidently startled at the tidings of a sudden revolution
in Galatian feeling. His intense indignation is evinced by the vehemence
of his language and the solemnity of his anathema. There could be but one
true Gospel; this new doctrine was no Gospel at all, but only a heretical
perversion of the truth by foreign agitators. They were probably
emissaries of a Pharisaic party in the Church, which advocated
circumcision and legal observances for all converts alike. (Exp. Greek)
5. The test of the Gospel is grace. If the message excludes grace, or mingles law
with grace as the means of either of justification or sanctification or denies
the fact or guilt of sin which alone gives grace its occasion and
opportunity, it is "another" gospel, and the preacher of it is under the
anathema of God. (Scofield)
6. I never can say enough to the Reader, in begging him to notice what Paul saith,
of another gospel. Not that the Apostle allowed it to be called another
gospel, for he immediately corrected himself, and said, it was not another;
meaning, it was no gospel at all. And this was then, and is now, and
always must be the case. For whatever is set up, different from the faith
once delivered to the saints, ceaseth to be the Gospel, by so much, as there
is a departure, from that standard. The pure Gospel of Christ, reveals
Jehovah, in his threefold character, as raising up a Church, for the divine
glory in Christ: and this, before all worlds. And the whole Persons of the
Godhead are represented in Scripture, as engaged in Covenant settlements,
to make this Church everlastingly blessed, in Christ, and to all eternity. As
such the Church had a Being given her in Christ, from the moment the Son
of God stood up, at the call of the Father. (Robert Hawker)
C. Backsliding?
Paul’s surprise is strongly expressed, in noticing the backsliding of the Galatians. That it is backsliding, which he meant, by saying they were removed from Him that called them is very clear; because Him that called them, (meaning the Lord,) must have made it an effectual call, and including regeneration. So that, though they were removed, as to certain points of faith, (and as it should seem by what follows in this Epistle on the method of justification,) yet were they still real, and not nominal followers of the Lord. It is highly proper to notice this, for the comfort of the Church in all ages. Backsliding departures, and the like, very painful, and distressing as they are in themselves, and reproachful to God’s people; yet they are consistent with the state of a truly regenerated child of God, The Church is described, in a cold, sleepy state, when Jesus called her; and even pleading excuses for not going to him, though she knew his voice. (Robert Hawker)
John 1:12-13 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
Gal. 1:8. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. (Ban or excommunicated)
1:8. But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that
which we [originally] preached to you, let him be condemned to destruction!
A. But though we. As he proceeds in defending the authority of his doctrine, his confidence swells. First of all, he declares that the doctrine which he had preached is the only gospel, and that the attempt to set it aside is highly criminal. But then he was aware, the false apostles might object: "We will not yield to you in our desire to maintain the gospel, or in those feelings of respect for it which we are accustomed to cherish." Just as, at the present day, the Papists describe in the strongest terms the sacredness with which they regard the gospel, and kiss the very name with the deepest reverence, and yet, when brought to the trial, are found to persecute fiercely the pure and simple doctrine of the gospel. Accordingly, Paul does not rest satisfied with this general declaration, but proceeds to define what the gospel is, and what it contains, and declares boldly that his doctrine is the true gospel; so as to resist all further inquiry. (John Calvin)
B. Or an angel from heaven
1. Angel—in which light ye at first received me (compare Ga 4:14; 1Co 13:1), and whose authority is the highest possible next to that of God and Christ. A new revelation, even though seemingly accredited by miracles, is not to be received if it contradict the already existing revelation. For God cannot contradict Himself (De 13:1-3; 1Ki 13:18; Mt 24:24; 2Th 2:9). The Judaizing teachers sheltered themselves under the names of the great apostles, James, John, and Peter: "Do not bring these names up to me, for even if an angel," &c. Not that he means, the apostles really supported the Judaizers: but he wishes to show, when the truth is in question, respect of persons is inadmissible [Chrysostom].
2. Or an angel from heaven. In order to destroy more completely the pretensions of the false apostles, he rises so high as to speak of angels; and, on the supposition that they taught a different doctrine, he does not satisfy himself with saying that they were not entitled to be heard, but declares that they ought to be held accursed. (JC)
3. And thus, when he pronounces a curse on angels who should teach any other doctrine though his argument is derived from an impossibility, it is not superfluous. This exaggerated language must, have contributed greatly to strengthen the confidence in Paul's preaching. His opponents, by employing the lofty titles of men, attempted to press hard on him and on his doctrine. He meets them by the bold assertion, that even angels are unable to shake his authority. This is no disparagement to angels. (JC)
C. Let him be accursed (Anathema)
Let all those who, from the fickleness of their own minds, are ready to favor the reveries of every pretended prophet and prophetess who starts up, consider the awful words of the apostle. As, in the law, the receiver of stolen goods is as bad as the thief; so the encouragers of such pretended revelations are as bad, in the sight of God, as those impostors themselves. What says the word of God to them? Let them be accursed. (Adam Clarke)
Gal. 1:9. As we said before, so say I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
1:9. As we have said before, so I now say again, if anyone is preaching to you a gospel different
from that which you received [from us], let him be condemned to destruction!
A. As we said before.—Probably, upon his last (i.e., his second) visit, at the beginning of this,
his third, great missionary journey (Acts 18:23). The germs of the apostasy in the
Galatian Church would be already visible. (Ellicott)
B. To talk of suspending the grace of God, and the merits of Christ in redemption, upon the endeavors of man; leaving the event at a peradventure, whether God’s grace, or man’s will, shall triumph: these things are not simply rendering matters uncertain; but totally making the whole blessings of the Gospel ineffectual. And, to call this another gospel, is a false name, as the Apostle saith; for it is no gospel at all. And, though the advocates of such doctrine, put Christ at the head of it, and seem to pay him the compliment, of calling him Savior, while robbing him of his glory, in not allowing him to be wholly so; yet such a religion is neither law nor Gospel, nor can it lay claim to either. It is not law, for the law pronounceth a curse upon everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. And it is not gospel, for the Gospel saith, that by grace we are saved through faith, and that not of ourselves, it is the gift of God; not of works, lest any man should boast. Eph_2:8-9. And very certain it is, according to Scripture testimony, that as to law, all the world is become guilty before God. Rom_3:19, And, but for Christ’s interposition, in redeeming from the curse of the law, every mouth must be stopped. For, as the Apostle in this same Epistle saith; if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. Gal_2:21.
C. Speaking of himself and his coworkers, and therefore of all true ministers of the Gospel, he states that no doctrine has the right to exist in the Church which differs from, and contradicts, the Gospel as it has been proclaimed by him in all his work. It is not a matter of dispute between various teachers, all of whom may claim purity of truth for themselves, but the contrast is that between truth and falsehood. And there it holds good: Not Paul himself, not any of his assistants, not any minister of the Gospel, not even an angel from heaven can alter the truth in Christ. If anyone should, in spite of this principle, presume to substitute a spurious Gospel, any false doctrine, for the truth of redemption, then such a one should be subject to God’s curse, the end of which is eternal death. Note: This principle must be upheld by all Christians over against the claims of false teachers; any deviation from the sound doctrine as found in the Bible, any substitution of man-made philosophies and expositions, places the authors of such attempts under the curse of God. "The Word of God shall establish articles of faith, and no one else, not even an angel. " "Therefore we shall confidently say with Paul: May all doctrine from heaven or from the earth or no matter whence it may have been brought, perish and be accursed, which teaches to rely upon other works, other righteousness, other merits than those which belong to Christ." (Paul Kretzmann)
D. Let him be accursed –
Perhaps this is not designed as an imprecation, but a simple direction; for the word here may be understood as implying that such a person should, have no countenance in his bad work, but let him, as Theodoret expresses it, be separated from the communion of the Church. This, however, would also imply that unless the person repented, the Divine judgments would soon follow. (Adam Clarke)
E. It might be fair to ask, “Where was Paul’s love?” He asked for a “double curse” on people – people who spread a false gospel. He didn’t just ask God to curse the message, but to curse the people who spread the message. So, where was Paul’s love? Paul’s love was for souls that were in danger of hell. If a gospel is false, and not “another good news” at all, then it cannot save the lost. Paul looked at this false, perverted gospel and said, “That is a rescue ship about to sink! It can’t save anyone! I want to do everything right before God to warn people away from the wrong rescue ship.” (David Guzik)
I Tim. 4:16 “Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.”
Gal. 1:10. For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased
men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
1:10. Am I now trying to win the favor and approval of men, or of God? Or am I seeking to please
someone? If I were still trying to be popular with men, I would not be a bond-servant of
Christ.
A. For do I now; for at this hour.
This "for" points back either to the fact of the apostle’s having now so solemnly pronounced afresh the awful anathema which at some former time he had uttered; or which, in effect, is nearly the same thing, to the tone of feeling which he in so doing evinced, and to his method of apostolic action which he therein exemplified.
B. Paul said I’m not really seeking to win a popularity contest among men. I’m seeking to please God. And I could give up this fight. I could give in to the legalism. But if I did, I would not be a servant of God. Thank God Paul stuck by his guns. Boy, our church today would be something vastly different if Paul had not stuck by his guns.
But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. Because I did not receive it from man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.
C. Not to persuade men, but God, etc. The meaning of this may be either that in his preaching the gospel he did not act in obedience to men, but God, who had called him to this work and office; or that his aim therein was to bring persons to the obedience, not of men, but of God. As he professed to act by a commission from God; so that which he chiefly aimed at was to promote his glory, by recovering sinners into a state of subjection to him. And as this was the great end he was pursuing, so, agreeably hereunto, he did not seek to please men. He did not, in his doctrine, accommodate himself to the humors of persons, either to gain their affection or to avoid their resentment; but his great care was to approve himself to God. The Judaizing teachers, by whom these churches were corrupted, had discovered a very different temper; they mixed works with faith, and the law with the gospel, only to please the Jews, whom they were willing to court and keep in with, that they might escape persecution. But Paul was a man of another spirit; he was not so solicitous to please them, nor to mitigate their rage against him, as to alter the doctrine of Christ either to gain their favor or to avoid their fury.
D. For is it men that I am now striving to please, to conciliate, or God? Or am I zealous about finding the favor of men? If I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ. If his object were to persuade men, to gain them for his own person, to seek their approval for selfish reasons, then his boasting about being an unselfish servant of Christ, for the purpose of advancing the glory of Christ only, would be hypocrisy and deception. But he insists that his sole aim and object in preaching the Gospel is the furtherance of God’s glory through the declaration of the entire counsel of salvation; this he does in his capacity as servant of Christ, whether it pleases men or not, for all men by nature are opposed to the truth and do not desire the vicarious atonement of Jesus. If he were speaking to please men, he would thereby admit that he had personal interests at stake, and his message would be bound to be influenced by that fact. But since he has in mind the glory of the Lord, he speaks after the manner and by the Spirit of God, in disinterested single-mindedness. It is the disposition which must animate and actuate every true servant of Christ at all times. (Paul Kretzmann)
E. If we seek to please men we cannot be the servants of God.—He that would be a faithful minister of the gospel must deny the pride of his heart, be emptied of ambition, and set himself wholly to seek the glory of God in his calling. (Perkins.)
Gal. 1:11. But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.
1:11. For I want you to know, believers, that the gospel which was preached by me is not man’s
gospel [it is not a human invention, patterned after any human concept]
A. This change in the tone is somewhat adverse to the supposition that the two passages were, as originally written, linked together by the closely connective "for." It suggests to the careful reader the feeling that, after the apostle had somewhat relieved his spirit of the indignant excitement with which he at first addressed himself to the writing of the letter, he laid down his pen at the end of the tenth verse, which had introduced a topic of thought that threatened to lead him aside from his present business; and, after pausing to re fleet how he had best proceed, resumed his work with the purpose of calmly showing, from the very circumstances of his personal history, that the gospel which the Galatians had received from him had solely a Divine origin. This view of the passage likewise favors the reading, "Now I make known to you."
B. It is necessary that men should be assured and certified that the doctrine of the gospel and the Scripture is not of man but of God.—That the Scripture is the word of God there are two testimonies.
1. One is the evidence of God’s Spirit imprinted and expressed in the Scriptures, and this is an excellence of the word of God above all words and writings of men and angels. 2. The second testimony is from the prophets and apostles, who were ambassadors of God extraordinarily to represent His authority unto His Church, and the penmen of the Holy Ghost to set down the true and proper word of God. (Preachers Homiletical)
Jude 3 “Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.”
C. The gospel which Paul preached was not human—he did not receive it, neither was he taught it by man; and preached it not by human but by divine authority. 1. Christ is the great prophet and doctor of the Church. His office is: (1) To manifest and reveal the will of the Father touching the redemption of mankind. (2) To institute the ministry of the word and to call and send ministers. (3) To teach the heart within by illuminating the mind and by working a faith of the doctrine taught. 2. There are two ways whereby Christ teaches those who are to be teachers. (1) By immediate revelation. (2) By ordinary instruction in schools by the means and ministry of men. (Preachers Homiletical)
Gal. 1:12 For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus
Christ.
1:12. For indeed I did not receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a
[direct] revelation of Jesus Christ.
I Peter 1:3-5 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.”
A. Paul alludes to the revelations received soon after the event at Damascus, and consequent therefore upon his calling, which enabled him to comply with it and to come forward as a preacher of the gospel. (F. B. Meyer)
B. It were earnestly to be wished, that Paul’s faithfulness and zeal, were more followed than it is. When we look round, and behold, in the present awful day of the Church, what a mixture, of law and gospel, grace and works, make up for the most part, what is called evangelical preaching; how much the creature is cried up, and the Person, glory, and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, put down; how men are taught to live upon themselves, and their attainments, instead of living upon the Lord Jesus Christ; we have cause to tremble for the eventual consequences. And, although it would be highly unbecoming, and improper, in any, unless inspired as Paul was, to pronounce the Anathema he pronounced; (Robert Hawker)
C. What then? shall the authority of the word be diminished, because one who has been instructed by the instrumentality of men shall afterwards become a teacher? We must take into account, all along, the weapons with which the false apostles attacked him, alleging that his gospel was defective and spurious; that he had obtained it from an inferior and incompetent teacher; and that his imperfect education led him to make unguarded statements. They boasted, on the other hand, that they had been instructed by the highest apostles, with whose views they were most intimately acquainted. It was therefore necessary that Paul should state his doctrine in opposition to the whole world, and should rest it on this ground, that he had acquired it not in the school of any man, but by revelation from God. In no other way could he have set aside the reproaches of the false apostles. (John Calvin)
D. His divine instruction, communicated to him by immediate inspiration, did not render it improper that a man should be employed in teaching him, were it only to give weight to his public ministry. In like manner, we have already shown, that he had a direct call from God by revelation, and that he was ordained by the votes and the solemn approbation of men. These statements are not inconsistent with each other. (John Calvin)
I Cor. 15:1- 4 “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:”
E. Paul now enters upon his apology. He defends first his independent apostolical dignity, and proves that he was called directly by Christ, that he received his gospel through revelation before he became even acquainted with the older Apostles, and that he was recognized by them in his independent apostleship at the conference of Jerusalem. The several points he makes are these: 1. I did not learn the gospel from men in my youth; on the contrary, I was a violent persecutor; 2. I learned it directly from Christ when He revealed Himself to me and called me at my conversion; 3. I was not instructed by men after my conversion, for I retired forthwith into the desert of Arabia where there were no Christians; 4. nor by the Apostles in Jerusalem, for I only saw Peter and James, and them but for a few days; 5. at a later visit to Jerusalem I met the Apostles on equal terms and was fully acknowledged by them; 6. I even openly rebuked Peter, at Antioch, for his inconsistency. (Pop. NT)
Gal. 1:13 For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in the Jews' religion, how that
beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it:
1:13 You have heard of my career and former manner of life in Judaism, how I used to hunt
down and persecute the church of God extensively and [with fanatical zeal] tried [my
best] to destroy it.
A. For ye heard (when I was with you) of my former manner of life (or, conduct) in Judaism, i.e., the Jewish religion as opposed to Christianity, the religion of the Jewish hierarchy and the Pharisaic school, not the genuine religion of the Old Testament. Paul appeals to the well-known fact of his past career as a persecutor, which formed a part of his teaching, and conclusively proved that no mere human teaching could have converted him. All his antecedents were of such a character that nothing but a divine intervention could produce so great a change.
That beyond measure I persecuted the church of God and was destroying it, or ‘labored to destroy it.’ Paul intended to annihilate Christianity, was actually employed in the attempt and carried it out as far as he could. ‘I persecuted this way (or, belief) even to death.’ (Pop. NT)
B. Paul the apostle had followed the law of God circumspectly. He had followed it down all the way. He writes concerning himself that "as far as the righteousness which is of the law is concerned, I was blameless.” And so Paul speaks of his zeal above his own peers. His zeal for the lost, his zeal for God according to the law and all was above those around him. And yet Paul found himself zealously following the law still empty and frustrated and he did not find the fulfillment. And that is why when he came to the glorious knowledge of Jesus Christ he was so transformed because he had followed the law all the way as far as you could and didn’t find the peace. (Chuck Smith)
C. For ye have heard of my conversation. The whole of this narrative was added as a part of his argument. He relates that, during his whole life, he had such an abhorrence of the gospel, that he was a mortal enemy of it, and a destroyer of the name of Christianity. Hence we infer that his conversion was divine. And indeed he calls them as witnesses of a matter not at all doubtful, so as to place beyond controversy what he is about to say.
His equals were those of his own age; for a comparison with older persons would have been unsuitable. When he speaks of the traditions of the fathers, he means, not those additions by which the law of God had been corrupted, but the law of God itself, in which he had been educated from his childhood, and which he had received through the hands of his parents and ancestors. Having been strongly attached to the customs of his fathers, it would have been no easy matter to tear him from them, had not the Lord drawn him by a miracle.
Gal. 1:14. And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being
more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers.
1:14 And [you have heard how] I surpassed many of my contemporaries among my countrymen
in [my advanced study of the laws of] Judaism, as I was extremely loyal to the traditions
of my ancestors.
I persecuted the church of God — Whether considered as individual believers, or as persons united in religious societies and congregations; and wasted it — Ravaged it with all the fury of a beast of prey. And profited — Made proficiency in the knowledge and practice of Judaism; above many of my equals — Many of the same age with myself; in mine own nation — Or who were of the same standing in the study of the law; being more exceedingly zealous of the unwritten traditions of my fathers — Over and above the doctrines and precepts written in the law. These were what the evangelists and our Lord called the traditions of men, and their own traditions, to show that they were mere human inventions. “It was the characteristic of a Pharisee to hold these traditions as of equal authority with the precepts of the law. Nay, in many cases, they gave them the preference. Hence our Lord told them, Full well ye reject the commandments of God, that ye may keep your own traditions. The apostle mentions his knowledge of the traditions of the fathers, and his zeal for them, as things absolutely necessary to salvation, to convince the Galatians that his preaching justification without the works of the law, could be attributed to nothing but the force of truth communicated to him by revelation.” (Macknight)
Gal. 1:15 But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me
by His grace,
1:15 But when God, who had chosen me and set me apart before I was born, and called me
through His grace, was pleased
But when it pleased God ; and when it was the good pleasure of God. The Authorized Version and the Revised Version have "but when." To determine the exact force here of the conjunction de´, we must consider how the sentence it introduces stands related to what precedes. The main underlying thought of Gal_1:13, Gal_1:14 was that the habit of the apostle’s mind before his conversion was such as wholly to preclude the notion of his having known the gospel up to that hour. The main thought pervading Gal_1:15-17, and indeed pursued to the end of the chapter, is that, after he had received from God himself the knowledge of the gospel, he had had no occasion to have recourse to any mortal man, apostle or other, for the purpose of further instruction therein. It follows that the conjunction connecting the two sentences is not adversative, as it would, of course, be taken if God’s dealings with him, described in Gal_1:15, Gal_1:16, were the main point of this new paragraph, but is simply the sign of the writer’s passing on to another thought—not one contrasted with the preceding, but merely additional.
Gal. 1:16 To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I
conferred not with flesh and blood:
1:16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles [as the good news—
the way of salvation], I did not immediately consult with [e]anyone [for guidance
regarding God’s call and His revelation to me].
Being fully satisfied concerning the divine will, and determined to obey it, I took no counsel with any man, neither with my own reason or inclination, which might have raised numberless objections; but laid aside the consideration of all carnal respects and interests whatsoever. Neither went I up to Jerusalem — The residence of the apostles, to be instructed by, and receive commission from them. But I went into Arabia — Where there were few Christians, and none of them of any note. This course, we may believe, the apostle took by the direction of Christ, who sent him into that country, to instruct him in the duties of his office, and in the doctrines of the gospel, by immediate revelation. The truth is, now that the Lord Jesus was gone to heaven, this was the only proper method of training an apostle. For if the ministry of men had been used in instructing Saul, he would have been considered as an apostle of men, and on that account might have been reckoned inferior to the other apostles, who were all instructed by Christ himself. In Arabia, therefore, Saul continued more than two years; and during all that time, it is probable, employed himself in studying the Jewish Scriptures more carefully than ever, by the help of the new light which had been bestowed on him; in searching into the true nature of the law of Moses, and in attending to such revelations as Christ was pleased to make to him.
Gal. 1:17 Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went
into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
1:17 Nor did I [even] go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went to
Arabia and stayed awhile, and afterward returned once more to Damascus.
A. His enemies accused Paul of being a compromiser and “adjusting” the Gospel to fit the Gentiles. Perhaps they twisted the meaning of Paul statement, “I am made all things to all men, that I might by all thing to all men, that I might by all means save some” (I Cor. 9:22). They said, “When Paul is with the Jews, he lives as a Jew; but when H is with Gentiles, he lives like the Gentiles. He is a man-pleasure, and therefore you cannot trust him!” W. W.)
B. Neither went I up to Jerusalem neither went I up (or, away). This "neither" negatives one particular instance of the general notion of "consulting flesh and blood," in reference to which an exception might else have not unnaturally been supposed likely. It forms a sort of climax to the negative. It is uncertain whether "went up" or "went away" is the true reading of the Greek text. If the latter, the verb is repeated after the following "but" (a???a`), as Rom_8:15, "Ye have received;" Heb_12:18, Heb_12:22, "Ye are come."
C. To them which were apostles before me. For this "before me," comp. Rom_16:7. Every reader must feel the consciousness of official parity with the twelve which transpires in this expression of St. Paul’s. The like consciousness is apparent in 1Co_15:5-11, strongly as the writer there expresses his sense of comparative personal unworthiness. Why, it may be asked, does the apostle thus particularly refer to the "apostles before him"? The probable answer seems to be, for the purpose of more forcibly illustrating the assured conviction, which from the very first he entertained, of the sufficiency and Divine authority of the gospel which he had already received.
D. But I went into Arabia but I went away into Arabia. It is impossible to determine what was the precise locality to which St. Paul then went. "Arabia" was in those days a geographical term of very wide significance. Damascus itself appertained to Arabia; so Justin Martyr writes "that Damascus was of the Arabian country, and is, even though now [probably, Bishop Lightfoot suggests, by Hadrian’s arrangement of those provinces] it has been assigned to what is called the Syrophoenician country, none even of you are able to deny." So Tertullian, ’Adv. Mare,’ 1Co_3:13; ’Adv. Judaeos,’ 9. At the time of St. Paul’s abode at Damascus the city was subject to an "ethnarch of Aretas" (2Co_11:32); and "Aretas," the King of Petra, is in the case of several successive princes, styled "the King of the Arabians" (2 Macc. 5:8; Josephus, ’Ant.,’ 14:1, 4; ’Bell. Jud.,’ 1:6, 2; ’Ant.,’ 16:10, 8, 9). The apostle’s words may, therefore, describe a withdrawal into some district, whether inhabited or uninhabited, not far distant from Damascus. On the other hand, in Gal_4:25, the apostle refers to "Arabia" in connection with Mount Sinai; so that Arabia Petraea may possibly have been the country visited. And here the imagination is tempted by recollections of Moses and the giving of the Law, and of Elijah, to indulge in speculations with reference to the especial appropriateness of that vicinity for being Saul’s place of sojourn at this crisis of spiritual illumination and call to apostleship. But all this is conjectural: there is no solid ground whatever for our believing that it was thither flint his steps were at this season directed, And we cannot but recollect, with reference to the Lord Jesus, that when, after his baptism, "the Spirit drove him forth into the wilderness,’’ with a view, as we may in all reverence believe, to his preparing himself for his high ministry as the Christ, no one imagines that it was into the wilderness of Sinai that he was led. And this suggests the remark that, at this particular juncture in especial, Saul’s movements were directed by heavenly guidance. This we seem warranted to infer from our Lord’s words to him, "Rise, and enter into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do" (Act_9:6). At such a season, indeed, the unceasing cry of his whole soul—a cry at, rely not unresponded to—must have been, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" (Pulpit Comm)
Gal. 1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen
days.
1:18 Then three years later I did go up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas (Peter), and I
stayed with him fifteen days.
Then, after three years — Wherein I had given full proof of my apostleship; I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter — And converse with him; and abode with him fifteen days — During which they doubtless discoursed at large together on the mutual success of their ministry. “This being Paul’s first visit to Jerusalem since his conversion, the brethren there shunned him, suspecting that he feigned himself a disciple with a view to betray them. But Barnabas, who probably had learned the particulars of his conversion from Ananias, took and brought him to the apostles, (Peter and James,) and declared to them how he had seen the Lord in the way, Acts 9:27. It does not appear that on this occasion anything was said, either by Barnabas or by Saul, concerning Christ’s making Saul an apostle at the time he converted him, or concerning his sending him to preach to the idolatrous Gentiles, as is related by the apostle himself, Acts 26:16-18. These things were not mentioned in Jerusalem till Paul went up to the council, fourteen years after his conversion, Galatians 2:2; Galatians 2:7-9.” (Pulpit Comm)
Gal. 1:19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.
1:19 But I did not see any other apostle except James, the [half] brother of the Lord
But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord’s brother — Or kinsman, as the word here signifies; for he was the son of Alpheus, by Mary the sister of our Lord’s mother. That Paul made so short a stay at Jerusalem, at this time, was probably owing to Christ’s appearing to him in a trance, while in the temple, and commanding him to depart quickly from Jerusalem, Acts 22:18. The brethren also, it seems, advised him to depart, because the Hellenist Jews were determined to kill him. (Pulpit Comm)
For a fuller discussion of the personality of "James the Lord’s brother," the reader is referred to the additional note at the end of this chapter. How it came about that St. Peter was the only one of the twelve that St. Paul then saw, there are no certain grounds for determining. The intimation in Act_8:1 that, in the persecution which ensued upon the martyrdom of Stephen, the apostles still remained at Jerusalem when they of the Church there were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, relates to a period two or three years previous. The state of things was no doubt now quite different; the Church had come together again; but the apostles may for the most part have been absent in the country, engaged in their apostolic labors, as St. Peter himself is soon after described as being (cf. Act_9:31, Act_9:32). The surmise that this was the cause appears more probable than the view which supposes them to have continued distrustful, now that the two great leaders, Cephas and James, had been won over to frankly and publicly recognize the new convert. A difficulty has been thought to result from a comparison of these words of St. Paul with St. Luke’s statement in Act_9:15, Act_9:16, that Barnabas took and brought him to "the apostles," and that he "was with them" going in and out at Jerusalem. That he was not with them for long was a fact not unknown to St. Luke, as we may, gather from what we read in Act_22:18. There is, therefore, no discrepancy in that respect between the two representations. But is there no discrepancy between St. Luke’s mention of "the apostles" as then admitting Paul into partnership with them in public work, and St. Paul’s so emphatically affirming that it was Cephas alone of the apostles that he saw?
Gal. 1:20 Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not.
1:20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you as if I were standing before God that I am
not lying.)
He confirms it by a solemn oath (Gal_1:20), declaring, as in the presence of God, that what he had said was strictly true, and that he had not in the least falsified in what he had related, which, though it will not justify us in solemn appeals to God upon every occasion, yet shows that, in matters of weight and moment, this may sometimes not only be lawful, but duty. After this he acquaints them that he came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia: having made this short visit to Peter, he returns to his work again. He had no communication at that time with the churches of Christ in Judea, they had not so much as seen his face; but, having heard that he who persecuted them in times past now preached the faith which he once destroyed, they glorified God because of him; thanksgivings were rendered by many unto God on that behalf; the very report of this mighty change in him, as it filled them with joy, so it excited them to give glory to God on the account of it.
Gal. 1:21 Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia;
1:21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
We gather from the parallel narrative in Acts 9:30; Acts 11:25-26, that the course which the Apostle followed was this:—He was first conveyed secretly by the disciples to the sea-port Cæsarea Stratonis; there he took ship and sailed for Tarsus. Here he was found, somewhat later, by Barnabas, and taken to Antioch, where he remained a year. It would thus appear that the order in which the two names, Syria and Cilicia, occur does not represent the order in which the two provinces were visited. The Apostle, reviewing his past career at a distance of time, and with a certain special object in view, which is not affected by the geographical direction of his movements, speaks in this general way. It hardly seems necessary to suppose an unrecorded visit to Syria on the way to Tarsus, though that, of course, is possible. Still more gratuitous is the supposition that there is any contradiction between the historical narrative and our Epistle, for such generalities of expression are what most persons may constantly detect themselves in using. The accuracy of the pedant neither belongs to St. Paul’s Epistles nor to real life. (Ellicott)
Gal. 1:22 And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ:
1:22 And I was still unknown by sight to the churches which were in Christ in Judea (Jerusalem
and the surrounding region);
But I was so completely a stranger to the land of Judaea, that at the time of my sojourn in Syria and Cilicia I was personally unknown to the churches, etc. These statements (Galatians 1:22-24) likewise go to prove that Paul had not been a disciple of the apostles, which is indeed the object aimed at in the whole of the context. As a pupil of the apostles, he would have remained in communication with Jerusalem; and thence issuing, he would first of all have exercised his ministry in the churches of Judaea, and would have become well known to them. (F. B. Meyer)
Gal. 1:23 But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the
faith which once he destroyed.
1:23 they only kept hearing, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the [good news of
the] faith which he once was trying to destroy.”
All who are savingly converted, are called by the grace of God; their conversion is wrought by his power and grace working in them. It will but little avail us to have Christ revealed to us, if he is not also revealed in us. He instantly prepared to obey, without hesitating as to his worldly interest, credit, ease, or life itself. And what matter of thanksgiving and joy is it to the churches of Christ, when they hear of such instances to the praise of the glory of his grace, whether they have ever seen them or not! (Matthew Henry)
Though those churches in the country of Judea had never seen Paul’s person, yet they had heard of him:
1.That he had been a persecutor of those which professed the doctrine of the gospel, which he here calleth the faith, it being the object and the means of faith.
2. That there was such a change wrought in him, as that he was now become a preacher of that doctrine, for the profession of which he had formerly wasted and destroyed, the churches of Christ. (Matthew Poole)
Gal. 1:24 And they glorified God in me.
1:24 And they were glorifying God [as the Author and Source of what had taken place and all that
had been accomplished] in me.
A. They glorify God for his power and mercy in saving such persons, and for all the service to his people and cause that is done, and may be further expected from them. (Matthew Henry)
B. This verse represents the proper attitude of Christian hero-worship. An eminent Christian is like a “city set on a hill.” But the admiration which he attracts does not rest in him; it is made the occasion for giving praise to God. (Ellicott Comm.)
C. And they glorified God in me - They praised God on my account. They regarded me as a true convert and a sincere Christian; and they praised God that he had converted such a persecutor, and had made him a preacher of the gospel. The design for which this is mentioned is, to show that though he was personally unknown to them, and had not derived his views of the gospel from them, yet that he had their entire confidence. They regarded him as a convert and an apostle, and they were disposed to praise God for his conversion. This fact would do much to conciliate the favor of the Galatians, by showing them that he had the confidence of the churches in the very land where the gospel was first planted, and which was regarded as the source of ecclesiastical authority. In view of this we may remark: (1) That it is the duty of Christians kindly and affectionately to receive among their number those who have been converted from a career of persecution or of sin in any form. And it is always done by true Christians. It is easy to forgive a man who has been actively engaged in persecuting the church, or a man who has been profane, intemperate, dishonest, or licentious, if he becomes a true penitent, and confesses and forsakes his sins. No matter what his life has been; no matter how abandoned, sensual, or devilish; if he manifests true sorrow and gives evidence of a change of heart, he is cordially received into any church, and welcomed as a fellow-laborer in the cause which he once destroyed. Here, at least, is one place where forgiveness is cordial and perfect. His former life is not remembered, except to praise God for His grace in recovering a sinner from such a course. The evils that he has done are forgotten, and he is henceforward regarded as entitled to all the privileges and immunities of a member of the household of faith. There is not on earth an infuriated persecutor or blasphemer who would not be cordially welcomed to any Christian church upon the evidence of his repentance; not a person so debased and vile that the most pure, and elevated, and learned, and wealthy Christians would not rejoice to sit down with him at the same communion table upon the evidence of his conversion to God. (2) we should "glorify" or praise God for all such instances of conversion. (Albert Barnes)
