Chapter
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Verse
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Galatians chapter 1

English Standard Version

1Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
3Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— 7not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. 9As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed.
10For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11For I would have you know, brothers, that the gospel that was preached by me is not man’s gospel. 12For I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ. 13For you have heard of my former life in Judaism, how I persecuted the church of God violently and tried to destroy it. 14And 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. 15But when he who had set me apart before I was born, and who called me by his grace, 16was pleased to reveal his Son to me, in order that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone; 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus.
18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. 19But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. 20(In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” 24And they glorified God because of me.
New International Version

1Paul, an apostle--sent not from men nor by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead--
2and all the brothers and sisters with me, To the churches in Galatia:
3Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you to live in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7which is really no gospel at all. Evidently some people are throwing you into confusion and are trying to pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let them be under God's curse! 9As we have already said, so now I say again: If anybody is preaching to you a gospel other than what you accepted, let them be under God's curse!
10Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
18Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. 19I saw none of the other apostles--only James, the Lord's brother. 20I assure you before God that what I am writing you is no lie.
21Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23They only heard the report: 'The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.' 24And they praised God because of me.
New American Standard Bible

1Paul, an apostle (not sent from men nor through human agency, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead),
2and all the brothers who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
3Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5to whom be the glory forevermore. Amen.
6I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ, for a different gospel, 7which is not just another account; but there are some who are disturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, he is to be accursed! 9As we have said before, even now I say again: if anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, he is to be accursed!
10For am I now seeking the favor of people, or of God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ.
11For I would have you know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel which was preached by me is not of human invention. 12For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it; 14and I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being more extremely zealous for my ancestral traditions. 15But when He who had set me apart even from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace was pleased 16to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.
18Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him for fifteen days. 19But I did not see another one of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. 20(Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which are in Christ; 23but they only kept hearing, 'The man who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy.' 24And they were glorifying God because of me.
Christian Standard Bible

1Paul, an apostle--not from men or by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead--
2and all the brothers who are with me:To the churches of Galatia.
3Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, 4who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father. 5To him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
6I am amazed that you are so quickly turning away from him who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-- 7not that there is another gospel, but there are some who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached to you, a curse be on him! 9As we have said before, I now say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, a curse be on him!
10For am I now trying to persuade people, or God? Or am I striving to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not of human origin. 12For I did not receive it from a human source and I was not taught it, but it came by a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13For you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism: I intensely persecuted God's church and tried to destroy it. 14I advanced in Judaism beyond many contemporaries among my people, because I was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors. 15But when God, who from my mother's womb set me apart and called me by his grace, was pleased 16to reveal his Son in me, so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with anyone. 17I did not go up to Jerusalem to those who had become apostles before me; instead I went to Arabia and came back to Damascus.
18Then after three years I did go up to Jerusalem to get to know Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. 19But I didn't see any of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother. 20I declare in the sight of God: I am not lying in what I write to you.
21Afterward, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22I remained personally unknown to the Judean churches that are in Christ. 23They simply kept hearing, "He who formerly persecuted us now preaches the faith he once tried to destroy." 24And they glorified God because of me.
New Living Translation

1This 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.
2All the brothers and sisters here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.
3May God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace. 4Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. 5All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
6I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ. You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News 7but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
8Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you. 9I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.
10Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
11Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning. 12I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.
13You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion — how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it. 14I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.
15But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him
16to reveal his Son to me so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being. 17Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
18Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother. 20I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.
21After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia. 22And still the churches in Christ that are in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23All they knew was that people were saying, 'The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!' 24And they praised God because of me.
King James Version

1Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;) 2And all the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia: 3Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, 4Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: 5To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
6I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: 7Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. 8But 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. 9As 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.
10For 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. 11But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. 12For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. 13For 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: 14And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. 15But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, 16To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood: 17Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. 18Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. 19But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother. 20Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. 21Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; 22And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: 23But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. 24And they glorified God in me.

What does Galatians chapter 1 mean?

Galatians begins more abruptly than most of Paul's other letters in the New Testament. Rather than giving an extended prologue, Paul launches immediately into his reasons for writing. This letter is directed to believers in the region of Galatia, also known as Asia Minor.

Paul identifies himself and makes a quick defense of the fact that he is, in fact, an apostle because Jesus Christ and God the Father made him one. He's not a man-made or self-made apostle (Galatians 1:1–3).

Apparently, Paul's credentials were under attack in Galatia. A group known as the Judaizers were trying to persuade those who believed in Christ, after hearing the gospel from Paul, that they were not truly saved. The Judaizers said they must also follow the Law of Moses. Their message was, in essence, to add a component of "works" to the requirements for salvation.

Paul was furious when he heard some of the Galatian Christians were actually starting to believe this. They had so joyfully received the good news that Jesus died to pay the full price for their sin that Paul is astounded by how quickly they are deserting Christ to follow this "other gospel."

Paul quickly clarifies: There is no "other gospel," only a distortion of the true gospel. With all of his authority as an apostle, Paul declares that anyone who teaches any other gospel other than what Paul taught them is "accursed" or eternally condemned. That stands even if Paul himself or an angel from heaven would try to teach them a different gospel. Paul stands on the truth that salvation comes by God's grace alone through faith alone in Christ's payment for our sin on the cross (Galatians 1:4–9).

To defend the true gospel, Paul must also defend the fact that he is truly an apostle. In New Testament terms, an apostle was someone who spent time with Christ and was officially sent by Christ to be His representative in the world. The Judaizers apparently were saying that Paul didn't qualify; he wasn't one of the original 12 disciples. In fact, they said he was merely taught by those other apostles, giving him no authority to speak for Christ on his own. Paul answered their charges by showing, from the story of his life before and after his conversion, that none of the other apostles trained him. Instead, Christ was revealed to him, as was the truth of the gospel of the grace of God.

Paul emphasizes that he knows just as much about Judaism as any of his accusers. After all, he persecuted and tried to destroy Christianity as a zealous young Pharisee. But then God showed His Son to Paul, and everything changed. Paul understood that he had been selected even before his birth to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. After his conversion, he didn't go to the apostles, he went off by himself for three years, coming to know the truth of the gospel through special revelations from God. Even after that, he preached in Syria and Cilicia for a time. Though he had met with Peter and Jesus' brother James at one point, he was unknown in the region around Jerusalem and Judea. All that was known about him was the radical change from Jesus-persecutor to Jesus-preacher (Galatians 1:10–24).

Paul stands on the fact that he is indeed an apostle in every sense of the word. The Galatian Christians can trust his message.
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