Galatians 1:1-15
Salutation
1:1 From Paul, an apostle (not from men, nor by human agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead)
1:2 and all the brothers with me, to the churches of Galatia.
1:3 Grace and peace to you from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,
1:4 who gave himself for our sins to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father,
1:5 to whom be glory forever and ever! Amen.
Occasion of the Letter
1:6 I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are following a different gospel –
1:7 not that there really is another gospel, but there are some who are disturbing you and wanting to distort the gospel of Christ.
1:8 But even if we (or an angel from heaven) should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be condemned to hell!
1:9 As we have said before, and now I say again, if any one is preaching to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be condemned to hell!
1:10 Am I now trying to gain the approval of people, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a slave of Christ!
Paul’s Vindication of His Apostleship
1:11 Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.
1:12 For I did not receive it or learn it from any human source; instead I received it by a revelation of Jesus Christ.
1:13 For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I was savagely persecuting the church of God and trying to destroy it.
1:14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries in my nation, and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.
1:15 But when the one who set me apart from birth and called me by his grace was pleased