Galatians 1:10-24
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
1:16 to reveal his Son in me so that I could preach him among the Gentiles, I did not go to ask advice from any human being,
1:17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me, but right away I departed to Arabia, and then returned to Damascus.
1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and get information from him, and I stayed with him fifteen days.
1:19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.
1:20 I assure you that, before God, I am not lying about what I am writing to you!
1:21 Afterward I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
1:22 But I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ.
1:23 They were only hearing, “The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith he once tried to destroy.”
1:24 So they glorified God because of me.