In these opening words Paul rebuked his readers for turning away from the gospel that he had preached to them and for turning toward a different "gospel."He accused them of being religious turncoats. He did so to impress them with the great folly of their action. The fiery opening of this epistle presents it "like a lion turned loose in the arena of Christianity."15
"The general proposition or causaof the letter is to persuade the Galatians to reject the Judaizers' nongospel and to continue in the true gospel Paul had preached to them."16
1:6-7 In every other one of his canonical epistles Paul commended his readers before launching into the main subject of his letter regardless of his general purpose in writing. Here he recorded no such praise. Its absence stressed the seriousness of his readers' error and the urgency of his appeal.
The best evidence points to Paul's writing Galatians before the Jerusalem Council, held in 49 A.D., and after he and Barnabas evangelized Asia Minor on their first missionary journey (Acts 13-14).17Consequently it had been only a few months since his readers had accepted the gospel that he had preached to them and had turned from it. The Greek word thaumazo("I am amazed") was a conventional expression in Greek letters that signaled astonishment, rebuke, disapproval, and disappointment.18The Greek word tacheos("quickly") also has the sense of easily (cf. 2 Thess. 2:2; 1 Tim. 5:22). The one who had called the Galatians was God (cf. v. 15; 5:8).
"Gospel,"of course, means good news. However, the "gospel"that fascinated his readers was not good news.19It was bad news. Teachers of false doctrine who were stirring up unrest had followed Paul. The root of the word translated "disturbing"(v. 7) is one that describes the opposite of what the word translated "peace"(v. 3) means. These teachers were distorting the good news of Christ.
Paul consistently referred to the Galatian trouble-makers in the third person but addressed his readers in the second person. This strongly suggests that the false teachers originated outside the church rather than from within it. We must deduce who they were from what Paul wrote about them in this epistle (cf. 1:6-9; 2:4-5; 3:1; 4:17; 5:10, 12; 6:12-13). Probably they were Jews who were putting pressure on Gentiles to believe and to live as religious Jews.20
1:8 Paul leveled his strongest verbal artillery against these teachers. Whoever they were they apparently claimed the highest authority for their teaching since Paul warned his readers to reject it even if it had come from angelic messengers sent directly from heaven. By "accursed"Paul meant under God's judgment.
"In Paul's eyes, the acknowledgment of Jesus as Messiah logically implied the abrogation of the law . . . If Christ displaced the law as the activating centre of Paul's own life, he equally displaced the law in the economy of God, in the ordering of salvation-history. Therefore, if the law was still in force as a way of salvation and life, the messianic age had not yet dawned, and Jesus accordingly was not the Messiah."21
1:9 He even repeated his warning for emphasis. The prior warning in verse 9 probably refers to what Paul had told them when he was with them in person rather than to what he had just said in verse 8.22"We"implies Paul and his fellow missionaries, not just Paul alone.
"The vehemence with which Paul denounces those who teach another gospel (literally, he say, Let them be damned') has bothered some commentators, as well as other readers of the letter. But this shows how little the gospel of God's grace is understood and appreciated and how little many Christians are concerned for the advance of biblical truth."23
"Accursed"evidently refers to being under God's judgment, not just excommunication, since an angel could be the possible object.
1:10 The false teachers evidently charged Paul with preaching to curry the favor of his listeners, perhaps to gain a large number of converts to enhance his own reputation.
"There have always been preachers who have sought popular acclaim above all else, and there are some still. It is part of fallen human nature that even those charged with the responsibility of proclaiming the gospel can fall into the trap of trying to be popular rather than faithful."24
Paul's critics may have accused him of preaching one thing to some people and the opposite to others (cf. 5:2 and 11). It is understandable how some people might have concluded this (cf. 1 Cor. 9:22). However, Paul's argument in this verse was that a person can only be the slave of one master. Paul was claiming to have behaved among them consistent with his commitment to Christ as his master.
". . . his uncompromising attitude as reflected in the severity of his language in condemning the counterfeit gospel (vv. 8f.) is proof positive that he is no men-pleaser."25
Paul liked to describe himself as a "bond-servant"(Greek doulos) in relation to Christ (cf. Rom. 1:1; Phil. 1:1; Titus 1:1). This Greek word also describes Moses (Rev. 15:3), the Old Testament prophets (Rev. 10:7; 11:18), and the apostles (2 Cor. 4:5). Moreover it describes Jesus Christ (Phil. 2:7), Christian leaders (1 Tim. 2:24), James (James 1:1), Peter (2 Pet. 1:1), and Jude (Jude 1). Furthermore it describes John (Rev. 1:1), Christians (Acts 4:29; 1 Cor. 7:22; Gal. 4:7; Eph. 6:6; 1 Pet. 2:16; Rev. 1:1, 2:20), Tribulation saints (Rev. 7:3), and all believers (Rev. 19:2, 5; 22:3, 6) in the New Testament.
"Already in these opening verses the two key concepts in the letter have surfaced--gospel and grace."26
