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Galatians 1:6-24
Paul wrote this letter to the assemblies in Galatia to fortify these new believers in the truth, for the truth had
come under attack there. Paul and Barnabas had shared the gospel in several cities of that province on their
first missionary trip, and multitudes of Galatians both Jew and Gentile believed it. The response was so
great that Paul and Barnabas established the believers into assemblies, and appointed elders to oversee
them.
But a short time after Paul and Barnabas had left Galatia, false teachers had come in, instructing the Gentile
believers that they must additionally keep the works of the Law, and be circumcised, in order to be saved.
Since the same pernicious lies had found ground in other assemblies that Paul had established, he was
unable to go immediately in person to deal with this serious problem in Galatia.
So Paul sent this letter to them in the interim, attempting to stay the corruption with the Word of God. We
have seen that, even in the prescript of this letter, Paul dispenses with any formalities, and gets right down
to business, as he begins to again establish the truth with the assemblies in Galatia.
Paul gives a summary statement of the gospel in one short, potent phrase: our Lord Jesus Christ gave
Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God
and Father (Gal 1:4). The corollary to this is, having been delivered by Jesus, what does that leave for man
to do? Nothing. Paul is already applying the light to dispel the dark thinking of a salvation by works.
We can also surmise from Pauls language in the prescript that he is seeking to shine the light of the truth
on some deceptions with which the false teachers have been attempting to hoodwink these assemblies. We
can deduce that these false teachers have declared Paul to have received his authority from mere men;
likely, they were inferring that Paul was subordinate to the apostles in Jerusalem; that he was an apostle in
name alone.
The reason the false teachers were slandering Paul in this way was so that they could diminish his authority
in the eyes of the Galatians, and thereby establish their own authority with the people. So beginning in the
prescript of his letter, and continuing into the first part of it, we see Paul refuting this deception, clearly
establishing that he is as fully an apostle as the original eleven, for he too had been appointed directly by
Jesus; it was a divine appointment.
Having had a chance last week to review the story of Pauls conversion, well now continue with the letter,
as we see how Paul uses his personal testimony to demonstrate that both his appointment as an apostle as
well as his gospel were of divine origin; that is, both the messenger and the message came directly from the
Lord.
Pauls letter begins with a direct rebuke of the Galatians themselves.
v. 6-7 Now, this is not the kind of marveling that a person does when they find something marvelous; this
Greek word means to be astonished, and here it has a negative connotation; Paul is horrified by what the
Galatians are doing.
What are they doing, that is so horrifying to Paul? They are turning away the word means, deserting.
The word is used of military desertion, which was punishable by death. And the form of the verb indicates
that they are doing this voluntarily; they are freely making the choice to do this.

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But the most horrifying part of all to Paul is who it is that the Galatians are deserting; not Paul, but God
Himself Him who called you in the grace of Christ. God the Father had sent His one and only beloved
Son into the world, offering up Jesus, for us, as a sacrifice for our sins. Through the blood of Jesus, God
consecrated for us a new and living way to Himself (Heb 10:19-20); the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6).
The Father had created this Way of grace, by which men could come to Him, simply by believing. It is as if
the Father is standing, at the end of that Way, with arms stretched open wide, to receive them.
It seemed, when Paul and Barnabas were among the Galatians, that they had run into those arms. It seemed
the Galatians had welcomed the gospel; it seemed that they had attached themselves to Paul and Barnabas,
and to their teaching.
The account in Acts records that in Pisidian Antioch, the Gentiles were glad, and glorified the word of God
(Acts 13:48); and that the disciples there were filled with joy and the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:52). In Iconium,
a great multitude of both Jews and Gentiles believed (Acts 14:1). In Lystra, the people were amazed by the
Lords miraculous healing of a lame man through Paul (Acts 14:11), and disciples were made there; and
many disciples were made in Derbe (Acts 14:20-21).
It seemed that the Galatians had believed; but things are not always as they seem. Certainly, there were
those in the assemblies that truly responded to the gospel, receiving the good seed of the Word of God into
their hearts (Mt 13:23).
But there were others on whom that seed had fallen, who may have seemed receptive at the time; but the
good seed never reached their hearts. That seed fell by the side of the Way, and was snatched away by the
emissaries of the devil, who had made their way to Galatia (Mt 13:19).
For others, the seed seemed to show the promise of life in their hearts. There was that immediate response,
like the little seedling that sprang up from the seed, in the parable of the soils that Jesus told; but the reality
was that their hearts were hard, impenetrable, and when persecution came in Galatia because of the Word,
that profession of faith withered away (Mt 13:20-21).
So in the assemblies in Galatia, there were those who truly believed, and those who professed to believe,
but had not really obeyed the truth (Gal 3:1). This is typical of churches, isnt it?
But in addition to this, judging from Pauls words later in his letter, even those who had truly believed were
being deceived by these false teachers into thinking that they had to work for their salvation (Gal 3:1-5).
That is why Pauls letter is a rebuke to the assemblies as a whole; in general, these Galatian assemblies
were buying a lie.
Paul wanted the Galatians to know exactly what it was that they were doing. They were not supplementing
a little alternative thinking to the gospel Paul had shared with them; they were rejecting his gospel, and in
so doing, they were rejecting the One who had sent it to them; their Father God in heaven.
They were turning their backs on the One who had so graciously extended to them the Way into His
presence; where He waited for them, with open arms. That is astonishing to Paul; how could they do that?
They dont know what theyre doing! Paul will tell them.

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And it all happened so soon. This can mean either easily or quickly; sometimes, it means both. I think
Paul meant it that way here. How easily the Galatians were taken in by this deception; how gullible they
were! It just took Pauls breath away.
And that it should happen so quickly after he and Barnabas had been there, teaching them; the timing
appears to be less than a year. With the truth so fresh in their minds, how was it possible that they did not
recognize this bald-faced lie? And it concerned the most fundamental of truths the basis of their
salvation.
No wonder Paul was astonished. We will explore some of the reasons the Galatians were deceived later in
this study.
Paul describes the doctrine that the false teachers offered as a different gospel, which is not another.
Different means other, but of a different kind in the Greek; another means another of the same
kind. Paul is saying that this gospel is different; it is not the same as his gospel.
Now, why would Paul even call it a gospel? Im sure thats what the false teachers called it; and that they
said it was just like Pauls gospel, except it was complete.
The best deceptions always contain some truth. The lies are mixed into the truth, so that they will be
masked by it. A person recognizes the truth, assumes the whole doctrine is true, and takes it right in like
pleasant flavoring that is used to mask foul-tasting medicine; only the medicine in this case is actually
poison.
We can be sure that these false teachers simply tried to add their poisonous doctrine to the truth of the
gospel, because Paul indicates that they are attempting to pervert the gospel of Christ. This refers to a
willful distortion of the truth. They took the truth that Jesus gave Himself for our sins and willfully
distorted it by adding a lie that we must now do our part, in order to complete our salvation.
Paul indicates that these false teachers are troubling the Galatians with their doctrine they are creating
doubt in their minds, with their clever deceptions.
Who are these false teachers? Paul never says, nor does he address them directly in his letter. He refers to
them in verse seven simply as some; he will give no further acknowledgment to them than that.
Of course, the Galatians know who he is speaking of; note that it is more than one individual. Can we get a
better sense of who they are? I think we can.
Turn to the second chapter of Galatians. We dont want to get ahead of ourselves here, but we do need to
identify who is causing this trouble in Galatia. Paul is recounting the time when he went up to Jerusalem to
settle the issue of the basis of salvation. In verse 4, he indicates what precipitated this meeting in
Jerusalem. It was an incident in Antioch, where he and Barnabas were ministering.
[Galatians 2:4-5]
v. 4 Well discuss this passage in detail soon, but what I want you to see is the term Paul uses to describe
these men who came to Antioch. What does Paul call them? False brethren. Now, Paul uses the term
brethren to describe the believers in Christ. So what does false brethren imply? That these men were

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not truly believers. They associated with the assembly; they professed to believe into Jesus, but they did
not.

Now, these were not self-deceived unbelievers, who thought themselves to be believers, but really didnt
know their own hearts. These were men who had heard the gospel, and had categorically rejected it. They
were pretenders; they masqueraded as believers, in the assemblies, in order to promote their own agenda.
How can we know this? Look at the terms that Paul uses to describe these false brethren: they were
secretly brought in by others, outside of the assembly; they came in undercover; they are furtively checking
out whats happening in the assembly; their intent is to find a way to bring those in the assembly into
bondage. These phrases clearly denote the work of those at enmity with Christ. These are false brethren.
v. 5 The we would be Paul and Barnabas. Notice their stated purpose: that the truth of the gospel
might continue with you. Who is the you? The ones to whom the letter is addressed the Galatians.
What we see is that Paul is creating a parallel here between this incident in Antioch, and the truth of the
gospel continuing in Galatia. This makes it apparent that both Antioch and Galatia had been infiltrated by
the same enemy the emissaries of Satan and that they possessed the same agenda robbing the new
assemblies of their liberty in Christ Jesus.
This meeting in Jerusalem is also recorded by Luke in the book of Acts. Turn to Acts chapter 15. Again,
we will be covering this passage in detail when we study Galatians chapter 2, but I want you to have a
better sense of who the false teachers were, in Galatia.
Luke has just recounted the return of Paul and Barnabas to Antioch, after having completed their first
missionary journey. They were in Antioch about a year before setting out again on their next missionary
trip. It was during this year that the incident with the false brethren occurred.
[Acts 15:1, 24]
v. 1 These are the false brethren whom we just read about, who came to Antioch. Note that they are
from Judea meaning Jerusalem, in this case and that they came as teachers into the assembly. What
are they teaching? That salvation depends on being circumcised. But remember, Paul says that they are
false brethren; so they would still have upheld that Jesus is the Messiah, for no one would listen to them in
the assembly if they denied Jesus.
So without any belief in Jesus at all, these false brethren simply used His name for cover; truly these are
wolves in sheeps clothing; savage wolves who had come in among the assembly, with no intention of
sparing the flock (Acts 20:29).
And what was their agenda? From Galatians, we read it was to bring those who have liberty in Christ Jesus
into bondage. How will they do this? By adding a system of works onto the gospel; and not just any works
circumcision; and, we will see later in this passage, the whole Law of Moses (Acts 15:24). You can see
that the situation in Antioch and Galatia was the same.

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The Body of Christ is neither Jew nor Gentile; but it is made up of individuals who were once one or the
other. Believers who were formerly Jews would have been circumcised on the eighth day of their life.
They would have been taught to keep the Law of Moses from their youth.

So who was it that these false teachers were targeting, in telling believers that they must be circumcised and
keep the Law of Moses to be saved? They were targeting the former Gentiles. If they were targeting
former Gentiles, then what would the false teachers be Jew, or Gentile? Obviously, they would be Jews,
who were trying to get the Gentiles in the new assemblies to submit to the Jewish customs and rites, and
linking it to salvation. We will discuss their motives for doing this at a later time.
After the delegates from Antioch and the leaders of the church in Jerusalem had a chance to discuss the
basis of salvation, the church came to the unanimous decision that the Gentiles had no obligation
whatsoever to keep the Law of Moses or to be circumcised; that they were saved through simple faith in
Christ alone, just as the Jews were. In the letter that they drafted to be read to the Antioch assembly, they
spoke briefly of the false brethren who had come down to Antioch.
v. 24 Like Paul in his letter to the Galatians, the church in Jerusalem does not acknowledge these false
brethren any further than by calling them some who went out from us (same Greek word for some).
This is to say that they were part of the assembly in Jerusalem; gathering with them, professing to believe,
but demonstrating by their actions in Antioch that they had no genuine faith in Jesus.
Again, just as Paul had written, the church in Jerusalem recognized that these false brethren had troubled
the believers in Antioch with their doctrine of lies (same Greek word for troubled).
And then the Jerusalem church made it emphatically plain, in writing, in a letter that would be circulated
among assemblies in two provinces, that the false brethren were totally unauthorized representatives; they
did not speak on behalf of the assembly in Jerusalem. In addition, the church made it clear that what these
false brethren had been teaching in Antioch was contrary to the truth Jerusalem gave these men no
commandment to teach that salvation depended on being circumcised, and keeping the Law.
Seeing that the situations in Antioch and Galatia were essentially parallel, we can assume that the false
teachers in Galatia were likewise Jews who were pretending to be believers in Jesus Christ, in order to gain
entrance into the assemblies and establish their authority, promoting a false gospel that added on to it the
works of the Law of Moses and circumcision. Again, well discuss their motivation as we get into chapter
two.
[Return to Galatians]
In some commentaries, you will find such false teachers labeled as Judaizers. This word does not exist in
Scripture. It is derived from a Greek verb which is used in Galatians chapter two to describe Peters act of
hypocrisy in Antioch. Look in verse 14.
Paul recalls saying to Peter, If you, being a Jew, live in the manner of Gentiles and not as the Jews, why do
you compel Gentiles to live as Jews? That last verb to live as Jews is the Greek word Ioudaizo,

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meaning to Judaize or live according to Jewish customs or manners. This has been transliterated into the
English to create the noun, Judaizer.
You can see that the word Judaizer does describe what these false teachers were attempting to do, but it
does not bring out that they made the Gentiles conformity to these Jewish customs a condition for their
salvation. Just something to remember.
Lest the Galatian assemblies should somehow have missed what Paul was saying about the gospel thus far,
that it must never be changed in any way, Paul now issues a scathing condemnation of such an act twice.
v. 8-9 The word accursed in the Greek is anathema. It means given up to divine condemnation. This
term is used in the Septuagint concerning false prophets; they were to be put to death; destroyed (Deut 13).
Paul is calling for divine judgment on anyone who preaches a gospel that differs in any way from what he
and Barnabas originally preached to the Galatians.
What does this say about the original preaching? That it was the absolute and complete truth; and nothing
is to be added to, taken away from, or changed concerning the truth, for then it would no longer be the
truth.
In verse 8, Paul gives absurd examples intentionally, to make his point: even if Paul and Barnabas, who
were preachers of the true gospel, returned to Galatia and preached a different gospel may they be
accursed. More absurd yet: even if an angel from heaven a heavenly messenger were to come and
preach a different gospel to them may the angel be accursed.
Why did Paul use these absurd examples? Because he wants the Galatians to realize that no matter how
impeccable the credentials of the messenger might be, it is the message that matters.
Now, Paul is saying this for a reason, and it has to do with the false teachers. Remember that Paul knows
something about these false teachers, both because of what happened at Antioch as well as because
someone has made the situation in Galatia known to him.
These false teachers had come into the assembly from the outside, as they did in the other assemblies.
They were undoubtedly Jews from the assembly in Jerusalem, and were falsely claiming the authority of
the apostles there just as they had at Antioch. Paul is telling the Galatians not to be misled by their
supposed credentials; that their words betray them as imposters. Perish the thought that the Galatians
would receive their accursed message in place of the gospel of grace!
Paul then reiterates what he has said for emphasis, this time including the false teachers in his statement
directly if anyone preaches any other gospel to you than what you have received, let him be accursed.
Notice that Paul changes what he says here about the gospel from verse 8 the gospel we have preached to
you to the gospel you have received, in verse 9.
The Galatians had received what Paul and Barnabas had shared with them; their ears had taken in the
words; but only some of them had taken the words into their hearts, and believed them. The rest were
considering the words of this different gospel from these accursed messengers.
Paul continues his argument.

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v. 10 The word for introduces this set of thoughts, indicating that Paul is giving support, or a reason for
what he has just said. What he has just said? That if anyone preaches any other gospel other than what he
and Barnabas preached in Galatia, let him be accursed. This is the most uncompromising language
imaginable; and it is repeated twice, for emphasis.
This is followed by a double set of abrupt questions, then a statement. The word persuade here means
gain favor a close synonym to the word for please, which is used twice more in the verse. Three
times over, then, Paul is asking, then answering his own question, as to who it is he lives to please men,
or God. Why would he do this? Because the false teachers have insinuated that Paul lived to please men.

They were suggesting that Pauls gospel depended on his audience. To a Jewish audience, Paul preached the
complete gospel, which they would say included circumcision and keeping the Law of Moses. This
would be viewed favorably by the Jews, and so this is what Paul preached, to curry that favor so the false
teachers claimed.
But to the predominantly Gentile assemblies, such as in Galatia, Paul omitted the necessity of being
circumcised and keeping the Law, as it would be received unfavorably by a Gentile audience even
though, the false teachers maintained, it was essential to salvation. The idea the false teachers were putting
out is that the version of the gospel preached by Paul depended on his audience, so that he could win as
many converts and as much favor as possible; he preached to please men.
This was another deception, which was designed to further elevate the stature of the false teachers in the
eyes of the Galatians, as the ones who were not afraid to give these predominantly Gentile assemblies the
whole truth.
We will see that this allegation against Paul appears again later in his letter, as he asks, And I, brethren, if I
still preach circumcision, why do I still suffer persecution? (Gal 5:11)? Paul no longer preached
circumcision, because he knew it was unnecessary for salvation; and for the gospel of grace that he did
preach, he continually suffered persecution.
Now, how could the false teachers support such allegations? They could point to the fact that Pauls
conduct followed an all things to all men approach. When with the Gentiles, he did not keep the Law;
when with the Jews, he did. But Paul was simply exercising his freedom in Christ, and he did so for a
purpose. Turn to First Corinthians chapter 9.
[First Corinthians 9:19-22]
v. 19-20 Those under the law may refer specifically to the Pharisees, who were intent on keeping the
Law of Moses and the traditions of the fathers.
v. 21 Those without the Law are the Gentiles.
v. 22 These are brethren who are weak in the faith; who would be easily offended by Paul exercising his
complete freedom in Christ.

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And why does Paul restrict his freedom, in each case? So as not to put a stumbling block before any man;
so that there will be no obstacle in the way of them coming to Christ, and being saved; or, in the case of the
weak brethren, no obstacle to growing in their faith in Christ.
Now, although this letter to the Corinthians was written after the letter to the Galatians, this is the kind of
conduct which the false teachers may have cited as evidence that Paul tailored his gospel to his audience.
But that is completely misleading. In all that Paul did, he was never tying it to the gospel; he was never
indicating that when he kept a feast, or restricted what he ate, or presented an offering to God, that such a
thing was necessary for salvation. Yet this is what the false teachers tried to imply, to create doubt in the
mind of the Galatians that Paul had really given them the full gospel.
[Return to Galatians]

Now, the reality is, it was the false teachers that lived to please men, and not God. They were bound to the
religion of Judaism, and all religion is designed to please men; first and foremost, to serve self; and
secondarily, to look good before other men. Religion is completely contradictory to having a relationship
with God, and so can never be viewed with favor by Him. So the false teachers were guilty of the very
thing of which they accused Paul!
But Paul makes it clear that he is no man-pleaser. He used to live to please man as he will show from his
testimony but now, he has become the bondservant of Christ.
A bondservant is a particular kind of slave; it is one who has voluntarily chosen to enter into a permanent
relationship of servitude to another. The will of the bondservant is utterly consumed in the will of his
master. His devotion and obedience to his master are absolute. Who does the bondservant live to please?
The master, and him alone. And so it is with Paul, as the bondservant of Christ. He lives to please God.
Having established that his apostolic authority was by divine appointment, and that he is entirely loyal to
God alone, Paul will now give his testimony, demonstrating these two points as well as one other that the
gospel he was given was by divine revelation. A divine message validates its messenger, as sent from God.
v. 11-12 Paul begins to declare his testimony to the Galatians, which will show how he received his gospel.
The way that Paul is using that word received in verse 12 suggests the handing down of traditions of
teaching. The gospel was not communicated to Paul by any man; he had not heard it preached, nor had he
been taught it. For Paul, the gospel had been a divine communication, directly from Jesus Christ to Paul; it
was revealed to the mind of Paul by the Lord.
This statement totally eclipsed the origin of the different gospel of the false teachers, for that was sourced
in the traditions of men; in the religion of Judaism, which Paul will now show is exactly what the Lord took
him out of.
v. 13-14 This is the former conduct of Paul, which we reviewed last week. The Galatians most likely heard
of it from Paul himself, when he was with them.
Paul would later describe himself as A Hebrew of the Hebrews; concerning the Law, a Pharisee;
concerning zeal, persecuting the church; concerning the righteousness which is in the Law, blameless (Phil
3:5-6).

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Paul labeled this as his conduct in Judaism that religious system of works which included trying to
uphold the Law of Moses and the oral traditions that had been passed down from the elders the traditions
of men.
The Galatians could hardly fail to make the comparison between Paul and the false teachers who had come
from Jerusalem, who were also zealous for the Law and the traditions of the elders. It would seem that, in
his former manner of life, Paul had been just like them only more so; and he was an enemy, not a friend
of the church of God. Did they see the contradiction between what these men did and what they claimed
to be?
Paul continues with his testimony.

v. 15-17 Paul speaks of God separating him from his mothers womb. This does not speak of birth, but
actually of a child as yet unborn. While still in the womb, Gods plan was already in place for Paul. In
fact, it was in place before Paul ever came into being; from the beginning. This speaks of Gods
foreknowledge and election, for every believer (Rm 8:29).
Pauls call was very much like the prophet Jeremiahs: Before I formed you in the womb I knew you;
before you were born I sanctified you; I ordained you a prophet to the nations (Jer 1:5).
The gracious call of God came to Paul at one moment in time thats the call of the gospel. For Paul, it
came on the road to Damascus, in the form of the glorified Lord, who appeared to Paul, revealing Himself
to Paul as Jesus. And Paul responded to Gods call, receiving Jesus as his Lord.
For three days, Paul was blind, while his eyes were being opened to spiritual realities; a time of
introspection, during which the Lord revealed to Paul what had been in his heart; and what the Lord had
delivered him from. This was a time of self-revelation.
But then it pleased God it was His will to reveal His Son in Paul. Notice the curious wording of this in
verse 16. Again it was the Fathers will to reveal His Son in Paul. Why? That Paul might preach Him
among the Gentiles. So this revelation was when Paul received the gospel that he would preach.
Well, from where did he receive this revelation? Did he receive it from Damascus from Ananias and the
disciples there? No Paul didnt confer with them. And last week, we saw that Paul was only there
perhaps a few days, fellowshipping with the believers (Acts 9:19).
Did Paul receive this revelation from Jerusalem from the men who were apostles before him (speaking of
before him, in time, not status)? No Paul didnt confer with them either. In fact, Paul says he did not
immediately confer with flesh and blood with men at all.
Paul conferred with God he went to a divine conference. Where? In Nabatean Arabia. He was there a
little less than three years. This is where God brought Paul, to reveal His Son in him.
Now, how exactly did God reveal His Son in Paul? Well, what was already in Paul, just waiting to be
uncovered? All those OT Scriptures, whose meaning was yet hidden from Paul. The Holy Spirit in Paul

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10

took those Scriptures that were already in Pauls mind, and showed him how the types and the prophecies
had been fulfilled in the first coming of Jesus. And the Spirit shared things beyond the Scriptures with
Paul, which we find in his writings.
These were the things of which Jesus spoke to Paul on the road to Damascus the things that He would yet
reveal to Paul (Acts 26:16), after Jesus had just visibly revealed Himself to Paul. This is how God revealed
His Son in Paul during his time in Arabia.
After this, Paul was in Damascus a short time, during which he shared some of what was revealed to him
by Jesus, with the Jews who rejected it, and tried to kill him. After escaping the city with his life, Paul
went up to Jerusalem.
v. 18-20 It had been about three years total since Paul left Jerusalem for Damascus on his zealous mission
to persecute the Christ Ones. He returned with a true zeal for God.

Paul came up to Jerusalem to see Peter. Now, the word see in the Greek is an unusual word which
generally means to ascertain by inquiry and personal examination. In this context, it carries the meaning
of becoming acquainted with someone, through a visit. Paul purposed to come to Jerusalem in order to get
to know Peter.
Now, you know Paul. This was not a social call. This visit was not without specific and critical purpose
concerning his mission: to preach the gospel to the Gentiles. God had already revealed His Son in Paul in
order that he could preach Jesus among the Gentiles.
So what else did Paul need what did he have to confer with flesh and blood about which would be a
useful accompaniment to the gospel that the Lord had shared with Paul? Something that Peter, and James,
the Lords brother, who was also there, could share with Paul? Their personal recollections of Jesus.
They had walked with Him, and talked to Him. James had grown up with Jesus; Peter had seen the entire
ministry of Jesus.
Paul had known of Jesus; he likely knew of His movements whenever Jesus came to Jerusalem. He may
even have heard Jesus speak. But Paul would never have been acquainted with Jesus personally, or known
the details of His earthly life and ministry. So both from personal desire, as well as for his own ministry,
Paul sought to become acquainted with these apostles, so that he could inquire of them about Jesus.
Now, Paul was there for only fifteen days. He makes a point of this, because to obtain a comprehensive
knowledge of the gospel, and a complete understanding of how Jesus fulfilled OT Scriptures concerning
Messiah, would take longer than fifteen days. For Paul, it would take a lot longer; more like .three years.
Paul wants the Galatians to understand that he could not have received his gospel from the apostles, in so
short a time. This further confirms that Paul received his gospel by divine revelation.
Then Paul adds his oath to what he has said he has no earthly witnesses as to all that he has just said, so
Paul calls on God as his witness. To make a false oath to God would be to invite divine judgment; Pauls
readers would give even more credence to his words, with his oath to God attached.
Paul writes what came next.

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v. 21-24 If you can recall the account in Acts, Paul had to leave Jerusalem quickly, for his preaching had
aroused the ire of the Hellenist Jews, who began to hatch a plot to kill him. The apostles escorted Paul to
Caesarea, where he caught a boat that took him to the Roman province of Cilicia, returning to Tarsus there,
his ancestral home.
Paul was there for quite a few years, before Barnabas located him, and brought him to Antioch to help with
the ministry there. During those years, it seems that Paul preached the gospel in the regions of Syria and
Cilicia, because assemblies were already in place there before Pauls second missionary journey, with no
other known missionary activity in those regions before that time.
Pauls mentions his movements here is to show that he spent very little time in Jerusalem, and was unable
to spend any time in the region of Judea. Whats his point? The Gentiles tended to look to the Jerusalem
church, and the Judean Jews, as the birthplace of the gospel; as its point of origin.

By Paul indicating that he received his gospel from the Lord, and not from Jerusalem or the Judean Jews,
Paul was demonstrating two things: that the gospel did not originate in Jerusalem or Judea; the gospel
originated from God Himself (and its existence predates the world). Also Paul was demonstrating that he
had received his gospel firsthand, from the highest authority there is.
Paul ends by showing that those whom the Galatians view as being high earthly authorities the Judean
Jews actually approved Paul and his gospel. Even though Paul was personally unknown by the churches
in Judea, they surely had heard of Paul by his former reputation. Now they heard that the persecutor had
become a preacher of the faith the gospel.
Where would they have heard that from? Paul had quickly left the region, to go to far-away Cilicia. Most
likely, the word came out of Jerusalem, from Peter and James, following their visit with Paul. Once they
became acquainted with Paul, it was evident to them that he had genuinely been converted. Also, they got
the opportunity of hearing him preach the gospel he received from the Lord when Paul disputed with the
Hellenists. And they could hear it was the genuine gospel that he preached.
So Pauls final words on the subject of his authority and his gospel demonstrate that even the apostles and
the Judean Jews approved of him.
Of course, Paul does not do this for the sake of vindicating himself, but for the sake of the gospel, that it
may be proved to be the truth. And anyone who would consider adding to it, taking away from it, or
changing it such as these false teachers will indeed by accursed.
Next time: Read Acts chapter 15, Galatians 2.