New Testament · Letter

Galatians 1

Freedom

Paul is furious. The Galatians are abandoning grace for law, and he writes with an urgency that practically burns through the page.

King James Version BSB KJV

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.

Understand This

Galatians 1, explained

What Galatians 1 is saying

Paul opens with unusual abruptness—no thanksgiving—declaring astonishment that the Galatians are deserting the gospel for a 'different gospel' that is really no gospel at all. He pronounces a double anathema on anyone preaching a contrary message, then establishes his apostolic independence by narrating his Damascus road revelation and his minimal contact with the Jerusalem apostles.

The background behind it

The Galatian churches (likely in southern Asia Minor, founded during Paul's first missionary journey) were being pressured by Jewish-Christian agitators to adopt circumcision and Torah observance as necessary supplements to faith in Christ. Paul wrote this letter around AD 48-49, possibly making it his earliest surviving epistle.

Themes running underneath

The gospel's integrity is non-negotiable—any addition that makes human effort a condition of salvation is a fundamental distortion. Paul's apostolic authority rests on direct divine revelation (apokalypsis Iēsou Christou), not on human commissioning, establishing the gospel's independence from institutional mediation.

Why it still matters

This chapter warns against the perpetual temptation to add requirements to grace. It also raises the question of where ultimate authority lies: in institutional approval or in fidelity to the revealed gospel.

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Scripture text: King James Version — public domain.