Galatians 1:1

PAUL'S LETTER TO THE GALATIANS

GAL. 1

This chapter contains Paul's salutation (Galatians 1:1-5), the dramatic introduction of his reason for writing the epistle, which was the developing apostasy of the Galatians (Galatians 6-10), a bold defense of his apostleship (Galatians 1:11-17), and the additional evidence of his independence and authority as an apostle (Galatians 1:18-24).

Paul an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead). (Galatians 1:1)

Paul, an apostle... The great apostle to the Gentiles did not always stress his apostleship in the same manner as here; but he did so in letters to churches where he was unknown or where his authority was being questioned, as in the first verse of each of his letters to the Romans, Corinthians, Ephesians and Colossians. "In cases where the churches were thoroughly devoted to him, he dropped it altogether, as in the salutations in Philippians, 1Thessalonians and 2Thessalonians.[1] Of course, false teachers who were stealing the Galatians away from the truth were challenging Paul's apostleship, making it most appropriate that he should have so vigorously stressed it here. "An apostle is a minister plenipotentiary."[2]

Regarding the identity of those who were denying Paul's apostolic authority among the Galatians, it is clear enough that they were Judaizers, "who were saying that Paul was not an original apostle, and that he derived his teaching from the Twelve."[3]

Not from men, neither through man... This does not deny that human agency was involved in Paul's conversion, for he was baptized by Ananias (Acts 22:12ff). Sanday observed that:

The part of Ananias was too subordinate to introduce a human element into it; and the subsequent "separation" of Paul and Barnabas for their mission to the Gentiles, through the act of the church at Antioch, was dictated by the Holy Spirit, and did not confer a new office or new powers.[4]

Furthermore, "The commission itself had first of all been uttered by Christ, not by Ananias."[5]

It should be noted that Paul was not here making a distinction between himself and the other true apostles in Jerusalem. "For they did not owe their commission to man any more than he did."[6] The truth affirmed here was two-fold: (a) Paul's apostleship was on a full equality with that of the Twelve, and (b) it was genuine, as contrasted with that of the false teachers who were operating among the Galatians. Macknight believed that there is also in view here a denial that Paul had been appointed to the apostleship by the Twelve, as had been the case with Matthias. "He seems to have Peter and James in his eye, whom alone he saw at his first coming to Jerusalem after his conversion, and denies that he was appointed an apostle by them."[7]

Who raised him from the dead... McGarvey was surely correct in pointing out that by this reference to the resurrection of Christ, "Paul paved the way[8] for the principal theme of the epistle, which is justification through the faith of Jesus Christ, rather than by the Law of Moses.

One very hurtful interpretation of this verse is the following:

Paul's commission came neither from a human source nor through man, but directly from and through God... Paul's gospel rested on his personal relationship with God through Christ, and he was working it out in his own creative way.[9]

Such a view would make Paul, not Christ, the author of Christianity, a proposition that Paul vehemently denied. Paul "received" a body of truth from the Lord Jesus Christ; and the gospel he preached is not anything that Paul "worked out" for himself. Not going beyond the things which were written (1 Corinthians 4:6) was a caution which Paul faithfully honored. Paul did not "evolve" his gospel, despite the insinuations to that effect. His gospel was revealed to him from on high. Furthermore, it was in no manner whatever any different from the gospel already being preached by the Twelve, except in the single particular of extending it to Gentiles. See under Galatians 1:23, below.

[1] J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on the Holy Bible (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1937), p. 946.

[2] Sherman N. Ridderbos, The Epistle of Paul to the Churches of Galatia (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1953), p. 40.

[3] Henry H. Halley, Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1927), p. 559.

[4] William Sanday, Ellicott's Commentary on the Holy Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1959), p. 426.

[5] William Hendriksen, New Testament Commentary on Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1968), p. 31.

[6] R. A. Cole, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Galatians (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1965), p. 32.

[7] James Macknight, Apostolical Epistles with Commentary and Notes (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1969), p. 107.

[8] J. W. McGarvey, The Standard Bible Commentary, Galatians (Cincinnati, Ohio: The Standard Publishing Company, 1916), p. 249.

[9] Raymond T. Stamm, The Interpreter's Bible (New York: Abingdon Press, 1953), Vol. X, p. 243.