Galatians 1:1

The nickname (cognomen) "Paul" is from the Latin Paulus, which means little. The earliest physical description of Paul we have comes from a second-century apocryphal writing. It described Paul as "a man of small stature, with a bald head and crooked legs, in a good state of body, with eyebrows meeting and nose somewhat hooked, full of friendliness; for now he appeared like a man, and now he had the face of an angel." [Note: E. Hennecke and W. Schneemelcher, eds., New Testament Apocraypha, 2:354.] The apostle’s Hebrew name was Saul. As the apostle to the Gentiles he consistently used his Gentile name, Paul, in his epistles.

In his reference to himself Paul emphasized his apostolic office. The Greek word translated "apostle" (apostolos) means one who is sent. The New Testament uses this word in two ways. In its more restricted sense, the word means someone who had received a special commission from the risen Christ (i.e., Paul and the Twelve apostles). In its more general sense it refers to those sent with a message from God (as in Acts 14:4; Acts 14:14; 2 Corinthians 8:23; Philippians 2:25). It even describes Jesus (Hebrews 3:1). In Galatians Paul always used "apostle" in the technical sense to describe the Twelve and himself.

Paul contended that his apostleship did not originate from men, nor did it come to him through men (e.g., Peter, James, Ananias, or whomever, as, for example, does the Roman Catholic papacy). Rather Jesus Christ, whom he described as equal with God the Father, bestowed it on him. The resurrection of Jesus Christ demonstrated the power of God. The Apostle Paul may have referred to the Resurrection to emphasize the importance of his apostolic office, which he defended in this epistle.

In view of what Paul said in this chapter and the next, it seems clear that his enemies in Galatia were claiming that he had received his apostolic commission from other men. Specifically, they suggested that it came from the other apostles or the leaders of the church at Antioch (cf. Acts 13:1) rather than directly from Jesus Christ. This would have made it an inferior apostleship.