Lesson Two

Galatians Chapter One

The book begins by identifying the writer, the apostle Paul, and the ones to whom the letter was written, churches in the cities of a region known as Galatia (Galatians 1:1-2).  This was a Roman dominated country located on the north side of the Mediterranean Sea, an area which is located in present day Turkey. Paul pronounces a blessing upon these Christians which includes both grace and peace (Galatians 1:3) and reminds them of the source of these blessings which is "God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:3-5).  An interesting observation about the introduction is to notice how brief it is compared to most of Paul's books such as Ephesians, Philippians, and Colossians.  By comparison, Paul begins very short and to the point, an approach he continues throughout the book.

Paul immediately goes to the heart of the problem,  "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel-not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ" (Galatians 1:6-7).  To Paul's amazement, shortly after hearing and accepting the gospel of Christ, the churches in Galatia were leaving that gospel and going on to something else.  The "something else" was a distortion of the gospel of Christ.  As we study through the book, we will see that the distortion is centered around the concept that one can work his/her way into heaven rather than believing in Christ.  The term, "not that there is another one" (Galatians 1:7) may be an interesting play on words.  The word "gospel" means "good news."  Paul may be saying that there isn't any good news other than Christ's gospel because other attempts only lead to condemnation from God.  Therefore, what someone thinks is good news may, in reality, be very sad news instead!

Paul wanted his readers to know what he knew, "that the gospel that was preached by me is not man's gospel" (Galatians 1:11).   The reason for this was, "I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it, but I received through revelation of Jesus Christ" (Galatians 1:12).  To learn more about revelation, the student is encouraged to go to the Questions section of the University and look under "The Bible."  There is a complete section that talks about revelation.  The word revelation simply means "a making known."  Paul was saying that the way he received his gospel (the way it was made known to him) was by receiving it directly from Jesus Christ, as opposed to from any human being who taught him.  Although Paul called himself, "the least of the apostles" (I Corinthians 15:9), he realized his message was just as valid as the rest because he had received it through revelation.  He commended the church in Thessalonica because they understood and accepted this (I Thessalonians 2:13).

At this point, Paul shares a brief autobiography to help them understand how this took place.  He began his life as a nonbeliever in Jesus Christ.  As a matter of fact, he persecuted the church and was receiving rewards for doing so (Galatians 1:13-14).  In the midst of persecuting Christians, Paul who had been set apart before he was born was called by God's grace and Jesus Christ was revealed to him (Galatians 1:15-16).  The student may read about this in Acts 9:1-19, Acts 22:3-16 and Acts 26:12-23.  To confirm the fact that Paul did not receive his message from a human being, even an apostle, he clarifies, "I did not immediately consult with anyone; nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and returned again to Damascus" (Galatians 1:16b-17).   

Galatians 1:18-24 records Paul's first trip to Jerusalem where the other apostles were.  This did not happen for about three years after his conversion and he only stayed fifteen days (Galatians 1:18).  During the time he was there he saw only one of the apostles, James the brother of Jesus (Galatians 1:19). After that, he left to preach the gospel in Syria and Cilicia (Galatians 1:21).  Not only did he not know the apostles, the apostles could confirm that they did not know him except by reputation (Galatians 1:22-24).