Galatians 1

1 Paul, an apostle—not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead—

2 and all the brothers who are with me, to the assemblies of Galatia:

3 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ,

4 who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father—

5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.

6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ to a different “good news”,

7 but there isn’t another “good news.” Only there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the Good News of Christ.

8 But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you any “good news” other than that which we preached to you, let him be cursed.

9 As we have said before, so I now say again: if any man preaches to you any “good news” other than that which you received, let him be cursed.

10 For am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? For if I were still pleasing men, I wouldn’t be a servant of Christ.

11 But I make known to you, brothers, concerning the Good News which was preached by me, that it is not according to man.

12 For I didn’t receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.

13 For you have heard of my way of living in time past in the Jews’ religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the assembly of God and ravaged it.

14 I advanced in the Jews’ religion beyond many of my own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

15 But when it was the good pleasure of God, who separated me from my mother’s womb and called me through his grace,

16 to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, I didn’t immediately confer with flesh and blood,

17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus.

18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter, and stayed with him fifteen days.

19 But of the other apostles I saw no one except James, the Lord’s brother.

20 Now about the things which I write to you, behold, before God, I’m not lying.

21 Then I came to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

22 I was still unknown by face to the assemblies of Judea which were in Christ,

23 but they only heard, “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.”

24 So they glorified God in me.

Around Galatians 1

Context

Context for this book is being written. A note appears here only once it names its sources.

AI explanation

Galatians 1 · Written by an AI model · Not reviewed by a theological reader

This explanation was written by an AI model to help you get started. It names no sources and can contain mistakes. Scripture comes first, and context with sources is shown separately on this page.

What this chapter says

Paul does not begin with a thank-you. After a short greeting he comes straight out: “I marvel that you are so quickly deserting him who called you” Some are troubling the churches of Galatia with a different message, and Paul says there is no other good news. Even an angel from heaven who preached another would be cursed.

So he tells how he came to the message. It was not taught him by anyone; “it came to me through revelation of Jesus Christ.” He recalls his old life: zealous for the traditions of his fathers, and a persecutor of the assembly of God. Then God called him, and he went away into Arabia, and returned to Damascus. Only after three years did he go up to Jerusalem, to meet Peter for fifteen days, and he saw James, the Lord's brother.

The churches of Judea only heard that the one who had persecuted them was “now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy”. And they glorified God in him.

Background

Paul writes to churches in Galatia. Scholars differ on whether this means the north or the south of the region, and so on the date; the letter is usually dated somewhere between the late 40s and the mid 50s. The word translated cursed is strong. For the story of Paul's call see Acts 9, 22 and 26. The point of the chapter is that his message came from God, not from the apostles in Jerusalem.

About this explanation

Written by Claude Sonnet 5.5, an AI model, on 17 October 2026. It draws on the WEB text and general knowledge and was not checked against sources by a person. Every quotation from Scripture is checked automatically against the WEB text.

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World English Bible. Public-domain source and edition notes