Jesus was paul's authority

JESUS WAS PAUL'S AUTHORITY
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle--sentnot from men nor
by man, but by Jesus Christand God the Father, who
raisedHim from the dead--
New Living Translation
This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not
appointedby any group of peopleor any human
authority, but by Jesus Christhimself and by God the
Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The GospelOf Self-sacrifice
Galatians 1:1-5
R.M. Edgar
In sending an Epistle to an apostate people, Pauldoes not indulge in
unmeaning compliments. These Celts in Asia had been showing some of their
proverbial fickleness, and going back from the doctrine of justification by
faith to a ritualism whose developmentmust be self-righteousness. Itis

needful for their recovery from apostasythat the authority of the apostle and
the truth of the gospelshould be put before them in unmistakable terms.
Hence we find Paul plunging at once into the needful expositions of his own
apostleshipand of the gospelof Christ with which as an apostle he was
charged. In this salutationwe have the following lessons distinctly taught: -
I. PAUL'S APOSTLESHIP WAS RECEIVED DIRECTLYFROM JESUS
CHRIST. (Ver. 1.)Doubtless he had merely human hands laid upon his head
at Antioch (Acts 13:3), but the imposition of the hands of the brethren was not
the conveyance ofauthority, but simply the recognitionof authority as
already conveyed. The "ordination" at Antioch was the recognitionby the
Church of' authority and mission already conveyedby the Lord to the apostle.
Accordingly in this instance before us Paul claims an apostleshipdirectly from
the hands of Christ. He was an apostle "not from men, neither through man,
but through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead"
(RevisedVersion). No intermediate hands conveyedthe authority to him; he
was conscious ofhaving receivedit directly from the fountain-head. This gave
him confidence consequentlyin dealing with the Judaizing teachers. It
mattered not to him what parade of authority these teachers made; he stood
as a rock upon his own commissionwith all its hallowedassociations. And
should this not instruct every true teacheras to the source of his authority? It
is a mistake to imagine that men can do more than recognize God-given
authority. It is from Christ directly we must eachreceive our office. Church
officers, in putting their imprimatur upon any of us, merely recognize a
Divine work which they believe on due evidence to be already there.
II. THE DESIRE OF THE APOSTLE FOR THE GALATIANS' WELFARE.
(Vers. 2, 3.)The deep longing of Paul and those associatedwith him in his
captivity for these apostate Galatians wasthat grace and peace from God the
Father and from Christ might be theirs. "Grace," the gratuitous, undeserved
favour which wells forth from the Divine heart, when it is receivedinto the
sinner's soul, produces "peace whichpassethall understanding." It was this
blessedexperience Pauldesired for the Galatians. They may have traduced
his office and his character, but this did not prevent him entertaining the deep
desire that into "truths of peace" they, like himself, should be led. And indeed
we cannot wish people better than that grace and peace from heaven should

be theirs. To live in the felt favour of God, to realize that it is at the same time
quite undeserved, produces a peace and a humility of spirit beyond all price!
III. THE GOSPELPAUL PREACHED WAS THAT OF THE SELF-
SACRIFICE OF CHRIST, (Ver. 4.)Jesus, he asserts,"gave himselffor our
sins." The foundation of the gospelis self-sacrifice. Butwe must always
remember that self-sacrifice, iffor the merest trifle, may be moral madness.
In self-sacrifice as suchthere is no necessaryvirtue. A man may lose his life in
an utterly unworthy cause. Hence the necessityfor the self-sacrificeofChrist
must be made out before its real virtue is established. This necessityappears
when we considerthat it was "forour sins ' he gave himself. For if our sins
had been removed at some meaner costthan the blood of the Sonof God, we
should be disposedto say that sin is after all a light thing in God's sight, a
mere bagatelle to him. But inasmuch as it required such a sacrifice to take
awaysin, its enormity is made manifest to all. Christ laid down his life, then,
in a noble cause. Surelyto take awaysin, to remove from human hearts their
heavy burdens, to bestow on men peace and deliverance from all fear, was a
worthy objectin self-sacrifice. We standbefore the cross, therefore, believing
that the sacrifice upon it is of infinite value and efficacy. He was no martyr by
mistake as he died upon the tree, but the most glorious of all heroes.
IV. CHRIST'S AIM IN SELF-SACRIFICE WAS OUR DELIVERANCE
FROM THIS PRESENTEVIL WORLD. (Ver. 4.) The world is the totality of
tendencies which oppose themselves to God. To love such a world is
incompatible with love to God the Father (1 John 2:15). It is, moreover, made
up of "the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life" (1
John 2:16). Now, it is to this world that the ritualist falls a prey. This was the
danger of the Galatians. The revival of rites and ceremonies, whichhad been
fulfilled and therefore done awayin Christ, pandered to the lust of the eyes
and to the pride of life. Hence Paul proclaims at the outsetthat one purpose of
the gospelofself-sacrifice is to deliver its recipients from the powerof this
present evil world which is constantly trying to bring us into bondage. The
religion of Christ is freedom. He means to deliver us from bondage. It is our
own fault if we are not delivered.

V. THE FINAL END OF THE GOSPELIS ALWAYS THE GLORY OF
THE FATHER. (Ver. 5.) Hence the doxologywith which the apostolic desire
closes.It is with doxologies that the dispensation of grace must end. Heaven
itself is the concentrationof the doxologies whichhave been gathering upon
earth; the full concertafterthe terrestrial rehearsals. And it is here that the
safetyof the whole dispensation may be seen;for if the glory of some
imperfect Being were contemplated, his designs would of necessityrun
contrary in many casesto the realgoodof others. But Godthe Father is so
perfect that his glory always consists with the real goodof all his creatures.
Doubtless some of his creatures will not believe this, and will insist on
suspecting and hating his designs. In consequence theymust be exposedto his
righteous indignation. But this is quite compatible with the fact that the
Divine glory and the real goodof all are meant to harmonize. Happy will it be
for us if we join in the rehearsals ofhis glory here, and are promoted to the
chorus full-orbed and like the sound of many waters above. But evenshould
we insist on discord, our own discomfort alone shall be secured; discords can,
we know, be so wedded to harmony as to swelland not diminish the effectof
the full orchestra. And God will secure his glory even in our poor despite. -
R.M.E.

Biblical Illustrator
Paul, an apostle, not of men.
Galatians 1:1
The inscription
John Brown, D. D.
According to the custom of the age, the apostle begins with a short description
of himself and his correspondents, connectedwith a wish for their happiness.
Paul was above the affectationof singularity. In the form of his Epistles, he
follows the ordinary custom of his country and age;and he thus teaches us
that a Christian ought not to be unnecessarilysingular. By readily complying
with innocent customs, we are the more likely, when we conscientiously
abstain from what we accountsinful customs, to impress the minds of those
around us that we have some other and better reasonfor our conduct than
whim or humour. Yet the apostle contrives to give, even to the inscription of
his letter, a decidedly Christian character;and shows us that, though we
should not make an ostentatious display of our Christianity, yet, if we are
truly religious, our religionwill give a colour to the whole of our conduct:
even what may seemmost remote from direct religious employment will be
tinged by it. The manner in which the apostle manages the inscription of this
and his other letters, is a fine illustration of his own injunction, "Whatsoever
ye do, in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to
God and the Father by Him" (Colossians 3:17). He shows his Christianity
even in the mode of addressing his letters.
(John Brown, D. D.)
The opening salutation
Bishop Lightfoot.

The two threads which run through this Epistle — the defence of the apostle's
own authority, and the maintenance of the doctrine of grace — are knotted
togetherin the opening salutation. By expanding his officialtitle into
statementof his direct commissionfrom God (verse 1), St. Paul meets the
personalattack of his opponents; by dwelling on the work of redemption in
connectionwith the name of Christ (verse 4), he protests againsttheir
doctrinal errors.
(Bishop Lightfoot.)
The high significance ofthe apostolate
J. P. Lange, D. D.
1. Forthe founding;
2. Forthe continuance of the Christian Church, which must perpetually rest
upon the foundation of the apostolic doctrine.
(J. P. Lange, D. D.)
Divine vocation
J. P. Lange, D. D.
1. To have the Divine vocationis in all circumstances necessary.
2. To be certain of its possessionis often important.
3. To appeal to it may often be right and proper. How independent of men,
and at the same time how dependent on God, the minister of the gospelis, and
knows himself to be I Even so the Christian generally is what he is, not from
men, although through men, for neither natural descentnor outward
fellowship makes him such — but through Jesus Christ and the Father.

Christian sense of personalworth
J. P. Lange, D. D.
1. Its justification.
2. Its limits.
Jesus Christ supreme
J. P. Lange, D. D.
All through Jesus Christl
1. Humbling truth; for then nothing is through us.
2. Exalting truth; all is through no less an one than Christ, and thereby
through the highestof all, viz., God.
God the Instructor of the Church
Calvin.
In the church we ought to listen to God alone, and to Jesus Christ whom He
has appointed to be our teacher. Whoeverassumes a right to instruct us, must
speak in the name of God or of Christ.
(Calvin.)
Extraordinary gifts associatedwith extraordinary vocatio
W. Burkitt.

n: — Beholdthe peculiar prerogative of St. Paul above the rest of the apostles.
They were called by Christ in the day of His humiliation, but he was calledby
Christ when sitting at His Father's right hand in heaven. As his call was thus
very extraordinary, so his gifts were answerable to his call.
(W. Burkitt.)
The apostle's attitude
J. P. Lange, D. D.
The appearance ofthe apostle againstthe Galatians.
1. In the full dignity of his office;at the same time, however, associating the
brethren with himself.
2. With the full love of his heart, at the same time conceding nothing of the
truth.
Certainty of Divine calling
Luther.
What means Paul by this boasting? I answer:This commonplace serves to this
end, that every minister of God's Word should be sure of his calling, that
before God and man he may with a bold conscienceglorytherein, that he
preaches the gospelas one that is called and sent: even as the ambassadorof a
king glories and vaunts in this, that he comes not as a private person, but as
the king's ambassador;and because ofthis dignity — that he is the king's
ambassador— he is honoured and set in the highest place; which honour
should not be given him if he came as a private person. Wherefore, let the
preacherof the gospelbe certain that his calling is from God.
(Luther.)

The name and office of an apostle
Bishop Lightfoot.
The word ἀπόστολος in the first instance is an adjective signifying
"despatched" or"sentforth." Applied to a person, it denotes more than
ἄγγελος. The "apostle" is not only the messenger, but the delegate ofthe
person who sends him. He is entrusted with a mission, has powers conferred
upon him .... With the later Jews, the word was in common use. It was the title
borne by those who were despatchedfrom the mother city by the rulers of the
race on any foreign mission, especiallysuch as were chargedwith collecting
the tribute paid to the temple service. After the destruction of Jerusalem, the
"apostles"formeda sort of council about the Jewishpatriarch, assisting him
in his deliberations at home, and executing his orders abroad. Thus in
designating His immediate dud most favoured disciples "apostles,"our Lord
was not introducing a new term, but adopting one, which from its current
usage would suggestto His hearers the idea of a highly responsible mission. At
the first institution of the office, the apostles were twelve in number, but in the
New Testamentthere is no hint that the number was intended to be limited to
twelve — any more than there is that the number of deacons was intendedto
remain seven. The Twelve were primarily the Apostles of the Circumcision,
the representatives ofthe twelve tribes. The extensionof the Church to the
Gentiles might be accompaniedby an extensionof the apostolate As a matter
of fact, we do not find the term apostle restrictedto the Twelve with only the
exceptionof St. Paul. St. Paul himself seems in one passageto distinguish
between"the Twelve" and "all the apostles,"as if the latter were the more
comprehensive term (1 Corinthians 15:5, 7). It appears both there and in
other places (Galatians 1:19;1 Corinthians 9:5) that James the Lord's brother
is styled an apostle. On the most natural interpretation of another passage
(Romans 16:7), Andronicus and Junias, two Christians otherwise unknownto
us, are calleddistinguished members of the apostolate, languagewhich
indirectly implies a very considerable extensionof the term. In 1
Thessalonians 2:6, again, where in reference to his visit to Thessalonica, he
speaks ofthe disinterested labours of himself and his colleagues,adding,

"though we might have been burdensome to you, being apostles ofChrist," it
is probable that under this term he includes Sylvanus, who had laboured with
him in Thessalonica,and whose name appears in the superscription of the
letter. The apostleshipof Barnabas, atany rate, is beyond question. St. Luke
records his consecrationto the office as taking place at the same time with,
and in the same manner as, St. Paul's (Acts 13:2, 3). In his accountof their
missionary labours again, he names them togetheras "apostles," even
mentioning Barnabas first (Acts 14:4, 14). St. Paul himself also in two
different Epistles holds similar language (Galatians 2:9; 1 Corinthians 9:5). If,
therefore, St. Paul has held a larger place than Barnabas, in the gratitude and
veneration of the Church of all ages, this is due not to any superiority of rank
or office, but to the ascendencyofhis personalgifts, a more intense energy
and self-devotion, wider and deepersympathies, a firmer intellectualgrasp, a
largermeasure of the Spirit of Christ. It may be added also, that only by such
an extension of the office could any footing be found for the pretensions of the
false apostles (2 Corinthians 11:13; Revelation2:2). Had the number been
definitely restricted, the claims of these interlopers would have been self-
condemned. But if the term is so extended, can we determine the limit to its
extension? This will depend on the answergiven to such questions as these: —
What was the nature of the call? What were the necessaryqualifications for
the office? Whatwere the duties attached to it? The facts gatheredfrom the
New Testamentare insufficient to supply a decisive answerto these questions;
but they enable us to draw roughly the line by which the apostolate was
bounded.
1. The rank of an apostle. The first order in the Church (1 Corinthians 12:28,
29; Ephesians 4:11).
2. Tests ofapostleship.(1)Having seenChrist after His resurrection (Luke
24:48;Acts 1:8, 21, 22). This knowledge was supplied to St. Paul
miraculously.(2) Possessing the powers of an apostle (1 Corinthians 9:1, 2; 2
Corinthians 12:1, 2). These "signs"our modern conceptions would lead us to
separate into two classes.The one of these includes moral and spiritual gifts
— patience, self-denial, effective preaching; the other comprises suchpowers
as we callsupernatural.

(Bishop Lightfoot.)
Necessityof a Divine call
Luther.
Wert thou wiserthan Solomon and Daniel, yet until thou art called, flee the
sacredministry, as thou would'st hell and the devil; then wilt thou not spill the
Word of God to no purpose. If God needs thee, He will know how to call thee.
(Luther.)
St. Paul's call to the apostleship
A. J. J. Cachemaille.
There is something very grand in the conversionof a man who has been so
fierce an enemy as St. Paul was;it makes us feel that the gospelis indeed the
powerof God unto salvation:for no other power would be equal to the task of
taming so fierce a spirit, and yet of losing none of its power, but turning it to
edification insteadof destruction.
I. WHY WAS ST. PAUL CALLED TO BE AN APOSTLE? St. Paul asserts
his apostleship:for the reasonthat his calland commissionwere made after
the ascensionofour Lord, and after the number of the apostles wouldappear
to have been completed. Judas proved unworthy of his sacredtrust. The
twelve felt that their body was incomplete. St. Peterurged the selectionof
another; Matthias was chosen. I venture to say that St. Peterwas wrong in
this instance. The assembleddisciples had no power to electsuch an apostle;
and Matthias was not in the full sense anapostle of Jesus Christ. When he was
chosen, the Holy Spirit was not yet poured out; the eleven were not yet endued
with powerfrom on high for the discharge of their sacredoffice. St. Peter
might therefore be wrong in this instance, howeverunintentionally he might
have erred. It did not belong to any human assemblyto choose those who
could only be chosenby Christ Himself. The peculiar characteristic ofthe

apostolate was thateachone was personallycalled by Christ Himself; this was
their authority and glory. The body of the disciples had not this power;
therefore Matthias was not duly calledto the apostleship. Nothing is
afterwards heard of him in the sacredwritings. If it is objectedthat we hear
little of the other apostles afterthis date, we have at any rate heard of them
before, and have known that they were called by Christ. Hence St. Paul was
the new twelfth apostle;and was not calledof men as was Matthias. Nobly has
he filled the trust betrayed by the Traitor. The dignity, and sanctity of the
pastoraloffice:when the BlessedTrinity ordain and commissionthe minister,
he will go forth with power; but if only of man little more will be heard of
him.
II. THE MANNER IN WHICH HE WAS CALLED AND INSTRUCTED.
Though the voice of Jesus addressedhim, this was not the means used for
directing his soul to peace. Godsent a man to instruct him. To us men is
committed the word of grace. To "the Man Christ Jesus" was committed the
glorious ministry of the gospel.
(A. J. J. Cachemaille.)
Apostolic salutation and vindication of apostolic teaching
Luther., Richard Nicholls.
I. THIS SALUTATION EMBRACES A VINDICATION OF APOSTOLIC
AUTHORITY. The Church sometimes fails to understand and estimate the
honour which Christ bestows upon His chosenservants.
II. THIS SALUTATION EMBRACES A DEFENCEOF APOSTOLIC
DOCTRINE."Who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from
this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father."
1. Christ's work was voluntary. "He gave Himself."
2. Christ's work was vicarious. "He gave Himself for our sins."

3. Christ's work was redemptive. "That He might deliver us from this present
evil world." The idea here expressedis that of rescuing from danger.
4. Christ's redemptive work is in harmony with the will of the Father. There is
no separation, much less antagonism, betweenthe will of the Fatherand of the
Son in saving.
5. Christ's redemptive work secures the highest praise of God. "To Him be
glory for ever and ever."
III. THIS SALUTATION EMBRACESA PROFOUND DESIREFOR THE
BESTOWALOF HIGHEST BLESSINGS."Gracebe to you, and peace from
God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ." The greetings men offer
eachother are determined by the views they entertain of life. They wish each
other health, long life, success,enjoyment. But Christians acknowledge
another and a higher life. "These two words comprehend whateverbelongs to
Christianity. Grace releasethsin, and peace makes the conscience quiet." —
Luther.This desire for the highest welfare of the Galatians was the
harmonious out-flow of the unselfish love of Paul and his fellow-labourers.
"And all the brethren which are," etc. Lessons:
1. It is sometimes necessaryfor God's servants to defend their office and
teaching.
2. We learn the Spirit we should cherish toward men. We can desire for others
no greaterblessings than grace and peace.
(Richard Nicholls.)
The divinity of the gospel
J. Lyth.
1. Its ministers are divinely commissioned.
2. Its blessings are divinely secured.
3. Its end is the Divine glory.

(J. Lyth.)
Paul an apostle
W. Perkins.
Observe —
I. That as Paul puts his call to the apostleshipin the forefront of the Epistle,
SO EVERY MINISTER MUST HAVE A GOOD AND LAWFUL CALL.
II. That as Paul says, "Notof man," etc., SO EVERY LAWFUL CALL IS
FROM GOD.
1. God only cancall.
2. The Church can only consentand approve.
III. That as Paul proclaims his call, so THE CALL OF EVERY MINISTER
MUST BE MANIFEST TO HIS CONSCIENCEAND HIS HEARERS.
Ministers —
1. Are God's ambassadors.
2. Needdivine help.
3. Require human obedience.
IV. That Paul indicates THREE KINDS OF CALL.
1. Human and not Divine — false teachers.
2. Divine though human — ordinary ministers.
3. Wholly Divine — apostles.
V. That as the property of an apostle is to be calledimmediately by Christ, it
follows that THE APOSTOLIC OFFICE CEASEDWITH THOSE WHO
FILLED IT.
(W. Perkins.)

Paul's insistance on his apostleship
E. Reuss, B. A.
Who was Paul? Had he sat at the feetof the Master? Had he even seenChrist,
or receivedhis commissiondirect from Him? These questions were asked
often and openly, as we gatherfrom Paul's eagerness in all his Epistles to
reply to them. More than once he goes thoroughlyinto the matter (1
Corinthians 9.; 2 Corinthians 11.;Ephesians 3:7; 1 Thessalonians 2:4;1
Timothy 1:1.; Titus 1:38), and the superscriptions and subscription of his
letters show how he felt the need of thus vindicating himself from false
imputations.
(E. Reuss, B. A.)
Genuine and spurious apostles
The true apostle is like the tree which grows out of the soiland brings forth
out of its own inherent vitality living fruit and foliage. The false apostle
resembles the artificial tree which is stuck in the soil, and canonly bear such
painted leaves and fruit as are affixed by the hand of man. Hence the anxiety
of Paul to show that man had nothing to do with making him an apostle.
The true apostolicalsuccession
H. W. Beecher.
Though you have a straight line of apostolicalancestors, ifyour work is poor,
you are not in the line of the succession;and if your Church does not make
full-grown men, it is not. I do not care about the pedigree of my grapes if my
vineyard bears better fruit than yours. You may saythat yours came from
those which Noahplanted — but "by their fruits shall ye know them." And
the tests of all churches, doctrines, usages, governments, is this: What are
their effects on the generations of men.

(H. W. Beecher.)
The apostles defined
J. McLean.
It was essentialto their office that —
1. They should have seenthe Lord, and been ear and eye-witnesses ofwhat
they testified to the world.
2. They must have been immediately called and chosento that office by Christ
Himself.
3. Infallible inspiration was also essentiallynecessaryto that office.
4. Another qualification was the power of working miracles.
5. To these qualifications may be added the universality of their commission.
(J. McLean.)
Christ the fountain of gospelteaching
T. Watson.
See what a plenty of wisdom is in Christ, who is the great doctorof His
Church, and gives saving knowledge to all His people. The body of the sun
must be needs full of brightness that enlightens the whole world. Christ is the
greatluminary; in Him are hid all the treasures of knowledge.We are apt to
admire the learning of Aristotle and Plato. Alas l what is this poor spark of
light to that which is in Christ from whose infinite wisdomboth men and
angels light their lamp.
(T. Watson.)

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
I.
(1-5) It is no self-constitutedteacherby whom the Galatians are addressed,
but an Apostle who, like the chosenTwelve, had receivedhis commission, not
from any human source orthrough any human agency, but directly from God
and Christ. As such, he and his companions that are with him give Christian
greeting to the Galatianchurches, invoking upon them the highest of spiritual
blessings from God, the common Fatherof all believers, and that Redeemer
whose saving work they denied and, by their relapse into the ways of the
world around them, practically frustrated.
St. Paul had a two-fold objectin writing to the Galatians. Theyhad
disparagedhis authority, and they had fallen back from the true spiritual
view of Christianity—in which all was due to the divine grace and love
manifested in the death of Christ—to a systemof Jewishceremonialism. And
at the very outsetof his Epistle, in the salutation itself, the Apostle meets them
on both these points. On the one hand, he asserts the divine basis of the
authority which he himself claimed; and on the other, he takes occasionto
state emphatically the redeeming work of Christ, and its object to free
mankind from those evil surroundings into the graspof which the Galatians
seemedagainto be falling.
(1) An apostle.—This title is evidently to be takenhere in its strictestsense, as
St. Paul is insisting upon his equality in every respectwith the Twelve. The
word was also capable of a less exclusive use, in which the Apostle would seem
to be distinguished from the Twelve (1Corinthians 15:5; 1Corinthians 15:7).
In this sense Barnabas andJames the Lord’s brother, possibly also
Andronicus and Junias in Romans 16:7, were called “Apostles.”
Not of men, neither by man.—Two distinct prepositions are used:—“not of”
(i.e., from) “men,” in the sense ofthe ultimate source from which authority is
derived; “neither by” (or, through) “man,” with reference to the channel or

agencyby which it is conveyed. Thus we speak of the Queen as the “fount” of
honour, though honour may be conferred by the ministry acting in her name.
The kind of honour which St. Paul held (his Apostleship) was such as could be
derived only from God; nor was any human instrumentality made use of in
conferring it upon him. His appointment to the Apostolate is connected by St.
Paul directly with the supernatural appearance whichmet him upon the way
to Damascus. The part played by Ananias was too subordinate to introduce a
human element into it; and the subsequent “separation” ofPaul and Barnabas
for the mission to the Gentiles, though the actof the Church at Antioch, was
dictated by the Holy Ghost, and was rather the assignmentof a specialsphere
than the conferring of a new office and new powers.
By Jesus Christ.—The preposition here, as in the last clause, is that which is
usually takento express the idea of mediate agency. It represents the channel
down which the stream flows, not the fountain-head from which it springs.
Hence it is applied appropriately to Christ as the Logos, orWord, through
whom God the Father communicates with men as the divine agent in the work
of creation, redemption, revelation. (See John 1:3; 1Corinthians 8:6; Hebrews
1:2, et al.) It is also applied to men as the instruments for carrying out the
divine purposes. The intervention of Jesus Christtook place in the vision
through which, from a persecutor, St. Paul became a “chosenvessel”forthe
propagationof the gospel.
And God the Father—i.e., and by (or, through) God the Father; the same
preposition governing the whole clause. We should naturally have expected
the other preposition (“of,” or “from”), which signifies source, and not this,
which signifies instrumentality; and it would have been more usual with the
Apostle to say, “from God,” and “by, or through, Christ.” But God is at once
the remote and the mediate, or efficient, cause of all that is done in carrying
out His own designs. “Ofhim, and through him, and to him are all things”
(Romans 11:36).
The Father.—This is to be takenin the sense in which our Lord Himself spoke
of God as “My Father,” with reference to the peculiar and unique character
of His own sonship—the Father, i.e., of Christ, not of all Christians, and still
less, as the phrase is sometimes used, of all men. This appears from the

context. The title is evidently given for the sake ofcontradistinction; and it is
noticeable that at this very early date the same phrase is chosenas that which
bore so prominent a place in the later creeds and the theologyof which they
were the expression.
Who raisedhim from the dead.—Comp. Romans 1:4 : “Declaredto be the
Son of God with power. . . by the resurrectionfrom the dead.” The
resurrectionis the actwhich the Apostle regards as completing the divine
exaltation of Christ. It is this exaltation, therefore, which seems to be in his
mind. He had derived his own authority directly from God and Christ as
sharers of the same divine majesty. It was not the man Jesus by whom it had
been conferredupon him, but the risen and ascendedSaviour, who, by the
fact of his resurrection, was “declaredto be the Sonof God with power.” So
that the commissionof the Apostle was, in all respects, divine and not human.
BensonCommentary
Galatians 1:1-3. Paul, an apostle — Here it was necessaryfor Paul to assert
his authority, otherwise he is very modest in the use of this title. He seldom
mentions it when he joins others with himself in the salutations, as in the
epistles to the Philippians and Thessalonians;or when he writes about secular
affairs, as in that to Philemon: nor yet in writing to the Hebrews. Not of men
— Not commissionedfrom them. It seems the false teachers hadinsinuated, if
not openly asserted, that he was merely an apostle of men; made an apostle by
the church at Antioch, or at bestby the apostles in Jerusalem. This false
insinuation, which struck at the root of his authority and usefulness, in the
exercise ofhis office, St. Paul saw it necessaryto contradict, in the very
beginning of his epistle. Perhaps he also glances atMatthias, who was an
apostle sent from a generalmeeting at Jerusalem, as mentioned Acts 1:22.
Neither by man — As an instrument. He here seems to have had Peterand
James in his eye, whom alone he saw at his first coming to Jerusalem, afterhis
conversion, and denies that he was appointed an apostle by them. But by Jesus
Christ — “Paulwas first made an apostle by Christ, when Christ appeared to
him in the wayto Damascus,Acts 9:15. And three years after that his

apostolic commissionwas renewed, Acts 22:21. So that he was sent forth
neither by the church at Jerusalem, nor by that at Antioch. The Holy Ghost
indeed ordered the prophets at Antioch (Acts 13:2) to separate Pauland
Barnabas;but it was to the work whereunto he had calledthem formerly.
This separationwas simply a recommending them to the grace ofGod by
prayer; and in fact it is so termed, Acts 14:26.” — Macknight. And God the
Father, who raised him from the dead — And after his resurrectionsent him
from heaven to make me an apostle. And all the brethren who are with me —
And agree with me in what I now write, and by joining with me in this letter,
attestthe truth of the facts which I relate; unto the churches of Galatia — Or
the severalsocieties orcongregations ofprofessing Christians which have
been collectedin that province. Grace be to you, &c. — See on Romans 1:7.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
1:1-5 St. Paul was an apostle of Jesus Christ; he was expressly appointed by
him, consequently by God the Father, who is one with him in respectof his
Divine nature, and who appointed Christ as Mediator. Grace, includes God's
good-willtowards us, and his goodwork upon us; and peace, all that inward
comfort, or outward prosperity, which is really needful for us. They come
from God the Father, as the Fountain, through Jesus Christ. But observe, first
grace, and then peace;there can be no true peace without grace. Christgave
himself for our sins, to make atonement for us: this the justice of God
required, and to this he freely submitted. Here is to be observedthe infinite
greatness ofthe price bestowed, and then it will appearplainly, that the power
of sin is so great, that it could by no means be put away exceptthe Sonof God
be given for it. He that considers these things well, understands that sin is a
thing the most horrible that canbe expressed;which ought to move us, and
make us afraid indeed. Especiallymark well the words, for our sins. For here
our weak nature starts back, and would first be made worthy by her own
works. It would bring him that is whole, and not him that has need of a
physician. Not only to redeem us from the wrath of God, and the curse of the
law; but also to recoverus from wickedpractices andcustoms, to which we
are naturally enslaved. But it is in vain for those who are not delivered from
this present evil world by the sanctificationofthe Spirit, to expect that they
are freed from its condemnation by the blood of Jesus.

Barnes'Notes on the Bible
Paul an apostle - See the note at Romans 1:1. This is the usual form in which
he commences his epistles;and it was of specialimportance to commence the
Epistle in this manner, because it was one designto vindicate his apostleship,
or to show that he had receivedhis commissiondirectly from the Lord Jesus.
Not of men - "Notfrom ἀπ ̓ ap' men." That is, he was not "from" any body of
people, or commissionedby people. The word apostle means "sent," and Paul
means to say, that he was not "sent" to execute any purpose of human beings,
or commissionedby them. His was a higher calling; a calling of God, and he
had been sent directly by him. Of course, he means to exclude here all classes
of people as having had anything to do in sending him forth; and, especially,
he means to affirm, that he had not been sent out by the body of apostles at
Jerusalem. This, it will be remembered (see the introduction to Galatians)was
one of the charges of those who had perverted the Galatians from the faith
which Paul had preached to them.
Neither by man - "Neitherby or through δι ̓ di' the instrumentality of any
man." Here he designs to exclude all people from having had any agencyin
his appointment to the apostolic office. He was neither sent out from any body
of people to execute their purposes;nor did he receive his commission,
authority, or ordination through the medium of any man. A minister of the
gospelnow receives his callfrom God, but he is ordained or setapart to his
office by man. Matthias, the apostle chosenin the place of Judas Acts 1:26,
receivedhis callfrom God, but it was by the vote of the body of the apostles.
Timothy was also calledof God, but he was appointed to his office by the
laying on the hands of the presbytery; 1 Timothy 4:14. But Paul here says,
that he receivedno such commissionas that from the apostles. Theywere not
the means or the medium of ordaining him to his work. He had, indeed,
togetherwith Barnabas, beenset apart at Antioch, by the brethren there Acts
13:1-3, for a "specialmission" in Asia Minor; but this was not an
appointment to the apostleship. He had been restoredto sight after the
miraculous blindness produced by seeing the Lord Jesus on the way to
Damascus, by the laying on of the hands of Ananias, and had received
important instruction from him Acts 9:17, but his commissionas an apostle

had been receiveddirectly from the Lord Jesus, without any intervening
medium, or any form of human authority, Acts 9:15; Acts 22:17-21;1
Corinthians 9:1.
But by Jesus Christ - That is, directly by Christ. He had been called by him,
and commissionedby him, and sent by him, to engage in the work of the
gospel.
And God the Father - These words were omitted by Marcion, because, says
Jerome he held that Christ raised himself from the dead. But there is no
authority for omitting them. The sense is, that he had the highest possible
authority for the office of an apostle;he had been called to it by God himself,
who had raisedup the Redeemer. It is remarkable here, that Paul associates
Jesus Christ and Godthe Father, as having called and commissionedhim. We
may ask here, of one who should deny the divinity of Christ, how Paul could
mention him as being equal with Godin the work of commissioning him? We
may ask further, how could he say that he had not receivedhis call to this
office from a man, if Jesus Christ were a mere man? That he was calledby
Christ, he expresslysays, and strenuously maintains as a point of great
importance. And yet, the very point and drift of his argument is, to show that
he was not calledby man. How could this be if Christ were a mere man?
Who raisedhim from the dead - See the notes at Acts 2:24, Acts 2:32. It is not
quite clearwhy Paul introduces this circumstance here. It may have been:
(1) Because his mind was full of it. and he wishedon all occasions to make that
fact prominent;
(2) Because this was the distinguishing feature of the Christian religion, that
the Lord Jesus had been raisedup from the dead, and he wished, in the outset,
to present the superiority of that religion which had brought life and
immortality to light; and,
(3) Because he wishedto show that he had receivedhis commissionfrom that
same God who had raisedup Jesus, andwho was, therefore, the author of the
true religion. His commissionwas from the Source of life and light, the God of

the living and the dead; the God who was the Author of the glorious scheme
which revealedlife and immortality.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE TO THE GALATIANS
Commentary by A. R. Faussett
INTRODUCTION
The internal and external evidence for Paul's authorship is conclusive. The
style is characteristicallyPauline. The superscription, and allusions to the
apostle of the Gentiles in the first person, throughout the Epistle, establish the
same truth (Ga 1:1, 13-24;2:1-14). His authorship is also upheld by the
unanimous testimony of the ancient Church: compare Irenæus [Against
Heresies, 3,7,2](Ga 3:19); Polycarp[Epistle to the Philippians, 3] quotes Ga
4:26; 6:7; Justin Martyr, or whoeverwrote the Discourse to the Greeks,
alludes to Ga 4:12; 5:20.
The Epistle was written "TO THE CHURCHES OF Galatia" (Ga 1:2), a
district of Asia Minor, bordering on Phrygia, Pontus, Bithynia, Cappadocia,
and Paphlagonia. The inhabitants (Gallo-græci, contractedinto Galati,
another form of the name Celts)were Gauls in origin, the latter having
overrun Asia Minor after they had pillaged Delphi, about 280 B.C. and at last
permanently settled in the centralparts, thence calledGallo-græcia or
Galatia. Their character, as shownin this Epistle, is in entire consonancewith
that ascribedto the Gallic race by all writers. Cæsar[Commentaries on the
Gallic War, 4,5], "The infirmity of the Gauls is that they are fickle in their
resolves and fond of change, and not to be trusted." So Thierry (quoted by
Alford), "Frank, impetuous, impressible, eminently intelligent, but at the
same time extremely changeable,inconstant, fond of show, perpetually
quarrelling, the fruit of excessive vanity." They receivedPaul at first with all
joy and kindness; but soonwavered in their allegiance to the Gospeland to
him, and hearkenedas eagerlynow to Judaizing teachers as they had before
to him (Ga 4:14-16). The apostle himself had been the first preacheramong
them (Ac 16:6; Ga 1:8; 4:13; see on [2327]Ga 4:13;"onaccountof infirmity of
flesh I preachedunto you at the first": implying that sickness detainedhim

among them); and had then probably founded churches, which at his
subsequent visit he "strengthened" in the faith (Ac 18:23). His first visit was
about A.D. 51, during his secondmissionary journey. Josephus [Antiquities,
16.62]testifies that many Jews residedin Ancyra in Galatia. Among these and
their brethren, doubtless, as elsewhere, he beganhis preaching. And though
subsequently the majority in the Galatianchurches were Gentiles (Ga 4:8, 9),
yet these were sooninfected by Judaizing teachers, and almost suffered
themselves to be persuaded to undergo circumcision (Ga 1:6; 3:1, 3; 5:2, 3;
6:12, 13). Accustomedas the Galatians had been, when heathen, to the mystic
worship of Cybele (prevalent in the neighboring region of Phrygia), and the
theosophistic doctrines connectedwith that worship, they were the more
readily led to believe that the full privileges of Christianity could only be
attained through an elaborate systemof ceremonialsymbolism (Ga 4:9-11;
5:7-12). They even gave ear to the insinuation that Paul himself observed the
law among the Jews, thoughhe persuadedthe Gentiles to renounce it, and
that his motive was to keephis converts in a subordinate state, excluded from
the full privileges of Christianity, which were enjoyed by the circumcised
alone (Ga 5:11, Ga 4:16, compare with Ga 2:17); and that in "becoming all
things to all men," he was an interestedflatterer (Ga 1:10), aiming at forming
a party for himself: moreover, that he falselyrepresented himself as an
apostle divinely commissionedby Christ, whereas he was but a messengersent
by the Twelve and the Church at Jerusalem, and that his teaching was now at
variance with that of Peterand James, "pillars" of the Church, and therefore
ought not to be accepted.
His PURPOSE,then, in writing this Epistle was:(1) to defend his apostolic
authority (Ga 1:11-19;2:1-14); (2) to counteractthe evil influence of the
Judaizers in Galatia (Ga 3:1-4:31), and to show that their doctrine destroyed
the very essence ofChristianity, by lowering its spirituality to an outward
ceremonialsystem; (3) to give exhortation for the strengthening of Galatian
believers in faith towards Christ, and in the fruits of the Spirit (Ga 5:1-6:18).
He had already, face to face, testifiedagainstthe Judaizing teachers (Ga 1:9;
4:16; Ac 18:23);and now that he has heard of the continued and increasing
prevalence of the evil, he writes with his own hand (Ga 6:11: a labor which he
usually delegatedto an amanuensis)this Epistle to oppose it. The sketchhe

gives in it of his apostolic careerconfirms and expands the accountin Acts
and shows his independence of human authority, howeverexalted. His protest
againstPeterin Ga 2:14-21, disproves the figment, not merely of papal, but
even of that apostle's supremacy;and shows that Peter, save when specially
inspired, was fallible like other men.
There is much in common betweenthis Epistle and that to the Romans on the
subject of justification by faith only, and not by the law. But the Epistle to the
Romans handles the subjectin a didactic and logicalmode, without any
specialreference;this Epistle, in a controversialmanner, and with special
reference to the Judaizers in Galatia.
The STYLE combines the two extremes, sternness. (Ga 1:1-24; 3:1-5) and
tenderness (Ga 4:19, 20), the characteristicsofa man of strong emotions, and
both alike well suited for acting on an impressible people such as the
Galatians were. The beginning is abrupt, as was suited to the urgency of the
question and the greatness ofthe danger. A tone of sadness, too, is apparent,
such as might be expectedin the letter of a warm-hearted teacherwho had
just learned that those whom he loved were forsaking his teachings forthose
of perverters of the truth, as well as giving ear to calumnies againsthimself.
The TIME OF WRITING was after the visit to Jerusalemrecordedin Ac
15:1, &c.;that is, A.D. 50, if that visit be, as seems probable, identical with
that in Ga 2:1. Further, as Ga 1:9 ("as we said before"), and Ga 4:16 ("Have
[Alford] I become your enemy?" namely, at my secondvisit, whereas I was
welcomedby you at my first visit), refer to his secondvisit (Ac 18:23), this
Epistle must have been written after the date of that visit (the autumn of A.D.
54). Ga 4:13, "Ye know how … I preached… at the first" (Greek, "atthe
former time"), implies that Paul, at the time of writing, had been twice in
Galatia;and Ga 1:6, "I marvel that ye are so soonremoved," implies that he
wrote not long after having left Galatia for the secondtime; probably in the
early part of his residence atEphesus (Ac 18:23; 19:1, &c., from A.D. 54, the
autumn, to A.D. 57, Pentecost)[Alford]. Conybeare and Howson, from the
similarity betweenthis Epistle and that to the Romans, the same line of
argument in both occupying the writer's mind, think it was not written till his
stay at Corinth (Ac 20:2, 3), during the winter of 57-58, whence he wrote his

Epistle to the Romans; and certainly, in the theory of the earlier writing of it
from Ephesus, it does seemunlikely that the two Epistles to the Corinthians,
so dissimilar, should intervene betweenthose so similar as the Epistles to the
Galatians and Romans; or that the Epistle to the Galatians should intervene
betweenthe secondto the Thessalonians and the first to the Corinthians. The
decisionbetweenthe two theories rests on the words, "so soon." If these be
not consideredinconsistentwith little more than three years having elapsed
since his secondvisit to Galatia, the argument, from the similarity to the
Epistle to the Romans, seems to me conclusive. This to the Galatians seems
written on the urgency of the occasion, tidings having reachedhim at Corinth
from Ephesus of the Judaizing of many of his Galatianconverts, in an
admonitory and controversialtone, to maintain the greatprinciples of
Christian liberty and justification by faith only; that to the Romans is a more
deliberate and systematic exposition of the same central truths of theology,
subsequently drawn up in writing to a Church with which he was personally
unacquainted. See on [2328]Ga 1:6, for Birks's view. Paley[Horæ Paulinæ]
well remarks how perfectly adapted the conduct of the argument is to the
historicalcircumstances under which the Epistle was written! Thus, that to
the Galatians, a Church which Paul had founded, he puts mainly upon
authority; that to the Romans, to whom he was not personally known, entirely
upon argument.
CHAPTER 1
Ga 1:1-24. Superscription. Greetings. The Cause of His Writing Is Their
Speedy Falling Away from the GospelHe Taught. Defense ofHis Teaching:
His Apostolic Call Independent of Man.
Judaizing teachers hadpersuaded the Galatians that Paul had taught them
the new religion imperfectly, and at secondhand; that the founder of their
church himself possessedonly a deputed commission, the sealof truth and
authority being in the apostles at Jerusalem:moreover, that whatever he
might profess among them, he had himself at other times, and in other places,
given way to the doctrine of circumcision. To refute this, he appeals to the
history of his conversion, and to the manner of his conferring with the
apostles whenhe met them at Jerusalem;that so far was his doctrine from

being derived from them, or they from exercising any superiority over him,
that they had simply assentedto what he had already preachedamong the
Gentiles, which preaching was communicated, not by them to him, but by
himself to them [Paley]. Such an apologetic Epistle couldnot be a later
forgery, the objections which it meets only coming out incidentally, not being
obtruded as they would be by a forger;and also being such as could only arise
in the earliestage ofthe Church, when Jerusalemand Judaism still held a
prominent place.
1. apostle—inthe earliestEpistles, the two to the Thessalonians,through
humility, he uses no title of authority; but associateswith him "Silvanus and
Timotheus";yet here, though "brethren" (Ga 1:2) are with him, he does not
name them but puts his own name and apostleshipprominent: evidently
because his apostolic commissionneeds now to be vindicated againstdeniers
of it.
of—Greek, "from." Expressing the origin from which his mission came, "not
from men," but from Christ and the Father(understood) as the source. "By"
expresses the immediate operating agentin the call. Not only was the call from
God as its ultimate source, but by Christ and the Fatheras the immediate
agentin calling him (Ac 22:15;26:16-18). The laying on of Ananias' hands (Ac
9:17) is no objectionto this; for that was but a sign of the fact, not an assisting
cause. So the Holy Ghostcalls him specially(Ac 13:2, 3); he was an apostle
before this specialmission.
man—singular; to mark the contrastto "JesusChrist." The opposition
between"Christ" and "man," and His name being put in closestconnection
with God the Father, imply His Godhead.
raisedhim from the dead—implying that, though he had not seenHim in His
humiliation as the other apostles (which was made an objectionagainsthim),
he had seenand been constituted an apostle by Him in His resurrectionpower
(Mt 28:18;Ro 1:4, 5). Compare as to the ascension, the consequenceofthe
resurrection, and the cause of His giving "apostles,"Eph 4:11. He rose again,
too, for our justification (Ro 4:25); thus Paul prepares the way for the

prominent subjectof the Epistle, justification in Christ, not by the law.Gal
1:1-5 After saluting the churches of Galatia,
Gal 1:6,7 Paul testifieth his surprise that they should so soon
have forsakenthe truth of the gospelwhich he had
taught them,
Gal 1:8,9 and pronounceth those accursedwho preachany other gospel.
Gal 1:10-12 He showeththat his doctrine was not concertedto please
men, but came to him by immediate revelation from God,
Gal 1:13,14 to confirm which he relateth his conversationbefore his
calling,
Gal 1:15-24 and what steps he had takenimmediately thereupon.
The term apostle, in its native signification, signifieth no more then one sent;
in its ecclesiasticaluse, it signifies one extraordinarily sent to preach the
gospel;of these some were sent either more immediately by Christ, (as the

twelve were sent, Mat 10:1 Mar 3:14 Luk 9:1), or more mediately, as
Matthias, who was sentby the suffrage of the other apostles to supply the
place of Judas, Act 1:25,26, and Barnabas, and Silas, and others were. Paul
saith he was sent not of men, neither by man, that is, not merely; for he was
also sent by men to his particular province. Act 13:3; but he was immediately
sent by Jesus Christ, ( as we read, Act 9:1-43 and Act 26:14-17, ofwhich also
he gives us an accountin this chapter, Gal1:15-17), and by God the Father
also, who, he saith, raised Christ from the dead. By this phrase the apostle
doth not only assertChrist's resurrection, and the influence of the Father
upon his resurrection, (though he rose by his ownpower, and took up his own
life again, and was also quickenedby the Spirit), but he also showetha
specialtyin his call to the apostleship. As it differed from the call of ordinary
ministers, who are called by men (though their ministry be not merely of
men); so it differed from the call of the restof the apostles, being made by
Christ not in his state of humiliation, (as the twelve were called, Mat 10:1-42),
but in his state of exaltation, after he was raisedfrom the dead, and satdown
on the right hand of God.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible
Paul an apostle, not of men, neither by man,.... The writer of this epistle, Paul,
puts his name to it, as to all his epistles, excepting that to the Hebrews, if that
be his, being neither afraid nor ashamedto own what is herein contained. He
asserts himselfto be "an apostle", whichwas the highest office in the church,
to which he was immediately calledby Christ, and confirmed in it by signs
and wonders. This he chose to mention, because ofthe false teachers, who had
insinuated he was no apostle, and not to be regarded;whereas he had received
grace and apostleshipfrom Christ, and was an apostle, "notof men", as were
the apostles ormessengersofthe sanhedrim (a); See Gill on 2 Corinthians
8:23 and as were the false apostles,who were sent out by men, who had no
authority to send them forth: the apostle, as he did not take this honour to
himself, did not thrust himself into this office, or run before he was sent; so he
was not sent by men; he did not act upon human authority, or by an human
commission:this is said in opposition to the false apostles, andto an unlawful
investiture with the office of apostleship, and an usurpation of it, as wellas to
distinguish himself from the messengers andambassadors ofprinces, who are

sent with credentials by them to negotiate civil affairs for them in foreign
courts, he being an ambassadorof Christ; and from the messengers of
churches, who were sometimes sentwith assistanceoradvice to other
churches;and he moreoversays, "nor by man"; by a mere man, but by one
that was more than a man; nor by a mortal man, but by Christ, as raisedfrom
the dead, immortal and glorious at God's right hand: or rather the sense is, he
was not choseninto the office of apostleshipby the suffrages ofmen, as
Matthias was;or he was not ordained an apostle in the manner the ordinary
ministers of the Gospeland pastors are, by the churches of Christ; so that as
the former clause is opposedto an unlawful callof men, this is opposedto a
lawful one; and shows him to be not an ordinary minister, but an
extraordinary one, who was calledto this office, not mediately by men, by any
of the churches as common ministers are:
but by Jesus Christ; immediately, without the intervention of men, as appears
from Acts 26:16. For what Ananias did upon his conversionwas only putting
his hands on him to recoverhis sight, and baptizing him; it was Christ that
appearedto him personally, and made him a minister; and his separationwith
Barnabas, by the church, under the direction of the Holy Ghost, Acts 13:2 was
to some particular work and service to be done by them, and not to
apostleship, and which was long after Paul was made an apostle by Christ.
Jesus Christ being here opposedto man, does not suggestthat he was not a
man, really and truly, for he certainly was;he partook of the same flesh and
blood with us, and was in all things made like unto us, sin excepted; but that
he was not a mere man, he was truly God as well as man; for as the raising
him from the dead, in the next clause, shows him to be a man, or he could not
have died; so his being opposedto man, and setin equality with Godthe
Father, in this verse, and grace and peace being prayed for from him, as from
the Father, Galatians 1:4 and the same glory ascribed to him as to the Father,
Galatians 1:5 prove him to be truly and properly God. The apostle adds,
and God the Father; Christ and his Fatherbeing of the same nature and
essence, powerand authority, as they are jointly concernedand work together
in the affairs or nature and Providence, so in those of grace;and particularly
in constituting and ordaining apostles, andsetting them in the church. This
serves the more to confirm the divine authority under which Paul acted as an

apostle, being not only made so by Christ, but also by God the Father, who is
describedas he,
who raisedhim from the dead; which is observed, not so much to express the
divine power of the Father, or the glory of Christ, as raisedfrom the dead, but
to strengthen the validity of the apostle's characterand commissionas such;
to whom it might have been objected, that he had not seenChrist in the flesh,
nor familiarly conversedwith him, as the rest of the apostles did: to which he
was able to reply, that he was not called to be an apostle by Christ in his low
and mean estate of humiliation, but by him after he was raised from the dead,
and was setdown at the right hand of God; who personallyappeared to him
in his glory, and was seenby him, and who made and appointed him his
apostle, to bear his name before Gentiles, and kings, and the people of Israel;
so that his callto apostleshipwas rather more grand and illustrious than that
of any of the other apostles.
(a) Misn. Menachot, c. 10. sect. 3. & Yoma, c. 1. sect. 5.
Geneva Study Bible
Paul, {1} an apostle, (not {a} of men, neither by {b} man, but by {c} Jesus
Christ, and God the Father, who raisedhim from the dead;)
(1) A salutationwhich puts in a few words the sum of the apostle's doctrine,
and also immediately from the beginning shows the gravity appropriate for
the authority of an apostle, whichhe had to maintain againstthe false
apostles.
(a) He shows who is the author of the ministry generally: for in this the whole
ministry agrees, thatwhether they are apostles, orshepherds, or teachers,
they are appointed by God.
(b) He mentions that man is not the instrumental cause:for this is a special
right of the apostles, to be calleddirectly from Christ.
(c) Christ no doubt is man, but he is also God, and head of the Church, and in
this respectto be exempted out of the number of men.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary
Galatians 1:1. Ἀπόστολος οὐκ ἀπʼ ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ διʼ ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλά κ.τ.λ.]
Thus does Paul, with deliberate incisiveness and careful definition, bring into
prominence at the very head of his epistle his (in the strictestsense)apostolic
dignity, because doubt had been thrown on it by his opponents in Galatia. For
by οὐκ ἀπʼ ἀνθρώπων he denies that his apostleshipproceededfrom men
(causa remotior), and by οὐδὲ διʼ ἄνθρ. that it came by means of a man (causa
medians). It was neither of human origin, nor was a man the medium of
conveying it. Comp. Bernhardy, pp. 222, 236;Winer, p. 390 [E. T. 521]. On
ἀπό, comp. also Romans 13:1. To disregard the diversity of meaning in the
two prepositions (Semler, Morus, Koppe, and others), although even Usteri is
inclined to this view (“Paulmeant to say that in no respect did his office
depend on human authority”), is all the more arbitrary, seeing that, while the
two negatives very definitely separate the two relations, these two relations
cannot he expressedby the mere change of number (Koppe, “non hominum,
ne cujusquam quidem hominis;” comp. Bengel, Semler, Morus, Rosenmüller).
This in itself would be but a feeble amplification of the thought, and in order
to be intelligible, would need to be more distinctly indicated (perhaps by the
addition of πολλῶν and ἑνός), for otherwise the readers would not have their
attention drawn off from the difference of the prepositions. Paul has on the
secondoccasionwrittennot ἀνθρώπων again, but ἀνθρώπου, because the
contrastto διʼ ἀνθρώπου is διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ. It was not a man, but the
exalted Christ, through whom the divine call to the apostleshipcame to Paul
at Damascus;αὐτὸς ὁ δεσπότης οὐρανόθενἐκάλεσεν οὐκ ἀνθρώπῳ
χρησάμενος ὑπουργῷ, Theodoret. And this contrastis quite just: for Christ,
the incarnate Son of God, was indeed as such, in the state of His self-
renunciation and humiliation, ἄνθρωπος (Romans 5:15; 1 Corinthians 15:21),
and in His human manifestation not specificallydifferent from other men
(Php 2:7; Galatians 4:4; Romans 8:3); but in His state of exaltation, since He
is as respects His whole divine-human nature in heaven (Ephesians 1:20 ff.;
Php 2:9; Php 3:20-21), He is, although subordinate to the Father(1
Corinthians 3:23; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Corinthians 15:28, et al.), partakerof
the divine majesty which He had before the incarnation, and possesses in His

whole person at the right hand of God divine honour and divine dominion.
Comp. generally, Usteri, Lehrbegr. p. 327;Weiss, Bibl. Theol. p. 306.
καὶ Θεοῦ πατρός] Following out the contrast, we should expect καὶ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ
πατρ. But availing himself of the variety of form in which his idea could be set
forth, Paul comprehends the properly twofold relation under one preposition,
since, in point of fact, with respectto the modification in the import of the διά
no reader could doubt that here the causa principalis is conceivedalso as
medians. As to this usage of διά in popular language, see on1 Corinthians 1:9.
Christ is the mediate agentof Paul’s apostleship, inasmuch as Christ was the
instrument through which God called him; but God also, who nevertheless
was the causa principalis, may be conceivedof under the relation of διά
(comp. Galatians 4:7; Lachmann), inasmuch as Christ made him His apostle
οὐκ ἄνευ Θεοῦ πατρός, but, on the contrary, through the working of God, that
is, through the interposition of the divine will, which exerted its determining
influence in the act of calling (comp. 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1;
Ephesians 1:1; Colossians1:1; 1 Timothy 1:1; 2 Timothy 1:1). Comp. Plat.
Symp. p. 186 E, διὰ τοῦ θεοῦ τουτοῦ κυβερνᾶται;and Romans 11:36, διʼ
αὐτοῦ τὰ πάντα; Winer, p. 354 f. [E. T. 474].
The words Θεοῦ πατρός (which togetherhave the nature of a proper name:
comp. Php 2:11; Ephesians 6:23; 1 Peter1:2), according to the context,
present God as the Fatherof Jesus Christ, not as Fathergenerally (de Wette;
comp. Hilgenfeld), nor as our Father (Paulus, Usteri, Wieseler). The Father is
named after the Son by way of climax (comp. Ephesians 5:5): in describing
the superhuman origin of his apostleshipPaul proceeds from the Higher to
the Highest, without whom (see what follows)Christ could not have called
him. Of course the calling by Christ is the element decisive of the true
ἀποστολή (Wieseler);but it would remain so, even if Paul, advancing to the
more definite agent, had named Christ after God. The supposition of a
dogmatic precaution (Theodoret, ἵνα μή τις ὑπολάβῃ ὑπουργὸνεἶναι τοῦ
πατρὸς τὸν υἱόν, εὑρὼν προσκείμενοντὸ διά, ἐπήγαγε καὶ Θεοῦ πατρός, comp.

Chrysostom, Calovius, and others) would be as irrelevant and inappropriate,
as Rückert’s opinion is arbitrary, that Paul at first intended merely to write
διὰ Ἰ. Χ., and then added as an after-thought, but inexactly (therefore without
ἀπό), καὶ Θεοῦ πατρός.
τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸνἐκ νεκρῶν] ForPaul was called to be an apostle by the
Christ who had been raised up bodily from the dead by the Father (1
Corinthians 15:8; 1 Corinthians 9:1; Acts 9:22; Acts 9:26); so that these words
involve a historicalconfirmation of that καὶ Θεοῦ πατρός in its specialrelation
as thoroughly assuring the full apostolic commissionof Paul:[14] they are not
a mere designationof God as originatorof the work of redemption (de Wette),
which does not correspondto the definite connectionwith ἀπόστολος.
According to Wieseler, the addition is intended to awakenfaith both in Jesus
as the Son and in God as our reconciledFather. But apart from the fact that
the Fatheris here the Fatherof Christ, the idea of reconciliationdoes not
suggestitselfat this stage;and the whole self-description, which is appended
to Παῦλος, is introduced solelyby his consciousness offull apostolic authority:
it describes by contrastand historicallywhat in other epistles is expressedby
the simple κλητὸς ἀπόστολος. The opinion that Paul is pointing at the
reproachmade againsthim of not having seenChrist (Calvin, Morus, Semler,
Koppe, Borger;comp. Ellicott), and that he here claims the pre-eminence of
having been the only one calledby the exalted Jesus (Augustine, Erasmus,
Beza, Menochius, Estius, and others), is inappropriate, for the simple reason
that the resurrection of Christ is mentioned in the form of a predicate of God
(not of Christ). This reasonalso holds goodagainstMatthies (comp. Winer),
who thinks that the divine elevationof Christ is the point intended to be
conveyed. Chrysostomand Oecumenius found even a reference directed
againstthe validity of the Mosaicallaw, and Luther (comp. Calovius) against
the trust in one’s own righteousness.
[14] Comp. Beyschlag in Stud. u. Krit. 1864, p. 225.
Expositor's Greek Testament

Galatians 1:1-5. APOSTOLIC ADDRESS, BENEDICTIONAND
DOXOLOGY.—The Epistle opens with the author’s name and the
designationof his office, Paul, an Apostle. So far it follows the regular practice
of Apostolic Epistles in advancing at the outset a claim to attentive hearing.
But circumstances gave in this case a specialsignificance to this opening; for
in the GalatianChurches rival agitators had seriously challengedthe author’s
right to this title of Apostle, so that the bare mention of his office involved a
distinct protestagainstthe slanders which had been circulated in regardto his
office and his person. He proceeds, accordingly, to an emphatic vindication of
his divine commission, not from men, neither through man. He raises here a
twofold issue, evidently corresponding to two specific points in his
qualifications for the office, which his adversaries had on their side selected
for attack. The transition from the plural in the first clause, to the singular in
the second, is significant, and helps to furnish a key to the two particular
points in his careeron which his enemies had fastened. His mission to the
Gentiles had apparently been disparagedon the plea that it had emanated
from men, i.e., from the Church of Antioch only. Again, the validity of his
commissionwas impugned on the ground that he had originally receivedthe
Spirit through a man, i.e., through the agencyof Ananias, who had been
deputed to lay his hands upon him at Damascus. By these insinuations an
invidious comparisonwas instituted betweenPaul and the original Apostles
who had been sent forth by Christ Himself, and had receivedthe Spirit by a
miraculous outpouring from Heaven on the day of Pentecost. It was obviously
impossible to confute these aspersions by alleging any specific actof the risen
Lord. Accordingly Paul contents himself for the moment with an indignant
repudiation of the calumnies, reserving his full vindication for the historical
review of his conversionand Christian life (Galatians 1:10 to Galatians 2:14).
The tokens by which the risen Lord had attestedHis presence and His
commissionto His servant Paul had been very real and certain to the eye of
faith; but they had, from the nature of the case, beenless tangible than the
evidence of His living voice and presence during His earthly sojourn; they had
been granted at successive stagesofthe Apostle’s life, and had often takenthe
shape of visions, personalrevelations, and spiritual communion. At his
conversionhe had been declareda chosenvesselfor future ministry; three
years later the Lord had replied to his prayer in the temple, bidding him

depart from Jerusalem, for(He said) I will send thee far hence unto the
Gentiles;afterwards, at Antioch, the Spirit had given command, Separate me
Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them; thereupon
God had visibly sealedhis appointment by the abundant blessing bestowed
upon his labours, as the Galatians themselves could amply testify.—διὰ …
πατρὸς. The previous combination of ἀπό and διά in the negative clauses
invites a corresponding combination here in the antithesis, ἀλλὰ διὰ Ἰησοῦ
Χριστοῦ καὶ ἀπὸ Θεοῦ πατρὸς, declaring, on the one hand, the instrumentality
of the Son in the appointment of His Apostle, and, on the other, tracing back
the authority with which he was investedto God the Father as its original
source. But Paul prefers here, instead of contemplating his apostleshipto the
Gentiles by itself as a single act of the Divine Head of the Church, to connectit
with the largerdesignof building up the Church of Christ, for which the
united actionof the Fatherand the Sonwas indispensable. The Father setthat
design in motion by raising Him from the dead, and is here accordingly
associatedwith the Son as directly co-operating in the government of the
Church. In the subsequent review of his own personallife, Paul in like manner
perceives the immediate hand of God in his pre-Christian life, setting him
apart from his mother’s womb, and training him under the law for his future
work as an Apostle, before he was brought to Christ at all.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
1–5. Introduction. Salutation and ascriptionof praise
1. Paul, an apostle]In the opening of this Epistle, as of those to the
Corinthians, Ephesians, Colossiansand Timothy, St Paul designates himself
an Apostle. Elsewhere he either adds no descriptive epithet to his name, or he
is a bondservant of Christ Jesus (Php 1:1), or of God (Titus 1:1), or a prisoner
of Christ Jesus (Philemon 1:1). In the present instance the addition is not
without reference to the circumstances under which he wrote. His authority
had been impugned, and a greatfundamental doctrine of the Gospel
perverted. The former must be asserted, that the latter may be maintained.

an apostle]Lit. ‘a messenger’. The title was given by our Lord Himself (Luke
6:13) to twelve chosenby Himself out of the number of His disciples. The
qualifications for the office are (1) a Divine call (Luke 6:13; John 15:16;Acts
1:2; Acts 1:24); (2) a personalknowledge ofthe Lord Jesus, as the Risen
Saviour (Acts 1:21-22;1 Corinthians 9:6); (3) the inspiration and infallible
teaching of the Holy Ghost(John 14:26;John 16:13); (4) a Divine commission
(Acts 22:21; Acts 26:16-18). Onthe wider use of the term see Bp. Lightfoot,
Gal. pp. 91–97.
not of men, … the dead] ‘Not of men’, rather, not from men. Unlike the false
apostles, he did not go forth commissionedby men, as their messenger, oras
deriving his authority from them; nor againwas he sent ‘by man’ (abstract,
not concrete;as in John 2:25). Paul commissionedothers, because himself not
commissionedby other men.
but by Jesus Christ] A clearproof of the proper Deity of the Lord Jesus. As
Jesus was the source from which, so was He also the channel through which St
Paul derived his authority. The occasionon which he receivedthis authority
was doubtless his miraculous conversion. It is howeverinstructive to observe
that even this Divine call and appointment did not supersede the outward
commissionand ‘investiture’ ‘through the medium of the Church’ (Acts 13:2).
The latter, while owing all its value to the former, is distinctly statedto have
takenplace by the express direction of the Holy Ghost.
“The Apostles are both ‘from Christ’ and ‘through Christ;’ their disciples
(and all regular teachers ofthe Church) are ‘from Christ,’ but ‘through man;’
the false teachers are ‘from men’ and ‘through man.’ Paul’s call was just as
direct as that of the Twelve;but the Judaizers, in their tendency to overrate
external forms and secondarycauses,laid greatstress upon the personal
intercourse with Christ in the days of His flesh, and hence they were disposed

either to declare Paula pseudoapostle, orat leastto subordinate him to the
Twelve, especiallyto Peterand James.” DrSchaff.
and God the Father … dead] It may at first sight surprise us that St Paul
should thus closelyunite God the Fatherwith Jesus Christ, as the channelor
agencyby which he receivedhis commission. But the difficulty is removed by
the addition of the words, ‘Who raisedHim from the dead.’ Christ was
“declaredto be the Sonof God with power … by” i.e. as the result of “the
resurrectionfrom the dead”. The hypostatic union of the Father and the Son
is presupposed(John 10:30). “He that hath seenme, hath seenthe Father.” If
then St Paul had receivedhis apostolic commission‘by’ the RisenChrist who
“appearedto him on the way”, he might truly be said to have receivedit ‘by’
God the Father. Luther ascribes the addition of these words to St Paul’s
“burning desire to setforth even in the very entry of his epistle, the
unsearchable riches of Christ, and to preach the righteousnessofGod”. “He
was raisedagainfor our justification,” Romans 4:25.
Bengel's Gnomen
Galatians 1:1. Παῦλος ἀπόστολος, οὐκ ἀπʼ ἀνθρώπων, οὐδέ διʼ ἀνθρώπου,
ἀλλὰ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, καὶ Θεοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐγείραντος ἀυτὸνἐκ νεκρῶν,
Paul an apostle, not of [ἀπʼ called by] men, nor by [διὰ, instructed through the
instrumentality of] man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who
raisedHim from the dead) A remarkable antithesis, in which, while Paul
asserts his apostleship, he mentions also his divine vocation, οὐκ ἀπʼ
ἀνθρώπων, ἀλλὰ (supply διὰ) Θεοῦ πατρὸς, not of man, but (by) God the
Father; comp. Galatians 1:15, and the following verses;and his immediate
instruction, οὐδὲ διʼ ἀνθρώπου, ἀλλὰ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, not by man but by
Jesus Christ. Instruction is generally effectedby one individual, for example,
as Paul was instructed by Gamaliel; calling, by more than one; hence the
difference of number, of men, by a man. Artemonius page 211, 212, contends,
after Le Clerc, that we must insert ἀπὸ from after καὶ:but διὰ by is rightly
supplied from the lastclause, and the force of the particle διὰ by in this
passageincludes the meaning of the particle ἀπὸ, from, but not vice versa.

Paul, when he mentions the Father and the Son in connection, often uses a
single preposition. 1 Timothy 6:13.—διὰ, by) He had just used διὰ with) an
apostrophe;it is now without the apostrophe, for the sake of emphasis.—
ἐγείραντος, who raised) The seeds preparatoryto the discussionof his subject
are [here already] scattered. The resurrectionof Christ is the source of
righteousness andapostleship, Romans 1:4-5; Romans 4:25; 2 Corinthians
5:19.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 1. - Paul, an apostle (Παῦλος ἀπόστολος);Paul, apostle. The designation
of "apostle," as here appropriated by St. Paul in explanation of his right to
authoritatively address those he was writing to, points to a function with
which he was permanently invested, and which placedhim in a relation to
these GalatianChurches which no other apostle everoccupied. Some years
later, indeed, when St. Peterhad occasionto address these same Churches,
togetherwith others in neighbouring countries, he likewise felthimself
authorized to do it on the score of his apostolicalcharacter("Peter, anapostle
of Jesus Christ," 1 Peter1:1); but there is nothing to show that St. Peterhad
any personalrelations with them at present. Under these circumstances, it is
perhaps best in translation to prefix no article at all before "apostle." This
designationof himself as "apostle'St. Paul subjoined to his name in almost all
of his Epistles subsequent to the two addressedto the Thessalonians.The only
exceptions are those to the Philippians and to Philemon, in writing to whom
there was less occasionforintroducing it. He had now, in the third of his three
greatjourneys recorded in the Acts, assumedopenly in the Church the
position of an apostle in the highest sense. In severalof these Epistles (1
Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1; Ephesians 1:1; Colossians1:1; 2 Timothy
1:1), to the designationof apostle, St. Paul adds the words," through (διὰ) the
will of God;" i.e. by means of an express volition of God explicitly revealed. In
what way God had revealedthis to be his will is clearly intimated in this letter
to the Galatians, in which the words," through Jesus Christ, and God the
Father, who raised him from the dead," which take the place of the formula,
"through the will of God," found elsewhere, indicate that it was through Jesus
Christ raisedfrom the dead that this particular volition of God was declared
and brought to eft;set. The formula referred to, "through the will of God,"

was apparently introduced with the view of confronting those who were
disposedto question his right to claim this supreme form of apostleship, with
the aegis ofDivine authorization: they had God to reckonwith. The like is the
purport of the substituted words in 1 Timothy 1:1, "According to the
commandment of God our Saviour, and Christ Jesus our Hope." Not of men,
neither by man (οὐκ ἀπ ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ δι ἀνθρώπου); not from men, neither
through a man. The preposition "from" (ἀπὸ) points to the primary fountain
of the delegationreferredto; "through" (διὰ) to the medium through which it
was conveyed. The necessityfor this twofold negationarose from the fact that
the word "apostle,"as I have had occasionfully to set forth elsewhere,was
frequently among Christians applied to messengersdeputed by Churches, or,
probably, even by some important representative officerin the Church,
whether on a mission for the propagation of the gospelor for the discharge at
some distant place of matters of business connectedwith the Christian cause.
St. Paul had himself frequently served in this lowerform of apostleship, both
as commissionedby the Church to carry abroad tim messageofthe gospel,
and also as deputed to go to and fro betweenChurches on errands of charity
or for the settlement of controversies. In either case he as well as others acting
in the like capacity, would very naturally and properly be spokenof as an
"apostle" by others, as we actually find him to have been; as also he would
appear to have been ready on this same accountso to designate himself, That
he was an "apostle" in this sense none probably would have been minded to
dispute. Why should they? His having, even repeatedly, held this kind of
subordinate commissiondid not of itself give him a greaterimportance than
attachedto many ethers who had held the same. Neither did it invest his
statements of religious truth with a higher sanctionthan theirs. This lastwas
the point which, in St. Paul's own estimation, gave the question of the real
nature of his apostleshipits whole significance. Was he a commissionedenvoy
of men, deputed to convey to others a message oftheirs? or was he an envoy
commissionedimmediately by Christ to convey to the world a messagewhich
likewise was receivedimmediately from Christ? Those who disputed his
statements of religious doctrine might admit that he had been deputed to
preach the gospelby Christian Churches or by eminently representative
leaders of the Church, while they nevertheless assertedthat he had
misrepresented, or perhaps misapprehended, the messageentrustedto him.

At all events, they would be at liberty to affirm that the statements he made in
delivering his messagewere subjectto an appeal on the part of his hearers to
the human authorities who had delegatedhim. If he owedalike his
commissionand his message to (say) the Church of Antioch, or to the Church
at Jerusalem, or to the twelve, or to James the Lord's brother, or to other
leaders whomsoeverofthe venerable mother Church, then it followedthat he
was to be held amenable to their overruling judgment in the discharge of this
apostleshipof his. What he taught had no force if this higher court of appeal
withheld its sanction. Now, this touched no mere problematical contingency,
but was a practical issue which, just at this time, was one of even vital
importance. It had an intimate connectionwith the fierce antagonismof
contending parties in the Church, then wagedoverthe dying body of the
Levitical Law. St. Paul's mission as an apostle is most reasonablyconsidered
to (late from the time when, as he stated in his defence before King Agrippa
(Acts 26:16, 17), the Lord Jesus saidto him, "To this end have I appeared
unto time, to appoint thee a minister and a witness [ὑπηρέτην καὶ μάρτυρα:
comp. αὐτόπται καὶ ὑπηρέται, Luke 1:2 and Acts 1:2, 3, 8, 22]both of the
things wherein thou hast seenme, and of the things wherein I will appear unto
thee; delivering thee from the people [λαοῦ, so. Israel], and from the Gentiles,
unto whom I myself send thee [εἰς οὕς ἐγὼ ἀποστέλλω σε: thus L. T. Tr. Rev.;
the Textus Receptus reads εἰς ου{ς νῦν σε ἀποστέλλω]" (comp. Acts 22:14, 15;
1 Corinthians 9:1). But though his appointment was in reality coevalwith his
conversion, it was only in course of time and by slow degrees that his properly
apostolic function became signalized to the consciousnessofthe Church.
Nevertheless,there is no reasonfor doubting that to his ownconsciousnesshis
vocationas apostle was clearlymanifested from the very first. The prompt
and independent manner in which he at once set himself to preachthe gospel,
which itself, he tells the Galatians in this chapter, he had receivedimmediately
from heaven, betokens his having this consciousness.The time and the
manner in which the fact was to become manifest to others he would seem, in
a spirit of compliant obedience, to have left to the ordering of his Master. But
by Jesus Christ, and Godthe Father, who raised him from the dead (ἀλλὰ διὰ
Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ Θεοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸνἐκ νεκρῶν); but
through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raisedhim from the dead. The
conjunction "neither" (οὐδὲ), which comes before δι ἀνθρώπου, marks the

clause it introduces as containing a distinctly different negationfrom the
preceding, and shows that the preposition "through" is used in
contradistinction to the "from" (ἀπὸ) of the foregoing clause in its proper
sense ofdenoting the instrument or medium through which an act is done. St.
Paul affirms that there was no human instrumentality or intermediation
whateverat work in the actof delegationwhich constituted him an apostle.
This affirmation places him in this respectpreciselyon a level with the twelve;
perhaps in making it he has an eye 1o this. The notion has been frequently
broachedthat the apostleshipwhich St. Paul made claim to was conveyedto
him at Antioch through the brethren who there, under the direction of the
Holy Spirit, formally set him apart, togetherwith Barnabas, for the
missionary enterprise which they forthwith entered upon (Acts 13:1-3). But
words could scarcelyhave been selectedwhichshould more decisively
negative any such notion than those do which St. Paul here makes use cf. One
form of apostleshipwas no doubt then conferredupon Barnabas and Paul;
but it was not the apostleshipof which he is now thinking (see essayon
"Apostles," pp. 31, 32.). In defining the precise import and bearing of the
expression, δι ἀνθρώπου, "through a man," we may compare it with its use in
1 Corinthians 15:21, "Since δι ἀνθρώπου ξαμε death, δι ἀνθρώπου came also
the resurrectionof the dead;" where in the secondclause the word "man,"
employed to recite the Lord Jesus, contemplatesthat aspectof his twofold
being which places him as "the secondMan" (1 Corinthians 15:47) in
correlationto Adam, "the first Man." Similarly, the parallelwith Adam again
in Romans 5:12, 15 leads the apostle to adopt the expression," the one Man
Jesus Christ" (cf. also ibid. 19). In 1 Timothy 2:5, "There is one God, one
Mediatoralso betweenGod and men, himself Man [or, 'a man'], Christ
Jesus," ourLord's manhood, in accordancewith the requirement of the
context, is put forward as a bond of connectionlinking him with every human
creature alike. These passages presentChrist in the charactersimply of a
human being. But in the passagebefore us the apostle at first sight appears to
imply that, because he was an apostle through the agencyofJesus Christ, he
was not an apostle through the agencyof a human being; thus negativing,
apparently, the manhood of Christ, at leastas viewed in his present glorified
condition. The inference, however, is plainly contradicted by both 1
Corinthians 15:21 and 1 Timothy 2:5; for the former passagepoints in "the

secondMan" to the "Lord from heaven," while the other refers to him as
permanent "MediatorbetweenGodand men," both, therefore, speaking of
Jesus in his present glorified condition. To obviate this difficulty some have
proposedto take the "but" (ἀλλά), not as adversative, but as exceptive. But
there is no justification for this - not evenMark 9:8 (see Winer's 'Gram. N.
T.,' 53, 10, 1 b). A less precarious solutionis arrived at by gathering out of the
context the precise shade of meaning in which the word "man" is here used.
Christ is indeed "Man," and his true manhood is the sense required in the two
passagesabove cited; but he is also more than man; and it is those qualities of
his being and of his state of existence whichdistinguish him from mere men,
which the context shows to be now presentto the apostle's mind. For the
phrase, "through a man," is not contrastedby the words, "through Jesus
Christ," alone, but by the whole clause:"through Jesus Christ, and God the
Father who raised him from the dead." That is to say, in penning the former
phrase, the apostle indicates by the word "man" one invested with the
ordinary qualities of an earthly human condition; whereas the "Jesus Christ"
through whom Heaven sent forth Saul as an apostle to the Gentiles was Jesus
Christ blended with, inconceivably near to, God the Father, one with him; his
oneness with him not veiled, as it was when he was upon earth, though really
subsisting even then (John 10:30), but to all the universe manifested -
manifested visibly to us upon earth by the resurrectionof his body; in the
spiritual, as yet now to us invisible world, by that sitting down on the right
hand of God which was the implied sequeland climax of his resurrection. The
strong sense whichthe apostle has of the unspeakablyintimate conjunction
subsisting. since his resurrection, betweenJesus Christviewed in his whole
incarnate being and. God the Father, explains how it comes to pass that the
two augustNames are combined togetherunder one single preposition,
"through Jesus Christ, and Godthe Father." We shall have to notice the same
phenomenon in ver. 3 in the apostle's formula of greeting prayer, "Grace to
you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ;" on which see
the note. We have the same conceptionof Christ's personality consequent
upon his resurrectionin the apostle's words relative to his apostolic
appointment in Romans 1:4, 5; where the Jesus Christ through whom "he had
receivedgrace and apostleship," in contrastwith his merely human condition
as "of the seedof David according to the flesh," is described as "him who was

declaredto be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness
by the resurrectionof the dead." The clause, "who raisedhim from the dead,"
has a twofold bearing upon the point in hand. 1. It supplies an answerto the
objectionwhich may be believed to have been made to Paul's claim to be
regardedas an apostle sentforth by Jesus Christ, by those who said, "You
have never seenChrist or been taught by him, like those whom he himself
named apostles."The answeris, "You might objectso if Jesus were no more
than a dead man; but he is not that: he is a living Man raisedfrom the dead
by the Father; and as such I have myself seenhim (cf. 1 Corinthians 9:1); and
he it was that in his own person, and through no intervention of human
agency, gave me both the commissionto preachand the gospelwhich I was to
preach" (see below, vers. 11, 12). 2. It connects the action of God the Father
with that of Jesus Christ in appointing Paul to be an apostle;for the things
which Christ did when raisedfrom the dead and glorified with himself (John
17:5) by the Father must obviously have been done from, with, and in God the
Father. It would unduly narrow the pragmatism of the clause if we limited it
to either of the two purposes above indicated; both were probably in the mind
of St. Paul in adding it. The immediate context gives no warrant for our
supposing, as many have done, that the apostle has just here other truths in
view as involved in the fact of our Lord's resurrection; such e.g. as he has
himself indicated in Romans 4:24, 25; Romans 6; Colossians 3:1. However
cogentand closelyrelevant some of these inferences might have been with
respectto the subjects treated of in this Epistle, the Epistle itself, as a matter
of fact, makes no other reference whateverto that great event, whether
directly or indirectly. Should δι ἀνθρώπου be rendered "through man," the
noun understood generically, as e.g. Psalm56:1 (Septuagint), or "through a
man," pointing to one individual being? It is not very material; but perhaps
the secondrendering is recommended by the considerationthat, if the apostle
had meant still to write generically, he would have repeatedthe plural noun
already employed. Indeed, it may be thought a preferable rendering in the
other passages above cited. The transition from the plural noun to the
singular, as is noted by BishopLightfoot and others, "suggesteditselfin
anticipation of the clause, 'through Jesus Christ,' which was to follow." In the
expression, "Godthe Father," the addition of the words, "the Father," was
not necessaryfor the indication of the Personmeant, any more than in 1 Peter

1:21, "Believers inGod which raisedhim from the dead," or in numberless
other passages where the term "God" regularly designates the First Personin
the blessedTrinity. It would be an incomplete paraphrase to explain it either
as "God the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ," or as "Godour Father." It is
rather, "Godthe primary Author and supreme Orderer of all things," or, as
in the Creed, "Godthe FatherAlmighty." It is best illustrated by the apostle's
words in 1 Corinthians 8:6, "To us there is one God, the Father, of whom [i.e.
out of whom, ἐξ οῦ] are all things, and we unto him; "and in Romans 11:36,"
Of him, and through him, and unto him, are all things." The apostle adds the
term in order to make the designationof the supreme God, who is the Source
of his apostleship, the more august and impressive.
Vincent's Word Studies
An apostle
This title is prefixed to Romans, 1stand 2nd Corinthians, Ephesians,
Colossians. Here with specialemphasis, because Paul's apostleshiphad been
challenged.
Of men - by man (ἀπ' ἀνθρώπων - δἰ ἀνθρώπου)
Better, from men - through man or a man. In contradiction of the assertion
that he was not directly commissionedby Jesus Christ, like the twelve, but
only by human authority. From men, as authorising the office;through man,
as issuing the callto the person. He thus distinguishes himself from false
apostles who did not derive their commissions from God, and ranks himself
with the twelve. Man does not point to any individual, but is in antithesis to
Jesus Christ, or may be takenas equals any man.
By Jesus Christ
See Acts 11:4-6;1 Corinthians 11:1.
And God the Father
The genitive, governed by the preceding διὰ by or through. The idea is the
same as an apostle by the will of God: 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1;
Ephesians 1:1. Διὰ is used of secondaryagency, as Matthew 1:22;Matthew

11:2; Luke 1:70; Acts 1:16; Hebrews 1:2. But we find διὰ θελήματος θεοῦ by
the will of God, Romans 15:32; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1, etc., and
διὰ θεοῦ by God, Galatians 4:7. Also δἰ οὗ (God), 1 Corinthians 1:9; Hebrews
2:10.
Who raisedhim from the dead (τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸνἐκ νεκρῶν)
It was the risen Christ who made Paul an apostle. Forresurrectionthe N.T.
uses ἐγείρειν to raise up; ἐξεγείρειν to raise out of; ἔγερσις raising or rising;
ἀνιστάναι to raise up; ἀνάστασις and ἐξανάστασις raising up and raising up
out of. With νεκρὸς dead are the following combinations: ἐγείρειν ἀπὸ τῶν
νεκρῶν (never ἀπὸ νεκρῶν) to raise from the dead; ἐγ. ἐκ νεκ. or τῶν νεκ. to
raise out of the dead; ἀναστήσαι to raise, ἀναστῆναι to be raisedor to rise ἐκ.
νεκ. (never ἀπὸ); ἀνάστ. ἐκ. νεκ.; or τῶν νεκ. resurrection of the dead; ἀνάστ.
ἐκ. νεκ.; ἐξανάστασις ἐκ. νεκ rising or resurrectionout of the dead or from
among. It is impossible to draw nice distinctions betweenthese phrases.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
BRUCE HURT MD
Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not sentfrom men nor through the agencyof
man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, Who raisedHim from the
dead),
Wuest Paulan apostle, not from man (as an ultimate source), nor even
through the intermediate agencyof a man, but through the direct agencyof
Jesus Christ and Godthe Father, the One who raisedHim out from among
the dead.

NET Galatians 1:1 From Paul, an apostle (not from men, nor by human
agency, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raisedhim from the
dead)
GNT Galatians 1:1 Παῦλος ἀπόστολος οὐκ ἀπ᾽ἀνθρώπων οὐδὲ δι᾽ ἀνθρώπου
ἀλλὰ διὰ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ καὶ θεοῦ πατρὸς τοῦ ἐγείραντος αὐτὸνἐκ νεκρῶν,
NLT Galatians 1:1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by
any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christhimself and
by God the Father, who raisedJesus from the dead.
KJV Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus
Christ, and God the Father, who raisedhim from the dead;)
ESV Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle--not from men nor through man, but
through Jesus Christ and Godthe Father, who raised him from the dead--
ASV Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men, neither through man, but
through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raisedhim from the dead),
CSB Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle--not from men or by man, but by Jesus
Christ and God the Fatherwho raised Him from the dead--
NIV Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle--sentnot from men nor by man, but by
Jesus Christ and Godthe Father, who raised him from the dead--
NKJ Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but
through Jesus Christ and Godthe Father who raised Him from the dead),
NRS Galatians 1:1 Paul an apostle--sent neither by human commissionnor
from human authorities, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who
raisedhim from the dead--
YLT Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle -- not from men, nor through man, but
through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who did raise him out of the dead -
-
NAB Galatians 1:1 Paul, an apostle not from human beings nor through a
human being but through Jesus Christand God the Fatherwho raised him
from the dead,

NJB Galatians 1:1 From Paul, an apostle appointed not by human beings nor
through any human being but by Jesus Christ and God the Fatherwho raised
him from the dead,
GWN Galatians 1:1 From Paul-an apostle chosennot by any group or
individual but by Jesus Christand God the Fatherwho brought him back to
life-
BBE Galatians 1:1 Paul, an Apostle (not from men, and not through man, but
through Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who made him come back from the
dead),
an: Ro 1:1 1Co 1:1
not : Ga 1:11,12,17
nor through the agencyof man and God the Father, Who raisedHim from the
dead),: Ac 1:16-26 13:2-4
but through Jesus Christ: Ac 9:6,15,1622:10,14-21 26:16-18Ro 1:4,5 2Co
3:1-3 Eph 3:8 1Ti1:11-14 2Ti 1:1 Tit 1:3
and God the Father: Mt 28:18-20 Jn5:19 10:30 20:21
Who raisedHim from the dead: Ac 2:24-32 3:15 Ro 4:24,25 10:9 14:9 Eph
1:19,20 Heb 13:20 1Pe 1:21 Rev 1:5,18 2:8
Galatians 1 Resources - Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
Click here for an introduction to Galatians, the Magna Carta of Christian
Liberty
SENT WITH AN AUTHENTIC COMMISSION
AND AN AUTHENTIC MESSAGE
An apostle is a "sent one" or one who is sentwith a commission! Paul jumps
right in to authenticate his apostleship. As Martin Luther said "Paul loses no
time in defending himself againstthe charge that he had thrust himself into
the ministry. He says to the Galatians:“My call may seeminferior to you. But

those who have come to you are either calledof men or by man. My callis the
highest possible, for it is by Jesus Christ, and God the Father.”
R C H Lenskiadds that "Paul’s first drop of ink is a decisive, challenging
contradiction: “Paul, an apostle not from men nor by means of man.” Men
did not send and commissionhim. He is not the ambassadoror representative
of men. What he utters is not the word and the wisdomof men. The authority
back of him and his message is not human." (The Interpretation of St. Paul's
Epistles to the Galatians to the Ephesians and to the Philippians.)
The salutationis found in Galatians 1:1-5 and sets the tone for chapter 1 and
for the entire book.
Galatians has been calleda rough draft for his formal and far-reaching epistle
to the Romans. In a sense it was a "rough" letter for the saints in Galatia who
were being enticed by the Judaizers to "add to" the Gospel, which Paul
quickly explains is another (false)gospel, not the true saving gospel.
PastorRobSalvato says "false teachers distortthe gospelin 3 ways: (1) Some
twist the truth - make it say what it was never meant to say. (2) Some subtract
from the truth. They’ll leave out crucial elements. (3) And some add to the
truth – that was the tactic of the Judaizers. One Commentator describedtheir
messagein this way: “Faith is fine – Jesus is good– the cross works – the
blood helps – but it’s not enough to cover sin. To be dressedfor heaven you’ve
got to add to the wardrobe a few religious accessories – like Sabbath worship,
or circumcision, or baptism, or monthly fasting, or weeklytithes, or daily
devotions – this discipline, that sacrifice.”(SermonNotes Galatians 1:1-5)
John Phillips rightly remarks that "The letter not only was aimed at silencing
the Judaizers but also was designedto define, once and for all, just exactly
what Christianity really is." (Exploring Galatians:An Expository
Commentary)
Max Anders introduces Galatians - This land will remain the land of the free
only as long as it is the home of the brave.” (Elmer Davis)....Sadly, many
Galatianbelievers began believing...false teachers.Theysubmitted to
circumcisionand other Old Testamentlaws to win God’s approval, gain

Jesus was paul's authority

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