Galatians 1
Chapter 1
Greetings from Paul
1 This letter is from Paul, an apostle. I was not appointed by any group of people or any human authority, but by Jesus Christ himself and by God the Father, who raised Jesus from the dead.
2 All the brothers and sisterst here join me in sending this letter to the churches of Galatia.
3 May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christt give you grace and peace.4 Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live.
5 All glory to God forever and ever! Amen.
There Is Only One Good News
6 I am shocked that you are turning away so soon from God, who called you to himself through the loving mercy of Christ.t You are following a different way that pretends to be the Good News
7 but is not the Good News at all. You are being fooled by those who deliberately twist the truth concerning Christ.
8 Let God’s curse fall on anyone, including us or even an angel from heaven, who preaches a different kind of Good News than the one we preached to you.
9 I say again what we have said before: If anyone preaches any other Good News than the one you welcomed, let that person be cursed.
10 Obviously, I’m not trying to win the approval of people, but of God. If pleasing people were my goal, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Paul’s Message Comes from Christ
11 Dear brothers and sisters, I want you to understand that the gospel message I preach is not based on mere human reasoning.
12 I received my message from no human source, and no one taught me. Instead, I received it by direct revelation from Jesus Christ.t
13 You know what I was like when I followed the Jewish religion—how I violently persecuted God’s church. I did my best to destroy it.
14 I was far ahead of my fellow Jews in my zeal for the traditions of my ancestors.
15 But even before I was born, God chose me and called me by his marvelous grace. Then it pleased him16 to reveal his Son to met so that I would proclaim the Good News about Jesus to the Gentiles. When this happened, I did not rush out to consult with any human being.t
17 Nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went away into Arabia, and later I returned to the city of Damascus.
18 Then three years later I went to Jerusalem to get to know Peter,t and I stayed with him for fifteen days.19 The only other apostle I met at that time was James, the Lord’s brother.
20 I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.
21 After that visit I went north into the provinces of Syria and Cilicia.22 And still the Christians in the churches in Judea didn’t know me personally.23 All they knew was that people were saying, “The one who used to persecute us is now preaching the very faith he tried to destroy!”
24 And they praised God because of me.
GALATIANS 1
1-2 From the apostle Paul and from all the Lord's followers with me.
I was chosen to be an apostle by Jesus Christ and by God the Father, who raised him from death. No mere human chose or appointed me to this work.
To the churches in Galatia:
3 I pray that God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ will be kind to you and will bless you with peace! 4 Christ obeyed God our Father and gave himself as a sacrifice for our sins to rescue us from this evil world.
5 God will be given glory forever and ever. Amen.The Only True Message
6 I am shocked that you have so quickly turned from God, who chose you with his gift of undeserved grace.t You have believed another message, 7 when there is really only one true message. But some people are causing you trouble and want to make you turn away from the good news about Christ. 8 I pray that God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from our message to you! It doesn't matter if that person is one of us or an angel from heaven.
9 I have said it before, and I will say it again. I hope God will punish anyone who preaches anything different from what you have already believed.
10 I am not trying to please people. I want to please God. Do you think I am trying to please people? If I were doing that, I would not be a servant of Christ.How Paul Became //an Apostle
11 My friends, I want you to know that no one made up the message I preach.
12 It wasn't given or taught to me by some mere human. My message came directly from Jesus Christ when he appeared to me.
13 t You know how I used to live as a Jew. I was cruel to God's church and even tried to destroy it. 14 t I was a much better Jew than anyone else my own age, and I obeyed every law our ancestors had given us. 15 t But even before I was born, God had chosen me by his gift of undeserved grace and had decided 16 to show me his Son, so I would announce his message to the Gentiles. I didn't talk this over with anyone.
17 I didn't say a word, not even to the men in Jerusalem who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went at once to Arabia, and afterwards I returned to Damascus.
18 t Three years later I went to visit Petert in Jerusalem and stayed with him for 15 days. 19 The only other apostle I saw was James, the Lord's brother.
20 And in the presence of God I swear I am telling the truth.
21 Later, I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 But no one who belonged to Christ's churches in Judea had ever seen me in person. 23 They had only heard that the one who had been cruel to them was now preaching the message that he had once tried to destroy. 24 And because of me, they praised God.
