Commentary - Galatians 1:11-24

Bird's-eye view

In this crucial section of his letter, the Apostle Paul lays down the foundation for his entire argument against the Judaizers. Having just pronounced a double anathema on anyone preaching a different gospel, he now must establish the divine authority of the gospel he himself preaches. He does this by way of a compelling autobiographical account. His central claim is stark and absolute: the gospel he proclaims is not a human invention, not a second-hand report, and not a lesson learned in a classroom. It was delivered to him directly by a revelation of Jesus Christ. To prove this, he details his life both before and after his conversion. Before, he was a rising star in Judaism, a violent persecutor of the church, and zealous for man-made traditions. After his conversion, he did not consult with the apostles in Jerusalem but spent years in Arabia and Damascus, receiving his instructions from the Lord Himself. This personal history is not biographical indulgence; it is a theological affidavit. It is Paul's sworn testimony that his apostleship and his message come straight from Heaven, and therefore, to tamper with his gospel is to defy God Himself.

The passage climaxes with the report that the churches in Judea, who had never even met him, were glorifying God on his account. The very people he once terrorized were now praising God for his transformation. This serves as the ultimate, Spirit-wrought confirmation of his ministry. The persecutor had become the preacher, and this radical change could only be the work of God. Paul's authority rests not on a chain of human tradition, but on the brute fact of a sovereign, gracious, and utterly transforming intervention by God in his life.

Outline

Context In Galatians

This passage immediately follows Paul's sharp and emotional introduction (Gal 1:1-10). He has already expressed his astonishment that the Galatians are so quickly deserting the true gospel for a distorted one. He has declared that any gospel other than the one he preached, even if delivered by an angel from heaven, is accursed. Such a strong condemnation requires an equally strong defense of his own authority and the authority of his message. Galatians 1:11-24 provides that defense. It is the groundwork upon which the rest of the epistle is built. Before he can dismantle the theological errors of the Judaizers regarding circumcision and the law (chapters 2-5), he must first establish that his own gospel is the non-negotiable, divinely-revealed standard. This autobiographical section is not a detour; it is the foundation of his entire case for the gospel of grace alone.

Key Issues

A Gospel Not From Man

The battle in Galatia was a battle over the gospel, which means it was a battle over authority. The Judaizers who were troubling the church did not come preaching a message they had invented out of whole cloth. They came appealing to authority, the authority of Jerusalem, of the original apostles, and of the traditions of the fathers. Their message was, in essence, "Paul is a good man, but he didn't give you the whole story. We're here from headquarters to give you the complete package, which includes Moses."

Paul's response is to cut the legs out from under their entire argument. He does not counter their appeal to human authority with a different appeal to human authority. He trumps it entirely by appealing to divine authority. He is essentially saying, "You want to talk about where my gospel came from? I'll tell you. It didn't come from a committee in Jerusalem. It didn't come from Peter. It came directly from the risen Lord Jesus Christ on the Damascus Road." This is not arrogance. This is the necessary foundation for apostolic ministry. An apostle is a "sent one," and his authority derives entirely from the one who sent him. Paul's sender was not a church council, but the King of Heaven.

Verse by Verse Commentary

11 For I make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is not according to man. 12 For I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

Paul begins with his central thesis. The gospel he preaches is not "according to man." It's not a human philosophy, a religious opinion, or a set of ethical teachings that men have reasoned out. It is not of human origin, character, or standard. He then explains this in three ways. First, he did not "receive it from man," meaning it was not handed down to him through some human tradition. Second, he was not "taught it," meaning he didn't learn it in a classroom or as a disciple at the feet of another apostle. Third, and positively, he received it directly "through a revelation of Jesus Christ." This was not a mystical hunch; it was an unveiling, an apocalypse, a direct disclosure from the risen Lord. The gospel is a heavenly message, not an earthly one, and Paul is simply the messenger boy.

13 For you have heard of my former conduct in Judaism, how I used to persecute the church of God beyond measure and tried to destroy it. 14 And I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my fathers.

Here is Paul's first piece of evidence. He reminds them of his resume before Christ got a hold of him. He was not a religiously curious seeker, open to new ideas. He was the chief opponent of the Christian faith. His persecution was not half-hearted; it was "beyond measure." He was trying to utterly eradicate the church. Furthermore, he was a star pupil in Judaism. He was outstripping his peers in his devotion to the religion of his ancestors, particularly the "traditions of my fathers", those man-made rules and regulations that had been added to the law of God. His point is this: a man with this kind of background does not simply drift into becoming the lead apostle to the Gentiles. His conversion cannot be explained by any natural development. It required a violent, supernatural interruption.

15 But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me through His grace, was pleased 16a to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles...

This is the turning point, and it is dripping with the theology of sovereign grace. Paul's conversion was not his idea. It was entirely God's initiative. Notice the sequence. First, God had "set me apart from my mother's womb." This is predestination. Before Paul had done anything good or bad, before he was even born, God had sovereignly chosen him for this task. Second, God "called me through His grace." This was not a polite invitation that Paul was free to accept or decline. This was an effectual, irresistible call that took a persecutor and turned him into an apostle. Third, God was "pleased to reveal His Son in me." The revelation was not just to Paul, as in an external vision, but in him. This speaks of the internal, regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. God opened Paul's blind eyes to see the glory of Christ. And what was the purpose of all this? "So that I might proclaim Him...among the Gentiles." Paul's dramatic conversion was not for his own benefit alone; it was for the sake of the mission.

16b ...I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood, 17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus.

This is the second piece of evidence for the divine origin of his gospel. What did Paul do right after this life-altering encounter with Christ? He did not do what we would expect. He did not rush to Jerusalem to get debriefed by the apostles and receive his training manual. To consult with "flesh and blood" would be to seek approval or instruction from mere mortals. Instead, he went in the opposite direction, into Arabia. We are not told exactly what he did there, but the context implies it was a time of communion with God and receiving further instruction directly from the Lord. He was in God's seminary, not man's. This radical independence from the Jerusalem leadership is a cornerstone of his argument. He got his gospel from the source, not from a downstream tributary.

18 Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

Paul anticipates the objection. "But you did go to Jerusalem eventually!" Yes, he says, but it was a full three years later. He had already been preaching the gospel for three years before he ever met the lead apostle. And the purpose of the visit was not to receive instruction, but to "become acquainted with" Cephas (Peter). The Greek word, historesai, means to get to know someone by inquiry, like a historian or a journalist. It was a meeting of apostolic peers, not a student reporting to his teacher. And the visit was brief, just fifteen days. He underscores the limited nature of his contact by noting that he only saw one other apostle, James, the brother of Jesus.

20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying!)

Paul understands that these claims about his independence might sound incredible or self-serving. So, he places himself under oath. He calls God as his witness that he is telling the unvarnished truth. This is not the kind of thing one does over trivial matters. The divine origin of his gospel is so central to the entire controversy in Galatia that he must establish his credibility on this point beyond any doubt.

21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 And I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which are in Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of the faith which he once tried to destroy.”

After his brief visit to Jerusalem, Paul again left the center of Jewish Christianity and went to the outlying regions of Syria and Cilicia, his home territory. For years, he ministered far from the oversight or influence of the Judean churches. They did not know what he looked like. All they had were the reports, which must have been astonishing. Their former nemesis, the man who breathed threats and slaughter, was now preaching the very faith he had dedicated himself to destroying. The message was simple and powerful: the arch-persecutor is now the arch-preacher.

24 And they were glorifying God because of me.

This is the capstone of his argument. What was the reaction of the Judean Christians to the news of Paul's ministry? They did not question his credentials. They did not send a committee to investigate his doctrine. They simply glorified God. They recognized that such a radical transformation could only be the work of God's mighty grace. Paul's life itself was a testimony to the power of the gospel he preached. Their praise was the ultimate validation of his apostleship. They glorified God because of him, seeing in his conversion and ministry the undeniable hand of the Almighty.

Application

Paul's testimony in this passage is a powerful guard for the church in every generation. The temptation is always to make the gospel "according to man." We want to domesticate it, make it more reasonable, sand off the sharp edges, and make it palatable to the spirit of the age. We are tempted to seek validation from human institutions, from academic respectability, or from cultural approval. Paul reminds us that the gospel is not a product to be tweaked by a marketing department. It is a revelation to be received, believed, and proclaimed without alteration.

Furthermore, Paul's story is the story of every Christian in miniature. We were all, in our own way, persecutors and enemies of God, zealous for the traditions of our fallen father, Adam. And then God, who set us apart before the foundation of the world, was pleased to call us by His grace and reveal His Son in us. Our conversion is no less a miracle of sovereign grace than Paul's was. And the result should be the same. Our lives should be such a testament to the transforming power of God that when people hear our story, they don't praise our willpower or our moral improvement. They glorify God because of us.