Galatians 1
The Voice
1 Paul, an emissary[a] commissioned directly by Jesus the Anointed One and God the Father (who raised Him from the dead)—not (as some claim) an agent of men or any person— 2 and all the brothers and sisters with me to you, the churches of Galatia.
3 May the grace and peace of God the Father and the Lord Jesus the Anointed live in you; 4 He is the very Savior who rescues us from this present, perverse age dominated by evil by giving His life according to our Father’s will to deal with our sins. 5 May God’s glorious name forever receive honor. Amen.
From the opening address, it is clear that Paul is angry with what is going on among the churches of Galatia. He feels compelled to defend himself from opponents who are attacking his call as Jesus’ emissary. Paul counters the attack by distancing himself from any human institution: he was not called by any church or committee. God the Father and the Lord Jesus commissioned Paul directly to be the emissary to the nations.
6 Frankly I am stunned. I cannot believe that you have abandoned God so quickly—even after He called you through the grace of the Anointed One—and have fallen for a different gospel. 7 Actually there is only one true gospel of the Anointed, and you—because of divisive prodding by others—are accepting a distorted version which is not the gospel at all!
People are being deceived with an imitation of the true gospel, and they have bought into it. The words are nothing but twisted lies.
8 No matter the source of the false gospel, even if it is preached by us or a heavenly messenger, ignore it. May those who add to or subtract from the gospel of Jesus be eternally cursed! 9 Listen again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than what you have accepted, may he find himself cursed!
10 Do you think I care about the approval of men or about the approval of God? Do you think I am on a mission to please people? If I am still spinning my wheels trying to please men, then there is no way I can be a servant of the Anointed One, the Liberating King.
11 Know this, dear brothers and sisters: the good news I brought to you isn’t the latest in fiction or the product of some creative mind. 12 It is not a legend I learned or one that has been passed down from person to person, ear to ear. I was gifted with this message as Jesus the Anointed revealed Himself miraculously to me. 13 Surely you are familiar with my personal history, with my dedication to the teachings and traditions of Judaism. I persecuted the church of God—in fact, I meant to destroy it. 14 I excelled in the teachings of Judaism far above other Jewish leaders, and I was zealous to practice the ways of our ancestors. 15 But God—who set me apart even before birth and called me by His grace—chose, to His great delight, 16 to reveal His Son in me so I could tell His story among the outsider nations. I didn’t confer with anyone right away, 17 nor did I go to those who were already emissaries[b] in Jerusalem. I went straight to Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
18 After living this adventurous mission for three years, I made my way to Jerusalem and spent 15 days with Cephas, whom you know as Peter. 19 But I didn’t see any emissary[c] other than James, our Lord’s brother. 20 (You can be certain that what I am offering you is an authentic account. Before God, it’s the whole truth—I wouldn’t lie.) 21 Later I journeyed to Syria and Cilicia; 22 and since I had spent so little time in Judea among the churches of the Anointed One, no one there could pick me out of a crowd. 23 But stories of my call and mission preceded me: “The very man who wanted to kill us all is now preaching the faith he once labored to destroy.” 24 And so they praised God for the miracle He did in my life.
Galatians 1
Names of God Bible
Greeting
1 From Paul—an apostle chosen not by any group or individual but by Yeshua Christ and God the Father who brought him back to life— 2 and all the believers who are with me.
To the churches in Galatia.
3 Good will[a] and peace are yours from God the Father and our Lord Yeshua Christ! 4 In order to free us from this present evil world, Christ took the punishment for our sins, because that was what our God and Father wanted. 5 Glory belongs to our God and Father forever! Amen.
Follow the Good News We Gave You
6 I’m surprised that you’re so quickly deserting Christ, who called you in his kindness,[b] to follow a different kind of good news. 7 But what some people are calling good news is not really good news at all. They are confusing you. They want to distort the Good News about Christ. 8 Whoever tells you good news that is different from the Good News we gave you should be condemned to hell, even if he is one of us or an angel from heaven. 9 I’m now telling you again what we’ve told you in the past: If anyone tells you good news that is different from the Good News you received, that person should be condemned to hell.
10 Am I saying this now to win the approval of people or God? Am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ’s servant.
Jesus Alone Gave Paul the Good News He Spreads
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the Good News I have spread is not a human message. 12 I didn’t receive it from any person. I wasn’t taught it, but Yeshua Christ revealed it to me.
13 You heard about the way I once lived when I followed the Jewish religion. You heard how I violently persecuted God’s church and tried to destroy it. 14 You also heard how I was far ahead of other Jews in my age group in following the Jewish religion. I had become that fanatical for the traditions of my ancestors.
15 But God, who appointed me before I was born and who called me by his kindness, was pleased 16 to show me his Son. He did this so that I would tell people who are not Jewish that his Son is the Good News. When this happened, I didn’t talk it over with any other person. 17 I didn’t even go to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was. Instead, I went to Arabia and then came back to Damascus.
18 Then, three years later I went to Jerusalem to become personally acquainted with Cephas.[c] I stayed with him for fifteen days. 19 I didn’t see any other apostle. I only saw James, the Lord’s brother. 20 (God is my witness that what I’m writing is not a lie.) 21 Then I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22 The churches of Christ in Judea didn’t know me personally. 23 The only thing they had heard was this: “The man who persecuted us is now spreading the faith that he once tried to destroy.” 24 So they praised God for what had happened to me.
Footnotes
- Galatians 1:3 Or “Grace.”
- Galatians 1:6 Or “grace.”
- Galatians 1:18 Cephas is the Aramaic name for the apostle Peter.
The Voice Bible Copyright © 2012 Thomas Nelson, Inc. The Voice™ translation © 2012 Ecclesia Bible Society All rights reserved.
The Names of God Bible (without notes) © 2011 by Baker Publishing Group.