Beginning

Paul Defends His Apostolate^[a]

Chapter 1

Address

Paul Commissioned by Christ Himself.^{[b] 1} Paul, an apostle^[c]—commissioned not by human authority or by any human being, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead— ² and all the brethren^[d] who are with me, to the Churches of Galatia. ³ Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age^[e] in accordance with the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.^[f]

One Gospel, One Revelation, One Apostolate^[g]

Loyalty to the Gospel. ⁶ I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel. ⁷ In reality, there is not another one, but there are some who are troubling you by perverting the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel to you other than the one we proclaimed to you, let him be accursed! ⁹ We have said this before, and now I repeat it: if anyone preaches to you a gospel other than the one you received, let him be accursed!^[h]

¹⁰ Does it now appear to you that I am trying to gain the approval of human beings rather than the approval of God? Am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

¹¹ Paul’s Gospel Revealed to Him by Christ.^[i]Brethren, I want you to be assured that the gospel I preached to you is not human in its origin. ¹² I did not receive it from a human being, nor was I taught it. Rather, I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

¹³ Undoubtedly you have heard about my former way of life in Judaism,^[j] how I fiercely persecuted the Church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I progressed in Judaism far beyond many of my contemporaries, inasmuch as I was much more zealous in upholding the traditions of my ancestors.

¹⁵ Paul’s Early Years as a Christian. However, when God, who had set me apart even before my birth, called me through his grace and chose ¹⁶ to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him to the Gentiles, I did not confer with flesh and blood,^{[k] 17} nor did I go up to Jerusalem to consult with those who were apostles before me. Rather, I went off to Arabia, and afterward I returned to Damascus.

¹⁸ Paul’s First Meeting with Peter.^[l] Then after three years, I did go up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days. ¹⁹ However, I did not set eyes on any of the other apostles, except for James, the brother of the Lord.^{[m] 20} I declare before God that I am not lying in anything I have written.

²¹ Afterward, I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.^{[n] 22} I was still unknown by sight to the Churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They had only heard it said, “The one who was formerly persecuting us is now preaching the faith that he had once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ As a result, they gave glory to God because of me.

Chapter 2

The Council of Jerusalem^[o]

Confirmation of Paul’s Gospel and Mission. ¹ Fourteen years later, I traveled up to Jerusalem again, this time with Barnabas, and I also took along Titus. ² I went up in response to a revelation, and I set before them the gospel that I preach to the Gentiles—in a private meeting with the leaders—to ensure that I was not running, or had not run, in vain.

³ Yet not even Titus, who was accompanying me, was compelled to be circumcised, even though he was a Greek. ⁴ Yet some false brethren were secretly brought in to spy on the freedom we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might reduce us to slavery. ⁵ But not for a single moment did we submit to them, in order that the truth of the gospel might remain untouched for you.

⁶ As for those who were regarded as men of importance—whether or not they actually were important makes no difference to me, nor does it matter to God—these men did not add anything further to my message. ⁷ On the contrary, they realized that I had been entrusted with preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with preaching the gospel to the circumcised ( ⁸ for the one who worked through Peter in his mission to the Jews was also at work in me in my mission to the Gentiles).

⁹ Therefore, when James and Cephas and John, who were acknowledged as pillars of the community, recognized the grace that had been bestowed upon me, they gave to Barnabas and me the right hand of fellowship, agreeing that we should go to the Gentiles while they concentrated on the Jews. ¹⁰ They asked only one thing: that we remember the poor, which is the very thing I was eager to do.

Paul Rebukes Peter^[p]

¹¹ Peter’s Inconsistency at Antioch. However, when Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he was in the wrong. ¹² For until some people came from James,^[q] he had been eating with the Gentiles; but when they arrived, he drew back and kept himself apart because he was afraid of the circumcised. ¹³ And the rest of the Jews^[r] carried out the same pretense that he did, so that even Barnabas was led astray by their pretense.

¹⁴ Paul’s Rebuke. But when I saw that their conduct was not in accordance with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of all of them, “You are a Jew, yet you are living like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How then can you require the Gentiles to live like Jews?”

Paul Defends the Freedom of Christians^[s]

It Is Faith That Saves^[t]

¹⁷ But if, in seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves are found to be sinners, is Christ then a servant of sin? By no means! ¹⁸ However, if I am now rebuilding what I previously tore down, then I prove myself to be a transgressor. ¹⁹ For through the Law I died to the Law^[w] so that I might live to God.

I have been crucified with Christ. ²⁰ And now it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me. The life I live now in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself up for me. ²¹ I do not set aside the grace of God, for if justification comes through the Law, then Christ died for nothing.

Chapter 3

The Christian Experience. ¹ You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly presented as crucified. ² I only wish you to tell me this: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the Law or by believing what you heard?

³ How can you be so foolish? After having begun with the Spirit, are you now ending in the flesh? ⁴ Is everything you have suffered to result in absolutely nothing—if indeed it was for nothing? ⁵ Does God give you the Spirit and work mighty deeds among you because you have kept the Law or because you believed what you have heard?

The Blessing of Abraham.^{[x] 6} Thus Abraham believed in God, and it was credited to him as righteousness. ⁷ You can be assured that those who have faith are children of Abraham. ⁸ Because Scripture foresaw^[y] that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, it declared the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you all the nations will be blessed.” ⁹ For this reason, those who have faith share the blessing with Abraham, the faithful one.

¹⁰ The Curse of the Law. In contrast, those who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse, for it is written “Cursed is everyone who does not persevere in doing all the things that are written in the book of the Law.” ¹¹ Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the Law, for the one who is righteous will live by faith. ¹² However, the Law is not based on faith. On the contrary, whoever does these things shall live by them.

¹³ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law by becoming a curse himself for us, as it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hung upon a tree.” ¹⁴ This is so that the blessing bestowed upon Abraham might be extended to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

¹⁵ The Promise of the Covenant. Brethren, allow me to give you an everyday example. Once a human will has been ratified, no one can make further additions to it or set it aside. ¹⁶ Now the promises were made to Abraham and his descendant. It does not say “and to your descendants,” as referring to many, but it says “and to your descendant,” that is, to one person, who is Christ.

¹⁷ This is what I am saying: the Law, which came four hundred and thirty years later, cannot invalidate a covenant that had been previously ratified by God, so as to nullify the promise. ¹⁸ Obviously, if the inheritance comes from the Law, it no longer comes from the promise. However, God bestowed it on Abraham through a promise.

¹⁹ The Purpose of the Law. Why then? It was added because of transgressions^[z] until the descendant appeared to whom the promise had been made, and it was promulgated by angels through an intermediary. ²⁰ Now an intermediary is not necessary when there is only one party, and God is one.

²¹ Is the Law then opposed to the promises of God? Absolutely not! If the Law that had been given had the power to bestow life, then righteousness would have come through the Law. ²² But according to Scripture all things have been confined under sin, so that through faith in Jesus Christ what was promised might be given to those who believe.

²³ The Benefit of Faith.^[aa]Now before faith came, we were prisoners of the Law, confined as we waited for the faith that would eventually be revealed. ²⁴ Therefore, the Law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, so that we might be justified by faith. ²⁵ However, now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor.

²⁶ Children of God in Christ. Through faith you are all children of God in Christ Jesus. ²⁷ For all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves in Christ. ²⁸ There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free man, there is no longer male or female. For all of you are one in Christ Jesus. ²⁹ And if you are Christ’s, then you are the offspring of Abraham and heirs according to the promise.