Galatians 1:1, commentary and pictures

Paul was an apostle not from men nor through any man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead, by the will of God and from the highest authority in heaven. He set this forth to regain the confidence of the Galatians and magnify God's grace, showing himself equal to the chiefest apostles, so that to belittle his calling and work was to fight against Christ whose grace and power were manifested through him. After beginning to preach in Damascus he withdrew to Arabia in solitude, where without consulting the apostles he communed with God, was assured of pardon, and was established for his appointed work especially among the Gentiles. That divine call made him a witness and minister to preach the gospel in the Spirit's power rather than human wisdom, with his message centered on Jesus Christ and Him crucified. So ministers and gospel workers still receive their commission from Jesus Christ and God the Father and from no human being, to work as guided by the Lord and bring sinners to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Paul's Divine Apostleship

Paul is an apostle not from men nor through man but through Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised Jesus from the dead, by the will of God and from the highest authority in heaven. The verse stands at the head of a letter written with all the brethren with Paul to the churches of Galatia, with grace and peace from God the Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ, and these high, holy, mighty powers stand at the head. That greeting presents God in His paternal character and relation to human beings as Father, carrying the full meaning of the words Our Father, known by being filled with the Spirit of Christ, and it belongs with Christ giving Himself for sins to deliver from this present evil world according to the will of God the Father, to whom be glory forever.

The verse vindicates Paul's position as an apostle of Christ in order to regain the confidence of the Galatians against those denying his apostleship. It is set forth not to exalt self but to magnify God's grace, to show him equal to the chiefest apostles, so that to belittle his calling and work was to fight against Christ whose grace and power were manifested through him, and the opposition of his enemies forced him to take a decided stand in maintaining his position and authority. His position was acknowledged by the general council at Jerusalem, whose decisions he followed in all his labors, as accepting him as a fellow worker of equal standing and not as one commissioned or instructed by them.

The verse assigns his work specifically among the Gentiles. After beginning to preach Christ in Damascus when his life was in peril, he was commissioned to leave Damascus for a time and went into Arabia in comparative solitude, where without communicating with the apostles he communed with God and heaven. There he searched his own heart, deepened his repentance, and prepared himself by prayer, study of Scripture, and earnest seeking until he knew for certainty that his repentance was accepted, his great sin pardoned, and Jesus would be with him in his coming ministry. Coming into close connection with heaven, Jesus communed with him and established him in faith, bestowing wisdom and grace and sustaining help for a work that appeared too great and too important for him to undertake, and he was ever to carry in his body the marks of Christ's glory in his eyes blinded by the heavenly light, desiring constantly to bear the assurance of Christ's sustaining grace.

The divine call made him a witness and minister of Christ to preach the gospel, and its divine source gave him that work. His call led him to study Scripture and to preach through the Spirit's power rather than rely on human wisdom, with his message centered on Jesus Christ and Him crucified.

Gospel Workers Today

Ministers and gospel workers receive their commission and call to ministry from the Lord, from Jesus Christ and God the Father, and from no human being and not from men. The work to be done is the Lord's, which He has entrusted to man, giving to every man his work. That commission means working as guided by the Lord, daily filled with zeal and wisdom from on high, without waiting for human authorization and refusing to be confined to set, regular lines when such confinement makes success impossible, as in the work in the South. Neglecting that God-given work in order to discourage another laborer of God's appointment and to try to break up a good work is to fight against God.

That appointment is to bring sinners to Jesus as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world and to reveal Christ. Those who receive Christ must give unreserved consecration of body and soul with all energies and capabilities through the whole period of probation, reaching a higher standard by making the best use of every day and improving talents not to please self but to glorify God. By this they are forming destiny for eternity, because by words and works they will be justified or condemned, while all that God claims in service is what mortal men aided by divine grace can render.