1:1   From Paul-an apostle not sent from men or by a man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead-

1:2   and all the brothers who are with me, to the churches in Galatia.

1:3   May grace and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ be yours!

1:4   He gave himself for our sins in order to rescue us from this present evil age according to the will of our God and Father.

1:5   To him be the glory forever and ever! Amen.

1:6   I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you by the grace of Christ to follow a different gospel,

1:7   which is not really another one. To be sure, there are certain people who are troubling you and want to distort the gospel about Christ.

1:8   But even if we or an angel from heaven should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to what we proclaimed to you, let that person be condemned!

1:9   What we have told you in the past I am now telling you again: If anyone proclaims to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let that person be condemned!

1:10   Am I now trying to win the approval of people or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be Christ's servant.

1:11   For I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel that was proclaimed by me is not of human origin.

1:12   For I did not receive it from a man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.

1:13   For you have heard about my earlier life in Judaism-how I kept violently persecuting God's church and was trying to destroy it.

1:14   I advanced in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries, because I was far more zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.

1:15   But when God, who set me apart before I was born and who called me by his grace, was pleased

1:16   to reveal his Son to me so that I might proclaim him among the gentiles, I did not confer with another human being at any time,

1:17   nor did I go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before me. Instead, I went away to Arabia and then came back to Damascus.

1:18   Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and I stayed with him for fifteen days.

1:19   But I did not see any other apostle except James, the Lord's brother.

1:20   (I declare before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.)

1:21   Then I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia.

1:22   But I was unknown by sight to the churches of Christ in Judea.

1:23   The only thing they kept hearing was this: "The man who used to persecute us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy!"

1:24   So they kept glorifying God for what had happened to me.