Galatians 1:1-2 (JDV)

Galatians 1:1 Paul, a missionary¹ – not sent from humans or by a human, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead –

Galatians 1:2 and all the brothers who are with me: To the congregations² of Galatia.

credentials

Galatians unfolds as a letter written in the middle of a relational and theological storm. Beneath its sharp arguments and urgent appeals lies a real conflict: a struggle between Paul’s missionary team and influential voices within the Galatian congregations who had grown suspicious of them. These congregations had once welcomed the missionaries with joy, but something changed. Other teachers arrived, questioning Paul’s legitimacy and undermining the message he and his coworkers had proclaimed. The letter is Paul’s attempt to rescue these communities from abandoning the gospel they had first embraced.

A large portion of the letter is devoted to defending the work of the missionary band. Paul does not defend himself out of wounded pride but because the truth of the gospel is at stake. If the Galatians reject the message Paul preached, they are not merely rejecting a human messenger; they are turning away from the very grace of God. Paul therefore begins the letter by establishing the source of his authority. His apostleship did not originate from any human council, congregation, or institution. It was not the result of personal ambition or a committee’s decision. He insists that his commission came “not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father.” This claim is not rhetorical flourish. It is the foundation of everything he argues in the letter.

In the ancient world, a messenger carried the authority of the one who sent him. A representative acted in the name of the sender, not in his own name. Paul applies this principle to his missionary calling. Every missionary is sent by someone, and the authority of the mission depends entirely on the identity of the sender. In the case of Paul and his coworkers, the sending agency is not a human organization. It is heaven itself. The sender is Christ, who revealed Himself to Paul and entrusted him with the gospel for the nations. This divine commissioning means that rejecting Paul’s message is not a minor disagreement with a traveling preacher. It is a rejection of the One who sent him.

By grounding his authority in Christ’s call, Paul prepares the Galatians to hear the rest of the letter. The conflict is not ultimately about personalities or preferences. It is about the origin, purity, and power of the gospel itself.

Lord, thank you for sending your very best to teach us your gospel. May we always treat your missionaries with respect.