GALATIANS 1:11–24
Where Did Paul's Gospel Come From?
Paul has already made a remarkable claim.
There is one gospel.
Even if Paul himself—or an angel from heaven—preached something different, that message was to be rejected.
That raises an obvious question:
Where did Paul's gospel come from?
Paul answers that question in the rest of chapter 1.
Paul Did Not Invent His Gospel
Paul begins:
“I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin.” — Galatians 1:11
That's Paul's main point in this paragraph.
His gospel was not something he invented.
But he goes farther.
“I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.” — verse 12
Paul did not sit at the feet of the apostles in Jerusalem and learn Christianity from them.
His gospel came from Jesus Christ.
Why is Paul emphasizing this?
Because if his opponents could discredit Paul, they could more easily discredit his message.
So Paul tells his story.
Look at Who Paul Used to Be
The Galatians apparently knew something about Paul's past.
He reminds them:
“You have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism...” — verse 13
And what kind of life had that been?
Paul says he:
“persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.”
Paul had not been searching for Christianity.
He had been trying to destroy it.
That makes what happened to him difficult to explain as merely a change of opinion.
Paul Had Been Serious About Judaism
Paul continues:
“I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers.” — verse 14
Paul knew the world his opponents were defending.
He had lived in it.
He had excelled in it.
He had been intensely devoted to it.
That matters because Paul's argument against requiring Gentile Christians to come under the Law did not come from ignorance of Judaism.
Paul knew it from the inside.
Then Everything Changed
Paul says:
“But when God... was pleased to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles...” — verses 15–16
There is the turning point.
Paul had been persecuting Christ's people.
Now he was commissioned to preach Christ among the Gentiles.
And notice where the emphasis falls.
Paul does not say:
I figured it out.
He says:
God revealed His Son.
Paul Did Not Immediately Go to Jerusalem
What did Paul do next?
This is important to his argument.
“My immediate response was not to consult any human being. I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was...” — verses 16–17
Instead, Paul says he went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus.
Why tell us that?
Because Paul is establishing that his gospel did not originate with the Jerusalem apostles.
That does not mean Paul opposed them.
Chapter 2 will show their agreement.
But agreement is different from dependence.
Paul's message came from Christ.
Three Years Later
Paul says:
“Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days.” — verse 18
He also saw James, the Lord's brother.
Fifteen days with Peter hardly sounds like years of theological training.
Paul is making his chronology part of his argument.
He had already been preaching before this visit.
Jerusalem was not the source of his gospel.
Why Does This Matter?
Think back to the opening verses of Galatians.
Paul introduced himself as:
“an apostle—not from men nor through man.”
Now he is showing us what he meant.
His apostleship did not originate with men.
His gospel did not originate with men.
His commission to preach to the Gentiles did not originate with men.
Christ was the source.
The Churches Didn't Even Know Paul Personally
Paul then says he went into Syria and Cilicia.
The churches in Judea did not know him personally.
They only heard the report:
“The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” — verse 23
What a summary of Paul's life.
The persecutor became the preacher.
And what did those Christians do?
“They praised God because of me.” — verse 24
Notice that.
They weren't hearing a competing gospel and condemning Paul.
They were glorifying God because the former persecutor was now preaching the faith he had once tried to destroy.
Follow Paul's Argument
Paul isn't simply giving us his autobiography because he thinks his life story is interesting.
Every part of the story serves his argument.
My gospel did not come from men.
I wasn't taught it by the Jerusalem apostles.
I had once tried to destroy the faith.
Christ revealed Himself to me.
Christ sent me to the Gentiles.
Only years later did I meet Peter.
And the Judean Christians glorified God because of what they heard.
Paul is preparing us for what comes next.
But Did Paul and the Other Apostles Agree?
That's the next question.
If Paul's gospel came directly from Christ rather than through the Jerusalem apostles, did Paul preach one message while Peter, James, and John preached another?
Paul is going to answer that too.
And the answer becomes extremely important to the controversy in Galatia.
Because the question isn't merely:
Where did Paul's gospel come from?
We also need to ask:
Did the other apostles recognize that same gospel?
Keep reading.
Paul is building his case one step at a time.
Read the paragraph.
Follow the argument.
Check the context.
Read First. Conclude Later.