The First Chapter

Verse 1. Paul an Apostle, not of man, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the father which has raised him from the dead.

Now that we have declared the argument and sum of this Epistle to the Galatians, we think it good before we come to the matter itself, to show what was the occasion that Saint Paul wrote this Epistle. He had planted among the Galatians the pure doctrine of the gospel, and the righteousness of faith: but by and by after his departure, there crept in certain false teachers which overthrew all that he had planted and rightly taught among them. For the Devil can no otherwise do, but furiously impugn this doctrine with all force and subtlety, and never rests while he sees one spark thereof remaining. We also for this only cause that we preach the gospel, do suffer of the world, the devil and his ministers, both on the left hand and on the right, all the mischief that they can work against us.

For the gospel is such a doctrine as teaches a far higher matter than is the wisdom, righteousness, and religion of the world: that is to say, free remission of sins through Christ, etc. It leaves these things in their degree, to be as they are, and commends them as the good creatures of God. But the world prefers these creatures before the creator: and moreover by them would put away sin, be delivered from death, and deserve everlasting life. This does the gospel condemn. Contrariwise, the world cannot suffer those things to be condemned, which it most esteems and best likes of, and therefore it charges the gospel that it is a seditious doctrine and full of errors, and that it overthrows commonwealths, countries, dominions, kingdoms, and Empires, and therefore offends both against God and the Emperor, [reconstructed: abolishes] laws, corrupts good manners, and sets all men at liberty to do what they please. Therefore the world in his most fervent zeal and high service of God, (as to him it seems) persecutes this doctrine, and abhors the teachers and professors thereof, as the greatest plague that can be in the whole earth.

Moreover, by the preaching of this doctrine, the devil is overthrown, his kingdom is destroyed, the law, sin, and death (with which, as most mighty and invincible tyrants, he has brought all mankind in subjection under his tyranny) are wrested out of his hands. [reconstructed: Briefly], his prisoners are translated out of the kingdom of darkness, into the kingdom of light and liberty. Should the devil suffer all this? Should not the father of lies employ all his force and subtle policies, to darken, to corrupt, and utterly to root out this doctrine of salvation and everlasting life? Indeed Saint Paul complains in this and all other his Epistles, that even in his time the devil showed himself a cunning workman in this business.

We thought good to show here by the way, that the gospel is such a doctrine as condemns all manner of righteousness, and preaches the only righteousness of Christ, and to them that embrace the same, it brings peace of conscience and all good things: and yet notwithstanding, the world hates and persecutes it most bitterly.

I said that the occasion why Saint Paul wrote this Epistle, was for that by and by after his departure, false teachers had destroyed those things among the Galatians, which he with long and great labor had built. And these false Apostles being of the circumcision and sect of the Pharisees, were men of great estimation and authority, which bragged among the people that they were of that holy and chosen stock of the Jews, that they were Israelites, of the seed of Abraham, that they had the promises and the fathers: and finally, that they were the ministers of Christ and the Apostles' scholars, with whom they had been conversant and had seen their miracles, and perhaps had also wrought some signs or miracles themselves: For Christ witnesses that the wicked also do work miracles. Moreover these false Apostles by all the crafty means they could devise, defaced the authority of Saint Paul, saying: Why do you so highly esteem Paul? Why have you him in so great reverence? Indeed he was but the last of all that were converted to Christ. But we are the disciples of the Apostles, and were familiarly conversant with them. We have seen Christ working miracles and heard him preach. Paul came after us, and is inferior to us: and it is not possible that God should suffer us to err which are of his holy people, the ministers of Christ, and have received the Holy Spirit. Again, we are many and Paul is but one and alone, who neither was conversant with the Apostles nor has seen Christ: yes, he persecuted the church of Christ a great while. Would God, do you think, for Paul's sake only, suffer so many churches to be deceived?

When men having such authority come into any country or city, by and by the people have them in great admiration, and under this color of godliness and religion, they do not only deceive the simple, but also the learned, yes and those also which seem to be somewhat confirmed in the faith: especially when they brag (as these did) that they are the offspring of the Patriarchs, the ministers of Christ, the Apostles' scholars, etc. Even so the Pope at this day, when he has no authority of the scripture to defend himself withal, uses this one argument [reconstructed: continually] against us: The church, the church. Do you think that God is so offended, that for a few heretics of Luther's sect, he will cast off his whole church? Do you think that he would leave his church in error so many hundreds of years? And this conclusion he chiefly stands upon: that the church cannot be overthrown. Now just as many are moved with this argument at this day: so in Paul's time these false Apostles through great bragging and setting forth of their own praises, blinded the eyes of the Galatians: so that Paul lost his authority among them, and his doctrine was brought into suspicion.

Against this vain bragging and boasting of the false Apostles, Paul with great constancy and boldness sets his apostolical authority, highly commending his vocation and defending his ministry. And (although elsewhere he never does the like) he will not give place to any, no not to the apostles themselves, much less to any of their scholars. And to abate their pharisaical pride and shameless boldness, he makes mention of the history done in Antioch, where he withstood Peter himself. Besides this, not regarding the offense that might rise thereof, he says plainly in the text, that he was bold to accuse and reprove even Peter himself the chief of the Apostles, who had seen Christ, and had been most familiarly conversant with him. I am an Apostle (says he) and such a one as care not what others are: yes, I was not afraid to chide the very pillar of all the rest of the Apostles. And to conclude, in the first two chapters he does in a manner, nothing else but set out his vocation, his office and his gospel, affirming that it was not of men and that he had not received it by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ: Also, that if he, yes or an Angel from heaven should bring any other gospel than that which he had preached, he should be held accursed.

Verse 1. Paul, an apostle — not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead.

Now that we have set out the argument and summary of this epistle to the Galatians, it is fitting that before entering the text itself we explain what occasioned Saint Paul to write it. He had planted among the Galatians the pure doctrine of the Gospel and the righteousness of faith. But shortly after his departure, certain false teachers crept in and overturned everything he had rightly planted and taught among them. The devil can do nothing other than furiously assault this doctrine with all his force and cunning, and he never rests while he sees even a single spark of it remaining. We ourselves, for the sole reason that we preach the Gospel, suffer from the world, the devil, and his agents — on the left hand and on the right — all the harm they can bring against us.

The Gospel is a doctrine that teaches something far higher than the wisdom, righteousness, and religion of this world — namely, the free forgiveness of sins through Christ. It leaves worldly things in their proper place, as they are, and commends them as God's good creatures. But the world places these creatures above the Creator, and moreover would use them to pay for sin, escape death, and deserve everlasting life. This the Gospel condemns. The world in turn cannot bear to see condemned what it values and prizes most, and so it charges the Gospel with being a seditious and error-ridden doctrine that overthrows communities, nations, dominions, kingdoms, and empires — offending both God and the emperor, abolishing laws, corrupting good morals, and setting all people free to do as they please. So the world, in its most fervent zeal and what it considers the highest service of God, persecutes this doctrine and abhors those who teach and profess it as the greatest plague upon the earth.

Furthermore, through the preaching of this doctrine the devil is overthrown, his kingdom destroyed, and the law, sin, and death — with which, as the mightiest and most invincible tyrants, he has kept all humanity under his tyranny — are wrested from his hands. In short, his prisoners are transferred out of the kingdom of darkness into the kingdom of light and liberty. Should the devil allow all this? Should the father of lies not employ all his force and cunning schemes to darken, corrupt, and utterly uproot this doctrine of salvation and eternal life? Indeed, Saint Paul complains in this and all his other epistles that even in his own day the devil showed himself a skilled craftsman in this business.

We wanted to note briefly that the Gospel is a doctrine that condemns all human righteousness of every kind, and preaches the righteousness of Christ alone — and to those who embrace it, it brings peace of conscience and every good thing. And yet the world hates and persecutes it with the utmost bitterness.

As I said, the reason Paul wrote this epistle was that shortly after his departure, false teachers had destroyed among the Galatians what he had built with long and great labor. These false apostles were from the party of the circumcision and the sect of the Pharisees, and were men of great reputation and authority. They bragged among the people that they were from the holy and chosen stock of the Jews, that they were Israelites, descendants of Abraham, that they held the promises and the patriarchs — and finally, that they were ministers of Christ and students of the apostles, with whom they had traveled and whose miracles they had witnessed, and perhaps had even performed some signs or miracles themselves, since Christ says that even the wicked can work miracles. Moreover, these false apostles used every clever means they could to undermine Paul's authority, saying: "Why do you hold Paul in such high esteem? Why do you revere him so highly? He was the very last of all to be converted to Christ. But we are disciples of the apostles and were in close company with them. We have seen Christ perform miracles and heard Him preach. Paul came after us and is our inferior. It is impossible that God would let us err — we are of His holy people, ministers of Christ, and we have received the Holy Spirit. Besides, we are many, and Paul is only one, alone, who never traveled with the apostles and has not seen Christ. In fact, he persecuted the church of Christ for a long time. Do you think God would, for Paul's sake alone, allow so many churches to be deceived?"

When men with such authority arrive in any region or city, the people immediately hold them in great admiration, and under this cover of godliness and religion, they deceive not only the simple but also the learned — even those who seem to be somewhat grounded in the faith. Especially when they boast, as these did, that they are descendants of the patriarchs, ministers of Christ, students of the apostles, and so on. The pope does the same today when he has no scriptural authority to defend himself and falls back on this one argument against us: "The church, the church. Do you think God is so displeased that He would cast off His whole church for a few heretics from Luther's sect? Do you think He would leave His church in error for hundreds of years?" And on this conclusion he mainly rests: that the church cannot be overthrown. Just as many are moved by this argument today, so in Paul's day these false apostles, through grand boasting and self-promotion, blinded the Galatians — so that Paul lost his authority among them and his doctrine came under suspicion.

Against this empty boasting of the false apostles, Paul asserts his apostolic authority with great steadfastness and boldness, commending his calling and defending his ministry. Though he never does anything like this elsewhere, here he will yield to no one — not even to the apostles themselves, much less to any of their students. To cut down their Pharisaical pride and shameless arrogance, he mentions the incident at Antioch where he opposed Peter himself. Without worrying about the offense this might cause, he states plainly in the text that he boldly rebuked and corrected Peter himself — the chief of the apostles, who had seen Christ and been in the closest company with Him. "I am an apostle," he says, "and one who does not defer to what others are. Yes, I was not afraid to rebuke the very pillar among all the apostles." In short, in the first two chapters he does little else but establish his calling, his office, and his Gospel — affirming that it came not from men and that he had not received it through man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. And that if he himself, or even an angel from heaven, were to bring any gospel other than what he had preached, that one should be held accursed.