Galatians 1:1–24

¹ Paul, an apostle—sent not from men nor by man, but by Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead— ² and all the brothers with me, To the churches of Galatia: ³ Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, ⁵ to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen. ⁶ I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— ⁷ which is not even a gospel. Evidently some people are troubling you and trying to distort the gospel of Christ. ⁸ But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be under a curse! ⁹ As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be under a curse! ¹⁰ Am I now seeking the approval of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. ¹¹ For I certify to you, brothers, that the gospel I preached was not devised by man. ¹² I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ. ¹³ For you have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how severely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. ¹⁴ I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. ¹⁵ But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased ¹⁶ to reveal His Son in me so that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not rush to consult with flesh and blood, ¹⁷ nor did I go up to Jerusalem to the apostles who came before me, but I went into Arabia and later returned to Damascus. ¹⁸ Only after three years did I go up to Jerusalem to confer with Cephas, and I stayed with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie. ²¹ Later I went to the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² I was personally unknown, however, to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only heard the account: “The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me.