Read Galatians 1 at Bible Gateway.
Paul is writing because the Galatians are being pulled toward ‘another gospel.’ Before he explains what that other gospel is, he first proves his credentials. The Chiastic Structure Teaching Tool shines here to highlight the source of the gospel Paul preached to them:
When Saul was knocked off his donkey on the road to Damascus, the risen Jesus appeared to him and he was born again in a moment. He spent only a few days in Damascus with the believer who prayed for his sight to return (Act 9:1-19). Then he headed alone into the desert of Arabia.
This brilliant Pharisee—trained under the most famous rabbi of his day—had fiercely opposed Jesus, convinced He was a false Messiah. Now he had undeniable proof: he had seen the risen Lord with his own eyes. For three years in the wilderness, Paul did what we are doing right now: he opened the same Torah, Prophets, and Psalms we have been reading together and let the living Word, Jesus Himself, teach him. No other person instructed him. The written Word and the risen Messiah opened his eyes to the Gospel of grace.
Why This Matters. Paul’s gospel came straight ‘through the revelation of Jesus Christ,’ not from any human pedigree. God Himself gave him this authority, the same way He once called and trained Moses in the wilderness through direct revelation, and signs following to confirm the authority of his words.
Even a former church-destroyer can be called, trained by the Spirit Himself, and sent out with the same grace-filled Gospel we’re reading today. That’s good news for every one of us who’s ever messed up big.
Teaching Tools. Chiastic Structure; Learning from the Narrative
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