Galatians 1:1-2:21
Greetings and Grace
Paul, aan apostle—bnot sent from men nor through man, but cthrough Jesus Christ and God the Father, who draised Him from the dead— 2 and all athe brothers who are with me,
To bthe churches of Galatia:
3 aGrace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who agave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from bthis present evil age, according to the will of cour God and Father, 5 ato whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
Distorting the Gospel
6 I marvel that you are so quickly deserting aHim who called you by the grace of Christ for a bdifferent gospel, 7 which is really not another, only there are some who are adisturbing you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. 8 But even if we, or aan angel from heaven, should proclaim to you a gospel contrary to the gospel we have proclaimed to you, let him be baccursed! 9 As we ahave said before, so I say again now, bif any man is proclaiming to you a gospel contrary to what you received, let him be caccursed!
10 For am I now aseeking the favor 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 bslave of Christ.
Paul Called by God
11 For aI make known to you, brothers, that the gospel which I am proclaiming as good news is bnot according to man. 12 For aI neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a brevelation of Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of amy former conduct in Judaism, how I bused to persecute cthe church of God beyond measure and dtried to destroy it. 14 And I awas advancing in Judaism beyond many of my contemporaries among my countrymen, being far more zealous for the traditions of my bfathers. 15 But when God, who had set me apart from my mother’s womb and acalled me through His grace, was pleased 16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might aproclaim Him as good news among the Gentiles, bI did not immediately consult with cflesh and blood, 17 anor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to bDamascus.
18 Then athree years later I went up bto Jerusalem to become acquainted with cCephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 But I did not see any other of the apostles except aJames, the Lord’s brother. 20 (Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you abefore God that I am not lying!) 21 Then aI went into the regions of bSyria and cCilicia. 22 And I was still unknown by sight to athe churches of Judea which are bin Christ; 23 but only, they kept hearing, “He who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the good news of athe faith which he once btried to destroy.” 24 And they awere glorifying God because of me.
Paul Accepted by the Apostles
Then after fourteen years I awent up again to Jerusalem with bBarnabas, taking cTitus along also. 2 And I went up because of a arevelation, and I laid out to them the bgospel which I preach among the Gentiles, but I did so in private to those who were of reputation, lest somehow I might be crunning, or had run, in vain. 3 But not even aTitus, who was with me, though he was a Greek, was bcompelled to be circumcised. 4 But this was because of the afalse brothers secretly brought in, who bhad sneaked in to spy out our cfreedom which we have in Christ Jesus, in order to denslave us. 5 But we did not yield in subjection to them for even a moment, so that athe truth of the gospel would remain with you. 6 But from those who were of high areputation (what they were makes no difference to me; bGod shows no partiality)—well, those who were of reputation contributed nothing to me. 7 But on the contrary, seeing that I had been aentrusted with the bgospel to the uncircumcised, just as cPeter had been to the circumcised 8 (for He who worked in Peter unto his aapostleship to the circumcised worked in me also unto the Gentiles), 9 and recognizing athe grace that had been given to me, bJames and cCephas and John, who were dreputed to be epillars, gave to me and fBarnabas the gright hand of fellowship, so that we might hgo to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. 10 Only they asked us to remember the poor—athe very thing I also was eager to do.
Paul Opposes Peter (Cephas)
11 But when aCephas came to bAntioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. 12 For prior to the coming of certain men from aJames, he used to beat with the Gentiles, but when they came, he began to shrink back and separate himself, cfearing the party of the circumcision. 13 And the rest of the Jews joined him in hypocrisy, with the result that even aBarnabas was carried away by their hypocrisy. 14 But when I saw that they awere not straightforward about bthe truth of the gospel, I said to cCephas before everyone, “If you, being a Jew, dlive like the Gentiles and not like the Jews, how is it that you compel the Gentiles to live like Jews?
15 “We are aJews by nature and not bsinners from among the Gentiles; 16 nevertheless knowing that aa man is not justified by the works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, so that we may be justified by bfaith in Christ and not by the works of the Law; since cby the works of the Law no flesh will be justified. 17 But if, while seeking to be justified in Christ, we ourselves have also been found asinners, is Christ then a minister of sin? bMay it never be! 18 For if I rebuild what I have once destroyed, I aprove myself to be a transgressor. 19 For through the Law I adied to the Law, so that I might live to God. 20 I have been acrucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but bChrist lives in me. And the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in cthe Son of God, who dloved me and egave Himself up for me. 21 I do not set aside the grace of God, for aif righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
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