Paul opens his letter to the Galatians with a thunderclap, not a gentle greeting. He wastes no time because the very foundation of the Christian faith—the Gospel itself—was under assault. The issue at hand is not a minor disagreement or a matter of preference; it is the difference between liberty and bondage, between the testimony of God and the traditions of men, between life and death.
The Source of Gospel Authority: God, Not Men
Paul declares without apology: “Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead” (Gal 1:1). This is not a throwaway line. Paul is drawing a line in the sand. His apostleship and his message do not derive their authority from Jerusalem, from James, or from any human institution. They come directly from the resurrected Christ and God the Father. The Gospel’s power and authority are rooted in the resurrection—a work of God alone. This is the only foundation for faith.
To seek authority in men, in religious pedigree, or in institutional approval is to trade the glory of God for the fleeting approval of the flesh. The churches in Galatia were being swayed by those who boasted of their connections—“He’s with James, the Lord’s brother!”—but Paul exposes this as carnal, fleshly thinking. The same spirit plagued the Pharisees, who loved the glory of men more than the glory of God, and the Corinthians, who were captivated by personalities and credentials. All of this is the flesh, and it is deadly.
If you accept the testimony of men over the testimony of God, you are moved away from the true Gospel and risk falling under the very curse Paul pronounces: “If anyone—even an angel from heaven—preaches another gospel, let him be accursed” (Gal 1:8). This is not a secondary issue. It is salvific.
The Gospel: God’s Testimony Concerning His Son
The Gospel is not a human invention, nor does it require human endorsement. It is God’s own testimony concerning His Son, rooted in the resurrection. John writes, “If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater” (1 John 5:9). The Gospel is God’s speaking—His declaration of what He has accomplished in Christ. To receive it is to receive God’s verdict, not man’s opinion. To reject it, or to mix it with law, is to reject God’s authority and to forfeit the liberty and blessing that are found only in Christ.
Paul’s message is not about himself. He includes himself in the warning: if even he were to preach another gospel, he too would be accursed. The authority is not in the messenger, but in the message—the Gospel of the risen Christ.
The Present Evil Age: The Real Threat Is Religious Flesh
Paul reminds the Galatians that Christ “gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil age” (Gal 1:4). The “world” Paul speaks of is not merely the immoral culture “out there,” but the religious system that masquerades as godliness while denying the power of the Gospel. The root of this present evil age is religious self-righteousness—the way of Cain, who offered God the fruit of his own labor and rejected the blood of the Lamb.
This religious world is the real enemy of the believer. It is a counterfeit, a system that claims to represent God but actually stands opposed to the testimony of His Son. The greatest threat to your liberty in Christ is not the world’s open sin, but the subtle, zealous, law-mixing religion that perverts the Gospel and brings believers back into bondage. These are the ones Paul calls “dogs,” “evil workers,” and “enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil 3:2, 18). For such, there is no call to gentle restoration—Paul says, “Let them be accursed.” There is no hope for those who persist in preaching a false gospel.
Not Another Gospel, But a Perversion
Paul marvels that the Galatians are “so quickly deserting Him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel; which is not another, but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ” (Gal 1:6-7). The danger is not an outright denial of Christ, but a subtle perversion—a mixture of grace and law. This is not a new message, but a corruption of the true one. It is more dangerous than the obvious errors of cults, because it cloaks itself in the language of the Gospel while undermining its power.
If you accept this mixture, you lose everything that matters: justification, inheritance, sonship, and liberty. You are moved away from the One who called you. Your conscience is troubled, your sense of blessing is lost, and you are brought back under the yoke of slavery. This is not a theoretical problem; it is the seed of all spiritual struggle and defeat in the Christian life.
The No-Escape Logic: Mixture Destroys Grace
Paul’s argument leaves no room for compromise. If you began in the Spirit, you cannot be perfected by the flesh. If you add law to grace, you nullify grace. “If righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain” (Gal 2:21). The Gospel is not just the entry point to the Christian life—it is the whole thing. The same faith that justified you is the faith by which you live, are sanctified, and receive the Spirit. Any attempt to “improve” on this by adding works is to rebuild what Christ destroyed, making yourself a transgressor.
What is lost if you accept the error? You lose your liberty, your assurance, your access to God, and the enjoyment of your inheritance. You are cut off from Christ as your life and blessing, and you are left with nothing but the curse of the law and the emptiness of religious striving.
The Foundation: Resurrection Power and Divine Revelation
Paul’s apostleship and message are grounded in the resurrection. Just as Aaron’s rod budded to show God’s choice, so the resurrection is God’s public declaration of Christ’s authority and the Gospel’s power. Paul did not receive his message from men, nor did he seek their approval. He received a direct revelation of Christ, and his Gospel is the standard by which all teaching must be measured.
To seek a “headquarters,” a human center of authority, or to be impressed by religious credentials is to fall back into the flesh. God’s testimony is greater. The Gospel is the authority, and it stands or falls on the resurrection, not on the approval of men.
The Only Way Forward: Christ in You, the Hope of Glory
The Christian life is not a project of self-improvement or a ladder of incremental sanctification. It is Christ Himself living in you. “I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me” (Gal 2:20). The Spirit is supplied, not by works of the law, but by the hearing of faith. The blessing of the Gospel—the promise of the Spirit—is received as a free gift, and it is the only way to walk in liberty and bear fruit.
To return to law, to seek blessing by works, or to look to men for approval is to fall from grace and to frustrate the work of Christ. The only way to stand is to hold fast to the Gospel as God’s testimony concerning His Son, rooted in the resurrection, and to refuse every mixture, every counterfeit, and every demand that would put you back under bondage.
Stand Fast—Reject Mixture, Cling to Christ
This is not a call for nuance or middle ground. Paul’s logic is absolute: any teaching that mixes law with grace, or seeks human approval, undermines the believer’s liberty and is to be rejected. The Gospel’s authority is divine, its power is resurrection, and its result is liberty and blessing for all who believe.
Let no one deceive you with impressive words, credentials, or religious zeal. Test every message by the Gospel of the risen Christ. Stand fast in the liberty for which Christ has set you free, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. The testimony of God is greater. The Gospel is enough. Anything less is not only a loss—it is a curse.
