Galatians Part 2: Introduction (1:1-2)

I. Introduction—1:1-2

1:1—PAUL, an apostle—Paul starts the Galatian epistle with a simply declaration of his apostleship. The word apostle comes from the Greek apostolos (αποστολος). “In class. Gr. … and later … [apostolos] is a naval expedition, prob. also its commander. … In the NT, [apostolos] can also mean delegate, envoy, messenger… out lit. uses [apostolos] predom. for the apostles, a group of highly honored believers, who had a special function.”¹

Since the Judaizers attacked Paul’s apostleship, he immediately makes known to his readers that he is an apostle. Read more about the relevance of apostles in today’s church in “Apostles.”

Paul does not waste time with niceties in the introduction of this epistle. Paul usually spends a bit more time in the prologues of his epistles. Yet, not with this one. He gets down to the issue at hand at the outset of this epistle. If the Judaizers want to attack him, then his authority is greater, since he was not sent by man.
Read more »