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Galatians 01 General Notes
Structure and formatting
Paul started this letter differently than his other letters. He adds that he was "not an apostle from men nor by human agency, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead ones." Paul probably included these words because false teachers were opposing him and trying to undermine his authority.
Special concepts in this chapter
Heresy
God eternally saves people only through the true, biblical gospel. God condemns any other version of the gospel. Paul asks God to curse those who teach a false gospel. They might not be saved. They should be treated as non-Christians. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/save, rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/eternity, rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/goodnews and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/condemn and rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/curse)
Paul's qualifications
Some people in the early church were teaching that Gentiles needed to obey the law of Moses. To refute this teaching, in verses 13-16 Paul explains how he was formerly a zealous Jew. But God still needed to save him and show him the true gospel. As a Jew, and the apostle to Gentile people, Paul was uniquely qualified to address this issue. (See: rc://en/tw/dict/bible/kt/lawofmoses)
Other possible translation difficulties in this chapter
"You are turning so quickly to a different gospel"
The Book of Galatians is one of Paul's earliest letters in Scripture. It shows that heresies troubled even the early church. (See: rc://en/ta/man/jit/figs-explicit)
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