Coke's Commentary on the Holy Bible · Galatians Chapitre 1

Galatians 1:1. Paul, an Apostle,— The first four verses contain the preface or introduction to this epistle: the general view of it plainly shews St. Paul's chief design to be, to keep theGalatiansfromhearkeningtothoseJudaizing seducers, who had almost persuaded them to be circumcised. These perverters of the Gospel of Christ, as St. Paul himself calls them, Gal 1:7 had, as may be gathered from Galatians 1:8; Gal 1:10 and from ch. Gal 5:11 and other passages of this epistle, made the Galatians believe that St. Paul himself was for circumcision. Till he had set them right in this matter, and convinced them of the falsehood of this aspersion, it was in vain for him by other arguments to attempt the re-establishing of the Galatians in the Christian liberty, and in that truth which he had preached to them. His first endeavour therefore was, to remove this calumny; and to that purpose the present introduction,—different from what we find in any other of his epistles,—is extremely well adapted. He declares here, at the entrance, very expressly and emphatically, that he was not sent by men, on their errands: nay, that Christ, in sending him, did not so much as convey his apostolical power to him by the ministry orintervention of any man; but that his commission and instructions were all entirely fromChrist himself by immediate revelation. This of itself was an argument sufficient to induce them to believe, first, that what he taught them, when he first preached the Gospel to them, was the truth, and that they ought to adhere firmly to it. Secondly, That he changed not his doctrine, what ever might be reported of him. He was Christ's chosen officer, and had no dependence on men's opinions, nor regard to their authority or favour in what he preached; and therefore it was not likely that he should preach one thing at one time, and another thing at another.

Not of men,— Not sent by men at their pleasure, or by their authority; not instructed by men what to say or do, as we see Timothy and Titus were, when sent by St. Paul; and Judas and Silas, when sent by the church of Jerusalem. Neither by men; that is, his choice and separation to his ministry and apostleship was so wholly an act of Christ, that there was no intervention of any thing done by any man in the case, as there was in the election of Matthias. We may see all this explained at large, Galatians 1:10-12; Gal 1:16-17 and ch. Galatians 2:6-9. It is with great propriety that the Apostle mentions here the resurrection of Christ from the dead, as perfectly agreeable to the main point that he had in view, which was, to assert the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ; since God the Father declared, by raising him from the dead, that he accepted the atonement which Christ had made, and gave him a discharge for all his faithful saints, from any further claim upon him for the satisfaction of his justice:and as it is this which is the great foundation of our faith in Christ, so the Apostle says elsewhere that he was raised again for our justification. Romans 4:25.

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Galatians 1:2. And all the brethren, &c.— Not all believers in general, but those who accomplished St. Paul in his travels, and assisted him in preaching the Gospel. Such were Timothy, Clement, and others, who are denominated fellow-labourers in other places. See Philippians 4:3. 1 Thessalonians 3:2. When St. Paul writes to the Christians of any particular city, he generally uses the singular number, the church: but the province of Galatia contained several cities and churches. This was an evident seal of his apostleship, since in Galatia, a small province of the Lesser Asia, he had, after no long stay among them, planted several distinct churches. It is remarkable, that the Apostle does not make use of any of the endearing epithets, as the beloved, the saints, the brethren, &c.; and there might be good reason for it: the Galatians had suffered his verymission to be called in question, without attempting any vindication of it, and had given countenance to doctrines which were subversive of the very foundation of Christianity.

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Galatians 1:3. Grace be to you, &c.— These words are both a Christian salutation, and an apostolical benediction. As they are a salutation, they express a wish and desire of the best blessings in behalf of those saluted: whence we may learn, that religion does not abolish and destroy, but spiritualize and improve civility, humanity, and common courtesy. The heathens wished health to their saluted friends; the Jews, peace; that is, all manner of good: but the Christians, grace and peace. Again, the words may be understood as an apostolical and ministerial blessing. The Apostles were the patriarchs of the church of the New Testament; and as a spiritual Father, St. Paul here blesses his children, wishing them first grace, then peace. Peace must be sought after grace, and not expected before it; peace without grace is no peace; there can be no peace with the Creator, no sanctified peace with the creatures, except we are first made partakers of the gracious love and favour of Almighty God through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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Galatians 1:4. From this present evil world,— "From the vicious customs and practices of the world."—The original is ambiguous: some would render it from the evil of this present world. Mr. Locke argues from 1 Corinthians 2:6; 1Co 2:8 that the term Αιων ουτος signifies the Jewish nation, under the Mosaic constitution; and supposes these words to contain an intimation, that God intended to take the Jews themselves out of it, so far was he from any purpose of bringing the Gentiles under it. But it is certain that the word Αιων often signifies the same with the word κοσμος, that is, the world. See Mat 13:39-40. 2 Corinthians 4:4.Titus 2:12; Titus 2:12.

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Galatians 1:6.— We have before observed, that St. Paul's first endeavour in this epistle was to satisfy the Galatians, that the report spread of him, that he preached circumcision, was false. Till this obstruction which lay in his way was removed, it was to no purpose for him to go about to dissuade them from circumcision, though that be what he principallyaims at in this epistle. To shew them that he promoted not circumcision, he calls their hearkening to those who persuaded them to be circumcised, their being removed from him; and those that so persuaded them, perverters of the Gospel of Christ, Galatians 1:6-7. He further assures them, that the Gospel which he preached every where, was that, and that only, which he had received by immediate revelation from Christ, and was no contrivance of man; nor did he vary it to please men; that would not consist with his being a servant of Christ, Galatians 1:10. And he expresses such a firm adherence to what he had received from Christ, and had preached to them, that he pronounces an anathema upon himself, Gal 1:8-9 or any other man, or angel, that should preach any thing else to them. To make out this to have been all along his conduct, he gives an account of himself for many years backwards, even from the time before his conversion; wherein he shews, that from a zealous persecuting Jew he was made a Christian, and an Apostle by immediate revelation; and that having no communication with the Apostles, or with the churches of Judea, or any man in this sense for some years, he had nothing to preach but what he had received by immediate revelation. Nay, when fourteen years after he went up to Jerusalem, it was by revelation; and when he there communicated the Gospel which he preached among the Gentiles, Peter, James, and John approved of it without adding any thing, but admitted him as their fellow-apostle. So that in all this he was guided by nothing but divine revelation, which he inflexibly adhered to so far, that he openly opposed St. Peter for his Judaizing at Antioch. All which account of himself tends clearly to shew, that St. Paul made not the least step towards complying with the Jews in favour of the law; nor did, out of regard to man, deviate from the doctrine which he had received by revelation from God, ch. Galatians 1:6.—ii. 21.

From him that called you into the grace of Christ— These words might be rendered with equal propriety, called you by, or through the grace of Christ. The passage plainly points out St. Paul himself. See ch. Galatians 5:8. But then one might wonder how he came to use there words; since at first light it might appear to have sounded better to have said, Removed from the Gospel I preached to you, to another Gospel, than, Removed from me who called you into the grace of Christ, unto another Gospel. But if it be remembered that St. Paul's design here is to vindicate himself from the aspersion cast on him, that he preached circumcision, nothing could be more suitable to that purpose than this way of expressing himself.

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Galatians 1:7. Which is not another;— I take the Greek here to signify, says Mr. Locke, which is not any thing else. For, first, the words themselves, the context, and the business the Apostle is upon, do all concur in this sense. Secondly, It is suitable to St. Paul's design here to tell them, that to their being removed to another Gospel, nobody else had contributed, but it was wholly owing to those Judaizing seducers. Dr. Heylin renders this and the preceding verse as follows: I wonder you have so soon deserted unto another Gospel from me, who called you by the grace of Christ; which comes only from this, that there are some who perplex your minds, and would subvert the Gospel of Christ.

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Galatians 1:8. Though we, or an angel from heaven,— Some have imagined, that the Apostle uses this expression as a prophetical prevention against crediting the pretences of Cerinthus and Mahomet, who both pretended to have received their revelations by the ministry of an angel.It may likewise glance at the manner of giving the law, which, according to the Apostle, was by the ministration of angels. By preaching any other Gospel, he means the preaching any thing as Gospel besides what he had preached.

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Galatians 1:9. Let him be accursed.— Though we may look upon the repetition of the anathema here to be for the adding of force to what he says; yet we may observe, that by joining himself with an angel in the foregoing verse, he does as good as tell them, that he is not guilty of what deserves that anathema: skilfully insinuating to the Galatians, that they might as well suspect an angel should preach to them a doctrine different from his, that is to say, a false gospel, as that he himself should; and then in this verse he lays the anathema wholly and solely upon the Judaizing seducers. See on 1 Corinthians 16:22.

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Galatians 1:10. Do I now persuade men,— Do I court the favour of men;—or, Do I ingratiate myself with men, rather than with God? The words now and yet cannot be understood without a reference to something in St. Paul's past life. What that was which he had particularly then in his mind, we may see by the account he gives of himself in what immediately follows; namely, that before his conversion he was employed by men in their designs, and made it his business to please them, as may be seen Acts 9:1-2. But when GOD called him, he received his commission and instructions from him alone, and immediately entered upon his office, without consulting any man whatever; preaching that, and that only, which he had received from Christ; so that it would be senseless folly in him, and no less than the forsaking his Master Jesus Christ, if he should now, as was reported of him, mix any thing of man's with the pure doctrine of the Gospel, (which he had received immediately by revelation from Jesus Christ,) to please the Jews, after he had so long preached only that; and, to avoid all appearance or pretence of the contrary, had so carefully shunned all communication with thechurches of Judea; and had not, till a good while after his conversion, and then very sparingly, conversed with any, and those but a few, of the Apostles themselves, one of whom he openly reproved for Judaizing. This is a plain assertion of the divinity of the doctrine which he had preached. The word Πειθω, translated persuade, is sometimes used for making application to any one to obtain his good will or friendship. Hence, Act 12:20 the words πεισαντες Βλαστον, are translated, having made Blastus their friend. See 1 Thessalonians 2:4.

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Galatians 1:11. The gospel which was preached of me— This being spoken indefinitely, must be understood "in general—every where," and so gives us the import of the foregoing verse.

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Galatians 1:13. In the Jews' religion;— This does not signify the religion originally taught by Moses, but that which was practised among the Jews at this time, and much of it built upon the tradition of the elders. Grotius.

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Galatians 1:14. And profited—my equals in, &c.— And made proficiency—my cotemporaries of, &c.

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Galatians 1:15. Who separated me— See Jer 1:5 and the history of this Apostle's call, Acts 9:1; Acts 9:43.

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Galatians 1:16. That I might preach him among the heathen;— This was undoubtedly the scheme of Providence concerning St. Paul, who has been accordingly distinguished by the name of The Apostle of the Gentiles. Dr. Wells and some others understand the last clause of this verse as if the Apostle had said, "Immediately after the recovery of mysight, without conferring with any man in the world, or so much as applying to Ananias himself for advice, I retired by divine direction into the desert of Arabia; where, after some time spent in devotion, I had a full revelation made to me of the most important facts and doctrines of Christianity; [which some suppose to be the rapture referred to, 2 Corinthians 12:2.] and then, after my return thence, preached at Damascus for the first time." Mr. Locke too insists, that the word ευθεως does not refer to St. Paul's immediately engaging in the work of the ministry, without applying for advice to any man; but to his going into Arabia: but the same word is used by St. Luke in his history of the Acts, who, without taking any notice of St. Paul's departure into Arabia, says, that after he had recovered strength, he continued certain days at Damascus, and (ευθεως ) immediately preached Christ in the synagogues, Acts 9:19-20. So that it seems most probable that, after his conversion, St. Paul was so well instructed in the knowledge of the Gospel by the revelation that was then made to him, that he immediately began, without consulting any man, to preach the word at Damascus, before he went thence into Arabia: which is most suitable to the natural order of the words, and best agrees with the account in the Acts of his first entering on his ministry.

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Galatians 1:17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem— What the Apostle says in this and the preceding verse, is toevince to the Galatians the full assurance that he had of the truth and perfection of the Gospel, which he had received from Christ by immediate revelation; and how little he was disposed to have any regard to the pleasing of men in preaching it; insomuch that he did not even communicate or advise with any of the Apostles about it, to see whether they approved it or not.

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Galatians 1:18. After three years— That is, from his conversion. The Apostle seems to have used great caution, to prevent any suspicion that he had gone even to St. Peter for the sake of instruction; for he says, first, that he went only to see him, and then that he abode with him; but says not a word of having been taught by him.

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Galatians 1:19. James, the Lord's brother.— He was the Son of Alpheus and Mary, the sister of the virgin; so that he was cousin-german to Jesus. See Mark 3:18.

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Galatians 1:20. Before God, I lie not.— A revelation of the facts and doctrines of Christianity immediately from Jesus Christ himself, without the assistance of any human teacher, so wonderfully agreeing in all its branches with that which the Lord Jesus Christ had taught on earth, both before and after his resurrection, was so extraordinary an event, and of so great importance to those whom St. Paul visited, and to whom he wrote, that one cannot wonder he should think proper to assert it in so solemn a manner. We have great reason, while we read the attestation which he has given to the truth of what he says, to acknowledge, that it is of a piece with the many signs and wonders attending both his conversion and his ministry.

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Galatians 1:22. Which were in Christ:— That is, "believing in Christ." See Romans 16:7. What he takes such particular notice of here, does not tend to the proving that he was a true Apostle; but serves very well to shew, that in what he preached, he had no communication with those of his own nation, nor took any particular care to please the Jews in preference to the Gentiles.

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