[1] This letter is from Paul. I am a missionary sent by Jesus Christ and God the Father Who raised Jesus from the dead. I am not sent by men or by any one man.
[2] All the Christians join me in writing to you who are in the churches in the country of Galatia.
[3] May you have loving-favor and peace from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
[4] He gave Himself to die for our sins. He did this so we could be saved from this sinful world. This is what God wanted Him to do.
[5] May He have all the honor forever. Let it be so.
[6] I am surprised you are leaving Christ so soon. You were chosen through His loving-favor. But now you are turning and listening to another kind of good news.
[7] No! There is not another kind of good news. There are some who would like to lead you in the wrong way. They want to change the Good News about Christ.
[8] Even if we or an angel from heaven should preach another kind of good news to you that is not the one we preached, let him be cursed.
[9] As we said before, I will say it again. If any man is preaching another good news to you which is not the one you have received, let him be cursed.
[10] Do you think I am trying to get the favor of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant owned by Christ.
[11] Christian brothers, I want you to know the Good News I preached to you was not made by man.
[12] I did not receive it from man. No one taught it to me. I received it from Jesus Christ as He showed it to me.
[13] You have heard of my old life when I followed the Jewish religion. I made it as hard as I could for the Christians and did everything I could to destroy the Christian church.
[14] I had learned more about the Jewish religion than many of the Jews my age. I had a much stronger desire than they to follow the ways of our early fathers.
[15] But God chose me before I was born. By His loving-favor He called me to work for Him.
[16] His Son was to be seen in me. He did this so I could preach about Christ to the people who are not Jews. When this happened, I did not talk to men.
[17] I did not even go to Jerusalem to talk to those who were missionaries before me. Instead, I went to the country of Arabia. Later I returned to the city of Damascus.
[18] Three years later I went to Jerusalem to meet Peter. I stayed with him fifteen days.
[19] I did not see any of the other missionaries except James, the Lord’s brother.
[20] I am writing the truth. God knows I am not lying.
[21] I went from Jerusalem to the countries of Syria and Cilicia.
[22] None of the Christians in the churches in the country of Judea had ever seen me.
[23] The only thing they heard was, “The one who tried to destroy the Christian church is now preaching the Good News!”
[24] And they gave thanks to God because of me.