was appointed an apostle of Jesus Christ, then he must also be one by the appointment of

the Father, beyond which there can be no other or higher authority.

This appointment took place on the road to Damascus (Acts 9: 3) and the personal

appearing of the Saviour to him enabled Paul to claim fullest apostolic recognition,

saying "Have not I seen Jesus Christ our Lord?" (I Cor. 9: 1).

Nor is this all, he must convince the Galatians beyond the possibility of doubt, that he

was not one whit behind the chiefest of the apostles, and so he not only refers his

apostleship to "Jesus Christ and God the Father", but adds "Who raised Him from the

dead". This added clause, largely explains the omission of the preposition before "God

the Father", as Gwynne remarks, this is "no ordinary adjunct, nor casually introduced, but

a participial clause artistically arranged, to reflect light upon the antecedent context",

namely the joint names of Jesus Christ and God the Father, the introduction of the

resurrection "being virtually the investiture of Him with supreme dignity and unlimited

Thus it was that Paul entered the arena, and took up the challenge. His primary object

was to save the church from the Judaisers, and to do this he had to make very clear the

radical difference between an attempt to justify self by the works of the law, and the

justification which was by grace through faith; but this gospel was so closely related to

Paul's commission, that it became incumbent upon him to vindicate his apostleship to the

utmost, setting aside the twelve, setting aside his own selfish desires, setting aside all

association with men and man, and linking his calling and commission not only by the

Lord Jesus, as the Twelve could, but to the Risen Christ, as the twelve could not (for the

twelve were appointed during the earthly life of Christ [see Matt. 10:]), but Paul was the

first of the apostles to be appointed by the Ascended Christ (see Eph. 4:).

One of the characteristics of Paul's writing is the backward and forward sway of

thought and feeling. Zealous, keen beyond the average, he makes a bold unmitigated

claim--then conscious that a misinterpretation may wound a believer, he swings back

and humbles himself to the dust.

Does he tell the Philippians how glad he is that their care of him has flourished again

after a break, he immediately adds "but ye lacked opportunity". Fearing lest his reference

to their former fellowship should lend itself to misconstruction he adds "Not that I speak

in respect of want" and asserts the most uncompromising independence. This however

might appear ungrateful, and lest he should appear to undervalue the Philippian

fellowship, he swings back again with the words "Notwithstanding ye have well done,

that ye did communicate with my affliction" (Phil. 4: 10-14).

So here in Galatians. Nothing could be more uncompromising, more independent,

more entirely severed from human intervention or approbation than the opening

challenge of the first verse of Galatians and nothing could be so characteristically Pauline

than the swing back to human co-operation with which he opens verse two.