I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed. For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ.
deserting him who called you - "I.e., God the Father. They were deserting grace to retreat into law, and they bore the responsibility for their defection." (Ryrie)
"I.e., God, to Whom Paul attributes the call of believers to salvation. These words reveal in a flash the gravity of the situation. The Galatians were not merely exchanging one set of opinions for another, they were not merely preferring an alternative way of access to Him. If they left the grace of God they left God Himself." (Vine)
a different [heteros] gospel—not that there is another [allos] one - "The words heteros and allos are synonyms = 'other,' 'another.' Synonyms are words with similar, but not necessarily the same, meaning, Hence synonymous words are sometimes interchangeable, sometimes not." (Vine)
"Paul uses two Greek words, both of which mean 'another,' but which have a further distinct meaning of their own. The first is heteros, the second allos. Heteros means another of a different kind, allos, another of the same kind. Heteros denotes qualitative difference, allos, numerical difference. Heteros distinguishes one of two. Allos adds one besides. Every heteros is an allos, but not every allos is a heteros. Heteros involves the idea of difference of kind, while allos denotes simply distinction of individuals ... We have here in the expression, 'heteros gospel,' a contradiction in terms. Gospel is from euaggelion which means good news. There cannot be a heteros good news, that is, a message of good news different in kind from that which Paul preached..." (Wuest)
"Perhaps you will recall that as soon as God began sending the message of salvation by grace to the Gentiles through Paul, some of the believers at Jerusalem and Judea became concerned ... They recognized this as something different than they had known. They had known Christ only as their Savior King, because He was the Jewish Messiah. They observed the law of Moses and the covenant of circumcision like Christ Himself had done on earth. When Christ was on earth, He was under the law; He went to the synagogue every Sabbath Day; He was circumcised the eighth day, He kept the feast days. They did not see how anyone could be saved by grace through faith alone ... They knew nothing else. They simply believed in Christ as their Messiah, their Savior King. So they visited Galatia and they asked, 'How can these Gentiles be saved and the children of God without submitting to circumcision and the law of Moses?' They were so greatly agitated that groups of them sent to the churches in Antioch, Corinth, and Galatia. They convinced many of the Gentile converts, using the Old Testament Scriptures, that it was necessary for them to keep the law of Moses with all of its rites and ceremonies. The Galatian believers, it seems, had embraced this line of reasoning, and Paul had to send them an urgent letter to get them re-established in the grace of God (v. 6)." (Stam)
"There are two different words for 'another' used here. In verse 6, the word is heteros meaning 'one of a different sort.' You have been removed to another gospel. In verse 7, the Greek is 'allos' which means 'one of the same sort.' Thus some commentators have said that Paul meant, 'you have switched to a difference which is not the same gospel' And they suppose that these Gentiles had accepted a spurious gospel which was not a gospel at all. But if this were so, would not Paul have said, '...another gospel which is not really a gospel at all?' He did not say that this new thing which they had accepted was not really a gospel. He said, 'another gospel which is not another.' The idea is that there was not contradiction between the gospel of the Kingdom (or of the circumcision) and the gospel of the grace of God. The latter was simply a further development, a further revelation of God's truth from the one that went before. God gave the law to reveal what sin is and to show that man needed a Savior. Again and again the apostle made it clear that his message was not a contradiction of what the twelve had preached. I have been accused of teaching that Paul contradicted Peter. Not at all! Their messages were not the same but they were not contradictory. What Peter preached at Pentecost was true: he offered that if the Jews would repent God would send Jesus back to earth. There is no contradiction. When the Jews failed under the law, and rejected Jesus as King, God raised up Paul, the chief of sinner—saved him by His grace—and sent him forth with a new and further revelation called 'the dispensation of the grace of God.' The dispensing of grace was chronologically the next number on the program of God, and there was no contradiction." (Stam)
"They had been lured from the wonderful gospel of the grace of God to another gospel which had also been true, but which belonged to a former dispensation. It was still valid among the people to whom it had first been preached—the Jewish nation—but some zealous Jews were now perverting the good news about Christ for the Gentiles." (Stam)
some who trouble you - "Those men from Judea who had gone to Antioch, and then to Corinth, and to Galatia, to bring Gentile believers back under the law of Moses were called troublemakers, not only by Paul, but Peter also, and the great leaders in the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:23-24)." (Stam)
distort - "It is 'metastrepho' in the original and my Bible lexicon translates it as 'to twist or distort.' It is not a denial of the Gospel, but a twisting of the message. This twisting or distortion is accomplished by adding something to the grace of God. In this case, it was the preaching of grace—plus something." (DeHaan)
the gospel of Christ - "The good news of God's grace in Christ, who gave Himself for our sins (Gal 1:4)." (Ryrie)
accursed - "Lit., anathema, or devoted to destruction. Ecclesiastically, it was accompanied by excommunication." (Ryrie)
"Beloved, it is because of the failure to recognize and acknowledge the distinctive character of Paul's apostleship and message, as the one whom God ordained to give us the truth for our day, that the gospel has been perverted and subverted. Thus, those who should be enjoying the peace and assurance of resting in the all-sufficient finished work of Christ instead lose this blessedness. They doubt God's Word which teaches that they are 'complete in Christ' and 'made accepted in the Beloved One' (Col 2:10; Eph 1:6). This is why Paul pronounced a curse upon those who proclaim any other gospel than that which was committed by the glorified Lord to him (Gal 1:8-9)." (Stam)
seeking the approval of man - "I.e., by toning down his message. Paul was being accused of preaching a cheap form of admission to God's kingdom. He counters by saying that he is a bond-servant of Christ (lit., slave). How can this cross-centered way be viewed as seeking to please men?" (Ryrie)
deserting him who called you - "I.e., God the Father. They were deserting grace to retreat into law, and they bore the responsibility for their defection." (Ryrie)
"I.e., God, to Whom Paul attributes the call of believers to salvation. These words reveal in a flash the gravity of the situation. The Galatians were not merely exchanging one set of opinions for another, they were not merely preferring an alternative way of access to Him. If they left the grace of God they left God Himself." (Vine)
a different [heteros] gospel—not that there is another [allos] one - "The words heteros and allos are synonyms = 'other,' 'another.' Synonyms are words with similar, but not necessarily the same, meaning, Hence synonymous words are sometimes interchangeable, sometimes not." (Vine)
"Paul uses two Greek words, both of which mean 'another,' but which have a further distinct meaning of their own. The first is heteros, the second allos. Heteros means another of a different kind, allos, another of the same kind. Heteros denotes qualitative difference, allos, numerical difference. Heteros distinguishes one of two. Allos adds one besides. Every heteros is an allos, but not every allos is a heteros. Heteros involves the idea of difference of kind, while allos denotes simply distinction of individuals ... We have here in the expression, 'heteros gospel,' a contradiction in terms. Gospel is from euaggelion which means good news. There cannot be a heteros good news, that is, a message of good news different in kind from that which Paul preached..." (Wuest)
"Perhaps you will recall that as soon as God began sending the message of salvation by grace to the Gentiles through Paul, some of the believers at Jerusalem and Judea became concerned ... They recognized this as something different than they had known. They had known Christ only as their Savior King, because He was the Jewish Messiah. They observed the law of Moses and the covenant of circumcision like Christ Himself had done on earth. When Christ was on earth, He was under the law; He went to the synagogue every Sabbath Day; He was circumcised the eighth day, He kept the feast days. They did not see how anyone could be saved by grace through faith alone ... They knew nothing else. They simply believed in Christ as their Messiah, their Savior King. So they visited Galatia and they asked, 'How can these Gentiles be saved and the children of God without submitting to circumcision and the law of Moses?' They were so greatly agitated that groups of them sent to the churches in Antioch, Corinth, and Galatia. They convinced many of the Gentile converts, using the Old Testament Scriptures, that it was necessary for them to keep the law of Moses with all of its rites and ceremonies. The Galatian believers, it seems, had embraced this line of reasoning, and Paul had to send them an urgent letter to get them re-established in the grace of God (v. 6)." (Stam)
"There are two different words for 'another' used here. In verse 6, the word is heteros meaning 'one of a different sort.' You have been removed to another gospel. In verse 7, the Greek is 'allos' which means 'one of the same sort.' Thus some commentators have said that Paul meant, 'you have switched to a difference which is not the same gospel' And they suppose that these Gentiles had accepted a spurious gospel which was not a gospel at all. But if this were so, would not Paul have said, '...another gospel which is not really a gospel at all?' He did not say that this new thing which they had accepted was not really a gospel. He said, 'another gospel which is not another.' The idea is that there was not contradiction between the gospel of the Kingdom (or of the circumcision) and the gospel of the grace of God. The latter was simply a further development, a further revelation of God's truth from the one that went before. God gave the law to reveal what sin is and to show that man needed a Savior. Again and again the apostle made it clear that his message was not a contradiction of what the twelve had preached. I have been accused of teaching that Paul contradicted Peter. Not at all! Their messages were not the same but they were not contradictory. What Peter preached at Pentecost was true: he offered that if the Jews would repent God would send Jesus back to earth. There is no contradiction. When the Jews failed under the law, and rejected Jesus as King, God raised up Paul, the chief of sinner—saved him by His grace—and sent him forth with a new and further revelation called 'the dispensation of the grace of God.' The dispensing of grace was chronologically the next number on the program of God, and there was no contradiction." (Stam)
"They had been lured from the wonderful gospel of the grace of God to another gospel which had also been true, but which belonged to a former dispensation. It was still valid among the people to whom it had first been preached—the Jewish nation—but some zealous Jews were now perverting the good news about Christ for the Gentiles." (Stam)
some who trouble you - "Those men from Judea who had gone to Antioch, and then to Corinth, and to Galatia, to bring Gentile believers back under the law of Moses were called troublemakers, not only by Paul, but Peter also, and the great leaders in the Jerusalem council (Acts 15:23-24)." (Stam)
distort - "It is 'metastrepho' in the original and my Bible lexicon translates it as 'to twist or distort.' It is not a denial of the Gospel, but a twisting of the message. This twisting or distortion is accomplished by adding something to the grace of God. In this case, it was the preaching of grace—plus something." (DeHaan)
the gospel of Christ - "The good news of God's grace in Christ, who gave Himself for our sins (Gal 1:4)." (Ryrie)
accursed - "Lit., anathema, or devoted to destruction. Ecclesiastically, it was accompanied by excommunication." (Ryrie)
"Beloved, it is because of the failure to recognize and acknowledge the distinctive character of Paul's apostleship and message, as the one whom God ordained to give us the truth for our day, that the gospel has been perverted and subverted. Thus, those who should be enjoying the peace and assurance of resting in the all-sufficient finished work of Christ instead lose this blessedness. They doubt God's Word which teaches that they are 'complete in Christ' and 'made accepted in the Beloved One' (Col 2:10; Eph 1:6). This is why Paul pronounced a curse upon those who proclaim any other gospel than that which was committed by the glorified Lord to him (Gal 1:8-9)." (Stam)
seeking the approval of man - "I.e., by toning down his message. Paul was being accused of preaching a cheap form of admission to God's kingdom. He counters by saying that he is a bond-servant of Christ (lit., slave). How can this cross-centered way be viewed as seeking to please men?" (Ryrie)
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