Paul, an apostle—not from men nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised him from the dead— 2 and all the brothers who are with me,
To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, 4 who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, 5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
We have often pointed out that there is significance in Paul's opening salutations in his epistles, and that he generally contrives to say something pertinent that has application to the particular situation in the church to which he is writing. This is certainly true here, for he emphatically asserts his apostolic authority in 1 and his apostolic message in 3 and 4. No one could miss the undoubted ring of authority in the opening words, 'not of men, neither by man', or mistake the tremendous force with which he establishes his right to speak to the Church in Galatia. Perhaps his detractors were suggesting that while he - and Barnabas - had been commissioned by the Church in Antioch, Peter and the other apostles had been commissioned by Christ Himself, hence his commission must surely be inferior. But Paul will have none of it. Lightfoot says of the two prepositions Paul uses here - 'of' men, and 'by' man that the first 'denotes the fountainhead from which the authority springs, and the second the channel through which that authority is conveyed'. The true source of Paul's authority and commission is Christ Himself, not the Church in Antioch. It was the risen Lord, who met him on the Damascus Road, who commissioned him and sent him forth to speak for Him.