Galatians 1:14

And profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals in mine own nation, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. PROFITED, [ proekopton (G4298)] - 'I, was becoming a proficient;' 'I made progress.' ABOVE - beyond. MY EQUALS - Greek, 'of mine own age.' TRADITIONS OF MY FATHERS - namely, those of the Pharisees, Paul being 'a Pharisee, and son of a Pharisee' (Acts 23:6; Acts 26:5). "MY fathers" shows that it does not mean the traditions of the nation....

10-14 In preaching the gospel, the apostle sought to bring persons to the obedience, not of men, but of God. But Paul would not attempt to alter the doctrine of Christ, either to gain their favour, or to avoid their fury. In so important a matter we must not fear the frowns of men, nor seek their favour, by using words of men's wisdom. Concerning the manner wherein he received the gospel, he had it by revelation from Heaven. He was not led to Christianity, as many are, merely by education....

Verse 14. _AND PROFITED IN THE JEWS' RELIGION_] The apostle does not mean that he became more exemplary in the _love_ and _practice_ of the _pure law_ of God than any of his countrymen, but that he was more profoundly skilled in the _traditions_ of the _fathers_ than most of his _fellow students_ were, or, as the word συνηλικιωτας may mean his _contemporaries_....

AND PROFITED - Made advances and attainments. Paul made advances not only in the knowledge of the Jewish religion, but he also surpassed others in his zeal in defending its interests. He had had better advantages than most of his countrymen; and by his great zeal and characteristic ardor he had been able to make higher attainments than most others had done. ABOVE MANY MY EQUALS - Margin, Equal in years. This is the true sense of the original. It means that he surpassed those of the same age with himself. Possibly there may be a reference here to those of the same age who attended with him on the instructions of Gamaliel. BEING MORE EXCEEDINGLY ZEALOUS - More studious of; more ardently attached to them; more anxious to distinguish himself in attainments in the religion in which he was brought up. All this is fully sustained by all that we know of the character

EXPOSITION GALATIANS 1:1 _The_ _introductory greeting. _The style of this greeting, compared with those found in St. Paul's other Epistles, gives indications of his having addressed himself to the composition of the letter under strong perturbation of feeling. This transpires in the abruptness with which, at the very outset, he at once sweeps aside, as it were, out of his path, a slur east upon his apostolic commission, in protesting that he was "apostle, not from man nor through a man." It appears again in that impetuous negligence of exact precision of language, with which the mention of "God the Father" is conjoined with that of "Jesus Christ" under the one preposition "through," as the _medium _through which his apostleship had been conferred upon him. We cannot help receiving the impression that the apostle had only just bef

AND PROFITED IN THE JEWS' RELIGION,.... Or "in Judaism"; and the more he did so, or was versed in, and wedded to their principles, the more violent a persecutor he was. He was under a very considerable master, Gamaliel, a Rabbi of great note among the Jews; and he himself a youth of uncommon natural abilities, so that his proficiency in Jewish learning was very great; even, as he says, ABOVE MANY MY EQUALS IN MINE OWN NATION: not proselytes in other nations, but such as were natives of his own country: or were "in his own kindred", his near relations, who were his contemporaries, of the same age with him; and very modestly he says "many", not "all": BEING MORE EXCEEDINGLY ZEALOUS OF THE TRADITIONS OF MY FATHERS: he had a zeal, but, not according to knowledge; and a greater degree of it than the rest of his countrymen; and that not so much for the written law delivered to his fathers, a...

Galatians 1:1. _Paul, an apostle, (not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead;)_ Paul begins this Epistle by stating his commission as an apostle. In Galatia, he had been subjected to the great sorrow of having his apostle-ship called in question. Does he, therefore, give up his claim to the office, and retire from the work? No, not for a moment; but he begins his letter to the Galatians by declaring himself to be «an apostle, not of men, neither by man, but by Jesus Christ.» His enemies had said, «Paul was never one of the Saviour's twelve apostles; he is not like those who were trained and educated by Christ himself. No doubt he has borrowed his doctrine from them, and he is only a retailer of other men's goods». No, no,» says Paul, «I am an apostle as truly as any other of the twelve; ‘not of men, neither by man, but by Je

RELIGION In verses 13 and 14 (Galatians 1:13), the Greek word for "the Jews' religion" is "Ioudaismos", (meaning "Judaism"). In (Acts 26:5); (James 1:26); (James 1:27), the Greek word "threskeia" -- "religious service" -- is translated as "religion," and in (Colossians 2:18); it is translated as "worshipping." Excepting (James 1:27); "religion" has always a bad sense, and nowhere is it synonymous with salvation or spirituality....

ANALYSIS AND ANNOTATIONS I. THE TESTIMONY OF PAUL CONCERNING HIS APOSTOLIC AUTHORITY AND THE GOSPEL CHAPTER 1 _ 1. The Introduction. (Galatians 1:1)_ 2. The Rebuke. (Galatians 1:6) 3. Paul's Gospel Given by Revelation. (Galatians 1:11) 4. How Paul became an Apostle Independent of Jerusalem. (Galatians 1:13) The introductory words of this Epistle are brief and of deep significance. He speaks of himself as an apostle not from men, nor through man, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father. His apostleship had been called in question and the gospel he preached branded as lacki

GALATIANS 1:11 begins a historical narrative proving Paul's independence of any human authority in his apostolic work. He learned by a revelation from heaven, not in any sense from flesh and blood: _cf._ Matthew 16:17. All natural human tendencies inclined him towards different beliefs. He was born and grew up in Judaism and was the best Jew of them all. But the God who predestinates had other thoughts for him. From his very birth onwards the words partially echo Jeremiah 1:5; Isaiah 49:1 a Divine plan was shaping his life to undreamed-of issues. At last God spoke to him in that powerful call which dead souls hear, and revealed Hi