Galatians 1

After a greeting that stresses Christ “who gave himself for our sins,” Paul skips his usual thanksgiving and expresses astonishment that the Galatians are “so quickly deserting” the gospel of grace for “a different gospel.” He pronounces a solemn curse — twice — on anyone, even an angel, who preaches a contrary message, for he seeks to please God, not men. He then defends the origin of his gospel: he did not receive it from any human source but “through a revelation of Jesus Christ,” and his dramatic conversion from persecutor to preacher was God’s own work.