Galatians 1:11

But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

EXPOSITORY (ENGLISH BIBLE)

Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers

(11, et seq.) The Apostle now enters at length upon his personal defence against his opponents. He does this by means of an historical retrospect of his career, proving by an exhaustive process the thesis with which he starts that the doctrine taught by him comes from a divine source, and possesses the divine sanction. My doctrine is not human, but divine; it could not be otherwise. For (a) I did not learn it in my youth—very much the contrary (Galatians 1:13-14); (b) I did not learn it at my conversion, for I went straight into the desert to wrestle with God in solitude (Galatians 1:15-17); (c) I did not learn it at my first visit to Jerusalem, for then I saw only Peter and James, and them but for a short time (Galatians 1:18-24); (d) I did not learn it at my later visit, for then I dealt with the other Apostles on equal terms, and was fully and freely acknowledged by them as the Apostle of the Gentiles (Galatians 2:1-10); (e) Nay, I openly rebuked Peter for seeming to withdraw the support he had accorded to me (Galatians 2:11-14); (f) the law is dead, and the life which the Christian has he draws solely from Christ (Galatians 2:15-21).

(11) But.—There is a nearly even balance of MSS. authority between this word and For. In any case we should in English naturally omit the conjunction, though a translation must represent it.

Certify.—The word which is thus translated is the same as that which is translated “declare” in 1Corinthians 15:1; “give you to understand,” in 1Corinthians 12:3; and “do you to wit,” in 2Corinthians 8:1. It is used to introduce a statement made with emphasis and solemnity.

After man.—Perhaps the best way to express the force of this phrase would be by the adjective, “Is not human.” Literally it is, is not according to the standard of man—to be judged by human measure, and therefore human in all respects, in its nature and origin.

Benson Commentary

Galatians 1:11-12. But I certify you, brethren — He does not, till now, give them even this appellation; that the gospel which was preached by me — Among you; is not after man — Of mere human authority and invention; is not from man, not by man, nor suited to the taste of man; for I neither received it of man — From the authority or interposition of any man; neither was I taught it — By any writing or any human method of instruction; but by revelation of Jesus Christ — Who communicated to me by inspiration his gospel in all its parts, and sent me forth to publish it to the world. If Paul did not receive the gospel from man, as he here asserts, and as we are therefore sure he did not, the perfect conformity of his doctrine with the doctrine of the other apostles, is a proof that he was taught it by revelation from Jesus Christ, who revealed to him at first his resurrection, ascension, and the calling of the Gentiles, and his own apostleship; and told him then there were other things for which he would appear to him. See on Acts 26:16-18.

Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary

1:10-14 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.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

But I certify you - I make known to you; or, I declare to you; see 1 Corinthians 15:1. Doubtless this had been known to them before, but he now assures them of it, and goes into an extended illustration to show them that he had not received his authority from man to preach the gospel To state and prove this is the main design of this chapter.

Is not after man - The Greek text: "Not according to man"; see Galatians 1:1. That is, he was not appointed by man, nor did he have any human instructor to make known to him what the gospel was. He had neither received it from man, nor had it been debased or adulterated by any human admixtures. He had received it directly from the Lord Jesus.

Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

11. certify—I made known to you as to the Gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man, that is, not of, by, or from man (Ga 1:1, 12). It is not according to man; not influenced by mere human considerations, as it would be, if it were of human origin.

brethren—He not till now calls them so.

Matthew Poole's Commentary

He calls them brethren, though some of them were revolted, because they owned Christ, and makes known or declares to them, (so the word is translated, Luke 2:15 John 15:15 17:26), that the doctrine of the gospel, which he had preached unto them, was no human invention or fiction, nor rested upon human authority, but was from God, immediately revealed to him: and herein he reflecteth upon the false teachers that had seduced them, and, in order to that, vilifled him, as being but a disciple to some other of the apostles, yet teaching otherwise than they taught. I would have you know (saith he) that it is otherwise; the gospel which I preached

is not after man. He fully openeth his own meaning in this phrase, in the next words.

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

But I certify you, brethren,.... Though the Galatians had gone such lengths with their false teachers, yet the apostle still calls them "brethren"; as hoping well of them, that they were born of God, did belong to his family, and were heirs of the grace of life; and this he the rather makes use of, to show his affection to them, and to engage their attention to the assurance he gives, of the divine original and authority of the Gospel preached by him; which though they formerly knew and believed, yet through the insinuations of the false apostles, were drawn into some doubts about it: wherefore he declares in the most solemn and affectionate manner,

that the Gospel which was preached of me, is not after man. Their guides that were leading them wrong, did not presume to say, that the Gospel was after man, for they themselves pretended to preach the Gospel; but that the Gospel preached by the apostle had no other authority than human, or than his own to support it: wherefore he denies that it was "after man"; after the wisdom of man, an human invention and contrivance, a device and fiction of man's brain; nor was it after the mind of man, or agreeably to his carnal reason, it was disapproved of by him, and beyond his capacity to reach it; nor was it of his revealing, a discovery of his; flesh and blood, human nature, could never have revealed it; nor is it in the power of one man to make another a minister of the Gospel, or to give him or himself success in the ministration of it, but the whole is of God.

Geneva Study Bible

{6} But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.

(6) A second argument to prove that his doctrine is heavenly, because he had it from heaven, from Jesus Christ himself, without any man's help, in which he excels those whom Christ taught here on earth after the manner of men.

EXEGETICAL (ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)

Meyer's NT Commentary

Galatians 1:11-12.[23] Theme of the apologetic portion of the epistle. See Introd. sec. 2.

δέ] carrying on the discourse. The way having been prepared for this theme in Galatians 1:8-10, it is now formally announced for further discussion.[24] And after the impassioned outburst in Galatians 1:6-10, the language becomes composed and calm. Now therefore, for the first time, we find the address ἀδελφοί.

γνωρίζω δὲ ὑμῖν] but (now to enter more particularly on the subject of my letter) I make known to you. This announcement has a certain solemnity (comp. 1 Corinthians 15:1; 2 Corinthians 8:1; 1 Corinthians 12:3), which is only enhanced by the fact that the matter must have been already known to the reader. There is no need to modify the sense of γνωρίζω, which neither here nor in 1 Corinthians 15:1 means monere vos volo or the like (Morus, Rosenmüller, and others).

τὸ εὐαγγέλιον … ὅτι] attraction, Winer, p. 581 f. [E. T. 781 f.]

τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν ὑπʼ ἐμοῦ] which has been announced by me, among you and among others (comp. ὃ κηρύσσω, Galatians 2:2); not to be limited to the conversion of the readers only.

κατὰ ἄνθρωπον] cannot indicate the mode of announcement, which would require us to conceive εὐαγγελισθέν as repeated (Hofmann). Necessarily belonging to οὐκ ἔστι, it is the negative modal expression of the gospel itself which was preached by Paul; specifying, however, not its origin (Augustine, Cornelius a Lapide, Estius, Calovius, Wolf, and others), which κατά in itself never expresses (Fritzsche, ad Matth. p. 3), but its qualitative relation, although this is conditioned by its origin (Galatians 1:12). The gospel announced by me is not according to men, that is, not of such quality as it would be if it were the work of men; it is not of the same nature as human wisdom, human efficiency, and the like. Comp. Xen. Mem. iv. 4. 24, τὸ τοὺς νόμους αὐτοὺς τοῖς παραβαίνουσι τὰς τιμωρίας ἔχειν βελτίονος ἢ κατʼ ἄνθρωπον νομοθέτου δοκεῖ μοι εἶναι. Eur. Med. 673, σοφώτερʼ ἢ κατʼ ἄνδρα συμβαλεῖν ἔπη. Soph. Aj. 747, μὴ κατʼ ἄνθρωπον φρονεῖ. Comp. Aj. 764; Oed. Col. 604; Plat. Pol. 2. 359 D. The opposite, ὑπὲρ ἄνθρωπον εἶναι, Lucian, Vit. auct. 2. Looking to the context, the view of Grotius is too narrow, “nihil humani affectus admixtum habet.” Bengel hits the mark, “non est humani census evangelium meum.”

[23] See Hofmann’s interpretation of i. 11–ii. 14 in his heil. Schr. N. T. I. p. 60 ff., ed. 2. On the other hand, see Hilgenfeld, Kanon u. Kritik d. N. T. p. 190 ff.

[24] If γάρ were the correct reading (Hofmann), it would correspond to the immediately preceding contrast between ἀνθρώποις and Χριστοῦ, confirming ver. 10, but would not introduce a justification of ver. 9, as Hofmann, arbitrarily going back beyond ver. 10, assumes.

Expositor's Greek Testament

Galatians 1:11. γνωρίζω. Here, as in 1 Corinthians 12:3; 1 Corinthians 15:1, this verb has the force of reminding rather than of making known. In all three passages the author calls attention to forgotten truths, which had once been well known.

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

11, 12. A statement of St Paul’s claims, followed by a sketch of his life.

11. But I certify] Now I declare to you. The same verb is used in 1 Corinthians 15:1 to introduce an emphatic statement.

not after man] i.e. not in accordance with human notions or conceptions, and therefore not such as could have been evolved out of human consciousness. It was communicated to St Paul by direct revelation from God.

Bengel's Gnomen

Galatians 1:11. Ἀδελφοὶ, brethren) He now at length calls them brethren.—κατὰ, according to [after]) κατὰ includes the meaning of the prepositions ἀπὸ, διὰ, and παρὰ, in Galatians 1:1; Galatians 1:12. My Gospel is not according to the estimate of men.

Pulpit Commentary

Verse 11. - But I certify you, brethren (γνωρίζω δὲ γνωρίζω γὰρ ὑμῖν ἀδελφοί) now (or, for) I make known unto you, brethren. The external evidence, as well as the judgment of critics, is so evenly divided between the two readings, γνωρίζω δὲ and γνωρίζω γάρ, that the decision as to which is to be preferred seems to lie with exegesis rather than with diplomatic criticism. On the one hand, the fact that the gospel which the apostle had delivered to the Galatians came to him by a direct revelation from Christ, would be properly viewed as a reason for regarding it as sacred and inviolable. Viewed thus, the reading, "now I make known to you," appears justified as introducing a plea warranting the anathema of vers. 8, 9. On the other hand, there is a difference of tone perceptible between the previous context, which is strongly marked, as we have seen, by intense excitement of feeling, and the passage which commences with this verse. The relaxation in the latter of the stern, indignant severity of the former is indicated

(1) by the phrase, "I make known unto you," which, as well as the equivalent phrase, "I would not have you ignorant (οὐ θέλω ὑμᾶς ἀγνοεῖν)," is with the apostle a customary prelude to a context of deliberate and measured statement;

(2) by the introduction of the word "brethren," even though, perhaps, holding the position in the sentence which it does here, this compellation has not the same pathetic affectionateness as marks it when heading a sentence; and

(3) by the strain of quiet narration which the apostle now enters upon. This change in the tone is somewhat adverse to the supposition that the two passages were, as originally written, linked together by the closely connective "for." It suggests to the careful reader the feeling that, after the apostle had somewhat relieved his spirit of the indignant excitement with which he at first addressed himself to the writing of the letter, he laid down his pen at the end of the tenth verse, which had introduced a topic of thought that threatened to lead him aside from his present business; and, after pausing to re fleet how he had best proceed, resumed his work with the purpose of calmly showing, from the very circumstances of his personal history, that the gospel which the Galatians had received from him had solely a Divine origin. This view of the passage likewise favours the reading, "Now I make known to you." For the conjunction δὲ has here that simply metabatic or transitionary sense which it often bears when the writer is passing on to a fresh section of discourse. Thus, in par-titular, the conjunction is found with "I make known (γνωρίζω)," in 1 Corinthians 15:7; 2 Corinthians 8:1; and with "I would not have you ignorant," in Romans 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 4:13; 1 Corinthians 12:1. In fact, the direct purpose of the succeeding exposition would seem to be, not precisely so much to make good the particular point that the gospel which the apostle taught was sacred and inviolable, as to show that it was certainly true, and on that ground not to be departed from. The verb γνωρίζω cannot mean "draw attention to" or "remind you." Its only sense is "make known." Its employment here appears to indicate a feeling on the apostle's part that the point referred to had, perhaps, not as yet been made definitely clear to those, or at least to some of those, whom he was addressing. That the gospel which was preached of me (τὸ εὐαγγέλιον τὸ εὐαγγελισθὲν ὑπ ἀμοῦ ὅτι); touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it. In the Greek, the noun "the gospel" is the accusative governed by "make known;" while in fact the object contemplated by the verb is, not the gospel itself in general, but certain circumstances relating to it expressed and implied in the following clause: "that it is not after man's fashion." This kind of construction is of frequent occurrence in Greek authors. Analogous examples are found in ver. 13 of this chapter, and 1 Corinthians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 15:15; 1 Corinthians 16:15. The aorist tense of εὐαγγελισθὲν points to the same time as was referred to in "called you" (ver. 6) and "we preached" (ver. 8), which are both in the same tense. Is not after man (οὐκ ἔστι κατὰ ἄνθρωπον); is not after the fashion of man; that is, "is not to be estimated as a merely human thing." The clause does not immediately describe the origin of the gospel, which point is distinctly brought out in the next sentence; but rather the character which attaches to it in consequence of its origin. The sense of the phrase, "according to man," is illustrated by its use in 1 Corinthians 9:8," Do I speak these things after the manner of men (κατὰ ἄνθρωπον)?" i.e. "accord-lug to merely human principles of action." 1 Corinthians 3:3, "Walk after the manner of men." On the other band, in 2 Corinthians 7:10, "godly sorrow," literally, "the grief which is according to God," is a grief such as God inspires and approves; and in Ephesians 4:24, "The new man, which after God [literally, 'according to God'] hath been created," is "created in conformity with God's model or approval" The present tense "is" marks the permanent character attaching to Paul's gospel; it was "the faith once for all (ἅπαξ) delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). Galatians 1:11

Vincent's Word Studies

I certify (γνωρίζω)

Or, I make known. Certify, even in older English, is to assure or attest, which is too strong for γνωρίζειν to make known or declare. This, which in the New Testament is the universal meaning of γνωρίζειν, and the prevailing sense in lxx, is extremely rare in Class., where the usual sense is to become acquainted with. For the formula see on 1 Thessalonians 4:13.

After man (κατὰ ἄνθρωπον)

According to any human standard. The phrase only in Paul. See Romans 3:5; 1 Corinthians 3:3; 1 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Corinthians 15:32. Κατὰ ἀνθρώπους according to men, 1 Peter 4:6.