Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 1:12

"For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but [it came to me] through revelation of Jesus Christ." — Galatians 1:12 (ASV)

Paul also denies that his teaching was received “from any man.” This is a different denial from that in v.11, for both “from” and “receive” (GK 4161) refer to the transmission of established religious teaching from one person to another. Paul uses the verb in this sense in 1 Corinthians 15:1, 3 to indicate that the basic facts of Christ’s life—his death, burial, and resurrection—were received by him and passed on intact to his hearers. Important as this type of transmission may be, however, this was simply not the way Paul received his message.

Finally, Paul adds that he was not “taught” (GK 1438) the Gospel either.

Instruction was not the channel through which he came to the truth. This may be the way the vast majority of Christians receive the Gospel, including the Galatians, since Paul had himself instructed them. But it was not the way Paul himself had received the truth.

He now asserts the positive side of his thesis, saying that the Gospel came to him by “revelation” (GK 637), an unexpected unfolding of what had been a secret—a distinctive experience paralleled only by that of those who were apostles before him. The Gospel that was revealed to Paul is unique, precisely because its source was not Paul but God himself. And Christians value it properly only when they make it an integral part of their lives and share it with others.