Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Galatians 1:6

"I marvel that ye are so quickly removing from him that called you in the grace of Christ unto a different gospel;" — Galatians 1:6 (ASV)

The agitation Paul feels is shown by the tone and vocabulary of these verses. But his words also show why he is so stirred.

(1) The Galatians are “deserting” (GK 3572) the one who had called them to faith in Christ Jesus. The Greek word used here can be used of military revolt as well as of a change of attitude. Their revolt was not the result of outside influences, but something they were freely doing to themselves. The only ray of hope is that they were still in the process of deserting and could possibly be reclaimed.

(2) There is a tragic personal element in the way Paul describes their desertion. They are not just departing from an idea or a movement but from a person, from God the Father who had called them to faith. Embracing legalism means rejecting God, because it means substituting a human being for God in one’s life. It is noteworthy that once again Paul reiterates the true nature of the Gospel: (a) it is of God, who does the calling, and (b) it is of “grace” rather than of merit.

(3) Paul is also agitated because the Galatians were deserting God and the Christian faith “so quickly,” that is, so soon after their conversion.

(4) By embracing legalism the Galatians have actually turned their back on the Gospel in order to embrace “a different gospel,” which, however, does not even deserve to be called by that name.