Thomas Aquinas Commentary Galatians 1:11-14

"For I make known to you, brethren, as touching the gospel which was preached by me, that it is not after man. For neither did I receive it from man, nor was I taught it, but [it came to me] through revelation of Jesus Christ. For ye have heard of my manner of life in time past in the Jews` religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the church of God, and made havoc of it: and I advanced in the Jews` religion beyond many of mine own age among my countrymen, being more exceedingly zealous for the traditions of my fathers." — Galatians 1:11-14 (ASV)

Previously, the Apostle rebuked the Galatians for their fickleness in so quickly setting aside the gospel's teaching; now he shows the dignity of that teaching. In this regard, he does two things:

1. He commends the authority of the gospel's teaching in itself.
2. He commends it on the part of both the other apostles and himself (Galatians 2:1): Then, after fourteen years, I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas.

The first part is further divided into two sections:

1. He presents his intention.
2. He reveals his purpose (Galatians 1:13).

Regarding the first point, he does two things:

1. He proposes what he intends.
2. He proves what he proposes (Galatians 1:12).

Therefore, intending to commend the truth of the gospel's teaching, he says, For I give you to understand, brethren... As if to say: I am so certain of the gospel’s authority that I would disbelieve not only men but even angels if they said the contrary; if they were to say something contrary, I would declare them anathema. I have this certainty because one must believe God rather than men or angels. Therefore, since I have this gospel from God, I should have—and do have—the greatest certainty.

Hence he says, For I give you to understand, brethren, that the gospel which was preached by me to you and to the other Churches is not according to man; that is, not according to human nature when it is out of tune with the divine rule or divine revelation. In this sense, "according to man" implies something evil: For whereas there is among you envying and contention, are you not carnal, and walk according to man? (1 Corinthians 3:3). This is the sense the Apostle takes here; hence he says, not "according to man" in the sense of someone teaching or sending me. As if to say: This gospel cannot be received from men at all, but only from God.

That is why he adds, For neither did I receive it of man; nor did I learn it but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. By this, he precludes two ways of receiving it. First, he did not receive the authority to preach from man. Regarding this, he says, nor of man—that is, from a mere man—did I receive it—that is, the authority to preach the gospel—but from Christ: And how shall they preach unless they be sent? (Romans 10:15); I have given thee for a light of the Gentiles, for a covenant of the people (Isaiah 42:6); This man is to me a vessel of election, to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel (Acts 9:15).

Second, he did not receive the knowledge of the gospel from man. Hence he says, nor did I learn it—namely, the gospel—from a mere man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, that is, by Jesus Christ revealing everything clearly. But to us, God hath revealed them (1 Corinthians 2:10); The Lord hath opened my ear, and I do not resist (Isaiah 50:5), and The Lord has given me a learned tongue, that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary (Isaiah 50:4). Now this revelation was made to the Apostle when he was taken up into paradise, where he heard secret words which it is not granted to man to utter (2 Corinthians 12:4).

Then, when he says, For you have heard of my conversation in time past, he shows that he did not receive the gospel from men, either before his conversion or after his conversion to Christ (Galatians 1:13). He shows that he did not receive it from man before his conversion by pointing to both the hatred he had for the Christian faith and for Christians, and the zeal he had for Judaism: And I made progress in the Jews’ religion above many of my equals in my own nation (Galatians 1:14).

He says, therefore: I say that I did not receive it from man, and this is true of the time before my conversion. This is obvious from my actions at that time and from the hatred I had for the faith. For you yourselves have heard—as it says, But they had heard only: He who persecuted us in times past doth now preach the faith which once he impugned (Galatians 1:23)—of my former way of life, when I was an unbeliever in the Jewish religion, when I lived as a Jew. And he says, my, because the evil we do is from ourselves, but whatever good we do is from God: Destruction is thy own, O Israel: thy help is only in me (Hosea 13:9).

You have heard how, beyond measure—that is, more than others—he persecuted the church, because he stirred up not only himself to this but rulers as well. For others, when they persecuted, were urged to it by the rulers, but he urged even them on: Saul, as yet breathing out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest (Acts 9:1). He also did this not only in Jerusalem but in the entire region. Hence he received letters to Damascus, that if he found any men and women of this way, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem. Therefore, what is said in Genesis 49:27, Benjamin a ravenous wolf, in the morning shall eat the prey, and in the evening shall divide the spoil, can be understood as applying to him.

I persecuted the church of God, that is, by hunting down Christians and distressing them: I am not worthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God (1 Corinthians 15:9); and I wasted it, not spiritually, because I was unable to turn the hearts of the faithful from their faith, but physically, by inflicting bodily punishment on them and throwing them into prison: Is not this he who persecuted in Jerusalem those that called upon this name? (Acts 9:21); Often have they fought against me (Psalms 128:1).

It is plain, therefore, from the hatred he had for the faith of Christ before his conversion, that he did not receive the gospel from man.

It is also plain from the love and burning zeal he had for Judaism, regarding his outward progress. Hence he says, And I made progress in the Jews’ religion above many of my equals in my own nation. In this, he mentions three things that indicate how great his progress was. For he progressed beyond not just a few but many; not beyond old men incapable of learning, but beyond my equals—that is, young men who were intelligent and capable of progress: It is good for a man, when he has borne the yoke from his youth (Lamentations 3:27). Furthermore, not beyond equals who were foreigners and ignorant of the language, but equals of my own nation—that is, Jews: I am a Jew, brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, taught according to the truth of the law of the fathers, zealous for the law, as also all you are this day (Acts 22:3).

Finally, he points to the inward zeal he had for the Law. Hence he says, being more abundantly zealous, not only for the Law but for the traditions of my fathers—namely, those traditions which the Jews lawfully kept and “which the good fathers added,” as is said in a Gloss. He calls these traditions his own because he treasured them as if they were his: According to the Law, a Pharisee; according to zeal, persecuting the church of God (Philippians 3:5).

But a question arises from the fact that the aforementioned Gloss says, “The good fathers added.” For it seems that they were not good, because it is said in Deuteronomy 4:2, You shall not add to the word I speak to You. Therefore, in adding traditions, they acted against the command of God and so were not good. To this, one may answer that this word of the Lord is taken to mean that you shall not add anything contrary or foreign to the words which I shall speak. But to add certain things that were not contrary was lawful for them—namely, certain solemn days and the like, as was done in the time of Mordecai and Judith in memory of the blessings they received from God.

But against this is the rebuke addressed to them by our Lord, when He says, You have made void the command of the Lord for the traditions of men (Matthew 15:6). Therefore, those traditions were not lawful. I answer that they are not rebuked for holding the traditions of men, but because for the sake of the traditions of men, they neglect the commands of God.