"For I am making known to you, brothers, the good news having been good news-ed by me, that is not according to man. For neither from man did I myself receive it nor was I taught, but rather through a revelation of Jesus Christ."
-The reason why Paul is so certain, so adamant about the priority and the need to preserve the purity of the Good News he delivered to the Galatians? It was (and still is!) heaven-sent, out of this world, a true God-send. Jesus Christ had appeared to him, face-to-face, and not only did that change everything, it raised the stakes to the highest possible level. This speaks both to the content of the Message (it is TRUE) as well as to its origin (it is AUTHORITATIVE).
-No, this Message did in no way originate with man, Paul says. He didn’t come up with it on his own, no man or woman taught it to him, no person on earth thought it up or even conceived of it. He didn’t get it from his mom or his dad, not from some local rabbi, not from his fancy Jewish seminary professor (Gamaliel - cf Acts 5.34, 22.3), not even from any of the apostles or any other followers of Jesus. No no, that which Paul preached, this Message came straight from Jesus Christ, thru a direct personal revelation at that. Jesus - in other words, almighty God - uncovered truth directly for Paul. Audacious claim, this. And quite serious, especially for a Jew. "By whose authority do you say/do these things?" was a very natural question for them (Luke 20.2). Thus says the Lord. Any and all such words are binding (on both the hearers AND the speaker), final, one hundred percent guaranteed not to fail, or they are (or were) a death sentence for the one who utters them (Deuteronomy 13.5, Jeremiah 14.14-15). Yet to true prophets, those who convey the very words of God, we all would do well to pay full attention. Because not one letter or dot of what God says will ever NOT come to pass (Luke 16.17, Matthew 5.18). These are indeed matters of life and death.
-Having verified the source, the place of origin of this Message, we then know that Paul’s words are completely true and trustworthy, the specifics of the content are both incontrovertible and unalterable. A curse awaits the one who does dare to alter them, and destruction the one who ignores them. We neglect it to our great personal peril (Hebrews 2.1-3, 2Peter 1.20-21). Yet the sublime goodness of this Good Message is that the One Who sent it is the One Who Himself destroyed destruction and delivered us from the perilous curse by becoming a curse for us - more on this in chapter three (Galatians 3.13).
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