Galatians 1 (NMV)
1 Paul, an apostle not sent from men nor through human authority, but through Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead,
2 and all the brothers and sisters who are with me, To the churches of Galatia:
3 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
4 who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us out of this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,
5 to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
6 I am shocked that you are so quickly turning away from the one who called you by the grace of Christ, and are turning to a different gospel,
7 which is not really another gospel at all. But there are some who are troubling you and wanting to distort the good news about Christ.
8 But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach a gospel to you that is different from what we preached to you, let them be cursed.
9 As we have said before, so now I say again: if anyone preaches to you a gospel different from what you received, let them be cursed.
10 Am I now trying to win the approval of people, or of God? Or am I seeking to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.
11 For I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel preached by me is not from man.
12 For I did not receive it from any human, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ.
13 You have heard of my former way of life in Judaism, how I intensely persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it.
14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my peers among my own people, being extremely zealous for the traditions of my ancestors.
15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother's womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
16 to reveal His Son in me so that I might proclaim Him among the Gentiles [non-Jews], I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood,
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia, and later returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to visit Peter and stayed with him fifteen days.
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord's brother.
20 I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is not a lie.
21 Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia.
22 I was still personally unknown to the churches of Christ in Judea.
23 They only kept hearing, "The one who once persecuted us is now proclaiming the faith he once tried to destroy."
24 And they glorified God because of me.