Note 1 at Gal. 1:1: Paul is a Roman name which means "small" or "little." It is used first in Acts 13:9. It was probably the name used to identify him more closely with the Gentiles since this was a non-Jewish name. Paul could have been a small person in stature or he may have wanted to identify himself as small in comparison to the magnified name of Jesus which he was preaching.

Note 2 at Gal. 1:1: The word "apostle" is a translation of the compound Greek word APOSTOLOS (ap-os-tol-os), meaning APO-"from" and STELLO-"to send," thus referring to the act of sending someone on a commission to represent the sender. It was used of a messenger who was provided with credentials. Our word "ambassador" would be a good translation (Wuest's Word Studies, p. 28).

It is important that Paul defend his apostleship, for if the false teachers, called Judaizers, could discredit his apostleship they would also discredit the message he was preaching. Therefore, Paul establishes his apostleship as the authority from which he speaks in the very first verse.

Note 3 at Gal. 1:1: The point Paul is making is that his calling was divine. He didn't call himself and neither did any other man or group. God Himself called Paul to his ministry. Therefore, those who resisted Paul were resisting God who sent him.

Paul is saying these things to prepare the Galatians so they would not take what he was about to say lightly. He was going to be very blunt with them, even to the point that they could have been offended very easily (Gal. 4:16). But Paul wanted them to know that he was speaking God's heart, not just his own heart. Hopefully, this would cause them to think twice before dismissing Paul's rebukes. As Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 2:13, ". . .when ye received the word of God which ye heard of us, ye received it not as the word of man, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which effectively worketh also in you that believe." This is what he wanted for the Galatians and why he stressed that his instructions in this letter were from God and not from man.

Note 4 at Gal. 1:1: Paul's apostleship was not bestowed upon him from the earthly Jesus, as was the case with the other apostles (Mt. 10:1-5), but his commission was from the resurrected Lord Jesus Christ who was raised the Son of God in power (Rom. 1:4).