Galatians 1:12

_ _ Translate, “For not even did I myself (any more than the other apostles) receive it from man, nor was I taught it (by man).” “Received it,” implies the absence of labor in acquiring it. “Taught it,” implies the labor of learning.

_ _ by the revelation of Jesus Christ — Translate, “by revelation of [that is, from] Jesus Christ.” By His revealing it to me. Probably this took place during the three years, in part of which he sojourned in Arabia (Galatians 1:17, Galatians 1:18), in the vicinity of the scene of the giving of the law; a fit place for such a revelation of the Gospel of grace, which supersedes the ceremonial law (Galatians 4:25). He, like other Pharisees who embraced Christianity, did not at first recognize its independence of the Mosaic law, but combined both together. Ananias, his first instructor, was universally esteemed for his legal piety and so was not likely to have taught him to sever Christianity from the law. This severance was partially recognized after the martyrdom of Stephen. But Paul received it by special revelation (1 Corinthians 11:23; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15). A vision of the Lord Jesus is mentioned (Acts 22:18), at his first visit to Jerusalem (Galatians 1:18); but this seems to have been subsequent to the revelation here meant (compare Galatians 1:15-18), and to have been confined to giving a particular command. The vision “fourteen years before” (2 Corinthians 12:1) was in a.d. 43, still later, six years after his conversion. Thus Paul is an independent witness to the Gospel. Though he had received no instruction from the apostles, but from the Holy Ghost, yet when he met them his Gospel exactly agreed with theirs.