What does Galatians 1:9 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Paul even repeated his warning for emphasis. The prior warning in Galatians 1:9 probably refers to what Paul had told them when he was with them in person rather than to what he had just said in Galatians 1:8. ^[1] "We" implies Paul and his fellow missionaries, not just Paul alone. [source][source]

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"The vehemence with which Paul denounces those who teach another gospel (literally, he says, "Let them be damned") has bothered some commentators, as well as other readers of the letter. But this shows how little the gospel of God"s grace is understood and appreciated and how little many Christians are concerned for the advance of biblical truth." ^[2] [source]

"Accursed" evidently refers to being under God"s judgment, not just excommunication, since an angel could be the possible object. Paul changed from the subjunctive mood of possibility in Galatians 1:8 to the indicative mood of actuality in Galatians 1:9. [source][source]

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Context Summary

Note how strenuously Paul insists upon the genuineness of his call as an Apostle. It had come directly from the lips of Christ. Neither by man, but by Jesus Christ, Galatians 1:1. We who are redeemed have been lifted out of the present age, Galatians 1:4, into the next age, which may soon break forth in manifestation. It is now concealed, but it shall be unveiled. The age which preceded the fall of Jerusalem was notoriously corrupt. Speaking of the Jews at that time, Josephus says that they exceeded Sodom.

The false teachers who dogged Paul's footsteps suggested that he had only one side of the gospel, and that there was therefore abundant room for their statement of it. But this the Apostle indignantly repudiated, Galatians 1:8. No, he said; there is no gospel other than that which you have heard from my lips. These are solemn questions that each of us should ask: "What has been the effect of the gospel upon my life? Have I been redeemed out of the world that passes away, into that unseen and eternal kingdom of which my Lord is Center and Chief? Do I live according to the will of my God and Father?" Galatians 1:4. [source]

Chapter Summary: Galatians 1

¹  Paul's greeting to the Galatians;
⁶  He wonders why they have so soon left him and the gospel;
⁸  and accurses those who preach any other gospel than he did
¹¹  He learned the gospel not from men, but from God;
¹⁴  and shows what he was before his calling;
¹⁷  and what he did immediately after it