Galatians 1:23 tells us that the churches in Judea had heard about Paul, the man who had once tried to destroy the faith, and that he was now preaching that same faith. The verse is a report of what people were saying, not Paul’s own words. Paul is the one under discussion here, and the message reached the Judean believers secondhand, through the testimony of others.
But they only heard: “He who once persecuted us now preaches the faith that he once tried to destroy.”
Galatians 1:23 (WEB)
What Galatians 1:23 Means
The verse opens with “but they only heard,” which tells you the Judean believers had never met Paul face to face. Their knowledge of him came through reports, and the reports were striking. The phrase “once persecuted us” refers to Paul’s earlier campaign against the followers of Jesus, a campaign Paul himself describes elsewhere in his letters. The people in Judea remembered that history and found the change almost hard to believe.
The second half of the report turns on the word “now.” Paul “now preaches the faith” he had once tried to destroy. The contrast is the heart of the verse. The verse does not promise that every hostile person will change, and it does not describe a method for conversion. It shows one real case in which a bitter opponent became a proclaimer of the message he had opposed, and it lets the change speak for itself.
The Context of Galatians 1:23
Galatians is a letter Paul wrote to churches in the region of Galatia, and Paul’s authorship is widely accepted by scholars. In this letter he defends his apostolic calling and insists that he received the gospel directly from Jesus Christ rather than from other human authorities. Verses 20 through 22 come just before our verse, and in them Paul swears before God that he is telling the truth about his movements. He says he went to Syria and Cilicia and was still unknown by sight to the churches in Judea.
That context changes how the verse reads. Paul is not boasting about his reputation among the Judean churches. He is showing that his gospel was not borrowed from Jerusalem, since the Judean believers did not even know him personally, and yet they reacted to his change of heart by glorifying God. The verse therefore supports his argument that his message came from God and not from the approval of men.
Key Phrases in Galatians 1:23
Acts 9:20
Immediately in the synagogues he proclaimed the Christ, that he is the Son of God.
(WEB)
This verse describes Paul beginning to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues right after his conversion. It gives the narrative background to the change that Galatians 1:23 reports, showing how quickly his preaching began and how it caught people’s attention.
2 Corinthians 5:17
Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old things have passed away. Behold, all things have become new.
(WEB)
Paul writes here about the new creation that comes to those who belong to Christ. It offers a theological explanation for the kind of change Galatians 1:23 describes, suggesting that Paul’s transformation was an instance of something God does in every believer.
A Short Prayer From Galatians 1:23
Lord, you are able to change people in ways no one expects, including those who once opposed your work. Thank you for the example of Paul, whose life turned completely around because of your grace. Help me to hold my judgments of others with humility, and to remember that you are still at work in their lives. Give me faithfulness in my own life so that my present choices may speak truthfully about what you have done. Amen.
