Galatians 1:9 Commentary and Bible Study

Having considered this hypothetical case in verse eight, Paul now returns to the actual situation. He expresses himself so strongly because Christ’s sheep must be protected at all costs. By using such strong terms he indicates the seriousness of the situation. The false teacher is cursed, because he attempts to bring a curse on others by his teaching, and when the truth of the gospel is at stake, we too must express ourselves in uncompromising terms. Hopefully when the Galatians read such fearful words, they would say, ‘Does Paul really oppose these teachers with such ferocity? Then surely what they teach is not some harmless addition to the faith which Paul has omitted to tell us, but it is a destructive error.’Paul repeats his warning for emphasis. Perhaps they might think he had been carried away by emotion and said more than he intended to say. So he repeats this curse again, only he is more specific about who it applies to. They received the gospel as the word of God: let them not now be open to another message which is completely incompatible with it.