John Gill's Bible Commentary Ver. 8. But though we, or an angel from heaven , etc..] The apostle, in order to assert the more strongly the truth, purity, and perfection of the Gospel, as preached by him; and to deter persons from preaching another Gospel, and others from receiving it, supposes a case impossible; and, in such a case, denounces his anathemas. It was not possible, that he, or any of his fellow apostles, who had been so clearly led and so fully established in the Gospel of Christ, and of which they had had such a powerful and comfortable experience in their souls, could ever preach one different from it; nor was it possible that a good angel, one that is in heaven, that always beholds the face of God there, is ever ready to do his will, as he never could be employed by God in publishing another, so he never would; and yet, was it possible or such a thing to be done by such men, or such an angel, he or they would deserve the curse of God and men; their having the highest names, or being of the highest character, and in the highest office and class of beings, would not screen them; and therefore how should the false apostles, and those who followed them, ever think to escape, since even these would not, should they preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you ; that is, not only anyone that is contrary to it, but any one besides it; for such was the perfection of the Gospel, as preached by the apostle, who declared the whole counsel of God, and kept back nothing that was profitable to the churches, that no addition could, or might be made unto it: let him be accursed , or anathema; (see 1 Corinthians 16:22) which may respect his excommunication out of the church, and his sentence of condemnation by Christ at the last day; and the sense be this, let him be ejected from the ministry of the word, degraded from his office, and cast out of the church; let him be no more a minister, nor a member of it; and let him be abhorred of men, and accursed of Christ; let him hear the awful sentence, go ye accursed, etc..
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 6-9 - Those who would establish any other way to heaven than what the gospe of Christ reveals, will find themselves wretchedly mistaken. The apostle presses upon the Galatians a due sense of their guilt in forsaking the gospel way of justification; yet he reproves with tenderness, and represents them as drawn into it by the arts of some that troubled them. In reproving others, we should be faithful, and ye endeavour to restore them in the spirit of meekness. Some would set u the works of the law in the place of Christ's righteousness, and thu they corrupted Christianity. The apostle solemnly denounces, a accursed, every one who attempts to lay so false a foundation. All other gospels than that of the grace of Christ, whether more flatterin to self-righteous pride, or more favourable to worldly lusts, ar devices of Satan. And while we declare that to reject the moral law a a rule of life, tends to dishonour Christ, and destroy true religion we must also declare, that all dependence for justification on goo works, whether real or supposed, is as fatal to those who persist i it. While we are zealous for good works, let us be careful not to pu them in the place of Christ's righteousness, and not to advance an thing which may betray others into so dreadful a delusion.
Greek Textus Receptus
αλλα 235 CONJ και 2532 CONJ εαν 1437 COND ημεις 2249 P-1NP η 2228 PRT αγγελος 32 N-NSM εξ 1537 PREP ουρανου 3772 N-GSM ευαγγελιζηται 2097 5735 V-PMS-3S υμιν 5213 P-2DP παρ 3844 PREP ο 3739 R-ASN ευηγγελισαμεθα 2097 5668 V-AMI-1P υμιν 5213 P-2DP αναθεμα 331 N-NSN εστω 2077 5749 V-PXM-3S
Vincent's NT Word Studies
8. We. See on 1 Thess. i. 2.Angel from heaven (aggelov ex ouranou). The phrase only here.
"Angels in heaven or the heavens," Matt. xxii. 30; Mark xii. 25; xiii. 32. "Angels of the heavens," Matt. xxiv. 36.
Other than that (par o). Roman Catholic interpreters insist that par' should be rendered contrary to, though the Vulg. gives praeterquam besides. Some Protestant interpreters insist on besides as being against supplementing the gospel with traditions. The explanation is found in the previous words, a different gospel. Any gospel which is different from the one gospel, is both beside and contrary to.
Accursed (anaqema). See on Rom. ix. 3, and offerings, Luke xxi. 5. Comp. katara, curse and ejpikataratov cursed, Gal. iii. 13. In LXX. always curse, except Lev. xxvii. 28, and the apocryphal books, where it is always gift or offering. By Paul always curse: see Rom. ix. 3; 1 Cor. xii. 3; xvi. 22. The sense of excommunication, introduces by patristic writers, does not appear in New Testament.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
1:8 {If we} (ean hemeis). Condition of third class (ean and aorist middle subjunctive euaggelistai). Suppose I (literary plural) should turn renegade and preach "other than" (par' ho), "contrary to that which we preached." Preachers have turned away from Christ, alas, and preached "humanism" or some other new-fangled notion. The Jews termed Paul a renegade for leaving Judaism for Christianity. But it was before Paul had seen Christ that he clung to the law. Paul is dogmatic and positive here, for he knows that he is standing upon solid ground, the fact of Christ dying for us and rising again. He had seen the Risen Jesus Christ. No angel can change Paul now. {Let him be anaqema} (anaqema estw). See on 1Co 12:3 for this word.
