[This letter is from] Paul, an apostle, (not from [the authority of] men, or through the [agency] of a man, but by [a direct commission from] Jesus Christ and God the Father, who raised Him from the dead).

[And when I was called], God revealed His Son to me so that I could preach [about] Him to the Gentiles. [When this happened] I immediately avoided discussing the matter with anyone.

Then, three years later I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas [i.e., Peter], and stayed with him for fifteen days.

But when Cephas came to Antioch [of Syria], I confronted him personally [about a matter] for which he deserved to be condemned.

For, before certain [leaders] came from James [i.e., Jesus' brother, a leader of the Jerusalem church, See Acts 12:17; 15:13-22], he had eaten [a social meal] with some Gentiles. But when these men came, he abruptly discontinued this practice out of fear of the circumcised ones [i.e., out of concern for what the Jews would think of him].

still we know that a person is not justified [i.e., made right with God] by [perfect obedience to] the law of Moses, but rather through faith in [the person and work of] Christ. [Knowing this] we have trusted in Christ Jesus [to save us], so that we might be made right with God by trusting in Him and not by [our compliance with] the requirements of the law of Moses. Because by such law-compliance no one can be made right with God.

And, predicting that God would consider the Gentiles right with Him by [their] faith, the Scriptures previously recorded [this promise of] the Gospel to Abraham by saying [Gen. 12:3], "All nations will receive a blessing through your descendant [i.e., Jesus]."

For all of you who were immersed into [a relationship with] Christ have been clothed with Him [i.e., His life].

And if you belong to Christ, then you are [truly] Abraham's seed [i.e., his spiritual descendants] and thereby [you will] inherit what was promised to him [i.e., God's blessings].

But as long as the person who has an inheritance coming to him is a child, he is really no better off than a slave, even though he himself is [rightfully] entitled [to the inheritance].

He is [still] under [the direction of] guardians and managers [of his affairs] until the day his father decides [to give him his inheritance].

But now that you have come to know God [as your Father], or rather, to be known by Him [as His children], how can you turn back again to the weak, cheap, elementary teachings [of the law of Moses], to which you [seem to] desire to become enslaved?

For in [our relationship with] Christ neither the practice of circumcision nor refraining from its practice matters in any way; but [all that really matters is having a genuine] faith [in Christ] that causes us to work [for Him] out of a genuine love [for Him and others].

But the last thing I want to do is brag [about such things]. For [if I had any bragging to do at all], it would be about [salvation through] the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is through Him that this [sinful] world has been crucified [i.e., died] as far as I am concerned and I have been crucified [i.e., died] as far as it is concerned.