506 Terrance Callan modify Paul can be seen as the figure of speech elimination; the first two prepositional phrases reject two possible origins of Paul’s apostolate, and the third states its true origin. Fourth, and most important, the whole structure of the salutation is chiastic. In 1,1 the source of Paul’s apostolate is said to be Jesus Christ and God the father; the latter is described in a participial phrase as having raised him (Jesus) from the dead. In 1,3 Paul wishes the Galatians grace and peace from God the father and the Lord Jesus Christ, reversing the order in which the two are mentioned in 1,1. Just as God was described in a participial phrase in 1,1, in 1,3-4 Jesus Christ is described in a participial phrase as having given himself for sins in order to rescue Christians from this present evil age. He did this according to the will of God the father, whom Paul praises in a doxology (1,5). He thus returns to the emphasis on God found in v. 1 after having emphasized the role of Jesus in v. 4. This forms an inclusio. b) 1,15-17 The most elegant sentence in Galatians is 1,15-17. It begins with a temporal clause (1,15-16a), the subject of which is modified by two participial phrases, and on which depends a purpose clause. The main clause of the sentence (1,16b-17) is a compound clause consisting of four independent clauses. This well-turned period is itself an ornament. Perhaps Paul uses it here because it describes his conversion and its immediate aftermath, which may be the most crucial element of what he narrates in 1,11–2,14. 1,11–2,14 contains some of the longer sentences in Galatians, namely, in addition to 1,15-17, 1,13-14.18-19.23-24; 2,4-5.6-10. The last two of these we will discuss below. 1,15-17 is the most polished of these longer sentences. We can see the significance of 1,15-17 for the narrative in 1,11-2,14 from Paul’s use of the figure of speech elimination in the main clause of the period. The first two parts of the main clause deny that Paul did things he might have done after his conversion; the last two say what he actually did. Paul used the same figure of speech in 1,1 and 1,11-12. In all three cases it is used to eliminate the possibility that Paul’s apostleship is human in origin. After mentioning this in the letter salutation (1,1), Paul states it as the theme of 1,11–2,14 in 1,11-12. 1,15-17 is then one of his main supports for that contention. If oJ qeov" does not appear in 1,15, as many manuscripts attest, the