Paul as a Young Believer

The rest of the chapter expands upon verse 16 and gives details of Paul’s travel during his early Christian life.

 “Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother. Now the things which I write unto you, behold, before God, I lie not. Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria and Cilicia; And was unknown by face unto the churches of Judaea which were in Christ: But they had heard only, That he which persecuted us in times past now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. And they glorified God in me.” (Galatians 1:17-24, King James Version)
Paul’s did not seek either the approval or instruction of the other apostles. We know from Acts that he began preaching before he even went to Jerusalem. After he was saved, Paul went into Arabia, which was a large wilderness area near Damascus. He stayed there for up to three years.

During this time, his theology under the instruction of the Holy Spirit matured. He rejected the traditions of Judaism but not the Old Testament. He grew in his understanding of how the Christian faith grew out of the foundation of the Old Testament. His training and study as a Rabbi prepared him for this time of intense soul searching and learning. He returned to Damascus mature in his Christian theology.

Three years after his conversion, Paul returned to Jerusalem. His desire was to become acquainted with Peter who was the leader among the original apostles. He remained in Jerusalem only 15 days. This was not long enough for Peter to teach Paul the mature and extensive doctrines that Paul preached.

The only other apostle that Paul met was James, the half-brother of Jesus. Like Paul, James was not one of the twelve. However, by the time Paul wrote Galatians, James was the pastor and leader of the Jerusalem church.

Here in the middle of his account of these events, Paul adds an oath using God as a witness of the truth of what he writes. These events were not well known like his conversion. Because of the dangerous times and enemies seeking Paul’s life, these things were not done openly. Certainly no one in Galatia would have first hand knowledge of these events. Yet they were important to Paul’s argument for his apostleship. Because Paul adds this oath, his opponents are now in a more difficult position. They can not argue that Paul has shaded the truth unless they also are willing to accuse Paul of using God’s Name in vain.

After Paul left Jerusalem, he traveled through Syria into Cilicia. The capital of Syria was Antioch from which Paul wrote this letter. The capital of Cilicia was Tarsus. This was Paul’s hometown and where he stayed until Barnabas came and recruited him to help with the ministry in Antioch.

Although Paul was known to many in the Church of Jerusalem, he was largely unknown among the other churches in Judea. However, they had heard about his conversion. The Christian community rejoiced in Paul’s conversion. He was fully accepted as part of that community.

The argument of Paul’s enemies that he received his apostleship and message from man was without foundation. God made Paul an apostle, like He had the other apostles. God gave Paul his message, like He gave the other apostles their message. He was as much an apostle as the twelve were.

Everyone who has been born again has a testimony. Paul had a testimony of salvation that he shared on occasion. He also had, as he shares here, a testimony of God’s grace in working in his life and giving him a ministry.

What is your testimony?