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This Chapter Verse Commentaries:
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Gal_1:18-24
18Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem to become acquainted with Cephas, and stayed with him fifteen days. 19But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother. 20(Now in what I am writing to you, I assure you before God that I am not lying.) 21Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. 22I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea which were in Christ; 23but only, they kept hearing, "He who once persecuted us is now preaching the faith which he once tried to destroy." 24And they were glorifying God because of me.
Gal_1:18 "Then three years later I went up to Jerusalem" Paul freely admitted that he visited Jerusalem. The emphasis of this sentence is that Paul had no contact with Jerusalem or the Twelve until three years after his conversion. The book of Acts records five visits by Paul to Jerusalem, but Galatians only records two. It is very difficult to know which of the visits recorded in Acts are similarly recorded in the book of Galatians or if there were additional visits. Most people believe that this visit mentioned in Gal_1:18 is equal to the visit recorded in Act_9:26-30. See Introduction, Date and Recipients, C.
▣ "to become acquainted with" This is a Greek phrase from which we get our English word "history." Paul went (1) to get to know Peter or (2) for the specific purpose of learning from Peter the teachings of Jesus. Yet Paul did not stay with Peter the entire time (cf. Act_9:28-30). He was preaching in the area and probably just spent the evenings and the Sabbath with him. This verse also emphasizes that he only stayed for fifteen days, which is much too short a stay for extended instruction. However, from the Pauline terminology and theology so obvious in I and 2 Pet., Peter may have learned more from Paul than Paul did from Peter.
NASB, NRSV,
NJB "Cephas"
NKJV, TEV "Peter"
Cephas (Aramaic for "rock") is found in MSS P46, P51, à *, A, B. Peter (Greek for boulder) is found in MSS à c, D, F, G, K, L, and P. Paul uses "Cephas" in Gal_2:9; Gal_2:11; Gal_2:14.
Gal_1:19 "But I did not see any other of the apostles except James, the Lord's brother" This Greek sentence is very ambiguous. The context implies that James was an apostle, but this meaning is not certain. It (apostles) could refer to Peter in Gal_1:18. James seems to be an "apostle" in the same sense as Barnabas (cf. Act_14:4; Act_14:14); Andronicus and Junias (cf. Rom_16:7); Apollos (cf. 1Co_4:9); Epaphroditus (Php_2:25); or Silvanas and Timothy (cf. 1Th_2:6; Act_18:5). This James was identified as the Lord's half-brother (cf. Mat_13:55; Mar_6:3), in order to differentiate him from James the Apostle, part of the Inner Circle, who was killed very early (cf. Acts 12). For several generations the church in Jerusalem had a physical relative of Jesus as their leader. Several biblical passages (cf. Act_12:17; Act_15:13; Act_21:18; 1Co_15:7; and Jas_1:1) indicate that James was a very important leader in the Church in Jerusalem. See hyperlink at Gal_2:9.
For "apostles" see Special Topic: Send at Gal_1:1.
Gal_1:20 "I assure you before God that I am not lying" Paul knew the seriousness of oath-taking and still felt that it was important to assert his truthfulness by oath (cf. Rom_9:1; 1Ti_2:7). Paul also employed God as a witness to his truthfulness elsewhere (cf. Rom_1:9; 2Co_1:23; 2Co_4:2; 2Co_11:31; 1Th_2:5; 1Th_2:10). Paul was certain of the divine origin and content of his message.
Gal_1:21 "Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia" Syria and Cilicia were Roman provinces but the smaller province of Cilicia was not totally independent (cf. Act_15:41). This may be the reason it was mentioned second, even though in chronology it is first, Paul's work was in Cilicia first, for it was the area in which Tarsus, his hometown, was located. This seems to be recorded in Act_9:30. Paul's time in Syria is recorded in conjunction with Antioch which was the capital of the Roman province of Syria. This period is recorded in Act_11:25-26.
Gal_1:22 "but I was still unknown by sight to the churches of Judea" The word "unknown" in Greek is reflected in the English cognate "agnostic." "Knowledge" [gnosis] in this case has the alpha privitive which negates it. This is somewhat surprising because Paul was a famous persecutor of the Church, however, not all of the churches knew who he was, and he did not seek recognition from the churches of Palestine for his ministry.
▣ ""churches" See Special Topic at Gal_1:2.
Gal_1:23-24 Although Paul did not seek affirmation from these early Jewish Christian churches, they gave it to him (cf. Gal_1:24) when they heard about his ministry among the Gentiles. This is another point in his argument against the Jewish "Christian" false teachers who said that he did not have proper authority.
▣ "the faith" This term may have several distinct connotations. For the most part the presence or absence of the article does not help clarify which meaning.
1. OT background means "faithfulness" or "trustworthiness," therefore, it is used of our faithing the faithfulness of God or our trusting in the trustworthiness of God
2. in our accepting or receiving God's free offer of forgiveness in Christ
3. in the sense of faithful, godly living
4. in the collective sense of the Christian faith or truth about Jesus (cf. Act_6:7 and Jud_1:3; Jud_1:20)
In several passages, such as 2Th_3:2, it is difficult to know which sense Paul had in mind. Here, option #4 is best.
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