Paul’s three years in the wilderness
Gal. 1:18-2:1
Acts 9:20 - Immediately after Paul was saved, he preached Christ in the synagogue at Damascus.
Gal. 1:15-17 - Paul didn’t get his doctrines from men, but directly from God in the Arabian desert. It is likely he returned to Damascus at the end of three years and preached the gospel there. Acts 9:22 fits this explanation, as it reflects the growth of Paul in the truth. His continuing in Damascus after the three years in the Arabian desert and preaching the truth caused the Jews there to conspire to kill him.
This shows it is not important to get an official education with a degree from some Bible college in order to effectively preach the gospel. It is very, very important to get a “degree” from heaven, directly from God.
Many young preachers want to go away to Bible college so they can effectively prepare to the ministry God has so graciously given them.
Go to God, instead.
He has called you and He will give you the words to say. He gave Moses words, and He will give you words.
Bible colleges are good to a point, but they often fill the young preacher with ideas about how a church should operate, and these ideas won’t be based on Scripture.
Bibles colleges often forsake the Bible doctrine of the local church, for often there is more than one church supporting the Bible college because of the great expense involved.
It is also interesting to note the Paul wasn’t excluded from the church at Damascus for non-attendance while he was away in Arabian studying for the ministry.
There were no other churches, so Paul couldn’t be accused of attending one of those.
There was a great freedom in those days because there were no other churches. All scripturally baptized believers were members of one of the Lord’s churches, and nobody claimed otherwise. It is not so today.
Not attending church services is a mark of an unbeliever, and unbelievers shouldn’t be a member of one of the Lord’s local churches.
That is why we exclude people for non-attendance.
Paul was attending “heavenly” worship services in the desert of Arabia.
I John 2:27 - The Holy Spirit that anointed Paul with salvation also taught him everything he needed to know about the truth of God’s Holy Word.
John 14:26 - The Holy Spirit, which is the comforter, will teach you all things.
Acts 9:23-30 - Three years after Paul’s salvation, he leaves Damascus for Jerusalem. Barnabas introduces Paul to the church, because they have never met him.
The only apostles present is Peter and James (Gal. 1:18,19), who accept Paul based on the testimony of Barnabas.
This reminds me of the time right after I was called to preach, and Jessie and I traveled to Clarksville, Tennessee for the purpose of “scouting” out the campus at Bible Baptist Church.
Everybody was gone except for Larry Ellis and his wife, Janet.
Why were they all gone?
It just wasn’t God intentions for me to attend that Bible college, or any Bible college for that matter.
It wasn’t important for me to listen to what these men had to say, but very important for me to listen to what God had to say.
The same is true for Paul and for every believer.
Paul spends these 15 days in prayer in the temple (Acts 22:17) and in going in and out (Acts 9:28).
While at Jerusalem for these 15 days, Paul continued to speak boldly in the name of Jesus Christ (Acts 9:29) and disputing with the Grecians, who could not answer his arguments, therefore conspired to kill him.
Acts 9:30 declares that the brethren (the church at Jerusalem) sent Paul to Caesarea, a sea port city, and compelled him to return to Tarsus, his home city.
Galatians 1:21 states that Paul afterwards came into the regions of Syria (this was when Barnabas got Paul to help him with the work in Antioch) and Cilicia, which is the area of Tarsus. In none of these places, did Paul get instructions from men, rather gave instructions to men.
Paul willingly left Jerusalem for Tarsus, not because of the danger involved in staying at Jerusalem, but because he had seen a vision from God, declaring that he should leave because the people at Jerusalem would not receive his testimony (Acts 22:17-21).
Acts 21:13 - When Paul knew it was the Lord’s will for him to go to Jerusalem, he went, even though his Christian friends begged him to not to go, because they knew the trip was for his own destruction.
Acts 11:19-26 – (This text agrees and compares to Galatians 1:21) After Paul returns to Tarsus, he remains there until Barnabas comes for him. Reading between the lines, it is seen that Paul and Barnabas remain in contact with each other, and both grow in fellowship and the faith. What Paul does at Tarsus is not recorded and how long he stays there is not known. When the gospel spreads because of the persecution that arises because of the martyrdom of Stephen, Barnabas is sent as far as Antioch to see the grace of the Word of God. The work is great and Barnabas needs help. Therefore he goes to Tarsus to get Paul, and both remain at Antioch for a whole year. It is from Antioch that Paul and Barnabas are called by the Holy Spirit and confirmed by the church to be missionaries to the Gentiles.
Acts 15:2 - It is 14 years from the conversion of Paul to Acts 15:1, which compares to Galatians 2:1,2. Paul does not return to Jerusalem until this time, and then only to defend the gospel against Judaizers.
Gal. 2:4 makes it clear there will be no circumcision for Titus because the Judaizers would think it was for salvation.
This compares favorably to Acts 16:1-3 where Paul had Timotheus circumcised “…because of the Jews which were in those quarters: for they knew all that his father was a Greek.”
If not being circumcised would be a hindrance to the gospel, then Timothy would be circumcised, but if being circumcised meant the observers thought Paul believed circumcision had something to do with the gospel, Titus would not be circumcised.