Anchor My Faith

Title: The Beginning of Paul’s Ministry

^1:18 Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to visit Cephas and remained with him fifteen days. ¹⁹ But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother. ²⁰ (In what I am writing to you, before God, I do not lie!) ²¹ Then I went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. ²² And I was still unknown in person to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. ²³ They only were hearing it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” ²⁴ And they glorified God because of me. (Galatians 1:18 – 24 ESV)

In the previous lesson Paul explains how he received the gospel through a revelation of Jesus Christ and was instructed to proclaim it among the Gentiles. In this lesson we will learn how Paul’s ministry began to take shape.

As we ended the previous lesson, Paul was in Arabia, where he spent three years before returning to Damascus. Looking at Acts 9 we find the conversion of Paul (then Saul) in verse 1 through 19. In verses 19a through 25, Paul proclaims Jesus in the synagogues in Damascus, saying, “He is the Son of God.” After many days had passed the Jews plotted to kill him but the plot became known and he escaped.

Acts 9:26 finds Paul in Jerusalem. This material in Galatians fills in the gap between Acts 9:25 and 26. Paul left Damascus and went to Arabia for three years before returning (Galatians 1:17). After returning to Damascus Paul went up (in elevation, not up north but down south) to Jerusalem to visit Cephas, known as Peter, and remained with him for fifteen days. It was difficult for Paul to meet the apostles because of their fear of him, but Barnabas comes to the rescue (Acts 9:27). Besides seeing Peter, Paul also met with James the Lord’s brother, not one of the original disciples.

After spending time with Peter and James, Paul said he went into the regions of Syria and Cilicia. Going back to Acts 9, we read: ²⁶ “And when he had come to Jerusalem, he attempted to join the disciples. And they were all afraid of him, for they did not believe that he was a disciple. ²⁷ But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles and declared to them how on the road he had seen the Lord, who spoke to him, and how at Damascus he had preached boldly in the name of Jesus. ²⁸ So he went in and out among them at Jerusalem, preaching boldly in the name of the Lord. ²⁹ And he spoke and disputed against the Hellenists. But they were seeking to kill him. ³⁰ And when the brothers learned this, they brought him down to Caesarea and sent him off to Tarsus. (Acts 9:26 – 30 ESV). Being sent off to Tarsus would correspond to going into the regions of Syria and Cilicia in Galatians 1:21. Syria is to the north of Judea and Galilee, and Cilicia is to the north and west.

Paul is still not that well known to believers in churches in Judea because he has not spent time with them. They have only heard it said, “He who used to persecute us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.” Hearing that Paul is no longer persecuting the church brings relief to believers and they now glorify God for the new direction of his life.