Verse of the Week - Galatians 1:18-20

John Gill Wrote*

• Then after three years, I (Paul) went up to Jerusalem... Not three years after his return to Damascus, but after his conversion; and now it was that he moved to become a member of the church at Jerusalem; 
• They did not care to admit him to the church, fearing that he was not a disciple, until Barnabas took him, and brought him to the Apostles Peter and James, and related his conversion and his boldness in preaching the Gospel at Damascus.
• Paul's view in going up to Jerusalem at this time was partly his own safety, being obliged to fly from Damascus, but chiefly to see Peter. 
• Paul went not to see what sort of a man he was, but to pay him a Christian visit; to talk with him about spiritual things; to know how the work of God went on under him...and to relate to him...but not to receive the Gospel from him, or to be ordained a preacher of it by him.
• Paul had already in the work of the ministry for three years before he made this visit to Peter; and besides, his stay with him was very short, (15 days) nor could he have received much from him, in so short a time, in an ordinary way.
• During this time, Paul wasn't just visiting with Peter but he was also coming in and going out at Jerusalem, where he preached boldly in the name of Christ and disputed against the Grecians.                           

*adapted from Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible