“Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and remained with him fifteen days.”
Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter,
The word “then” means after that, referring to the time following Paul’s three-year stay in Arabia and Damascus. After waiting three years, Paul finally returned to Jerusalem to see Peter (Acts 9:26-30). When Paul left Jerusalem previous to his conversion, he went to Damascus to murder and imprison Christians. However, he came back as a believer! He left as a beast but returned as a champion for Christ.
We obtain the English word history from the Greek word for to see. When Paul says he went to see Peter, the word carries the idea of making a social call on his fellow apostle. Paul wanted to become acquainted with Peter. They told each other their story. During these fifteen days, they spoke of God’s grace and work in their lives. This must have been a great time of fellowship.
and remained with him fifteen days
Paul wanted to know Peter better. He stayed in Jerusalem only briefly because his life was threatened there (Acts 9:29). There was no time for Peter to train Paul theologically or certify his ministry in fifteen days, so Paul did not obtain his doctrine of grace from Peter.
After fifteen days, Paul fled for his life. It took some courage to go back to Jerusalem. He was not afraid to face the past. We cannot get away from our past by running away from it. We deal with it by facing it.
Principle:
Iron sharpens iron.
Application:
Christians are not live to themselves. Believers should not live by themselves. We need the fellowship of other saints. There is a richness to fellowship with saints.
To meet someone who spent 3years day and night in the presence of our Saviour must have been awesome. Peter must have shared most intimate testimonies with Paul.
Dear Grant,
Is the Peter in Galatian 1:18 same as Peter in Galatians 2:11? If yes, why is apostle Paul confronting him with Inconsistency in character?
Olawale, yes, both passages refer to the same Peter. Did you go the the study in Galatians 2:11? You can do that if you have a smartphone by going to the bottom of the page then 1) choose the book of the Bible you want (in this case Galatians) and then another popup will appear where you can choose Gal 2:11. Here is a shortcut for you: https://versebyversecommentary.com/galatians/galatians-211/