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You must be in fellowship prior to your Bible study, so that the spiritual information you receive can become a source, of blessing to your soul and produce spiritual growth. Galatians 1:17 http://www.dailybiblestudy.org
17 Neither [oude] went I up [anerchomai] to [eis] Jerusalem [Hierosoluma] to [pros] them which were apostles [apostolos] before [pro] me; [emou] but [alla] I went [aperchomai] into [eis] Arabia, [Arabia] and [kai] returned [hupostrepho] again [palin] unto [eis] Damascus. [Damaskos] KJV-Interlinear
17 nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me; but I went away to Arabia, and returned once more to Damascus. NASB Paul continues his explanation of not receiving any doctrinal instruction from any human or worldly source. After his conversion, he went to Arabia. Where exactly he went, does not say. Arabia is the general region south and east and around Damascus and it extends a long way and covers a pretty large area which we know today as Syria, Jordan and Iraq. In Pauls day, there were likely villages, and certainly nomadic peoples living in and moving in and through the region along the trade routes. The where, is not so important, as to the why. The context of these several verses, is the source of truth from which Paul received that same truth. In the next verse he states that he returned to Damascus and then returned to Jerusalem after three years. How much time was spent in Damascus and how much time was spent in the desert is again, not specified. So the time in each place is irrelevant. What matters is that during the course of about three years, Paul went away from the city and into a rural region and there received the gospel and doctrine from God. He states clearly that he did not go immediately to the other apostles, before me. That, before me, comment indicates that Paul even at this early stage in his spiritual life, after his dramatic meeting on the road with Jesus, considered himself as an apostle. And even if not then, certainly by the time he wrote this book, he considered himself an apostle. He certainly mentions that fact in several of his books in the opening verses. Since Paul is making it clear that he did not seek out or receive any human instruction with regard to the gospel, which is a general term for doctrine, in its truest sense. As a Pharisee, he certainly had many years of training in the Old Testament scriptures, as well as the Judaism regulatory body of teaching. Therefore, he most likely spent most of this three year period, learning, or rather re-learning the true meaning and purpose of the scriptures, and thus unlearning the miss-information that he had been exposed to during his former years. And how this helps us all, is clear that even if you have had repeated exposure to teaching or ritual from whatever group or organization you have been associated with, or with no group at all, you cannot learn doctrine, unless it is taught to you. Paul is known as the greatest of the New Testament writers, and he had to re-learn everything. He did not go into the desert and smoke incense and just have truth settle into his skin cells. He went there to learn, and he spent a concentrated amount of time doing just that, dedicating himself to learning truth. Paul had the opportunity to go away to learn. Most of us do not have that luxury. But we all have the opportunity to learn day by day, a little now and a little tomorrow, and over time, we can assimilate volumes of truth into our soul. Our dedication takes our lifetime, just as Paul spent the remainder of his life to learning and teaching.
Now is the time to post a prayer. End Of Lesson Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth. |
