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.
1 Then [epeita] fourteen [dekatessares] years [etos] after [dia] I went up [anabaino] again [palin] to [eis] Jerusalem [Hierosoluma] with [meta] Barnabas, [Barnabas] and took [sumparalambano]
Titus [Titos] with me [sumparalambano] also. [kai] KJV-Interlinear
1 Then
after an interval of fourteen years I went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
taking Titus along also. NASB
Whereas Paul in the last chapter made his case for learning or receiving instruction on the true gospel (all doctrine) from Christ alone, now in this chapter he will make his case for the consistency of what he has been teaching, as the same as what the apostles have been teaching.
A period of fourteen years had passed since his last trip to Jerusalem for which he went to discuss matters of doctrinal concern.
Paul had traveled to Jerusalem on missions of mercy, carrying offerings of money to help aid those who were financially hard pressed.
But interim trips are not the focus here in this chapter. There have been two trips documented. One in Acts 11 and the other in Acts 15. There may have been more undocumented trips but they are irrelevant to this subject.
In the Acts 15 trip, the question of whether or not being true to the law of Moses was required in order to be saved, rather than simply believing in Christ. This question was brought up in Jerusalem. And without going much further, Paul and all of the apostles agreed that salvation had no requirement of circumcision prior to being saved.
Needless to say, circumcision was a male related thing and that would cause all women to be excluded from salvation. So the question was somewhat ludicrous.
Circumcision is a subject that will be brought up later, but this trip to Jerusalem as related in Acts 15, was for the purpose of settling that question.
Paul was not trying to match his story with anything documented in Acts, nor vice-versa. Needless to say, Acts had not been written at the time of this writing. Acts was written about ten years later, after Paul had written Galatians.
But a few things are brought out in this verse. First, Paul knew Barnabas and Titus at this early time, and they accompanied him on this trip.
And second, the question being raised and its answer, documents the continuity of the teachings of Paul and the apostles, with whom he had not been in contact. And thus the consistency and continuity of the Christian doctrines that were being taught in those early years of Christianity.
