A Timeline of Paul's Galatian and Pre-Galatian Ministry
In a previous study, I considered how Paul describes his early ministry travels in Galatians 1-2. I examined what happened and why that is important for what Paul teaches in his letter to the churches in South Galatia, which he planted on his first missionary journey. In summary, I showed how his Galatian travelogue reveals how he resisted the pressures of legalism on behalf of the predominately Gentile churches he served in the regions north of Jerusalem and Judea.
The following table provides additional information about Paul's ministry by correlating his travels from Gal 1:13-2:14 with his travels in Acts. It will provide you with a more detailed perspective about Paul's interactions with the churches at Galatia and equip you to do further, in-depth Bible study on this subject.
| Galatians | Acts | Summary Explanation |
| 1:13-14 | 9:1-2 | Persecuted the church in Jerusalem and Judea as a prominent, legalistic Pharisee |
| 1:15-16a | 9:3-19a | Converted in response to a personal confrontation with the resurrected, glorified Christ as he traveled to Damascus to persecute the believers there |
| 1:17 | 9:19-22; cf. 9:27 | Rather than persecute the believers in Damascus, he instead spent time in Arabia and Damascus |
| 1:18-20 | 9:26-29 | Visited Jerusalem 3 yrs. later for a brief, 15-day meeting with Peter and James alone |
| 1:21-24 | 9:30-31 | Preached the gospel in Syria and Cilicia for an extended 10-yr. span |
| 2:1-10 | 11:25-30 | Visited Jerusalem again, this time 14 yrs. after his conversion |
| 13:1-14:28 | Planted churches with Barnabas in South Galatia, extending the gospel into Gentile territory in his first missionary journey (about 2 yrs.) | |
| 2:11-14 | After Paul returned to Antioch of Syria, Peter visited him, which is when Paul confronted Peter publicly over catering to legalistic teachers | |
| 1:1-6:18 | Wrote the letter of Galatians to the churches he’d planted in South Galatia because they were being influenced by legalistic teachers | |
| 15:1-29 | Participated in the Apostolic Council at Jerusalem to form a decisive response to legalism for all churches | |
| 16:6; cf. 15:40-18:22 | Revisited the Galatian churches with Silas during his second missionary journey | |
| 18:23; cf. 18:23-21:17 | Revisited the Galatian churches for a third time during his third missionary journey |