Did Paul have contact with the twelve apostles in Jerusalem?
Paul initially had no contact with the twelve apostles in Jerusalem; he says he did not confer with flesh and blood nor go up to Jerusalem. Later, however, he went up to Jerusalem by revelation and met with the twelve to communicate the gospel he preached among the Gentiles.
Les explains that Paul’s message came by revelation of the ascended Lord, not from men. In the earlier passage, Paul says he did not confer with flesh and blood, nor go up to Jerusalem, and the Holy Spirit prompted him to write definitively that he had no contact with those twelve men at Jerusalem. Then in chapter 2, Paul goes up to Jerusalem by revelation; God instructed him to go and meet with the twelve. There he communicated the gospel he preached among the Gentiles, showing it was not connected with Judaism. So any later contact did not make his gospel dependent on the twelve.