Why did the Holy Spirit keep Paul from learning anything from the twelve apostles?
The Holy Spirit prevented Paul from learning from the Twelve so his revelation would not be tainted or mixed with what the Twelve learned from Jesus during His earthly ministry. Christ had something totally different to reveal to Paul as apostle to the Gentiles, and He wanted that distinct message kept pure and unmixed.
Les explains that Paul conferred not with flesh and blood—other human beings—because he was dealing with the flesh and bone, the Lord Jesus up in glory. The Holy Spirit would not let Paul be tainted whatsoever by what the twelve had learned at the feet of Jesus. The Lord now had something totally different to show Paul, and He did not want it mixed up. Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before him, yet this did not take away the authority of Peter and the other eleven apostles. Les stresses the clearly divided division between what God did with Israel and what He is doing with the Gentiles and the Body of Christ, noting that men have been mixing it ever since.
To reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood:
Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.
More Questions
Did Paul have any contact with the twelve apostles in Jerusalem before receiving his revelation?
The Holy Spirit prompted Paul to write definitively that he had no contact with the twelve apostles at Jerusalem.
Did Paul go back to Peter and the other apostles to learn what they knew?
After those three years God did not send Paul back to the Twelve to pick up everything they knew; Paul was not an extension of Peter and the Eleven's ministry.
Why didn't Paul go to Jerusalem to be taught by Peter, James and John after his conversion?
After his conversion Paul did not go up to Jerusalem to confer with those who were apostles before him (Peter, James and John), even though that would have been the logical thing to do; instead God took him out into Arabia.