Galatians 1:22

And I was still unknown by face unto the churches of Judea which were in Christ.

There is a distinction between Judea and Jerusalem. In all probability, Paul would not have been in that city some two or three Lord's days without visiting the church there; but, as the Jews were trying to kill him, it could be that he had attended worship as inconspicuously as possible. No matter how one reads it, what Paul said here was true.

In Christ... As often pointed out in this series of commentaries, this is one of the most meaningful phrases in the New Testament. Stamm noted that "It is Paul's most unique phrase, being used 164 times in Paul's letters."[48] John Mackay placed the number at 169.[49] Most commentators either ignore it altogether or, after noting it, give no adequate evaluation of it. Therefore, the following from Ridderbos is especially welcome:

As a matter of fact, this in Christ represents, in a remarkable and comprehensive way, the whole profound view which Paul unfolds in his letters concerning the significance for believers of the salvation that has appeared in Christ. [50]

Without exception, all Christians are those, and those only, who have been "baptized into Christ." For extensive discussions of this exceedingly important premise, see my Commentary on Romans 3:22

[48] Raymond T. Stamm, op. cit., p. 464.

[49] John Mackay, God's Order (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1953), p. 97.

[50] Herman N. Ridderbos, op. cit., p. 72.