I was not disobedient. — Literally, I did not become disobedient. The language of the Apostle is significant in its bearing on the relations of God’s grace and man’s freedom. Even here, with the “vessel of election” (Acts 9:15) “constrained” by the love of Christ (2 Corinthians 5:14), there was the possibility of disobedience. There was an act of will in passing from the previous state of rebellion to that of obedience.
The heavenly vision... — The noun is used of Zachariah’s vision in the Temple (Luke 1:22), and again by St. Paul, in reference to this and other like manifestations (2 Corinthians 12:1). It is distinctly a “vision,” as contrasted with a “dream.”