You are correct and all Pauls reading and studying of the word of God had him out persecuting christians and believing he was doing the right thing, because reading and understanding Gods word does not mean you know him. But God did reveal himself to Paul, didnt he?
You do realize that Paul believed Judaism (following the Law of Moses) was still in effect... correct? And that the Law of Moses WAS meant to obey for a period of time? Paul wasn't privy to New Testament Scripture at the time - all he had was the Old Testament, which only foretold Jesus' coming.
During the infancy of the church, no "New Testament Scripture" existed. In the book of Acts, people were directly given messages through prophets and teachers (i.e. see list in Ephesians 4:11)... that was part of the Spirit's work during that time (see 1 Corinthians 12 and 14). There would come a time, however, when Christians wouldn't need to be given messages in that way any longer because the complete revealed will of God had been recorded. Ephesians 4:11ff and 1 Corinthians 13:8ff both speak about that time ending. Without Scripture today, all we'd have to guide us would be the thoughts/opinions of men... and that's always going to be prone to error.
