As to Ones Self and the Church (5:19-21), D. The Believers Walk in Warfare (6:10-20), 2. Everton lost 4-1 to Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Thursday and are second bottom in the Premier League ahead of Mondays visit to fellow strugglers Leicester City.. 1:16-19). If the con-tingency of the letters is ignored, Pauls let-ters become timeless treatises, severed from the historical circumstances in which they were birthed. [8] While this part of Pauls teaching is best preserved in 1 Thessalonians 4:1318, this same passage also makes clear that it caused some confusion among the Thessalonians that Pauls letter sought to resolve: because the Thessalonians, and possibly Paul himself, expected the Lord to return soon, they were concerned when the Parousia did not happen immediately and, furthermore, when members of the congregation began to die before Jesus return. [33] Richards, Paul and First-Century Letter Writing, 202. They taught, among other things, that a number of the ceremonial practices of the Old Testament were still binding on the church. Professional writers were used for virtually every letter written in antiquity. Thus, Paul writes about the believers wealth, walk, and warfare. In scope, Colossians presents the all supremacy, all sufficiency, uniqueness, and the fullness of the person and work of Jesus Christ as the God-man Savior, the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, and the total solution for mans needs both for time and eternity. 5:1f.). In this analogy, we are as Onesimus. As with many of Pauls epistles, picking a key chapter is difficult, but perhaps chapter 6 stands out because of its very important revelation regarding the nature of our warfare with Satan (6:10-18). If the coherence of Pauls gospel is forgotten, the letters become iso- It was likely sent first to Ephesus by Tychicus (Eph. [7] Lacking Pauls later focus on righteousness by faith rather than by the works of the law, much of these letters consist of ethical exhortations as Paul endeavors to teach these new Christians how to live as Saints (see 1 Thessalonians 4:112; 5:1222; 2 Thessalonians 3:615). 8-18), III. For 12 Thessalonians, see Sidney B. Sperry, Pauls Life and Letters (Salt Lake City: Bookcraft, 1955), 9498; Anderson, Understanding Paul, 7290; Jo Ann H. Seely, Hope for the Children of Light as the Darkness Descends (1, 2 Thessalonians), in Studies in Scripture, Vol. In Galatians, Paul addressed a congregation that he had founded but which had subsequently been infiltrated by Judaizers bringing with them old practices of the Mosaic law. that included southern districts and those cities just mentioned. First, they were official representatives of the apostle Paul whom he dispatched to various churches like Ephesus and Crete. In his studies, he had advanced in the religion of the Jews beyond many of his fellows as one extremely zealous for his ancestral traditions (Gal. [22] The involvement of Silvanus and Timothy in the Thessalonian correspondence makes particular sense because they had been involved with Paul in the initial evangelizing of Thessalonica, and Timothy was often Pauls messenger to the congregation there, as he was in the case of other letters where he is listed as coauthor. For two years, 61-62, Paul was held under house arrest in Rome, at the end of which time, it can be surmised, he was released. [37] Murphy-OConnor, Paul the Letter-Writer, 6061. The remainder of Pauls letters either fall into different generic categories or combine different types of writing. [41] Brown, Introduction to the New Testament, 412. The Power and Provision for Our Walk (5:14-18), C. The Believers Walk in the World (5:19-6:9), 1. He was a descendant of the Hebrew tribe of Benjamin and originally was named Saul, after Israel's first king. Everton lost 4-1 to Newcastle United at Goodison Park on Thursday and are second bottom in the Premier League ahead of Mondays visit to fellow strugglers Leicester City.. It is a cosmic book, presenting the cosmic Christ: the Creator/Sustainer and Redeemer/Reconciler of man and all the universe. In the process of Pauls defense, three key purposes emerge: (1) Paul expressed his joy at the favorable response of the church to Pauls ministry (chaps. Exhortation to Progress in the Life of Faith (2:6-7), 3. This letter is addressed to a congregation at Colossae in the Lycus Valley in Asia Minor, east of Ephesus. Onesimus was condemned by law but saved by grace.72, I. In the process of this, Paul then launches into a grand revelation regarding the humility and exaltation of Christ in 2:5-11. Instructions Concerning Leaders (3:1-16), A. The New Position in the Heavenlies (2:1-10), 2. If you or I were doing this (especially today) we would probably first try to get the administrative organization in order, the structure, and then worry about the doctrine. There is no evidence among the writings of the early church fathers that his authorship was ever doubted. That Colossians is a genuine letter of Paul is not usually disputed. As a result, care was given to the way the letter was written, both in its language and its structure, so that it could best be understood, remembered, and repeated to others. In view of the theme or purpose, the key words are wealth, walk, and warfare.. Certainly, there has never been a greater explanation of love written. He suggests that the more theologically involved passages, such as 1:1831 and 2:616, may possibly represent Sosthenes presumably exegetical and philosophical bent, whereas Paul insisted on pragmatic counsel. In 1 Timothy and Titus, Paul was free and able to travel, but here he is a prisoner in a cold dungeon and facing death. From sender to receiver; highly complementary The latest claims centre on a document released under Freedom of Information (FOI) laws, which has been seized on by One Nation leader Pauline Hanson, The Structure and Format of Pauls Letters. After the death of Claudius in AD 54, Jews and Jewish Christians were allowed to return to Rome, but in the meantime the Church had continued to grow among Gentiles, perhaps resulting in some tension between them and the returning Jewish Christians. Some early manuscripts of Ephesians 1:1 lack at Ephesus, opening the possibility that the letter was meant for more than just the branch at Ephesus. Prayer for Wisdom a Revelation (1:15-23), 1. The first is to set forth something of the wealth of blessings that believers have in Christ, and how, through them, the eternal purposes of God are summed up in the person of Christ, the things in heaven and on earth (1:3-12). 118, # 471. [16] Brown, Introduction to the New Testament, 6001, 62627, 63133. I. Being anxious to minister in Rome, he wrote Romans to prepare the way for his visit (15:14-17). This conflict between duty and desire became an intolerable situation for Paul; because of it, he gave up his plans for becoming a rabbi. During this time, Paul had ample opportunity to rethink his religious conceptions, systematize his understanding of the meaning of Jesus' career on earth, and formulate plans for spreading Christianity throughout the world. While there he lived and worked with Aquila and Priscilla who were of the same trade, tent-makers (Acts 18:3). While 2 Timothy also addresses some of these issues, it also takes the form of a testament or final expression of belief before Paul met his death. [32] Richards, Paul and First-Century Letter Writing, 169. Again, as is so consistent with the teaching of Paul, we see how good works or the conduct of the Christian is so connected with the person and work of Christ, past, present, and future. Instructions Concerning Doctrine (1:3-20), A. Pauls only other long series of greetings is in Colossiansa letter also sent to a church he had not visited.40. In his campaign against Christians, both men and women, he traveled with letters of arrest from the high priest and went to other cities to waste the church of Jesus Christ (Acts 26:10-11; Gal. Because these letters are older than any of the gospel accounts of the life of Jesus, they constitute the most reliable source that we have today for information concerning the early history of the Christian movement. The stoning of Stephen was one of these incidents. The Epistle to the Galatians was the battle cry of the Reformation because it stands out as Pauls Manifesto of Justification by Faith. (8:1-13), VI. 16:1-4; 2 Cor. The Coming of the Day of the Lord (5:1-5), C. Concerning Deportment in the Congregation (5:12-28). Suggestion 3. Web Colossians: A Letter that encourages authentic faith and authentic Christian life in face of the commingling of religions and new ideas. Since Paul had worked at Ephesus for about three years and since he normally mentioned many friends in the churches to whom he wrote, the absence of personal names in this letter strongly supports the idea of its encyclical character. 1:13) along with the possibility of death (vv. Letter from the Producer LIVE Part LXXVII Date & Time. Chapter 2 is certainly a key chapter in the way it sets forth Christ as our example in putting others before ourselves by having the mind of Christ. As we face the various dilemmas of life, we must all learn to find our comfort in God who is the God of all comfort. Third, focus on The Cross And Christs Suffering For Sins (1 Peter 3:18-22), 6. Term. 10-13). They promoted their own ideas and at the same time sought to discredit both the person and message of the apostle. 2 Cor. Nevertheless, their involvement in the composition process may, in fact, help to explain the differences of style and diction between the different letters of Paul. 61 The outline used here is taken from an outstanding series of 12 studies by Dr. S. Lewis Johnson in Bibliotheca Sacra, Studies in the Epistle to the Colossians, beginning Vol. As with 1 Thessalonians, this letter was also written by Paul (cf. 1-7), II. The coming of the Lord should not only comfort our hearts, but stir us to godly living. 4-33; and Henry Clarence Theissen, Introduction To The New Testament, Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, 1943, pp. No specific purpose is stated and no particular problem or heresy is addressed. Second, assess and advocate for the science-based measures needed to resume in-person schooling safely because of the vital importance of in-person schooling. 2:14-16; 3:1, 2, 5-6 with Acts 17:1-15). Contrary to modern notions of letter writing, Paul did not sit alone at a desk quietly composing his epistles. [15] Although Philippians, as one of the imprisonment epistles, has been traditionally associated with Pauls (first) Roman imprisonment, c. AD 6163, this is based largely upon the texts later subscription (see below) as well as to references to the palace (Greek praitorion, Philippians 1:13) and Saints of Caesars household (Greek hoi ek te-s kaisaros oikias, 4:22), both of which terms were not, in fact, limited to Rome itself. The former referred to north-central Asia Minor, north of the cities of Pisidian Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe; the latter referred to the Roman province (organized in 25 B.C.) [29], Noted examples of postcripts in the Pauline corpus include 1 Corinthians 16:2124, Galatians 6:1118, Colossians 4:18, 2 Thessalonians 3:1718, and Philemon 1:19, where Paul uses his own name and mentions that he is writing this with mine own hand. Other possible, but unsigned, postscripts include 1 Thessalonians 5:2728 and Romans 16:2123. In the process, he made a preliminary stop at Troas hoping to rendezvous with Titus (2 Cor. 3:1; 4:1; 6:20). Paul, as is his custom, uses his Greek name Paulos rather than his Hebrew name Shaul. The Doctrinal Portion of the Epistle, the Wealth and Calling of the Church (1:3-3:21), B. Paul's decision to cast his lot with the members of the Christian community did not make him a missionary all at once, for about fourteen years passed before his work as a leader in the movement received any general recognition. The Cross And Our Response to Trials (1 Peter 4:12-19), 8. gives the impression that some person might have forged a letter purporting to come from Paul, which gave faulty information to the Thessalonians and caused them to be shaken in mind and considerably troubled. Pauls letter to Philemon and his family, for instance, reads very much like a personal letter about a particular subject of concern to the sender and recipientnamely how Philemon should treat his slave, Onesimus, who is also Pauls convert. Because of the riot caused by silversmiths (Acts 19:23-41) Paul departed from Ephesus for Macedonia (Acts 20:1) in the spring of A.D. 56. In the early church, all who speak on the subject of authorship ascribe it to Paul. In fact, the situation is even worse than that, for the knowledge that one ought not to do certain things often acts as a stimulus creating the desire to do it. Eventually, he was invited by Barnabas to come to the church at Antioch and assist in the work being done there. Then, in chapters 3 and 4 he contended for the true doctrine of grace, the doctrine of justification by faith alone. WebThe letters of Paul, written only about 2030 years after the crucifixion, were preserved, collected, and eventually published. In general, they answered questions of churches In the other prison epistles, Paul spoke of this new relationship (Eph. Chapter 2 is key in that it corrects a serious error that had crept into the Thessalonian church which taught that the day of the Lord had already come. Since, in reality, all believers are called to full-time ministry in one way or another, this chapter would be more than beneficial for all Christians. 2:13) and receive news about conditions in Corinth. Removing #book# [14] Early in the postapostolic period and in the centuries since, many Christians have seen the necessity of accepting Jesus Christ and the failure of Israel to do so as a sign that the Christian Church, as New Israel, had superseded, or taken the place, of ethnic Israel. Closely related to this is another concept. was a 1966 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and a former pastor of 28 years. When Paul left Antioch for Jerusalem to discuss the gospel of grace (Acts 15:1f.) 3:4-5), and had evidently been taught the trade of tent-making as a youth (Acts 18:3). The Ministry of Reconciliation (5:116:10), K. A Spiritual Fathers Appeal to His Children (6:117:4), II. These reports from Macedonia together with accounts of continued persecution, convinced the great missionary that he ought to write the Thessalonian Saints another letter. [40] The rhetorical intent of a letter could, in fact, dictate the way Paul organized the body of the letter. Titus was written around A.D. 65 and 2 Timothy in A.D. 66. II. 1:1, Tit. Paul was a native of Tarsus, a city of considerable importance in the Greco-Roman world. Since his death is not recorded in Acts, he was apparently released from his first imprisonment in Rome, traveled over the empire for several years (perhaps even to Spain), was rearrested, imprisoned a second time in Rome, and martyred under Nero; (2) nothing in the church organization reflected in the pastorals requires a later date (see Acts 14:23; Phil. He was not only a Jew, but by his own testimony, he was a Pharisee and a son of a Pharisee (Acts 23:6), was a Hebrew of Hebrews (spoke Hebrew or Aramaic), was of the tribe of Benjamin (Phil. There is some debate as to the title and destination of this epistle. The apostle then visited Ephesus, where he left Timothy to supervise the church, and went on to Macedonia. Pauls advocacy before Philemon is parallel to Christs work of mediation before the Father. According to some calculations, Romans (979 manuscript lines) would have cost $2,275 in 2004 U.S. dollars, and even short Philemon (44 lines) would have cost $101! Polemical: Pauls Vindication of His Apostolic Authority (chs. When Plato referred to a prostitute, he used the expression Corinthian girl (Republic 404d). and ed. In this letter Paul had two major purposes in mind. What concerned Paul preeminently was the presence of false teachers, claiming to be apostles, who had entered the church. [20] See Richards, Paul and First-Century Letter Writing, 1931. This may well account for the period spent in Arabia and Damascus before his first visit to Jerusalem (Gal. A secondary purpose is to teach the practicality of Christian love as we seek to express the life-changing effects of Christs life in ours as it transforms our relationships with others whether in the home or in the master/slave or employer/employee relationships. The purpose and burden of the apostle in writing to the Thessalonians can be summarized as follows: to express his thankfulness for what God was doing in the lives of the Thessalonians (1:2-3), to defend himself against a campaign to slander his ministry (2:1-12), to encourage them to stand fast against persecution and pressure to revert to their former pagan lifestyles (3:2-3; 4:1-12), to answer a doctrinal question pertaining to the fate of Christians who had died (4:1-13), to answer questions regarding the Day of the Lord (5:1-11), and to deal with certain problems that had developed in their corporate life as a church (5:12-13; 19-20). WebPauls epistles fall into two categories: nine epistles written to churches (Romans to 2 Thessalonians) and four pastoral and personal epistles (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus and (6) This was followed by 2 Corinthians, the fourth letter to Corinth. WebThe Pauline Letters; Galatians; 1 and 2 Thessalonians; 1 and 2 Corinthians; Romans; Letters Written in Captivity; The Synoptic Gospels and Acts; The Gospel of Mark; The [42] Murphy-OConnor, Paul the Letter-Writer, 98110; Brown, Introduction to the New Testament, 41819. He hunted down the members of this group, had them committed to prison, and threatened them with death. The heart of much Catholic and especially Reformation theology, the Pauline epistles frequently prove to be unfamiliar and difficult territory for many Latter-day Saints. As with Ephesians, this epistle was written while Paul was imprisoned. Largely misunderstood by sectarian Christianity, Pauls arguments here regarding such issues as Gods election of Israel (see 9:129), Israels unbelief (see 9:3010:5), the availability of salvation to all (see 10:621), the fact that Israels rejection is not final (see 11:110), Pauls allegory of the ingrafted branches and the salvation of the Gentiles (see 11:1124), and the promise that all righteous Israel will be saved as a group (see 11:2532) have a particular importance in the context of the restored gospel.[14]. The body of a longer letter of Paul also often contained some of the elements found in the literary letter of a Classical philosopher, such as containing a section of instruction or teaching followed by a section of exhortation. He had denied the Christian claim that Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. It has also been pointed out that because all three are so closely connected in thought and style that they usually are either all accepted or all rejected as being written by Paul. Tit. It is not surprising, therefore, that even in a book stressing endurance in ministry, the doctrine of Christ is prominent. In the case of Pauls scribe Tertius, he may have been a professional secretary who was able to take dictation in ancient shorthand and had volunteered his services since Romans has many oratorical features that seem to reflect spoken composition. Tradition has it that Titus later returned to Crete and there served out the rest of his life. 1:5f.). This handout is part of the Living in Christ Series. 1:7; Col. 4:10; Philemon 9). This frequent two-fold division into indicative and imperative sections is important because many commentators focus on Pauls doctrinal teaching without sufficiently noting that almost every letter also discussed how the reality of the message of Christ should affect how Saints should live as Christians. Websubstitute for the list he provides of the parts of a Pauline letter, adopting with Hansen (1989) the simple structure of a salutation (1:1-5), a rebuke section (1:6-4:1 1), a request section (4:12-6:10) and a subscription (6:1 1-18). The introduction of Christianity in the capital had apparently led to conflict within the large Jewish community in the city, leading the emperor Claudius to expel all Jews from the city in AD 49. Suggestion 2. A TikToker who makes As with 1 Timothy, there is a personal and a corporate aspect in the themes of the book: In view of the challenge of chapter 2 and the model of chapter 4, endurance in ministry is a fitting key concept of this letter. The Condemnation of the Moral Man (2:1-16), C. The Condemnation of the Religious Man (the Jew) (2:173:8), III. Thus the approximate dates for 1 Timothy and Titus are perhaps 63-66. This letter was written about A.D. 55. toward the end of Pauls three-year residency in Ephesus (cf. Various forms of the words righteous and righteousness are sprinkled abundantly throughout Romans. Third, focus on Paul did eventually get to Rome, but as a prisoner. Consequently, alternative suggestions include a postulated Ephesian imprisonment, c. AD 5455, or Pauls detention in Caesarea, c. AD 5860, both of which would allow for an earlier letter to the Philippians, proposals that are attractive because of Philippians similarity in style, content, and situation to Galatians and 1 Corinthians (see Brown, Introduction to the New Testament, 49396, and Peter T. OBrien, The Epistle to the Philippians, NIGTC [Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1991], 1926). . As was his custom, Paul first preached in the synagogue but was eventually forced out by Jewish opposition. [25], Most of Pauls letters, however, were probably not the result of such transcription, which would have taken hours of continuous dictation: by some estimates 1 Thessalonians and Philippians could have been dictated in about two and a half hours, but 1 Corinthians would have required over ten hours, and Romans itself over eleven if an expensive professional not using shorthand were transcribing it. Contained therein are the principles for giving (8:1-6), the purposes for giving (8:7-15), the policies to be followed in giving (8:16-9:5), and the promises to be realized in giving (9:6-15).47. 1:4]). The theme of 1 Timothy, as with Titus and 2 Timothy, is twofold, one involving the individual and the other the church. Previous Where to Watch. As a devoted and loyal Jew of the Pharisee sect, his attention was given primarily to a detailed analysis of the requirements set forth in the Mosaic Law. His reference to the Praetorian guard (Phil. 559a) titled a burlesque play Ho Korinthiastes, which basically means The Lecher. Aristophanes coined the verb korinthiazomai, to act as a Corinthian, which came to mean, to practice fornication. According to Strabo much of the wealth and vice in Corinth centered around the temple of Aphrodite and its thousand temple prostitutes. 8-9), the writing of Romans must follow that of 1 and 2 Corinthians which is dated about A.D. 55. Brigham Young University It is possible that Philemon did free Onesimus and send him back to Paul (v. 14). Their Love for the Brethren, an Expression of Being God Taught (4:9-10), C. Their Love for the Lost Expressed in Godly Living (4:11-12), III. Naturally, many questions would arise as to the meaning and application of the gospel for Christians. [36] A short example from what is perhaps Pauls earliest extant letter illustrates the thanksgiving section of one of his letters: We give thanks to God always for you all, making mention of you in our prayers; remembering without ceasing your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the sight of God and our Father; knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God (1 Thessalonians 1:24). The purpose of gifts: unity in diversity (12:12-31), 3. But not to be outdone, is the concept of conduct or godliness, which occurs nine times (cf. Instructions Concerning Worship (2:1-2:15), A. 6, 46; Sanders, Paul, 6576; Joseph A. Fitzmyer, Romans (New York: Doubleday, 1993), 2536; Brown, Introduction to the New Testament, 55975. When we try to run an organization based on tradition or background, we end up with an organization that is not only not biblical, but which will lack the spiritual fervor and capacity to function as God intends. Thus, the Epistles answer these questions, give the interpretation of the person and work of Christ, and apply the truth of the gospel to believers. . [13] Consequently, in Romans, Paul addresses many of the same issues as he did in Galatians, but here the situation is reversed. The phrases justification by faith and freedom from the Law form the key words of the epistle. The writer calls himself Paul in several places (cf. All in all, in their content, these books are pastoral in nature and give directions for the care, conduct, order, ministry, and administration of churches or assemblies of believers. This was then followed by (3) the second letter to Corinth (1 Cor.). Because of this, he could appeal to Caesar as a citizen of Rome while imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:37-39). Then he went back to his home territory and for a period of eight to ten years little is known of his activities.37, Before the overview of each of Pauls epistles, it would be well to note in a nutshell the distinctive emphasis and contributions of each of Pauls epistles.38. It would be natural, however, for Paul to mention to a church to which he was a stranger his acquaintance with mutual friends. Paul did not deny the rights of Philemon over his slave, but he asked Philemon to relate the principle of Christian brotherhood to the situation with Onesimus (v. 16). [34] For example, Paul, and Silvanus, and Timotheus, unto the church of the Thessalonians which is in God the Father and in the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:1). 1:1; 16:21 and see also 1:12-17; 3:4, 6, 22). Both external and internal evidence is very strong in support of Pauline authorship. Personal: The Gospel of Grace, Justification by Faith Defended (1:1-2:21), B. 2). Most of these came from the humbler ranks, although there appear to have been some of the nobler class also (1:26-31). Ryrie writes: The mention by name of 26 people in a church Paul had never visited (and particularly Priscilla and Aquila, who were most recently associated with Ephesus, Acts 18:18-19) has caused some scholars to consider chap. The Warning Against Legalistic Judaizers (3:1-4a), V. The Peace of the Christian Life: Knowing the Presence of Christ (4:1-23). Instructions Concerning Public Worship (11:214:40), C. The Use of Spiritual Gifts (12:114:40), 2. 6:21-22; Col. 4:7-8) and is probably the same letter that is called my letter from Laodicea in Col. 4:16.55. Notably absent are qualities of worldly success and position. Notes. WebThirteen letters are attributed to Paul: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Having finished the survey of the historical books (the Gospels and Acts), we now come to the twenty-one epistles of the New Testament, twenty-two if one includes Revelation as an epistle (which in reality it is [see Rev. This new life in Christ calls for a new way of living through the Holy Spirit (3:16, 17; 6:11, 19-20). [32] The letter was then dispatched, sometimes being carried by a friend or associate traveling to the recipients destination but sometimes just sent with some traveler who was found going to the intended destination. Undoubtedly, because of their religious and immoral background, aberrant beliefs and practices of an extraordinary variety characterized this church. Prayer o Most often provides a thanksgiving for the efforts and successes From there the apostle sent him to Corinth where he helped that church with its work (see 2 Cor.
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