First, “among the church fathers, Ignatius, Tertullian, Origen, and Eusebius give evidence of the canonicity of this brief book. A popular theory claims that chaps. 63-64. 1–7), B. Thanksgiving for Divine Comfort in Affliction (1:3-11), C. The Integrity of Paul’s Motives and Conduct (1:12–2:4), D. Forgiving the Offender at Corinth (2:5-11), E. God’s Direction in the Ministry (2:12-17), F. The Corinthian Believers—a Letter From Christ (3:1-11), G. Seeing the Glory of God With Unveiled Faces (3:12–4:6), I. Since the epistle clearly names the author in the opening verse, it is not necessary to theorize that Ephesians was written by one of Paul’s pupils or admirers, such as Timothy, Luke, Tychicus, or Onesimus.54. 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. 8-9), the writing of Romans must follow that of 1 and 2 Corinthians which is dated about A.D. 55. Onesimus was condemned by law but saved by grace.72, I. This means he wrote it in A.D. 60-61 (see the discussion on the date of Ephesians and Philippians). Has God set the Jew aside? In the other prison epistles, Paul spoke of this new relationship (Eph. Philemon is a hybrid of the two categories. The phrase “our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ” is one of the christologically significant texts affected by the Granville Sharp rule. The Search OF the Savior: Why Jesus Came, Part 2 (Gal. He shows acquaintance with Greek culture and their thinking. As mentioned previously, it was from Rome, during this second imprisonment in the dungeon that he wrote 2 Timothy. 57 The outline used here closely follows that of Ryrie with slight variations, pp. 1:13). To express his plans to join Titus again in Nicopolis for the winter (3:12). Because of this, he could appeal to Caesar as a citizen of Rome while imprisoned in Philippi (Acts 16:37-39). Positive: Aspirations for the Heavenly Life (3:1-4), III. 3. In chapters 12–15, he explains what it means to be a “living sacrifice” (Ro 12:1–2). Instructions Concerning Public Worship (11:2–14:40), C. The Use of Spiritual Gifts (12:1–14:40), 2. Both 1 and 2 Thessalonians were written from Corinth during the apostle’s eighteen-month stay in that city (cf. But a careful analysis of ch. Pauline New Testament (NT) letters (or epistles as they are sometimes called) are laid out here in chart form in chronological order. 4:4-7). There he met Titus, who brought good news about the general well-being of the Corinthian church but bad news about a group who were standing in opposition to Paul and his apostleship. The theme of Philippians might well be “joy and unity in Christ.”. These ancient epistles contain valuable insight into modern-day Christian living, while also providing us a snapshot of the early Christian Church. January 2013; Sociology Mind 03(02):193-203; DOI: 10.4236/sm.2013.32026. A.D. 49, making it the earliest of Paul’s epistles), and the Jerusalem council (Acts 15) convened shortly afterward. 55 Ryrie, p. 1875. Second Thessalonians was evidently prompted by three main developments that Paul heard about: (1) there was the news of increasing persecution which they were facing (1:4-5), (2) to deal with the reports of a pseudo-Pauline letter and other misrepresentations of his teaching regarding the day of the Lord and the rapture of the church (2:1f. Closely associated with this is a short section on the believer’s warfare with the onslaughts of Satan (6:10-18). The Prayer That the Thessalonians Might Grow in Love (3:12), 3. As a young Pharisee, he was present when Stephen was stoned and murdered (Acts 7:58-83). Apart from the salutation and benediction, the book easily divides up into five sections: II. The Pauline Epistles are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 … Intro to the Pauline Epistles; Summary; Intro to the New Testament- Pauline Epistles. The basic theme of the letter is how the Christian’s new life, sanctified in Christ and saints by calling, is to be applied to every situation of life. 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. For more discussion see Wallace, Exegetical Syntax, 270-78, esp. The Prospective: The Endurance of Hope (4:13-5:28), A. It seems clear by comparing Acts with the epistles that 1 Timothy and Titus belong to the period after Paul’s first release and acquittal in Rome. Chapter Summary. These events took place from about A.D. 62-67. From Macedonia (northern Greece), he wrote 1 Timothy (1 Tim. In favor of this is the fact that Luke seems to use “Galatia” only to describe North Galatia (Acts 16:6; 18:23). Prayer of Thanksgiving for Philemon (vv. As with 1 Thessalonians, this letter was also written by Paul (cf. Q. Pauline Epistle Summary Of. In this sense, chapter 5 is a key chapter. Share. A final purpose was to express Paul’s thanksgiving for Philemon and to request preparation for lodging for him when he was released from prison (vv. Paul did not establish the church in Rome, but as the apostle to the Gentiles, he had longed for many years to visit the believers in Rome (15:22-23) that he might further establish them in the faith and preach the gospel there as well (1:13-15). Thus, in the synagogues of Damascus, he proclaimed Christ as Savior. Onesimus had made his way to Rome, where, in the providence of God, he came in contact with the apostle Paul, who led him to trust in Christ (v. 10). The primary purpose of this letter, the most personal of all Paul’s letters, was to ask Philemon to forgive Onesimus and accept him back as a beloved brother and fellow servant in the gospel (see vv. Clearly, Paul’s purpose is to broaden the believer’s horizons regarding the limitless wealth of his blessings in Christ who is the head of the church, the body of Christ. Clement of Rome speaks of 1 Corinthians as “the Epistle of the blessed Apostle Paul,” in his Epistle to the Corinthians and even cited 1 Corinthians in regard to their continuing factions. 1:13) along with the possibility of death (vv. They show many of the beliefs and controversies of Christianity. 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. I believe that this letter was written during the time frame of Acts 17:14-16, making it the second Pauline Epistle. With the coming of the Lord mentioned in every chapter, Christ is presented as the believer’s hope of salvation both now and at His coming. The general epistles contain three themes: faith, hope, and love. Organization of the Pauline Epistles. He is the basis for the believer’s hope (1:5, 23, 27), the source of the believer’s power for a new life (1:11, 29), the believer’s Redeemer and Reconciler (1:14, 20-22; 2:11-15), the embodiment of full Deity (1:15, 19; 2:9), the Creator and Sustainer of all things (1:16-17), the Head of the church (1:18), the resurrected God-Man (1:18; 3:1), and the all-sufficient Savior (1:28; 2:3, 20; 3:1-4).60, I. Doctrinal: The Person and Work of Christ (1:1-2:3), 1. Those things that characterize Paul are evident throughout (cf. Each outline contains the dates that the epistles are believed to have been written, the purpose or theme, and special verses to be aware of in the letter. Paul then made his third visit to Corinth during the winter of A.D. 56-57 (Acts 20:2-3). Closely related to this is another concept. Paul considers Timothy and Titus to be his sons in the faith (1 Ti 1:2; Tt 1:4). It was written from Corinth, while completing the collection for the poor in Palestine. From Macedonia Paul wrote a fourth letter, 2 Corinthians. Thus, we must seriously take the exhortation “to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might” (6:10). Share. Among these epistles are some of the earliest extant Christian documents. 4:9, 21 with 4:6-8), and (2) to admonish Timothy to keep holding on to sound doctrine, to defend it against all error, to endure hardship as a good soldier, and to realize we are living in days of growing apostasy. Ryrie summarizes this and writes: At the time of the writing of this letter the term “Galatia” was used both in a geographical and in a political sense. 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. 1:7, 13; Col. 4:10, 18; Philemon 1, 9, 10). 2:13) and receive news about conditions in Corinth. 1:1); and (3) the question of authorship cannot be decided solely on the basis of vocabulary without considering how subject matter affects a writer’s choice of words. The Pauline Epistles . The Importance of the Resurrection (15:1-11), B. A recap of the events pertinent to this epistle will help give some idea of a probable date for Titus, though the exact time is unknown. There is an absence of controversy in this epistle, and it does not deal with problems of particular churches. As a result, students of the Word have debated certain issues for years like the exact form of government or how we select and appoint men to leadership. II. In this the apostle shows how God saves the sinner. This is where the story of Jesus described in the Gospels is explained in greater detail. Their Love for God Expressed in Sanctified Living (4:1-8), B. The Believer’s Position in Christ (2:9-10), C. The Obligations of the True Teaching (2:16-3:4), 1. The major theme is summoned by James K. Lowery in the Bible Knowledge Commentary. I am convinced that Wilkinson and Boa are on target when they write: “The second chapter of Second Timothy ought to be required daily reading for every pastor and full-time Christian worker. In fact several fathers mentioned Paul as the author of this epistle in their writings. Since there is such a divergence of opinion does this mean we should give up on matters of church government? 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. It was on one of these missions that Saul was converted while on the road to Damascus. Unlike some of his other epistles, Romans was not written to address specific problems. Instructions Concerning Prayer (2:1-7), B. No! 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. Certainly, there has never been a greater explanation of love written. The writer calls himself Paul in several places (cf. Rather, in Ephesians, Paul sets forth the glorious mystery, “the church which is Christ’s body,” Christ as the head of the Church (1:22, 23), and believers as co-members of one another and blessed with every spiritual blessing in Christ (1:3; 2:11-22). Evidently at a young age, he went to Jerusalem, and according to his testimony, studied under the well know Gamaliel I, a noted teacher in the School of Hillel (Acts 22:3). and ed. Some critics have claimed that chapters 10–13 were not a part of this letter in its original form because of a sudden change of tone. Instructions Concerning Doctrine (1:3-20), A. Vocabulary used to describe church organization, for instance, would be expected to be different from that used to teach the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. As previously mentioned, the apostle was a prisoner when he wrote this epistle (Eph. These letters (also known as “epistles”) contain both general Christian teaching and specific instructions for the congregation to which they were addressed. Chapters 4 and 5 undoubtedly stand out as key chapters because of their teaching on both the coming of the Lord for the church, the rapture (4:13-18), and the day of the Lord (5:1-11), the time in the future when He will intervene in human events to consummate His redemption and judgment. Expositor’s Bible Commentary has an excellent summary of the key issues involving the authorship and date of Colossians. Authors: Wei Hu. In view of this evidence, few (some radical critics of the nineteenth century) have ever questioned Paul’s authorship. Chapter 3 then builds on this as root to fruit or cause and effect. Does debt affect giving in modern times in light of the Israelite tithe and slaves? The fact these great epistles were written while Paul was imprisoned, either in Roman barracks or chained daily to a Roman soldier in his own rented house (Acts 28:30), which gave him access to the whole elite Praetorian Guard, is a marvelous illustration of how God takes our apparent misfortunes and uses them for His glory and the increase of our opportunities for ministry (see Phil. 5:1f.). Exhortation Regarding the Methods of False Teachers (2:4-5), 2. 48 This outline was taken from The Expositor's Bible Commentary, New Testament, Frank E. Gaebelein, General Editor, Zondervan, Grand Rapids, 1976-1992, electronic media. In favor of this dating is the fact that Paul does not mention the decision of the Jerusalem council that bore directly on his Galatian argument concerning the Judaizers, indicating that the council had not yet taken place.50. 1-7); (2) he sought to remind the believers of their commitment to the offering for the Christians in Judea (chaps. These are primarily correspondence: Paul sends greetings, instructions, encouragement, and background information.Because of this, the epistles contain the majority of Christians’ theology. To meet the needs that occasioned this epistle, Paul wrote this epistle to comfort and correct. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22; 4:1). God’s wisdom manifested to us in Christ is to change believers on both the individual and social level. In the Home and Household Life (3:18-4:1), IV. Sanctification: Righteousness Imparted and Demonstrated (6:1–8:39), C. Sanctification and the Holy Spirit (8:1-39), V. Vindication: Jew and Gentile, the Scope of God’s Righteousness (9:1–11:36), A. Israel’s Past: Election of God (9:1-29), B. Israel’s Present: Rejection of God (9:30–10:21), C. Israel’s Future: Restoration by God (11:1-36), VI. 10–13), A. Paul’s Defense of His Apostolic Authority and the Area of His Mission (ch. When we turn to 2 Timothy we find a very different atmosphere. 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. The Previous Walk of the Old Life (4:17-19), 2. In this letter Paul had two major purposes in mind. In addition, a number of historical allusions in the book fit Paul’s life as recounted in Acts and in his own letters (cf. 11-52; W. Hendricksen, A Commentary On 1 & II Timothy and Titus, The Banner of Truth Trust, London, 1957, pp. Valley View University is Ghana's Premier Chartered Private University, located off the Adentan-Dodowa Road. A young man named Saul was bent on eliminating Christianity from the face of the earth. 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. 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