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all right let’s begin welcome to Sunday school thank you for being here we are moving on to a new subject in our study of the Bible do you know we continue to move through the New Testament moving on from the book of Acts and now we come to the epistles now this is a critical part of the Bible for us of course all the Bible is important but the epistles especially when we look at the Gospels that is the four Gospels we have in the New Testament we have the life of Christ portrayed to us we see the words of Christ the works of Christ we are to believe in Christ because of that and then when we come to the book of Acts we see a number of examples we see the Lord’s promises the Lord’s truths in action and those are meant to encourage us but it’s in the epistles that we receive the specific instruction yes there is instruction interspersed in the Gospels and even in the book of Acts but it is mainly in the epistles where we are given the instruction of how we are to live as Christians so this is an important part of the Bible that we are now coming to I want to do in today’s class is going to be a little different than what we normally do I want to introduce us to the epistles want to overview this genre this biblical genre and its main purpose I want to consider the different categories of epistles that appear in our Bible and then I want us to go through a little tour of Paul’s epistle Paul’s epistles and the purposes of each one of those epistles one of the things I really enjoyed coming to seminary one of the things I encountered in my classes was just a survey or a specific look at each book of the Bible understanding where it was written when it was written what its main purpose was and and other information I think is really helpful for orienting us to the totality of what the Bible says and when we pursue those books on a more intense level as we look at them more specifically we we are informed so that we can actually we can see how the different pieces of the book fit together to accomplish that that primary purpose for which it was written so I want to hopefully give you that same experience today something like that I’d like to introduce you to each one of Paul’s epistles we’ll just briefly consider each we’ll look at some sample verses in each one so today’s class is going to be more informational than exhortation ‘el where we you know that we normally do the observe interpret apply as we go through specific passages it’s gonna be a little different than that today but we’ve got 13 epistles to go through so it’s definitely gonna be something that you’re gonna you’re gonna want to stay right with me so that you don’t miss anything let’s pray before we continue our Lord and God we thank you for these these epistles god these is words that you caused your apostles to speak so that we might know not only the ancient ancient Christians God but so that we today might know how we are to live how we can glorify you follow you stand up amid these persecutions and sufferings of life’s so got a PhD help me to explain this now and as the people at Calvary and those listening encounter to these different messages and the different circumstances are the believers I hope God that even impart on them that what they were experiencing are the same kinds of things that we experience today and we need this word lord I pray that you bless this time amen all right let’s start with our overview what is an epistle you can ask that question what’s an epistle it’s a letter it’s just another word for letter actually that word comes straight from the Greek at the stole and it does mean a letter has some things that we should know about these letters these epistles these were personally delivered messages there was no postal service at this time except for government correspondence so if you wanted to send a message to somebody you had to actually commissioned a Mester to go and bring it to that person that’s what these epistles are these are hand-delivered personally delivered messages they’re often written down by dictation to an amanuensis basically a secretary so Paul or another one of the apostles would say what he wanted to have written someone else would write it down and we even see that in the Bible Romans 16:20 – one of those secretaries actually says something Romans 16:20 – we have iter sheis who write this letter greet you in the Lord so in a sense we say who wrote the epistles the New Testament in a physical sense sometimes there’s not the Apostles but in a real sense it is the Apostles speaking through these secretaries but it looks like that is that the Apostles like Paul would often sign their letters in their own distinctive hand which is why probably we have what’s written in Galatians 611 Galatians 611 see with what large letters I’m writing to you with my own hand of course that’d be important that they would be able to validate these letters that’s truly coming from them now like letters today there’s a certain distinctive structure to letters there’s an opening where you introduce yourself and you might give greetings – to the ones you’re speaking to there’s the main body of the letter and then there’s a closing where there’s often another set of greetings and a final farewell we do see that form or of that kind of form with these letters but unlike so many letters today this is not merely these letters in the New Testament are not merely a bunch of personal updates but they are actually teaching documents they are vehicles for presenting arguments to instruct and to equip believers in the church in those days now the book we’ve already looked at of course in the Old Testament but even in the New Testament the Gospels the book of Acts they are also presenting arguments but a little more indirect the epistles are very much or they’re much more obviously arguments more upfront with presenting a coherent set of ideas or you can detect the flow of thought there’s a discernible structure and it’s meant to persuade the listeners to believe or act in a certain way and they’re off these letters are often written with very specific situations in mind sometimes you might hear the term describing the epistles or even the books of the Bible that they are occasional that doesn’t mean that they were written every now and then but they were written in response to a certain occasion and we see that definitely with the epistles often it’s with a specific situation in mind that these epistles are written another important thing for us to realize about the epistles that the application is most direct that compared to some of the other scriptures when we look at the Gospels look at the acts or look at acts it’s not always a one-to-one application so many of the text does something that doesn’t necessarily mean that you should do it – like the rich young ruler Jesus told him you gotta sell everything if you want to come and follow me should every believer do that believers should be willing to do that but that was something specific for that man or in the book of Acts or it says that seven deacons who are appointed to take care of the widows or seven servants they some people do interpret them as deacons to take care of these certain widows that are in a certain time does that mean that every church needs to appoint seven men or a group of men to take specifically take care of the widows well we do see receive some instruction in the epistles but it’s not exactly the same so there is there’s a little bit of a difference there but again with the epistles it’s much more direct we are told specifically to hold to the instructions given in the epistles it’s kind of like the difference between the the Torah and the Old Testament the commands for Israel and then the narrative of the events like in the histories yes you receive instruction through the histories like first Kings first samuel there’s things like that but what you’re specifically told to hold to in the Old Testament is what is expressed in the law and it’s somewhat similar when it comes to the epistles what we are specifically told to hold to comes mostly through the epistles for example first Corinthians 11:2 first Corinthians 11:2 Paul says to that church now I praise you because you remember me and everything and hold firmly to the traditions just as I delivered them to you or second Thessalonians 2:15 2nd Thessalonians 2:15 Paul again says so then brethren stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught whether by word of mouth or by a letter from us now when we’re talking about traditions in these contexts we’re not talking about man-made traditions we’re talking about the teaching of the Apostles the teaching of Christ as passed on by the Apostles he says hold to these things or we can hear even from Peter in his letter or one of his letters second Peter 3:1 to to second Peter 3:1 a to Peter says this is now beloved the second letter I am writing to you in which I’m stringing you up I’m stirring up your sincere mind by a way of reminder that you should remember the words spoken beforehand by the holy prophets and the commandments of the Lord and Savior spoken by your apostles now this really goes back to the Great Commission right Jesus didn’t just say make disciples but part of that process is teaching them to observe all that he commanded us and that’s what we received me epistles we’re getting that teaching of how to observe the commandments of Jesus via his apostolic representatives now this is not to say that everything in the epistles is to be applied on a one-to-one basis for us sometimes the contexts of the epistles will make clear that something was cultural or unique to that time like the teaching we have in 1st Corinthians about speaking in tongues or the the frequent appearance of a command to greet one another with a kiss of love or the another aspect expressed in the 1st Corinthians the idea these love feasts which is kind of like a an extended version of the Lord’s Supper where people actually had a full meal together these are some things that were unique to that time and we can see from the immediate and the the larger context of the Bible that these were not things these are not commands for the church necessarily to practice throughout all time so there are some are some things like that in the epistles but we’re always even in those things looking for the abiding principles comes of teaching of tongue as we can see that there’s application about confusion in the church what is truly edify when it comes to their teaching about greeting with the kiss of love we can see that true affection is to be expressed often inappropriately in the church for one another well when it comes to an instruction about these these extended Lord’s Supper as these love feasts we are to see that true Fellowship is something the church is called to considering one another spending time with one another even eating with one another but soberly and considerately so hopefully you’re seeing as I’m explaining these things the overview that this is a very important sector of scriptures for us we want to learn from the epistles how we ought to live as Christians what we should be thinking what should we be believing what should we be loving what should we hate what do we say and what do we do we need to listen to these letters and that every specific situation of life is covered in the letters I mean it was really in ancient times how could they know everything that would happen in the modern era but the principles are given even in those ancient days that make us that we’re completely prepared and equipped for whatever we encounter today 2nd Peter 1:3 says 2nd Peter 1:3 seeing that his divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness through the true knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and excellence so we can’t say well you know a lot of instruction here but nothing that helps me for this situation no the specifics might not be there but the principles will be and a lot of times the specifics are there in second Timothy 3:16 217 speaks similarly second Timothy 3:16 217 very familiar passage to you all Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching for reproof for correction for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate or completed perfect equipped for every good work so from these epistles and from the scriptures in general we are ready but we are to become ready for any situation of life now we’ve seen an overview of what the epistles are let’s talk about some of the categories that emerged when we talk about the epistles and then it comes the New Testament you basically have two large groups to consider there’s the Pauline epistles the epistles written by Paul he wrote most of them and then the non Pauline epistles which are often called the Catholic or the general epistles now we’re not talking about Roman Catholic just mean Catholic in the sense of universal that was the more ancient meaning of the term these non Pauline books frequently not mention is going to a specific place but to believers in a large area or everywhere where as Paul’s letters are more oftentimes specific and so the Catholic or the general epistles be books like James 1st and 2nd Peter first in 2nd 3rd John Jude and perhaps Hebrews now the Pauline group can be further subdivided usually only here the the latter two categories but we can use four categories in total at the early epistles the major epistles the prison epistles and you can figure out why they’re called the prison epistles and then the pastoral epistles you know if you see as you see on the screen which books are listed in each category you can maybe see why the categories are broken down as they are but one I will ask you about why are they called pastoral epistles why do you think well they aren’t written for the churches and in fact most of these are so it’s not specifically that I consider it again right so these are written to church leaders I’ll probably know I’m gonna avoid the term pastor because we’re gonna see the that Timothy and Titus a little bit more than that they’re actually apostolic representatives so they have a special degree of authority but there’s something like this sense of Pastor these are leaders who are intent for who are Jim commissioned to be taking care of the church and the letter is specifically directed to them they are called the pastoral epistles and that makes sense now I mention Hebrews why what about Hebrews is it Pauline or is it a general epistle well men in the early church thought that Hebrews was actually written by Paul and there was some debate about it even at that time and the conclusion seems to have been that if it wasn’t written by Paul then it was written by an associate of Paul that’s the reason why it’s included in our scriptures there’s still a debate today about who the author of Hebrews actually is and it’s pretty hard to come to a conclusion but for today’s lesson I’m not going to be considering Hebrews a letter of Paul though it quite possibly could have been now why were these written why were these letters writ well think about it especially these Pauline letters we’ve got new Christians dotting the eastern Mediterranean in various cities new churches are the apostles just gonna leave them all by themselves derelict no these new Christians need help they need instruction they need strengthening and not just in person but even when the apostles are away now the Apostle Paul he loved these churches he loved the people in them he was concerned for them and he felt charged by God to continue to build them up and therefore he writes letters to them and we sometimes had the impression of Paul that he’s just the guy that converts people it goes to a new area it shares the gospel converts people and then just leaves know he’s even as we saw in Acts he’s constantly revisiting the churches he established and writing letters to them and many of those have become our Scripture and many of them are our Scripture what we’ve seen the epistles is basically the the categories of a benefit are the same as they are in all the scriptures the epistles we see instruction teaching receive reproof we see correction we see training and righteousness and this is all meant to make the believers complete adequate equipped for all that they will encounter as Christians in life now I think I said obliquely already but there are some letters that Paul wrote that are not included in the Bible they haven’t survived I’m sure that they were helpful when they were originally written but they were not inspired they were not an arrant like these letters and God saw fit to preserve these for us so we’ve seen an overview of the letters we’ve seen that categories of the various letters let’s now take a look at each of the thirteen Pauline letters what I basically want to discuss with you is when and where with these letters written and we’ll have some sense of this already from our study in acts for whom were they written and then what was each letters main message or purpose now some qualifications I should give when it comes to this tour we’re about to conduct first of all I’m not going to be debating whether any of these things are really written by Paul there’s there’s ample evidence to believe that they were but if you happen to look at any liberal commentator or scholar today you’ll know that play these letters are debated as to whether they really are written by Paul but if you look at their arguments they’re actually simultaneously hilarious sad and maddening because they they base a lot of their arguments others could have been written by Paul because the theology is way too developed all these speculations that are totally unfounded in just really examples of eisegesis but I’m just gonna I’m not gonna really be talking about that these are all that written by Paul I’m not going to an turn it to debate about any of those things another thing I should mention as we as we go through this tour is that this is my view I’m presenting my view of what I think the purpose is and the situation of each one of these letters are good godly men we’ll take slightly different perspectives than what I present you today but I’m just giving you my view as I understand it from my own study and what what I’ve learned so far and know those differences are not going to be super super critical in the grand scheme of things so you don’t have to worry about that I should mention though our along those lines many of the purposes of the letters are debated in terms of what is the main purpose of Romans for example or Ephesians so there’s gonna be some some different views even among conservative evangelicals today and indeed there is more than one purpose for the various books in the New Testament but we want to settle on what’s the main purpose what is driving this whole letter that’s what I want to talk to you about one last thing this little review the chronology of Paul’s life even here speaking of different perspectives some people might put these dates a little differently than what I’m displaying to you right now in fact Answers in Genesis has the dates I think a little bit earlier and other other good resources have them a little bit later but generally we can see the flow of events in history as they’re presented in the scriptures for Paul he is converted soon after Jesus’s resurrection Jesus rises again in 30 ad or around 30 ad Paul’s converted in 32 he goes at Jerusalem for the first time in 35 that remember those three years after he’s converted they ant the church at Antioch where he spends much of his time is founded in 41 or 42 it goes in his first missionary journey it towards the latter half the 40s that for 47 to 49 soon afterwards is the Jerusalem Council then his second missionary journey journey follows not long after that 50 to 52 about third missionary journey 53 to 56 his first imprisonment coming on the heels of his third missionary journey 56 to 61 or 62 one of those one of those years that he was released a final short section of additional travel an additional ministry from 62 to 65 and then his second imprisonment and has martyrdom and somewhere between 65 and 67 ad so keep that in mind we’re going to move chronologically through the letters rather than how they’re they’re put together in our Bibles do or that the order of the books in our Bibles is meant to be helpful but it’s not inspired so the fact that Romans appears after the book of Acts is a it’s not not inspired that’s just meant to be helpful when when somebody organized it time we’re not actually not going to start with Romans even though that’s where our bye was start and presenting the Paul’s presenting Paul’s letters we’re start with Galatians let’s now look at each one of these epistles Galatians when was it written well has to be written after Paul’s first missionary journey probably sometime around the Jerusalem Council since the same issues that that council was dealing with were dealt with in this letter there’s no specific mention or appeal to the Jerusalem Council in the letter of Galatians so I tend to think that this litter was published or sent before the Jerusalem Council so after the first missionary journey and before the Jerusalem Council now some good men take it a little bit later around 55 or 56 AD but I think it makes more sense to go before this would mean that Paul is writing from Antioch before he sat down his second missionary journey and to whom is he writing the churches of Galatia now you should be familiar by now where Galatia is and what’s Paul’s relation to Galatia you can even see on the map Galatia is a central section of Asia Minor Turkey today Paul had a connection to this region it’s where he went on his first missionary journey at least the southern part of Galatia and that would have included such cities as city in Antioch Iconium Lystra and Derby and this is a Gentile territory we’ve got Roman colonists we’ve got Greeks we’ve got Hellenized Celts we’ve got other indigenous peoples to Anatolia and we’ve got some Jews they make up these various churches of Galatia and these are young churches this is very soon after Paul had been there to give them the gospel for the first time but since Paul soon after Paul established these churches there were some teachers that went out some Jewish Christians who went around teaching these new Gentile converts that they needed to keep the law of Moses if they were going to please God and be saved Paul writes the letter to the Galatians churches in response to that what’s the purpose of Galatians I’ve captured it this way it is to return the churches of Galatia to the true gospel of salvation by faith against the polluted gospel of the Judaizers these false teachers well let me just show you a couple example passages that correspond with what I’m sharing with you open your Bibles and go to Galatians chapter 1 verse 6 to 8 Galatians 168 and we see something very striking right at the beginning of the letter that shows you what kind of letter we’re dealing with Galatians 1 chapter 6 our chapter 1 verses 6 to 8 normally Paul starts his letters with a Thanksgiving based on the people he’s talking to you but he doesn’t in Galatians look what he says instead verse 6 I am amazed that you are so quickly deserting him who called you by the grace of Christ for a different gospel which is really not another only there are some who are disturbing you and what to distort the gospel of Christ but even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to what we have preached you he is to be accursed surprised at the beginning of the letter you can see that there’s something serious going on with the gospel and Paul is not gonna pull any punches when it comes to that it doesn’t even have time to give thanks for this church there’s something so dire happening in the churches of Galatia and you can see this theme continue on in chapter 3 look at chapter 3 verses 1 to 3 chapter 3 verse 1 to 3 Paul says you foolish Galatians who has bewitched you before whose eyes Jesus Christ has publicly publicly portrayed as crucified this is the only thing I want to find out from you did you receive the spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith are you so foolish having begun by the spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh you can hear Paul’s tone in these bindings he is filled with passion you gave him say he’s angry he’s frustrated unnecessarily would the people themselves but with this tampering with the gospel and he is extremely concerned that the people would go along with a perversion of the gospel and he wants them to see how serious it is but when we come to the end of a later look at chapter 5 verses 13 and 14 are really just 13 Paul does make clear yet even as he clarifies that salvation is by faith and not by works it is nonetheless a salvation that does not lead to a sinful life but one where you do actually pursue good works and you are sanctified look what he says in chapter 5 verse 13 he tells them for you were called the freedom brethren only do not turn your freedom into an opportunity for the flesh but through love serve one another of course there’s an extremely important book for for us even today as there’s a continued effort from those within the church and those outside the church to hurt to pollute the gospel by making works necessary for salvation or by adding man’s traditions to the gospel and of course we see that and things like the Catholic Church for those who want to bring back the old testament into the Christian life and other various works religions this letter was so so important to the Reformation even Martin Luther considered Galatians his favorite letter but we need to move on Galatians is our first letter or I would argue the first letter we have from the New Testament from Paul next letter we see are the the next two letters we see are those given to the Thessalonians no so the date of this letter we are in Paul’s second missionary journey that’s when he was going through Macedonia and Greece and he writes these these two letters from Corinth remember Paul was in Corinth for an extended period of time he had just been in Thessalonica though and he sends some letters back to them who are his recipients was the primary Gentile Church at primarily Gentile church at Thessalonica and this is in Macedonia Thessalonica was the capital of the Roman province of Macedonia very important city but the believers there were quite young less than two years old in the faith and that Thessalonians had become concerned about Paul because even when Paul first brought the gospel to them he was suffering he was driven out of the city of Berea he was forced to go to Athens they were concerned about him and his suffering and they also had become confused about some aspects relating to what happens to believers when they die in and Christ’s return so Paul writes this letter to them first s alone ian’s what’s this book about what’s the purpose of first Thessalonians I would say it’s to exhort the Thessalonians to persevere through their suffering and live holy lives in light of the Lord’s soon return let me show you some passages along these lines look at that solonius chapter 1 verse 6 and 7 so you have to go forward in your Bible just a little bit thessalonians chapter 1 verses 6 & 7 in the beginning of the letter he talks a lot about how he suffered to bring them the gospel and then how they suffered as they received the gospel but he says this is a good thing this shows you belong to the Lord he says in verse 6 you also became imitators of us and of the Lord having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in akia so he acknowledges their suffering he even brings it back to mine in this letter but then look at chapter 4 chapter 4 verses 13 to 14 we can see some of the specific issues that they were wondering about a struggling with being addressed by Paul verse 13 but we do not want you to be uninformed brethren about those who are asleep so that you will not grieve as the rest you who have no hope for if we believe that Jesus died and rose again even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus I don’t know the exact nature of their confusion at the church but it seems to be that some were suggesting in the church that those who had died would miss out on on Christ’s glorious return but Paul clarifies no those who have died there they are going to be part of that as well and they are currently with the Lord he goes on in chapter 5 verses 1 to 2 did further clarify eschatology when he says no as to the times and the epochs brethren you have no need of anything to be written to you for you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night and he goes on to clarify more about Jesus coming what’s really interesting / I’ll come back to this point note this emphasis on eschatology in 1st Thessalonians when we consider 2nd Thessalonians I’ll say more about the two letters in just a second 2nd Thessalonians is written very closely after 1st Thessalonians this is still why Paul’s on his second missionary journey still why he’s in Corinth and the purpose of the book is very similar to the first Paul writes to correct an eschatological misunderstanding and exhort the believers to again persevere in faithfulness to Christ until Christ comes first Thessalonians and second Thessalonians are sometimes referred to as Paul’s eschatological letters because they are particularly concerned with Jesus is coming let me show you how this appears in the second letter look at chapter 2 of second Thessalonians verses 1 2 3 tap into verse 2 1 2 3 now we request you brethren with regard to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to him that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us to the effect of the day of the Lord has come but no one in any way deceive you for come unless the apostasy comes first and the man of lawlessness is revealed the son of destruction so what apparently was going around in the church at thessalonica someone was saying that Jesus had already come the Second Coming had already happened and they missed it now he goes on to clarify no no that that didn’t happen in fact you know that you haven’t missed it because these other things haven’t happened other things that we told you would happen and so there’s the clarification now when it comes to eschatology but then there’s the continued ramifications of that clarification in Chapter three what the three verses are verse six and then we’ll look at a couple others but never sway says in verse six chapter three verse six now we command you brethren in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you keep away from every brother who leads an unruly life and not according to the tradition which you receive from us I jump down to verse 11 and 13 for we hear that some among you are leading an undisciplined life doing no work at all but acting like busybodies now such persons we command and exhort in the Lord Jesus Christ to work in quiet fashion and to eat their own bread but as for you brethren do not grow weary of doing good something that definitely comes through from these two letters is that there is a strong link between your proper eschatological understanding and your proper motivation and perseverance and living wholly for Christ we can never push ask assault eschatology or the truth about the the coming of the Lord aside and say oh that’s not important or it doesn’t matter if I misunderstand that Oh Paul says actually you need to understand that if you’re going to persevere until Christ comes we see that even from these first two letters to Thessalonica well let’s keep moving our next letter to consider is first Corinthians this one comes in Paul’s third missionary journey this was one he spends most of his time in Ephesus but also revisits many of the churches he’s writing from Ephesus and he writes to this primarily Gentile church in Corinth now Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of akia so that would be the lower part of Greece today very important trade center very important city but again another city of new believers this church was established in Paul’s second missionary journey now they had previously received a letter from Paul with some instruction we don’t have that first letter it’s not Scripture they’d also written Paul a letter back with some questions for Paul but while they sent this letter Paul also received reports about some very concerning issues that were going on in the church at Corinth these some issues that weren’t even mentioned in their letter so with this in mind Paul writes a letter back to them what’s first Corinthians about what’s its purpose it’s a primarily letter of Correction correcting the church’s errors answering questions and in in total directing the believers to humble unity through love of Christ instead of selfish arrogance we can see this in some example passages look at first Corinthians so back up a little bit in your Bibles rit’s Corinthians chapter 1 just going to use chapter 1 verses 10 and 11 Paul says now I exhort you brethren by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ that you all agree and there be no divisions among you that that you be made complete in the same mind and in the same judgment I’ve been informed concerning you my brethren by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you that’s interesting Paul does not begin his letter by addressing their questions but what appears to be addressing the more important the more serious issues in the church and the first four chapters of 1st Corinthians are about the disunity you are arrogantly dividing yourselves from one another we see a second serious issue in chapter 5 verses 1 to 2 Paul has addressed and correct another issue chapter 5 verse 1 and 2 it is actually reported that there is immorality among you and immorality of such a kindness does not exist even among the gent as someone has his father’s wife you have become arrogant if not mourned instead so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst what’s the second serious issue well this ongoing immorality in the church there’s no church discipline no no what we’re moving this man from fellowship this unrepentant man Paul says you’ve got to address that but he also deals with the things that they asked him about chapter 7 verse 1 I see a transition in the book or he says now concerning the things which you wrote many deals with various other issues marriage eating things sacrificed to idols behavior when it comes to celebrating the Lord’s Supper spiritual gifts and though he deals with those different issues you can see what’s underlying Paul’s answer to each one of these things in chapter 13 verse 4 it says a lot about how they’re to act in certain areas but and you see the underlying principle in this very famous section of 1st Corinthians the love section in chapter 13 ebert in verse 4 he says love is patient love is kind and is not jealous love does not brag and is not arrogant if you look at first Corinthians you keep seeing the word arrogant boasting boastful throughout the book and Paul is reminding them look your fundamental problem is showing up in all these different areas is your pride but let me show you the way of Christ the way of Christ is humble love that results in a unity in the church and that’s what I want you to have so Paul sends this letter of correction and instruction to the church but how did they receive it let’s look now at second Corinthians second corinthians has written to the same body a little bit later in Paul’s third missionary journey he’s moved on from Ephesus at this point and is traveling through Macedonia on his way to Corinth actually he’s perhaps in Philippi when he writes this but some things have happened since their first since the letter to Corinthians that we know as first corinthians Paul visited the city of Corinth in the church there after he wrote the letter and the visit didn’t go well it was a very painful visit someone in the church was apparently leading an anti Paul movement and leading the church to resist the Apostle and his instruction so when Paul left after this painful visit he wrote a severe letter to them and then this letter also is not part of my Bible but I’m sure it was very important at that time and in this letter Paul rebukes the church he calls out this man who was leading opposition against him he exhort them to repent but he also affirms his love for the church as a result of receiving this very difficult letter from Paul the church does repent and they rebuke this opposition leader – Paul Titus Paul’s companion brings the news of the church’s repentance back to Paul and that’s when he decides to write and send this letter second Corinthians what 2nd Corinthians about I write the purpose this way it is to affirm Paul’s renewed fellowship with the church at Corinth but also to provide a final defense of himself and his ministry to those still opposing him in the church look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 2 second Corinthians chapter 2 verses 5-8 we see an example of this reckon reconciliation aspect of the letter second he is Jew to five to eight Paul says but if any has caused sorrow he is cause sorrow not to me but in some degree or not to say too much to all of you sufficient for such a one is this punishment which was inflicted by the majority someone contrary you should rather forgive and comfort him otherwise such a one might be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow wherefore I urge you to reaffirm your love for him he was Paul talking about here but this apparently was the leader who was cementing opposition to Paul this man repented he had been rebuked and confronted by the church but Paul needs to tell the church now well don’t treat him as an outsider reaffirm him bring him back into the fellowship forgive him and when you do that I’ll forgive him too I’ll accept – there’s no reason to hold a grudge but there’s a continued need for Paul to defend himself when we see that defend himself in his ministry and we see that throughout the letter but look at 2nd Corinthians chapter 11 synchrony chapter 11 verses 21 to 23 I want to show you some verses here this is in the midst of one of his avenues of defense he’s speaking here about credentials that was apparently one of the things he’s competing leaders would bring forward that they had all these credentials but Paul says starting in verse 21 of chapter 11 yes okay so mid part of that Matt verse but whatever respect anyone else’s bold not speaking foolishness I am just as bold myself today Hebrews so am i are they Israelites so my today descendants of Abraham so am I are they servants of Christ I speak as if insane I’m more so and far more Labour’s and far more imprisonments beaten times without number often in danger of death Paul is part of his defense he sarcastically putting his own credentials in comparison to these wannabe apostles but he’s gonna go on to say look these external things are not important it’s really about the message that I bring you am I a true apostle do I hold to the true gospel have I ever deviated from that and he shows them that he hasn’t and that they are therefore to accept him just as he desires to accept that now I’m moving on one of the most important letters of Paul or at least the most famous is the letter to the Romans now this comes from this comes from later on in Paul’s third missionary journey he writes those two letters to the Corinthians on his way to Corinth but when he arrives in Corinth it’s apparently a good visit and while he’s there he writes this letter to the Romans now there was a church at Rome another predominantly Gentile Church but this church was not founded by Paul you’re not been there yet Amen there’s no indication of who actually was the one who started it or what what groups that people went there it’s mostly Gentile church but some Jews present to question Oh Rome was the most important city in the Mediterranean world at that time probably a million people living there from all over the Empire every ethnicity and social class but Paul didn’t really have any interaction with the people around they make some of them may have known him heard about him but the church as a whole did not know about Paul or was not familiar with Paul iswi writes this letter now what is the purpose of Romans this is one of there’s a lot of debate about clearly this book is well known and deservedly so for its explanation of salvation and whole 12 chapters just describing policy ology of salvation but why is Paul trying to win converts well probably not because he’s right any Christians is he trying to set the church right doctrinally when it comes to salvation more perhaps but it doesn’t seem to be a particular there’s no indication that was a particular need there’s no heresy or anything mentioned here so my view as to why he writes the book of Romans and this is this is an accepted view though again there’s debate about this but this is actually a letter of introduction from Paul to the church at Rome so that they can become ministry partners with him some people even described it as a missionary support letter Paul states his intention in the letter to want to come to Rome and then go further with the realms with the church at Rome’s help these people don’t really know Paul so rather than simply introducing himself he introduces his theology so they can recognize him as a true apostle and support him it’s kind of like this this is an introduction to me in my ministry and he presents a a very thorough explanation of salvation and you can see almost his thesis in chapter one of Romans go over to Romans now so in front of the two books of Corinthians Romans chapter 1 verses 16 and 17 this is what really launches Paul’s explanation of salvation Romans 1 verse 16 to 17 he says try not ashamed of the gospel for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes to the Jew first and also to the Greek for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith as it is written but the righteous shall live by faith of course what precedes onward from the next 11 chapters or so is an explanation of those truths to what the end the letter though you can see what I think is more evidence of Paul’s underlying purpose behind all of this look at Romans 16 woman 16 verses 22 to 24 you can see what Paul’s plans have to do with the church at Rome Romans 16 verses 22 to 24 yes I think I want one chapter two I think it’s 15 yes at 15 I’m sorry Rome is 15 to 20 to 24 for this reason I have often been prevented from coming to you but now with no further place for me in these regions and since I have had for many years a longing to come to you whenever I go to Spain or hope to see you in passing and to be helped on my way there by you when I first enjoyed your company for a while so Paul’s intention is not only to be able to serve the people at Rome but be helped by them to go to other places so that’s why I take my view that I do now Paul writes Romans knit towards the end of his third missionary journey but then Paul’s put in prison and such begin Paul’s prison epistles um first among them are close to first among them is the letter to the Ephesians this is written during Paul Paul’s first imprisonment it’s in Rome rights to the Ephesians there is some debate into the exact nature of his audience is it just the Ephesian Church or is it an encyclical that includes the city of Ephesus I will go through the reasons why there’s supports for both sides but there’s a very strong tradition linking this letter to the Church of Ephesus it could really work either way the the meaning of the letters not change so much whether it’s encyclical or to a particular fellowship at Ephesus see if Ephesus as you may remember it’s a it’s another Roman capital capital of the province of Asia another major city in the Mediterranean world at this time only behind the Rome itself and Alexandria and Paul had been been at this church recently in his third missionary journey for about three years now what is the purpose of effusions that’s another one that there’s a lot of debate about because it’s kind of difficult to tell there’s no specific problems really mentioned in the book but there are there are some concerns that he that he addresses I would put the purpose of Ephesians in this way it is to reassure Gentile believers about their salvation and about Paul’s imprisonment and in general to exhort these new Gentile believers toward persevering godliness look at Ephesians chapter 2 verses 19 and following so over to Ephesians now fusions to 19 you can see an example of how Paul affirms that the Gentiles are fully saved full inheritors of salvation blessing he turns to 19 he says so then you are no longer strangers and aliens but you are fellow citizens with the Saints and are of God’s household having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets Christ Jesus is himself being the cornerstone and whom the whole building being fitted together is growing into a holy temple in the Lord saying you have everything that Jewish believers have you are full salvation here tyr’s look at chapter 3 verse 13 you see a reference here to his imprisonment and he says 13 therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf for they are your glory so there’s some reassurance going on there and then look at chapter 4 verse 1 chapter 4 verse 1 as often we see in Paul’s letters he he deals with certain theological issues and then he talks about application what does it look like in your life and verse 1 he says therefore I the prisoner of the Lord in plural to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called you Gentiles are truly saved but you are to walk in a way that matches that Paul’s letter to the Ephesians is is very similar to his letter to the Colossians also written in his first imprisonment probably around the same time as the Ephesians it’s not exactly clear which one came first the recipient of this letter is the church at Colossae also in Asia but another church that Paul himself never visited Paul did have an indirect impact on this church though people there surely knew of him just as he knew of them because his ministry at Ephesus affected them and may have even resulted in the church’s establishment it’s another Church of mostly Gentile believers now this many of the truths expressed in the letter to the Colossians are expressed in the book of Ephesians but there’s also that there’s an additional problem at Colossae there’s a heresy there that seems to be attracting to people so to some kind of necessary knowledge outside of Christ you need this other secret knowledge there seems to be also a return an appeal to return to the Jewish law and ritual observances so describing the exact nature of this heresy is somewhat difficult was it a Jewish Gnostic hybrid but whatever the case the heresy Paul in this letter his purpose is to remind the Gentile believers of their full sufficiency in Christ need any extra knowledge to exhort them to a real holiness on a fake holiness that’s merely external look at Colossians chapter 2 verses 8 and following right before Ephesians in our Bibles no no a little bit later right after Philippines quashes 2 verse 8 he says see to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty decision according to the decision of men according to the elementary principles of the world rather than according to Christ for in him all the fullness of deity dwells in bodily form and in him you have been made complete and he is the head over all rule and authority so you can see there he says you don’t need anything outside of Christ you don’t need any extra knowledge in terms of your spiritual salvation and equipping and then look further verse 16 in the same chapter we could see some of the application of this verse 16 18 he says therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day things which are a mere shadow of what is to come but the substance belongs to Christ and he goes on so he’s saying there’s no reason for you to go back to these dis ascetic externalism that’s not the that’s not the teaching of Christ now this letter to the Colossians was probably delivered at the exact same time as the letter to Philemon also rendering Paul’s first imprisonment why do I say they were written together well because in Colossians the messenger appears to be a man named Anissa mas’ who is the man who’s also central to the book of Philemon the recipient of this book is a man named Philemon who apparently was also at the church at Colossae and he happened to own a slave named Inessa mas’ now we can’t get into it now but do recognize that slavery was a very large aspect of the Roman world as many as one-third of the population the Roman Empire was enslaved fact many Christians were slaves and some Christians were slave owners the Bible has some things to say about that not abolishing slavery but definitely giving instruction as to what is a christ-like relationship towards a master and towards a slave but it happened that this an s miss ran away from his master Inessa miss was apparently an unbeliever but he ran to Rome encountered Paul he got saved now what do we do with this slave this now Christian slave paul writes a letter to Philemon and probably the church at Colossae – because their greetings to other people in the church and what does he what’s he doing with this letter well he entreats finally meant to forgive an SMS to accept an SMS as a fellow brother in Christ and to allow an SMS to continue to serve with Paul and ministry I would show you some verses but getting a little bit short on time so let me keep moving on with these letters the last of the prison epistles that Paul sends out is the book – philippians so there’s the city of Philippi also during Paul’s first imprisonment probably a little bit later than the other prison epistles maybe a second year in Rome church Philip I was in Macedonia remember it’s that an important city colony of Rome established during Paul’s second missionary journey Paul suffered persecution while he was there but he was macos leaf read by God Philippian church were special supporters of Paul they sent him a gift while he was in prison they clearly were concerned about him Paul writes this letter back and what’s his purpose in writing it wants to exhort them to even greater gospel partnership by having them walk in joyful unity with each other amidst persecution now if you know the book of Philippians you know there’s a lot there about joy there’s also a lot there about unity because that apparently was an issue in the church even two people are called out near the end the letter yo D instant icky for not being unified with one another and he says help these women these are my beloved sisters in Christ help them be united and you new church as a whole be united against the persecution of the world because when you do that you won’t be overcome so there’s a lot in this letter about unity but Paul eventually is a release from prison and his last three letters are written after Paul’s first imprisonment the first and these are all the pastoral letters is first Timothy this is written soon after Paul’s release probably around 63 ad Paul somewhere in the eastern Mediterranean he had left Macedonia not too long ago according to what’s in the letter and he writes to Timothy and perhaps also the church at Ephesus Timothy was at Ephesus you know Timothy was Paul’s companion picked up by Paul during Paul’s second missionary journey a beloved co-worker after Paul’s release from his first imprisonment he’s Timothy to Ephesus to take care of certain things on the Apostles behalf while Timothy is there Paul writes this letter it’s not clear whether Paul sent Timothy to Ephesus with this letter or he just sent it to him afterwards what’s this letter about it’s to absorb instruct Timothy and really the church with him to halt the influence of false teachers and set the Ephesian Church in order you can see that in the very beginning of chapter 1 where he says I urge you to stay in Ephesus teach certain men not to teach strange doctrines and appoint appoint elders that can protect the church instruct the church I’m very key in the book of 1st Timothy is a statement that appears in chapter 3 verses 14 to 15 where he says I’m writing these things to you that you may know how to conduct yourself in the household of God that is the Assembly or the Church of God this little this is a church about I mean this is a letter about setting the church in order in Ephesus and this is very similar to the letter to Titus this is also written during Paul’s last bit of journeying after his first imprisonment Titus was another co-worker companion of Paul but Titus had been sent to the churches in Crete as Paul’s representative not much is known about Titus except that he was a Gentile and he was Paul’s frequent partner we see him mentioned throughout Paul’s letters at Island Titus in Crete it’s not one that we hear about Paul visiting specifically in the book of Acts but apparently some Christian missionaries went there some preachers went there there were several churches on the island by this time what’s Paul writing to Titus about just like first Timothy he’s a he’s instructing and exhorting Titus along with the churches in Crete to stop the false teachers and to set the church in order that’s it’s almost like the letter opens the same way as Timothy does first Timothy does Paul says I left you in Crete that you would set in order what remains appoint elders and then later on in that chapter he says for there are many rebellious men empty talkers deceivers they must be silenced that’s why he writes this letter but the final letter of Paul comes when Paul is imprisoned again and this is his imprisonment that leads to his martyrdom second Timothy how persecution arose against Christians and in Rome after the fire of Rome and 64 AD Nero the Emperor blamed the Christians and apparently persecuted Christians for the rest of his reign which ended in 67 ad it doesn’t appear that that persecution spread to the rest of the Empire but it was brutal in the city of Rome and around Rome many Christians killed tortured humiliated and Paul was apparently rounded up as part of this persecution and his tone is very different in this letter from his other prison epistles he doesn’t expect to be released he expects to die he would end up dying in Rome according to what we know but he writes to Timothy again and Timothy may still be at Ephesus or somewhere else than province of Asia because Timothy had apparently become discouraged and hesitant to pursue the ministry that Paul had left him with so Paul writes this letter to him to encourage and charge Timothy they carry on gospel ministry for Christ’s sake even after Paul departs and again we don’t have time to go through the verses but you can see that in chapter 1 where he says Kindle afresh the gift of God that’s in you don’t be ashamed of me or the testimony of the Lord and in chapter 4 verses 1 to 5 very famously he says I charge you preach the word in season and out of season because people they’re not gonna want to just car they’re gonna look for false teachers you have to stay faithful so in summary the 13 epistles of Paul I’ve kind of give you kind of like their messages in shorthand version Galatians salvations by faith not works versus alone Ian’s persevered Jesus is coming second Thessalonians keep going he hasn’t come yet Chris Corinthians let’s talk about your church problems second Corinthians accept me you’re true apostle and reject the fakes Romans here’s an introduction to my gospel Paul’s gospel Ephesians you Gentiles are really saved but live like it Colossians Christ completes you you Colossians but also you live like it Philemon your slave is now your fellow minister accept him philippians united you will stand with joy 1st timothy secure ephesus from false teaching titus secure crete from false teaching and then 2nd timothy keep preaching the word now you may be noticing some things from these letters and even if we had time we can consider some of the other epistles but there are some definite themes there’s a continued call throughout these letters sir believers to live in holy perseverance just continued call to contend against false teaching let’s continue call to keep preaching the true gospel I can continue call to look to Christ find your their full satisfaction and equipping in Christ that you can follow him those things were necessary and true back then and aren’t they still necessary and true today the same things that we need to hear that’s why we need these epistles and we’re gonna investigate these further investigate some of the themes the epistles over the coming weeks but there you have it quick tour through the epistles of Paul or definitely a little bit over time so let me close next week we’re going to consider one of those those themes of differences between approaching Gentiles with the gospel and differences in between approaching the Jews let’s pray well guy thank you for the people at Calvary and I thank you for this word that you didn’t leave us derelict gave us the instructions so that we can be complete and have everything we need for life and godliness we thank you Lord but please help us to to hear and obey these words and she this name Amen alright I know that was intense so thank you and I’ll see you next week