The Epistles of the New Testament Theology ll Chapter 3 – Part 4 Mr. Christopher B. Perrotti

New Testament Epistles The Epistles are letters written to the inexperienced churches and individual believers in the earliest days of Christianity. There are21epistles of the New Testament, The Disciple Paul wrote the first 13 of these letters, each addressing a specific situation or problem. Peter, James, Jude and John also contributed. Paul's writings constitute about one-fourth of the entire New Testament.

Paul’s Writings Four of Paul's letters, the Prison Epistles, were composed while he was confined in prison. Three letters, the Pastoral Epistles, were directed toward church leaders, Timothy and Titus, and discuss executive Church matters. Paul also wrote General Epistles to Romans, Corinthians, Galatians and Thessalonians

The Prison Epistles Ephesians, Philippians. Colossians and Titus These four Epistles where written while Paul was imprisoned by the Roman, Sanhedrin or Syrians. Born a Roman, he was a Pharisee who was also knowledgeable in the Greek ways. Paul was also a Greek by culture having evidently received a Greek education. As a Roman, he appealed many times to Caesar for help when imprisoned in foreign lands.

Theme and Emphasis of Paul’s writings Before the overview of each of Paul’s epistles, it would be well to note in a nutshell the distinctive emphasis and contributions of each of Paul’s epistles Paul like the other senior members of the Church used the Epistles as a form of written communication to the larger Christian Communities in the Gentile and Jewish cities.

The Emphasis on the Lord Jesus Romans: Christ the power of God to us. 1 Corinthians: Christ the wisdom of God to us. 2 Corinthians: Christ the comfort of God to us. Galatians: Christ the righteousness of God to us. Ephesians: Christ the riches of God to us. Philippians: Christ the sufficiency of God to us. Colossians: Christ the fullness of God to us. 1 Thessalonians: Christ the promise of God to us. 2 Thessalonians: Christ the reward of God to us

The Emphasis on the Gospel Message Romans: The Gospel and its message. 1 Corinthians: The Gospel and its ministry. 2 Corinthians: The Gospel and its ministers. Galatians: The Gospel and its mutilators. – Mutilators: Those people who tried to destroy it Ephesians: The Gospel and its heavenlies. – The parts/people of the Gospel who came from Heaven

The Emphasis on the Gospel Message Philippians: The Gospel and its earthlies – The parts/and people who came of this erarth Colossians: The Gospel and its philosophies. 1 Thessalonians: The Gospel and the Church’s future. 2 Thessalonians: The Gospel and the Antichrist. – a person or power opposed to Jesus Christ

The Emphasis of the Gospel on the Believer’s Romans: In Christ—justification. 1 Corinthians: In Christ—sanctification. 2 Corinthians: In Christ—consolation. Galatians: In Christ—liberation. Ephesians: In Christ—exaltation. Philippians: In Christ—exultation. Colossians: In Christ—completion. 1 Thessalonians: In Christ—translation. 2 Thessalonians: In Christ—compensation

The General Epistles Written by: – Peter – James – John – Jude – The Book of Hebrews Written to address issues among the converted Jewish communities, these Epistles glorified Jesus as our Messiah, answered the early issues of these Jewish Communities. Let’s Look at one Epistle in Detail!

The Book of Hebrews The book of Hebrews was written at a time when many Hebrew Christians were wrestling with their new found faith in Jesus Christ. As they came face-to-face with a fresh way of thinking which required them to leave behind familiar rituals and long-established forms of worship, many of these first-century believers felt challenged and confused.

The Book of Hebrews The writer of Hebrews skillfully crafted his message to emphasize the superiority of Jesus Christ and the Christian faith over Judaism and all other religions. Today, this ancient document still speaks loudly, particularly to anyone entrenched in a religious system of laws and rules rather than an intimate relationship with Jesus.

The Book of Hebrews Calls all of us to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Unlike most of the other Epistles, The Book of Hebrews is as powerful to those who read it today as it was for those early Jewish Christians who struggled with their new faith.

The Author The author became unknown and today is often described as unknowable. The book has earned the reputation of being a "masterpiece“ As late as the 1800, Christian scholars believed that Paul may have wrote this beautiful work of Art. These claims are inconclusive because of some of the basic styles and salutations used by Paul were missing.

The Epistles The Early Church’s Pony express. Written to keep communities faithful, answer important questions and used to describe Jesus Christ as our Messiah and Savior. They were the earliest forms of writing in the New Testament, the first being over 30 years before Mark wrote the first Gospel.

The Epistles Today they give us some valuable insight to the challenges of the early Church They also contain truths given to their authors by the Holy Spirit for us to use as examples to follow a good Christians. As you investigate the Epistles you will find that the challenges to faith then, are also the challenges to our faith today!

The Epistles The study of the Epistles is a course in itself. I have given you the basic message and purpose of the magnificent works of art. Because of the use of symbols and metaphors they mean the same to us as they did to their original audiences. "Grace be with you all" Hebrews 13:25