Part 3: The Letters (Epistles)

Jonathan LaMontagne

NT Overview • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Course Summary

Breakdown:

Over these (4) weeks we are going to be looking at each of these different “parts” of the New Testament.

Gospels - Life, Death and Resurrection of Jesus

Acts - History of the Early Church

Jesus’ Movement

The Epistles (Letters) - “How to” of following Jesus

Jesus’ Movement ‘Behind the Scenes’

Revelation (Apocalypse) - Jesus Return

Over (4) weeks we are going to be looking at each of these different “parts” of the New Testament.

Warning: Considering we are taking a 10,000 ft. view of the letters in the New Testament, we will not be looking at much Scripture apart from a verse here or there.

What is an “Epistle?”

Epistle means “letter”

Refers to a group of letters grouped together in the middle of the NT

Contain valuable insights and principles for living as a disciple who follows Jesus

21 Separate letters

Make-up largest of the Bible literary genres in terms of the # of book s

Smallest genre of literature in terms of # of words

Epistles have a format (standard format of the day)

Author

Recipient

Greeting

Prayer/Thanksgiving

Ephesians 1:1–4 TNIV

Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love

Body of the Letter

Final greeting & farewell

Ephesians 6:23–24 TNIV

Peace to the brothers and sisters, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love.

As the Church grew and the Gospel spread, questions arose as to the meaning and application of the Gospel for Christians.

The Epistles answers these questions by:

Giving the interpretation of the person and work of Christ

Applying the truth of the Gospel to believers

Transition: The epistles can be divided generally divided into two separate categories: Pauline Epistles and the Non-Pauline (General) Epistles.

Pauline Epistles

Major Pauline Epistles

Basics

Written by the Apostle Paul over a # of years

Written from many different locations

Book Details

Romans

The Apostle Paul's inspirational masterpiece

Explains God's plan of salvation by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ

1 Corinthians

Paul wrote 1 Corinthians to confront and correct the young church in Corinth as it was struggling with matters of disunity, immorality, and immaturity

2 Corinthians

This epistle is a deeply personal letter from Paul to the church in Corinth

Giving great transparency into Paul's heart

Galatians

The book of Galatians warns that we are not saved by obeying the Law but by faith in Jesus Christ

Teaches us how to be free from the burden of the Law

1 Thessalonians

Paul's first letter to the church in Thessalonica encourages new believers to stand firm in the face of strong persecution

2 Thessalonians

Paul's second letter to the church in Thessalonica was written to clear up confusion about end times and the second coming of Christ.

Prison Epistles

Basics

Written by the Apostle Paul between 60 and 62 AD

Written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome

Book Details

Ephesians

Written to the church in Ephesus

Gives practical, encouraging advice on living a life that honors God, which is why it's still relevant in a conflict-ridden world.

Philippians

Written to the church in Philippi.

One of Paul's most personal letters

In it, we learn the secret to Paul's contentment

Colossians

Written to the church in Colossi

The book of Colossians warns believers against the dangers which threaten them

Philemon

Written to Onesimus

One of the shortest books in the Bible, teaches an important lesson on forgiveness as Paul deals with the issue of a runaway slave.

Philemon 17–18 TNIV

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me.

Pastoral Epistles

Basics

Date of writing unknown

Written to:

Timothy - 1st century Christian bishop of Ephesus

Titus - Christian missionary and church leader on the island of Crete

Highlights

Young pastors have often considered the Pastoral Epistles among their favorite biblical books as their contents focus on many of the ongoing issues faced in church congregations.

From leadership to prayer to caring for those with various needs in the local church, these writings offer both instruction and inspiration to help in times of need.

Paul's attitude toward suffering and death for the Christian.

Despite his difficult circumstances and pending death for his faith, he continued to live with joy, served others, shared his faith, and looked forward to his eternal home with Christ.

Book Details

1 Timothy

The book of 1 Timothy describes Christ-centered living in the Christian church, directed to both leaders and members

2 Timothy

Written by Paul just before his death

Moving letter, teaching us how we can be confident even during hardship

Titus

About choosing competent church leaders

Topic especially relevant in today's immoral, materialistic society.

The General Epistles

Basics

Authorship

Written by a diverse collection of leaders from the early Church (James, Peter, John, Jude and Hebrews?)

Each author gives writes from a unique perspective and gives therefore a different contribution to the Canon

Names

Pauline epistles titled after to whom they were written to

General epistles are mostly titled by who wrote them

Hebrews (see below)

James

1 and 2 Peter

1, 2 and 3 John

Jude

Controversy with Hebrews

No author named

Jewish authorship seems certain w/large OT knowledge

Possible authors

Paul (left name out so Jews would read)

Barnabas?

Themes

Contain three themes: Faith, hope and love

Faith - Keeping and maintaining God’s commandments

James particularly focused on us upholding those commandments.

Reminds us that God’s laws are absolute, not optional.

He explains that God’s laws aren’t trying to hold us down, but give us freedom instead.

James 2:18 TNIV

But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.” Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do.

Hope - What is faith without hope?

Peter’s epistles take the laws we uphold and gives us hope for the future.

We are reminded that life may be difficult, but there is eternal glory at the end and warns of becoming distracted from God’s purpose.

1 Peter 1:3–5 TNIV

Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Love - Books of John emphasize love

Does not identify himself as the authors of the letters, it is widely believed that he wrote them.

He describes the perfect love of Jesus and puts a strong emphasis on two commandments: loving God with all your heart and loving your neighbor as yourself.

He explained how we can show God love by living by his laws and fulfilling our purpose in Him.

Obedience is an ultimate act of love.

1 John 4:8 TNIV

Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.

Extremely Practical

Learn to overcome fear, to have power, to love and show grace to overcome anything

Book Details

Hebrews

Written by an unknown early Christian

Builds a case for the superiority of Jesus Christ and Christianity

James

Written by James ____

James's epistle has a well-deserved reputation for providing practical advice for Christians.

1 Peter + 2 Peter

Written by the Apostle Peter

1 Peter - Offers hope to believers in times of suffering and persecution

2 Peter - Contains his final words to the church: a warning against false teachers and an encouragement to press on in faith and hope

1, 2 & 3 John

1 John - Contains some of the Bible's most beautiful descriptions of God and his unfailing love

2 John—John's second letter delivers a stern warning about ministers who deceive others

2 John—The third epistle of John catalogs the qualities of four types of Christians we should and should not imitate

Jude

Written by Jude who is also called Thaddeus

Shows Christians the dangers of listening to false teachers, a warning that still applies to many preachers today.

How To Interpreting the Epistles

https://www.wednesdayintheword.com/interpreting-epistles/

As we read a passage of Scripture we naturally interpret it through whatever “glasses” we are looking at it through

Epistles Were Written For A Specific Occasion

Basic rule: A text cannot mean what it never could have meant to its author or his readers.

Author is addressing a particular circumstance either on the readers’ side or the authors’ side.

Correcting:

Doctrinal error which needs addressing

Misunderstanding that needs illuminating

Cultural problem that needs clarity

Examples:

Thessalonians - Believed they were currently experiencing the Day of the Lord

Galatians - Judaizers was trying to convince the Galatians that being circumcised was necessary for salvation.

The challenge for us modern Bible students is quite often we have the answer (the epistle) but not the question.

Like hearing one half of the telephone conversation, we have to decipher the other half.

Epistles Are Task Theology

Rule: Whenever we share comparable particulars (i.e. similar specific life situations) with the first-century setting, God’s word to us is the same as His word to them.

Except for Romans, epistles are a response to a specific situation, not a theological book

NT letters don’t always start at the beginning and proceed logically.

Sometimes they are redundant and start in the middle.

Frequently, they assume the reader has a certain amount of background and familiarity with the situation.

Letters are what we call “task theology” — that is theology applied to the task at hand.

We still learn a great deal of theology from them, but it’s a derived theology. \

We look at the how the author applied theology to the task of the letter and then extrapolate to apply it to our task today.

Epistles Were Written In A Specific Culture

Rule: Read the letter in the context/culture of the first century.

Written in the 1st Century by a 1st Century author to a 1st Century audience.

We need to study the culture of the day and the relationship between the author and his readers.

Before studying Ephesians we could:

Seek information about the city of Ephesus

Paul’s relationship to the Ephesian church

What was happening at the time he wrote

Think Paragraphs Not Verses

Begin studying an epistle by reading the letter like a letter: read it all the way through in one sitting

Then work on outlining it and tracing the line of thought.

That line of thought will be presented in paragraphs – natural unit of thought, one building on the other, just like a normal letter.

Start w/Questions, Not Answers

The basic question you want to answer is “What’s the point?”

What does Paul say in this paragraph and why did he say it?

Why did he say it now?

How does it relate to what he just said in the previous paragraph?

To what he’s going to say in the next?

Many Bibles identify natural paragraph divisions in their translation, but you learn more when you make your outline.

Outlining forces you to slow down and look at connections you might otherwise breeze over.

When you are done outlining, consult a couple commentaries or translations to see if your paragraph divisions match theirs.

After outlining read through the letter again looking for answers to the following questions:

Who is writing the letter?

Who is the audience of the letter?

Does the writer state his purpose for writing the letter?

What situation does the author face while writing his letter?

What situation do the recipients of the letter face?

With a good outline and background information, you’ll be ready to tackle the letter verse by verse and paragraph by paragraph.

After you know the point for the original audience, then ask “So what? What does that mean for me, today?”

Conclusion

So, this week pick an epistle and start reading!

Check back next week for an overview on the book of Revelation

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