Paul’s Epistle Applied

    When fully explaining the Gospel and its purpose, it is extremely vital to look at the life and the ministry of Paul. In his early life, Paul was known by the name of Saul, a religious leader who made a career in killing Christians as the Gospel began to spread in the first century. It was one of Saul’s journeys that he came face-to-face with Jesus and his life changed. From the time that Paul became a follower of Jesus and carried the title of Apostle, Paul was unashamed of his faith and began traveling around the world where he preached the Gospel and started churches. Amid his travels, Paul would pen letters that he would send to various churches. The purpose of these letters would vary depending on the audience, but according to a YouTube video called, Paul’s Letters: A quick overview, the primary purpose of his letter was either to address issues within a church or to help correct or train a pastor (Paul’s Letters: A Quick Overview, 2018).
    Three types of letters needed to be studied; Paul’s general epistle, Paul’s circular letter, and a letter that Paul wrote while in prison. The letter that Paul wrote to the Galatians was written approximately 49 AD, prior to the Jerusalem Council in 50 AD. The church of Galatians was started by Paul in his first missionary journey, therefore he had a personal connection to the church members and the pastor. According to the introductory notes of the Life Application Study Bible, the book of Galatians is the charter of Christian Freedom (NIV, Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition, Bonded Leather, Black, Red Letter, Thumb Indexed, 2019). When Paul initially founded this church and began teaching, the people welcomed him openly, but as his teachings convicted them of bad behavior and sin, they soon followed false teachings. The purpose of this letter was to refute the teachings that Christians needed to follow Jewish law to be saved. This pattern seems to still affect the church today; people like it when the pastor encourages them, but the people do not want to come to face their shortcomings. The bravery to share the truth regardless of criticism and ridicule is important for my journey as a pastor because I will come face-to-face with those who do not like what they are faced with. According to the book, The New Testament for English Readers, “The object of the Epistle was, to defend his own apostolic authority and to expose the Judaistic error by which they were being deceived” (Davy, 1865).
    The next letter of Paul that will be focused on his letter to the Ephesians. This letter was written around 60 AD. It is believed that Paul wrote this letter while in prison in Rome. According to the introductory notes of the Life Application Study Bible, the purpose of this letter was to “strengthen the believers in Ephesus in their Christian faith by explaining the nature and the purpose of the church, the body of Christ” (NIV, Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition, Bonded Leather, Black, Red Letter, Thumb Indexed, 2019). These introductory notes also refer to the letter of Ephesians as the “Epistle of the Grace of God” (NIV, Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition, Bonded Leather, Black, Red Letter, Thumb Indexed, 2019). This is another church that Paul had established when he founded this church around 52 AD. It is quoted in The New Testament for English Readers when it quotes Thephyact, “‘Seeing that this city is superstitious, and prided itself  so much on its wise men, Paul takes great pain in writing to suck persons, and has entrusted them the deeper and loftier of his thoughts, as to persons fully instructed.’” The author also furthers their point by adding a quote from Grotius, “‘Paul, now old in the apostolic office, and in prison in Rome, shows them how great is the power of the Gospel above all other doctrines.’” (Davy, 1865). It is evident that Paul understood the culture of the churches that he write and corrected. This is very important for churches today. We need to study and be diligent without isolating people or placing ourselves above the people morally. One of the best ways to achieve this goal is to diligently study the Gospel as well as the culture that we are reaching. Too often we are expected to study the Bible, but that pressure does not create diligent discipline, but an item on a checklist. This is also discussed in The New Testament for English Readers when it states, “The student of the Epistle to the Ephesians must not expect to go over his ground rapidly; much not be disappointed, if the week’s end find him still on the same paragraph, or even on the same verse, weighing and judging,-penetrating gradually, but the power of the mind of the Spirit, through one outer surface after another.” (Davy, 1865).
    The last letter that will be studied is the letter to the Philippians. This church was planted by Paul, Silas, and Timothy in Paul’s second missionary journey. The letter was written while Paul was imprisoned in Rome in 61 AD. According to the introductory notes of the Life Application Study Bible, the purpose of this letter was to “Thank the Philippians for the gift they had sent and to strengthen these believers by showing them that true joy comes from Jesus Christ alone” (NIV, Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition, Bonded Leather, Black, Red Letter, Thumb Indexed, 2019). This letter was considered to be Paul’s joy letter, where he shared his joy while being imprisoned. This is an important outlook for the church to have since we are going to face troubles and struggles throughout our lives and ministry. We also need to be reminded of how to find joy in Christ when going through difficult times. This is no more evident than in Paul’s writing in this letter. In The New Testament for English Readers, simply states, “No epistle is so warm in its expression of affection. Again and again we have ‘beloved’ and ‘brethren’  recurring.” (Davy, 1865).
Resources:
Davy, D. (1865). New Testament for English Readers. http://ia902806.us.archive.org/9/items/newtestamentfor03alfogoog/newtestamentfor03alfogoog.pdf. http://ia902806.us.archive.org/9/items/newtestamentfor03alfogoog/newtestamentfor03alfogoog.pdf
NIV, Life Application Study Bible, Third Edition, Bonded Leather, Black, Red Letter, Thumb Indexed (Indexed, Thumbed). (2019). Zondervan.
Paul’s Letters: a Quick Overview. (2018). [Video]. YouTube.com. https://youtu.be/igQOdLd-jcc