New Testament Survey

Paul

A Side Trip into the Land of . . .

Paul

When one thinks of the New Testament, one usually thinks of Jesus Christ — and Paul. No single, ordinary human has influenced Christianity as much as this Apostle. While the Gospels explain who the Christ is and what it means to believe in Him, the early church had no manual on how to act as a Christian. Into this void walk the writers of the epistles. The most prominent of these is Paul, for he writes 13 of the 21 letters.

Epistle comes from the Greek epistole, a word which simply means letter.

So, who is this Paul? Why did God choose him?

5 Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharisee; 6 Concerning zeal, persecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless.
Philippians 3:5-6

Paul is the Apostle to the Gentiles (Acts 9:15, Gal 2:9). Philippians 3:5, 6 is the way he describes himself to the church at Philippi. Paul was a Jew through and through. His love for his people is evident in his evangelistic method. In each city, Paul would first go to the Jews and teach in their synagogues in an effort to win his people, Israel, to the Lord. Only after they rejected him and Jesus, did the Apostle turn to the Gentiles.

From Scripture we learn about Paul.

His father was a Pharisee - Acts 23:6
He himself was a zealous Pharisee - Phil 3:6
He was a student of Scripture, studying under Gameliel - Acts 22:3; cf. 5:34
Paul was from Tarsus - Acts 9:11
He was from the tribe of Benjamin - Phil 3:5
Tarsus was a Greek/Roman city in Asia Minor. The Greek is reflected in Paul’s arguments (Acts 17:28; Titus 1:12).

He was a tent maker - Acts 18:3
He was a Roman citizen by birth - Acts 21:39
He describes himself as a Hebrew of Hebrews - Phil 3:5
His love for the Hebrews is evident in his writings - Rom 3:1; 9:1-3
As a zealous Hebrew, he persecuted the sect of Christians - Acts 8:3; 9:1-2; Phil 3:6
He was zealous for the traditions of Judaism - Gal 1:14
He was present at the killing of Steven, the first Christian martyr - Acts 7:58; 8:1
Saul is his Hebrew name and Paul is his Latin name. As the Apostle to the Gentiles, it is to be expected that he would become known by his Gentile name. Most likely he was around thirty years of age at the time of the Crucifixion.

Little else is known about Paul. Based upon his teachings on marriage, many believe he was a widower. He describes himself as a blasphemer and the chief sinner. Paul clearly recognizes that it is only through the grace of God that his salvation occurred.

13 Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. 14 And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. 15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
1 Timothy

1:13-15

This is the man God chose as His representative to the Gentile nations. This is the man who writes the majority of the New Testament epistles.

Paul undoubtably received some teaching from the early church. Portions of his letters read like early hymns (Phil 2:6-11) or statements (creeds) of faith (1 Cor 15:1-7). He also drew on the Old Testament, interpreting it in light of the death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. But most importantly, Paul received his instruction from Jesus and the Holy Spirit. He went off to be by himself with God to learn and receive instruction (Gal 1:12-14; Eph 3:1-7). God guided Paul’s ministry and writings.

It should be noted that the Apostles understood the letters they were writing had been received from God (2 Cor 10:8; 12:1-4). Peter calls Paul’s letters Scripture in 2 Peter 3:16.

Paul’s conversion is described in Acts 9. It is a dramatic story and Paul uses his salvation experience in his evangelistic outreach twice in Acts (Chps 22 and 26).

Note that while the three accounts of Paul’s salvation are essentially the same, different details and differing emphasis occur in each telling. The formula of 1) life before Christ, 2) salvation, and 3) life after Christ should be a pattern for all of us. But while we need to learn to use our basic testimony in this fashion, we also, like Paul, need to be flexible in its telling. Sometimes we will have a long time and an interested audience. On other occasions, we may only have a few minutes. Learn to discern the difference and adjust. Your personal salvation message is the most powerful evangelistic tool you possess!

All of Paul’s letters have certain characteristics which support the argument that what he writes are letters, but which also distinguish them from the letters of the day. These include:

They average around 13,000 words in length compared to the average letter of the time which had 90 words.
They were written on sheets of papyrus which are about the size of this page.
Most are dictated to a secretary, who is known as an amanuensis.
They all begin the same way, with a petition for God’s blessings on the readers.
They are all structured the same, having a greeting, a main body, and a farewell.
Most of the time, it appears that Paul closes the letters in his own handwriting.
They were hand delivered by Paul’s fellow servants in Christ.

Paul’s letters break down into two main groups, those to the churches and those to individuals. Three of the ones to individuals, 1 and 1 Timothy and Titus, are generally called the Pastoral letters. They deal more with issues such as how to be a church leader and with threats against the saints. Philemon is the more personal of the individual letters and is a unique summary of Pauline theology in action.

The letters of Paul to the churches each serve a unique function in describing the Person of Christ, the message of the Gospel, and the place of the Good News in the life of the believer. The following chart will show the patterns and themes to look for as you review the epistles of Paul.

Paul&s Letters and Their Doctrines
	Presentation of Jesus	Doctrinal Theme
Romans	Power (1:16)	Salvation/ Justification
1 Corinthians	Wisdom (1:1-9)	Sanctification
2 Corinthians	Comfort (1:5)	Reconciliation
Galatians	Righteousness (3:11)	Justification/Liberty
Ephesians	Blessings (1:3)	Position in Christ
Philippians	Sufficiency (4:13)	Attitude in Christ Rejoicing
Colossians	Lord (1:15-19)	Completion
1 Thessalonians	Promise/Hope (1:3)	Rapture/Translation
2 Thessalonians	Judge 1:8-10	Compensation
1 Timothy	Pattern (1:16)	Conduct
2 Timothy	Rewarder (4:8)	Endurance
Titus	Fullness ((3:6)	Full measure of ministry
Philemon	Mediator	Forgiveness

This, then, is the outline of Paul’s letters. It will help to keep their chronological sequence in mind as we study these letters. Keep in mind that they are not presented in chronological order in the Bible. They are, rather, arranged by length based upon two groupings of addressees -- churches and individuals. Paul’s ministry looks something like this:

An Outline of Paul&s Ministry
Date	Event	Acts
A.D. 33	Pentecost	Acts 2:1ff
A.D. 34/35	Stoning of Stephen	Acts 7:1ff
A.D. 34/35	Paul’s Conversion	Acts 9:1ff
A.D.34-47	Paul’s years of learning	Gal 1:12-21
A.D. 44	Paul to Antioch
A.D. 45	James Written
A.D. 47	With Barnabas to Jerusalem	Acts 11:22-30
A.D. 47-49	1^st Missionary Trip: Cyprus, Asia Minor	Acts 13-14
A.D. 49	Peter at Antioch	Gal 2:11-16
A.D. 49	Galatians Written
A.D. 49/50	Jerusalem Council	Acts 15
A.D. 50-52	2^nd Missionary Trip Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece	Acts 15:36-18:22
A.D. 51	1^st & 2^nd Thessalonians
A.D. 53-57	3^rd Missionary Trip (Ephesus) Asia Minor, Macedonia, Greece	Acts 18:23-21:16
A.D. 55/56	1^st & 2^nd Corinthians
A.D. 56/57	Romans
A.D. 57	Paul’s arrest	Acts 21:26-33
A.D. 57	Paul before Felix	Acts 24:24-26
A.D. 58/59	Paul before Festus	Acts 25:7-12
A.D. 59	Paul before Agrippa	Acts 26
A.D. 59/60	Voyage to Rome	Acts 27-28
A.D. 61-63	Paul’s first imprisonment	Acts 28:30
A.D. 61-63	Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon
A.D. 61-63	Philippians written
A.D. 62/63	Paul released from prison
A.D. 62	James, the Lord’s brother killed
A.D. 62	Peter in Rome
A.D. 63	1^st Timothy written
A.D. 63	Trip to Crete with Titus
A.D. 63/64	Titus written
A.D. 64/67	1^st Peter written
A.D. 64/65	2^nd Timothy written
A.D. 66/67	2^nd Peter written
A.D. 65/67	Paul’s second imprisonment
A.D. 65/67	Paul’s death
A.D. 67/68	Peter’s death
A.D. 68/69	Hebrews written
A.D. 70	Destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by Titus

Paul writes to the Philippians:

25 Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants. 26 For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick. 27 For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. 28 I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful. 29 Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation: 30 Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me.
Philippians 2:25-30

Can you describe your church leaders in these terms?

Can people describe you this way?

7 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us. 8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; 9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; 10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
2 Corinthians 4:7-10

This is Paul’s description of life in Christ doing the work of God.

Does it resemble your life?

Should your life resemble this description?

Why?

Why not?

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