Following the Book of Acts comes what are referred to as the Pauline Letters.  In the New Testament, letters such as Paul’s were called epistles.  An epistle is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually a formal letter, that was intended to be instructive (didactic) and elegant.  As you read, you will discover that there are 13 letters attributed to Paul:  Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus and Philemon.  However, most scholars today agree that Paul probably only wrote seven of them himself:  Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon.  The remaining six letters were probably written by followers of his after he died who used his name.  To do such a thing today would be considered illegal, but in Paul’s day using the name of a mentor in such a way was considered a great honor and gave credibility to the writing.

Although these letters come after the Gospels and The Book of Acts in the New Testament, Paul’s writings were most likely written before them.  Paul is considered the first person to attempt to write about what God did and continued to do in Jesus Christ.  What you will note as you read through Paul’s letters is that in each case Paul was addressing specific issues with specific communities.  Paul traveled the known world sharing the Gospel and starting new faith communities wherever he went.  He mostly sought to share the Gospel with Gentiles because that is what Christ commanded him to do, as we read in Acts 9.  Paul was a very contextual writer; that is, for Paul, the response to a specific issue always depended on the specific circumstances faced by the specific community.  Paul never had a generic answer that fit all situations. 

As Paul wrote to the various communities, he would share his personal life, and from these letters we do know a lot about Paul.  He was a Jew who was very familiar with the Roman and Greek traditions, in addition to Jewish traditions.  He was from Tarsus, an important city in Asia Minor in the Roman Empire.  His father was actually a Roman citizen, which meant he, too, was a Roman citizen, which would prove beneficial in his ministry.  And lastly, he was raised in the Pharisaic ways and thinking, and he himself was a Pharisee.

At times, Paul’s writings can be very confusing because there are times when Paul seems to be saying two different things about the same issue.  He was comfortable living with ambiguity.  Many of Paul’s teachings involve “the now and the not yet” understanding of God’s Kingdom.  For Paul, the life, death, and resurrection of Christ meant that God’s Kingdom had already entered the world; it has just not yet been fully realized. 

Enjoy Paul’s letters!

View/print the reading schedule

Other Resources: 

• Biblical Words Pronounciation Guide
• Essential Questions; Christianity and Lutheranism