New Testament Letters

What role do the New Testament letters play in the biblical story? 1.They presuppose the story of Jesus 2.They define how the plot resolution works out and how God’s people are to live in the present age. 3.The main concerns in the NT letters are the instruction, encouragement, and exhortation of God’s people (Fee and Stuart, How to Read the Bible Book by Book, 315)

Common Features of NT Letters 1.Writers are concerned with the salvation of God’s people (soteriology: entry into and maintenance of a relationship with God). 2.NT letters are written to first-generation converts to address specific situations in the lives of believers. 3.Writers understand the present in light of the future (eschatology). 4.Writers understand the ethical imperatives as expressions of God’s likeness revealed in Christ Jesus.

NT Letter Format Letter beginning Sender (s) Recipient (s) Greeting (Grace and peace to you) Thanksgiving or blessing Letter body Initial exhortation Thesis statement Theological discussion Ethical Admonition Letter closing Practical matters Individual greetings Personal postscript Doxology or prayer

The Apostle Paul “By his own extraordinary missionary activity concentrated into a relatively few years and by the theology worked out in his letters Paul laid the foundations for the later expansion in both practice and theory.” Through his encounter with the risen Lord, Paul came to understand that Jesus is at the center of God’s saving purposes, and that he is Israel’s Messiah, the Son of God and Lord of all. He knew that justification is by God’s grace alone, for the ungodly had been justified through God’s sheer mercy. In Ephesians 3:1-13 Paul makes it clear that his missionary calling to preach the gospel to Gentiles is integral to God’s redemptive plan.

Paul’s Letters Looking at the letters as a whole, we can say that Paul invented a new genre of letters: indeed a whole new genre of literature. This genre is the apostolic, or pastoral, letter. Its basic function was to speak for the apostle in his absence. They are, in effect, a tool of his apostleship.

Paul’s letters are:

Narrative: A Story Behind and Within Paul is always telling stories: About God in Christ About himself About his relationship to his readers About life within the community His letters are a three-way intersection: God’s Story Paul’s Story The Recipient’s Story

Authoritative: Conformity to Christ Paul’s letters were intended to be read in worship, and, as such, have a liturgical quality to them. In writing a letter to be read in worship, Paul is exercising the authoritative side of his apostolic calling as well as the pastoral side. His words are not offered as optional, but as Spirit-inspired prophecy.

As you read NT letters remember: God’s story is our story. The NT Letters are another place in which God writes us into His story. (See Ephesians 1)

Paul’s Letters JourneyWritingsTheme A.D First Missionary JourneyNone (in Asia Minor only) Galatians ?Soteriology (Christian living) A.D Second Missionary Journey1 ThessaloniansEschatology (End of Time) (through Asia Minor, Greece2 Thessalonians two years in Corinth) A.D Third Missionary Journey1 CorinthiansSoteriology (Christian living) (through Asia Minor, Greece,2 Corinthians three years in Ephesus) Romans A.D Caesarean ImprisonmentNone A.D First Roman ImprisonmentEphesiansUnity Among Believers Colossians Philippians Philemon A.D Travel to Spain?1 TimothyPastoral Instruction/Advice Titus Second Roman Imprisonment2 Timothy A.D. 66/67 Paul’s Martyrdom

Catholic/General Letters AuthorDestinationTheme A.D. 50sHebrewsRome, ItalySupremacy of Jesus A.D JamesDispersionFaith and Practice A.D PeterAsia MinorFaith, Hope, and Suffering A.D.2 PeterThe reality of the resurrection A.D. 90s1 JohnEphesus/Seven ChurchesAssurance in the face of heresy 2 John 3 John A.D JudeUnknownExpose and condemn false teachers A.D. 96RevelationEphesus/Seven ChurchesFaithful Endurance