Getting To Know The Bible
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Introduction:
Typically, Paul begins his letters with simply the author and rank: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ.” This was the usual way a letter would be written in the first century. However, in his letter to Titus, Paul gives an extended discourse that lasts through verse 3.
“Paul, a slave of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ for the faith of God’s elect and the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness, in the hope of eternal life that God, who cannot lie, promised before time began, and has in His own time revealed His message in the proclamation that I was entrusted with by the command of God our Savior” (Titus 1:1-3).
Paul asserts the authority of his apostolic message with this introduction. Paul is an apostle who was entrusted with a message of the promise of eternal life to the elect of God. Paul’s message of the knowledge of the truth is being given to the elect in the hope of attaining eternal life.
Titus is the recipient of this letter (vs. 4). Recall that Paul also called Timothy his true child in the faith. Verse 4 concludes with the common salutation that we have read in most of Paul’s letters: “Grace and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Savior.” The minor difference is that Paul calls Christ Jesus our Savior rather than our Lord.
The next section that ought to appear in a common first century letter is the thanksgiving section. However, the thanksgiving section is lacking in this letter. This omission suggests Paul urgency to begin to speak about the purpose of his writing. It is not to suggest that Paul is not thankful to God for Titus. Rather, Paul feels compelled to move into the urgent purpose of the letter.
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September 10th, 2006
Posted in Getting To Know The Bible
(What Did You Think?) 2 Timothy
Introduction:
The typical first century letter began by stating the author and rank, the recipients of the letter, and an opening salutation. Because of this structure we are able to learn that Paul is the author of this letter to Timothy. Paul gives a slightly different salutation than his previous letters, but the same salutation found in 1 Timothy: “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” The next section we would expect to read in this letter is an offering of thanksgiving. While 1 Timothy was lacking this section of thanksgiving, Paul’s second letter to Timothy does contain a section of thanksgiving in verses 3-7. Paul is thankful for Timothy’s faith that was instilled in him from his mother and grandmother from the beginning. We need to stop here for a moment and note that this is important. We have the ability to transmit our faith to a degree. Obviously, every person is a free moral agent and cannot be made to have faith. But we can teach our children through our actions and decisions that the Lord is the priority. Too often we transmit that school is the most important, or work, money, sports, or other things are more important. The sincerity of the faith will be seen by our children. They will see how important God truly is in our lives.
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August 20th, 2006
Posted in Getting To Know The Bible
(What Did You Think?) 1 Timothy
Introduction:
The typical first century letter began by stating the author and rank, the recipients of the letter, and an opening salutation. Because of this structure we are able to learn that Paul is the author of this letter to Timothy. This is the first letter we have encountered in our studies that is addressed to an individual person rather than a group of Christians or churches. Paul gives a slightly different salutation: “Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.” The notable difference is the addition of the word “mercy.” The next section we would expect to read in this letter is an offering of thanksgiving. We do read a statement of thanksgiving in 1:12, but it is not the same as Paul’s other letters. Paul typically gives thanks to God because of the faith and actions of the recipients. But we do not read this in this letter. Rather, Paul seems to get to the heart of the reason for writing to Timothy.
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August 13th, 2006
Posted in Getting To Know The Bible
(What Did You Think?) 2 Thessalonians
Introduction:
As we have repeatedly done throughout this series, let us consider again the nature of first century letter. The second letter to the Thessalonians fits the outline below better than what we noticed in the first letter to the Thessalonians.
Structure of New Testament Letters
Knowing the form of a typical letter will help us find the key themes and key purpose for the writing of the book. The form of a first century letter had this look typically:
1. Author and rank
2. Recipients
3. Salutation
4. Thanksgiving
5. Body of letter
6. Closing
7. Greeting
Let us examine Paul’s letter looking for these elements to determine the overall message of the letter.
Structure of 2 Thessalonians
The second letter to the Thessalonians begins with the same authors as the first letter: “Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy.” The recipients are, of course, the same: “To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.” We also see the same salutation that Paul gives in all his letters: “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
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May 7th, 2006
Posted in Getting To Know The Bible
(What Did You Think?) 1 Thessalonians
Introduction:
Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians is considered to be one of the earliest New Testament epistles. The letter by James is usually considered the earliest, but 1 Thessalonians is considered the earliest of Paul’s letters, written approximately at 51 A.D.
Structure of New Testament Letters
Knowing the form of a typical letter will help us find the key themes and key purpose for the writing of the book. The form of a first century letter had this look typically:
1. Author and rank
2. Recipients
3. Salutation
4. Thanksgiving
5. Body of letter
6. Closing
7. Greeting
Let us examine Paul’s letter looking for these elements to determine the overall message of the letter.
Structure of 1 Thessalonians
The first letter to the Thessalonians is one of the most difficult to outline. When we apply the above form of New Testament letters we see that 1 Thessalonians does not clearly follow the form like the other letters of Paul that we have examined. We will notice this problem in just a moment.
To read more of this lesson click here.
April 23rd, 2006
Posted in Getting To Know The Bible
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