Rooting Path · New Testament Survey · Lesson 5 of 7 · Paul’s Letters: Written to the Churches · about 20 min
Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon. On the timeline this is ‘Mission and Letters’: Paul writes letters while making his three missionary journeys, and later keeps writing in chains. On the timeline each letter is placed beside the stretch of travel during which it was written.
Writing to the church in Rome, Paul says early on:
16For I am not ashamed of the Good News of Christ, because it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also for the Greek.
Rom 1:16 · WEB
He writes to the church in Ephesus:
8for by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9not of works, that no one would boast. 10For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared before that we would walk in them.
Eph 2:8–10 · WEB
Writing to the churches in Galatia, he says of himself:
20I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. That life which I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.
Gal 2:20 · WEB
The last lesson stopped in Rome: Paul in a rented house, boldly preaching the Kingdom of God. All along the way he had been writing letters to the churches; in this lesson we read those letters.
The New Testament has thirteen letters that begin with Paul’s name, from Romans to Philemon. They were written to real people: some to the church in a city, such as “to the assembly of God which is at Corinth” (1 Cor 1:2); some to a co-worker, such as Timothy or Titus; and one to a single person, Philemon. Reading them is like standing nearby as Paul talks to people he knows. Many of the letters follow the same order: first what God has done for us in Christ, then how we are to live.
Romans was written to the church in Rome, which Paul had not yet visited: “I often planned to come to you (and was hindered so far)” (Rom 1:13). It is the most orderly of the letters: “all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23); “Being therefore justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom 5:1); “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom 8:1); nothing “will be able to separate us from God’s love” (Rom 8:39). Then in chapter 12 the letter turns with a ‘therefore’: “present your bodies a living sacrifice” (Rom 12:1).
1 and 2 Corinthians were written to a church with many problems. They had split into factions, and Paul urged them “that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfected together in the same mind” (1 Cor 1:10); they asked him one question after another, and he answered them one by one. One chapter is all about love, and it ends: “But now faith, hope, and love remain—these three. The greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13:13); another chapter is about the resurrection, which we read in Lesson 3. In the second letter Paul speaks of his own weakness, and the Lord says to him, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Cor 12:9).
Galatians is about freedom. Some people were insisting that Gentile believers had to keep the law of Moses before they could really be saved; Paul wrote: “Stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and don’t be entangled again with a yoke of bondage” (Gal 5:1). Yet freedom is not license: “through love be servants to one another” (Gal 5:13). The fruit the Holy Spirit bears in a person “is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control” (Gal 5:22–23).
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon were written in chains. Paul calls himself “the prisoner of Christ Jesus” (Eph 3:1) and urges his readers to “walk worthily of the calling with which you were called” (Eph 4:1). From prison he wrote to the church at Philippi: “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain” (Phil 1:21). Colossians says that Christ “is the image of the invisible God” (Col 1:15). Philemon is a single chapter: a slave named Onesimus had left his master and came to faith while Paul was in chains; Paul asks Philemon to take him back, “no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother” (Phlm 16).
1 and 2 Thessalonians were written to a church that was persecuted as soon as it came to faith; they had “turned to God from idols to serve a living and true God” (1 Thess 1:9), and Paul encouraged them: “Always rejoice. Pray without ceasing. In everything give thanks” (1 Thess 5:16–18). 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus were written to young co-workers Paul had trained, handing the church on to the next generation: “commit the same things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Tim 2:2). 2 Timothy was written in chains; Paul says, “the time of my departure has come” (2 Tim 4:6), and also, “I have fought the good fight. I have finished the course. I have kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:7).
Back to Eph 2:8–10, which we read together: salvation is “not of works” (Eph 2:9); it is God’s free gift. Yet the same passage goes on to say that we are God’s workmanship, “created in Christ Jesus for good works.” (Eph 2:10) Grace comes first and good works follow, growing out of grace. There are other letters in the New Testament, not written by Paul, that also speak of faith and works—we read them in the next lesson.
Having said that the gospel is the power of God, Paul goes on: “For in it is revealed God’s righteousness from faith to faith. As it is written, ‘But the righteous shall live by faith’” (Rom 1:17). ‘As it is written’ points to words from Habakkuk.
When he explains how a person is counted righteous before God, Paul goes back to Abraham: “For what does the Scripture say? ‘Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness’” (Rom 4:3). The line comes from Genesis 15; Lesson 2 of Old Testament Survey read it from the Old Testament side.
Open ‘Mission and Letters’ on the timeline and click the letters Paul wrote: Galatians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Romans, the four letters Ephesians and the rest, 1 Timothy and Titus, 2 Timothy. For each, write two things: who was it written to? Beside which stretch does the timeline place it—which journey, or his imprisonment?
For reference (following the timeline): Galatians—the churches of Galatia, after the first journey; 1 and 2 Thessalonians—the church at Thessalonica, during the second journey; 1 Corinthians—the church at Corinth, while Paul was staying in Ephesus on the third journey; 2 Corinthians—the church at Corinth, after he reached Macedonia on the third journey; Romans—the saints in Rome, as he was about to go to Jerusalem; Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon—in prison; 1 Timothy and Titus—Timothy, left in Ephesus, and Titus, left in Crete, placed after the imprisonment in Rome; 2 Timothy—Timothy, in prison again. Wherever Paul went, letters followed; when he was locked in chains, the letters kept coming.
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.
Eph 2:8 · WEB
This week, read Philemon in one sitting (only one chapter, five minutes), or Ephesians (six chapters). Afterward write one sentence: does this letter first speak of what God has done, and then of how we are to live?
Just this one thing. When you do it, tap that day below; if you don’t, that’s all right—try again next week.
Good. Tap each day you do it this week:
Putting down roots is not something you do alone. Find a brother or sister you trust (ideally of the same sex) and talk this question over this week:
If Paul wrote a letter to your church or small group, what do you think he would praise first? What would he urge you to do?