Greetings in Christ, dear listeners. Welcome to our eighth talk on our series on New Testament Survey. This is the second talk that follows the previous on the Pauline epistles where we introduce the person of Paul, his ministry, his teachings and his writings. In this session, we follow up by highlighting each of his 13 epistles. First, let’s look at the order of the letters.

The 13 epistles of Paul are not arranged according to time or writing or theme. Those which are addressed to churches are grouped first. Those which are addressed to persons are grouped second. Within each group, the longer letters come before the shorter ones. Ephesians is an exception as it is placed after Galatians even though it is shorter. The reason for this is unclear, but the sequence has been fixed. Now, we look at the grouping of the letters.

These letters are often arranged into groups by a common factor that links the book in each group. Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Galatians are described as great evangelical letters for their teachings. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon are called prison letters as they were written from prison. 1 and 2 Thessalonians are believed to be his earlier letters with the focus on the last days. 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus are called pastoral letters. They are addressed to persons late in Paul’s life. Now, let us look letter by letter. Here are brief highlights of each letter in the New Testament sequence.

Romans - Paul presents his understanding of the Christian faith in the most systematic way in this epistle. It is sometimes called the Gospel according to Paul. His most important teachings are found here. The Gospel is the power of God to save, whether for Jews or Gentiles. Salvation is by faith, not by works. Christ’s death and resurrection is the basis of salvation. His death pays for our sins. His resurrection gives us eternal life. Both Jews and Gentiles, therefore all humankind are saved and united by Christ by faith. He is the new Adam who saves us from the fallen Adam. Those who believe in Him repent of their sins and confess with their mouths what they believe in their hearts, that He is Lord, shall be saved.

1 and 2 Corinthians - these epistles are written to Corinth to correct errors and answer questions they asked. In the first, he talked against divisiveness, sexual immorality, food offered to idols, and bringing lawsuits against believers. He taught on how to conduct orderly worship, the place of spiritual gifts, the one body of Christ, holy living and support for those called to serve the Lord. In the second, he taught that we are ministers of the new covenant, and ambassadors of Christ, offering reconciliation with God.

Galatians - the focus of this letter is to emphasize that salvation is by faith in the one Gospel of Christ that he preached and in no other. He strongly chastised the church for turning away from this to try to earn salvation by works of the law or any other way.

Ephesians - in this epistle, Paul taught on predestination in Christ, salvation by grace through faith, the unity of Jews and Gentiles in Christ. Putting off the old life to put on the new, to be filled with the Spirit, and our spiritual armour in spiritual warfare. He gave counsel on marriage, family and work life.

Philippians - this is an exhortation epistle where he taught that to live is Christ, and to die is gain. To live in unity with humility to put the other first, to leave the old behind and press on towards the future of Christ’s return. To cast all anxiety on the Lord and to focus on what is good to rejoice in Him always.

Colossians - Paul here declares the supremacy of Christ as the perfect image of God. He calls us to set our minds on Christ above, not on things on Earth. To live by the Gospel on heaven rather than by human philosophy or by worldly forces. He gave counsel on family and work life.

1 and 2 Thessalonians - these epistles focus on the return of Christ. In the first, Paul calls for the life lived in readiness for Christ’s return, and that the dead in Christ will not be lost but will be raised up to those who are alive when Christ comes. The second warns against idleness and exalts all to do proper work while waiting for Christ’s return.

1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus - in these epistles, Paul gave encouragement and guidance to Timothy and Titus on how to lead and minister to the leaders and the churches, giving guidance on appointing elders and deacons, upholding sound teaching and correcting the false.

Finally, Philemon - this is a letter of personal appeal to Philemon to receive his runaway slave, Onesimus, who has become a Christian. It illustrates how Christian values work in relationships and life, especially forgiveness.

In closing, we note the great importance of God’s teaching. In the next talk, we look to the input of others.

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