The Letters of Paul

The expansion of the church during the apostolic period was dynamic. The small group of disciples, centered in Jerusalem was scattered through persecution (Acts 8:1,4) but as a result the gospel reached Antioch in Syria and a church was planted there (see Acts 11). That church became the missionary church that sent out Paul and his coworkers on the missionary journeys that reached Asia minor and ultimately Europe in the second part of the book of Acts. Travel took time, and there were only so many apostles! Sending written letters allowed for follow up and outreach that went beyond the limited reach of the leaders of the early church. Romans was a letter that Paul wrote to a church that he still planned to visit in which he laid out a systematic explanation of the Gospel. The Corinthian letters were written to correct misunderstandings and deviations from Paul's teaching during his time in that city and from other, non-canonical [and non-extant!] correspondences he had with them (we referred to them in class as the "previous letter" and the "severe letter"). One of the greatest challenges we have in reading the NT letters is that we are looking from the outside in, without the full understanding of the context and issues that compelled them to be written. Reflecting on the context of these writings in the life and ministry of Paul can help lead us to a fuller understanding of what the writer meant, then and there, and can open our hearts to receive the truth God has for us here and now.
Dr. Nash