Titus

Paul may have met Titus in Antioch. Some believe the book was written after Paul's first Roman imprisonment. In the book, he gives Titus directions regarding how to choose overseers for the congregations in Crete.

Some scholars think the book isn't by Paul. This belief is based in part on differences in writing style and vocabulary from other books believed to be by Paul. While this sort of analysis can be very helpful, we must be careful not to forget the differences in writing style that occur because of different audiences and also as the preferences and ideas of a writer change over the years.

The book of Titus emphasizes the hope of etarnal life, ie. joy and certainty that come with the quality of living a life committed to Jesus.

Another important theme is grace. Paul describes the badness of the Cretan communities but suggests that some people had become upstanding individuals there.

Sevral verses that piqued our interest:

1:3 Paul views his message as the word of God.

1:7 Overseers in the church need not to be bullies.

2:10 Good behavior is an ornament to good doctrine - it enhances its attractiveness.

4:14 Devotion to good works for urgent needs to not be unproductive.

I Timothy

I Timothy may have been written just after Paul's first Roman imprisonment.

He had met Timothy in Lystra, and Timothy had travelled with Paul on Paul's second missionary journey. At the time of I Timothy, Timothy was probably in his late 20s or early 30s. He was working in Ephesus as a pastor. Thus, I Timothy is the first of Paul's "Pastoral Epistles."

In Acts 19:23 and following, we read of Paul's experience in Ephesus and of the powerful cult of Artemis there. Artemis was the goddess of the hunt, and in Ephesus, she was a major deity and a fertility goddess. Many young girls may have been apprentices in Artemis's temple in Ephesus which was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world.

In I Timothy, Paul reminds the church that its basic way of being is to be love. He warns them of false teachers who wanted to replace Christian love with meticulous obedience to the Law of Moses. It seems that Paul is indicating that the actions of a loving Christian will not be unlawful and that the law is there to speak to the consciences of the unconverted.

2:1-7 stress the important and range of prayer in which we ought ought to be engaged.

2:8-13 contains some words that often get taken out of context and create controversy regarding women in the church today. Knowing what we do of the Artemis cult in Ephesus, it seems likely that many women in Ephesus had been thoroughly indoctrinated in the worship of Artemis and may have been bringing their practices into the church. In that unique situation, Paul may have found it necessary to forbid women to teach and then drawn the parallel with Eve and Adam. Paul's relationships with women leaders are attested to in other parts of the New Testament and don't seem to suggest that he really believes all women should be in a subservient role.

Other passages in the letter detail the seriousness with which the qualifications for various offices were to be considered. Paul also interweaves many moments of pure worship into his otherwise instructive discourse. (Ex. 3:14-16, 6:16)

Philippians

Acts 16:9-40 gives us an idea of the good relationships Paul had with Lydia and the jailkeeper in Philippi as well as a couple of miraculous occurences from his time there.

Acts 28:16-31 describes Paul's period of house arrest in Rome during which time he was able to evangelize Jews and Gentiles, possibly even members of Nero's own bodyguard. In Philippians 4:22 Paul sends greetings to the Philippians from "members of Caesar's own household."

Philippians doesn't address major doctrinal fights as some of the other letters do. Instead, Paul may be addressing everyday living for the church.

2:5 tells us to think as Jesus did, and the verses that follow, which may have been a hymn, describe Jesus' humility. Being worshipful and humble is the way to face our daily problems, and Jesus provides the energy we need to get along.

4:6-7 lets us know that we can take our anxieties to God and find peace.

4:11-12 lets us know that material prosperity is not the sign of right relationship with God. Paul had been impoverished at times and overwhelmed with provisions at others. But Christ was his resource in all situations.

Ephesians

Many scholars think the letter to the Ephesians was actually written to the neighboring town of Laodicea as there is no reference to the Ephesians in the earliest manuscripts and there is a reference to a letter to Laodicea in Colossians 4:16.


Ephesians emphasizes the character of the church. Once we have been called by grace and have entered into relationship of saving faith with Christ, we should seek to live as the true church.

Rev. Ray Stedman points out that each chapter outlines another aspect of what the church is and what we ought to strive to become:

Chapter 1 - a body with Christ as the head
Chapter 2 - a temple
Chapter 3 - a mystery
Chapter 4 - a new self
Chapter 5 - a bride
Chapter 6 - a soldier


Paul's discussion of spiritual armor in Chapter 6 seems to resonate with a passage Chapter 5 of the Wisdom of Solomon from the Apocrypha in which the armor of the Lord is described.

Philemon and Slavery

Click here for an excellent article about the relationship of the early church and slavery.

Colossians

Colossians was probably written during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome. Philippians and Ephesians come from the same era and share many of the same themes.

Alongside the Gospel of John, the book of Colossians stresses the deity of Jesus to a great extent. Paul seems to have been writing to a church that was mixing elements of legalism, mysticism, and speculation that distracted from the preeminence of Jesus.

In the first chapter, Jesus is referred to as the "firstborn" meaning the preeminent heir who has authority. He is described in this way relative to the created world and to the church.

Jesus is also described here as holding all things together. This reminds us of the ongoing scientific search for what holds everything together from atoms to the universe.

Another phrase used to describe Jesus in the first chapter is " the head of the body, the church." The Greek word translated "head" literally meant head or source. According to scholars of ancient Greek, modern English connotations involving hierarchical power, as in "the head of our company," were not part of the term for Biblical and other writers around that time. Those writers use another word for that meaning, and that word is also used in the Bible to refer to Jesus.

Understanding these shades of meaning is important for understanding passages that apply the term translated "head" to people other than Jesus, such as when the Bible says the husband is the head of the wife.

Easter Snow at Woodland Heights

Romans

While the Gospels contain the facts about Jesus' life, death, and resurrection, Romans explains their significance.



Romans revolves around these points:

All people have sinned

Salvation of the spirit (justification) comes through faith in Christ

The natural outcome of saving faith is a life given to God (sanctification)

Romans 1:16-17, 3:21-25, 6:20-23



Sanctification is important for ourselves and for us to obey God, but it also makes a big difference to the people we encounter.

The following passages outline how to be involved in the sanctification of our lives after putting our faith in Christ:

How to relate to God 12:1-2

How to relate to others in the Church 12:3-21

How to relate to authorities 13:1-7

How to relate to those on the outside of the Church 13:8-14