Introduction to Acts and the Epistles of Paul

Introduction to Acts and the Epistles of Paul

Introduction We will study the Acts of the Apostles and the 14 Epistles of Paul including: Their character The unifying theological themes The historical and theological background

Introduction (Cont) The problem with studying the Pauline Epistles: People do not understand the historical setting behind each epistle which would be like reading a stack of emails without knowing: Who the author is Where and when they were written What was going on in the author’s life Who was the intended audience Who was the recipient

Introduction (Cont) Because Paul dictated his letter to a scribe, and due to the cost of parchment, he could not go back and make corrections Therefore, he had to correct his mistakes in the next dictated line These correction sometimes cause confusion but they also authenticate that the letters are real letters written by a real person

Introduction (Cont) What order do Paul’s letters appear in the Canon of Scriptures? They are listed, like the books of the Prophets in the Old Testament, from the longest to the shortest (Not in a historical time line!) This was the way the early Church laid them out in their lectionary The historical setting for Paul’s epistles can be found in the study of the Acts of the Apostles (thus we will jump back and forth)

Introduction (Cont) Acts of the Apostles Title: English translation from Latin and Greek – may not have been the original name of the text Author: Luke Date of composition: sometime after 62 A. D. to 68 A. D. Book ends with Paul’s imprisonment in Rome in 62 -63 A. D. Contains no information about the martyrdom of Peter and Paul in 67 -68 A. D. or the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A. D.

Introduction (Cont) Major Themes and Structure As given in chapter one “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1: 8) The book chronicles the spread of the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit through the Apostles, the witnesses of the resurrection, beginning in Jerusalem and Judea (1 -7), then to Samaria (8 -9), and then into the Gentile world (10 -28), over a span of about thirty years

Introduction (Cont) Significant Content of Acts First, it provide some of the most important and detailed information about the Holy Spirit and his workings with the early Church Second, through the many public Speeches of the Apostles, we are able to see the content and style of preaching in the early Church

Introduction (Cont) Third, it provides a number of examples of early Church structure to include: Deacons, Priests, Bishops, the Episcopal office and the Apostles Forth, it provides the occurrence of the first Church council to include: The paradigm The debate, decision and public pronouncement through a written declaration, by which the Church will resolve doctrinal and practical problems throughout her history

Transition Next we will begin with an introduction to the Book of the Acts of the Apostles