INTRODUCTION TO THE EPISTLES

The letters in the New Testament are an interesting blend of history, theology, ethical teachings, poetry and prophecy. Let's start with some basics.

Types of Ancient Letters

First – nomenclature. One opinion is that “Epistle” is just a fancy word for “Letter.” Another accepted definition: Epistle is more literary, more artistic in form. Of Paul's letters, Romans is probably the closest to a classical literary work and Philemon is the closest to an occasional piece. Another possible distinction is that epistles are usually meant to be read aloud to a group. I will use the two terms interchangeably. Next are the various categories of letters in the NT. They are divided into three types: first we have the letters to individual churches, followed by the pastoral epistles addressed to leading individuals in a church, and lastly the general (or catholic) epistles.

I heartily recommend Gordon Fee's book How to Read the Bible For All Its Worth for the whole subject of Bible interpretation, and I think his chapter on the epistles is especially good.

Here are some of his main points on how to approach the Epistles:

    1. Use a reference source for background information.

    2. Read through the letter in one sitting.

    3. Jot down brief notes on your observations.

    4. Note natural divisions within the letter (most translations will divide them into paragraphs).

    5. Follow the author's argument within each section.

The context of the letter

Reading a letter is like listening to one end of a conversation. So how do you determine why the letter was written in the first place other than just reading the introduction that might be in your study Bible?

    1. Sometimes the context is stated directly or strongly hinted at.

“It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you.” (I Corinthians 5:1)

“I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting the one who called you...” (Galatians 1:6)

    2. Look for areas of emphasis in the letter.

“We declare...what we have touched with our hands...” (I John 1:1)

“Every spirit that confesses Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.” (I John 4:2)

    3. Tip-off phrases

“Now concerning”: matters about which you wrote (I Corinthians 7:1), food sacrificed to idols (I Corinthians 8:1), love of the brothers (I Thessalonians 4:9), times and seasons (I Thessalonians 5:1)

“We would not have you ignorant about” (I Corinthians 10:1; I Thessalonians 4:13)

    4. Look for statements that the author is responding to – he first quotes from their words and then adds his comments. Here is one possible example:

“All things are lawful for me,” but not all things are beneficial. “All things are lawful for me,” but I will not be dominated by anything. (I Corinthians 6:12)

The situation is somewhat complicated due to the fact that ancient Greek usually included no punctuation marks. James 2:18: “But someone will say, “You have faith but I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I by my works will show you my faith. (NIV, RSV, NRSV, NEB, TEV)

Other translations place the last quotation mark:

    At the end of the verse: (Living Bible, NASB, J.B. Phillips, Amplified Bible)

    Others put it at the end of verse 19 or 23.

    Still others include no quotation marks: (KJV)

What about the general format used in NT letters? In some ways it begins more like an e-mail than a handwritten letter. In handwritten letters you have to skip to the bottom signature to find out who wrote the letter. By contrast, both e-mail messages and NT epistles start out in a more logical order by telling you who is writing and who the addressee is. Actually, NT epistles generally follow the format found in ancient Greek and Roman letters:

    Greeting: From and To

    Prayer

    Thanksgiving

    Body with Special Contents

    Closing: Personal Greetings and Doxology

In Paul's hands the letter form was expanded considerably in size, and there are other changes he made. The greeting Paul almost always uses in his letters is “grace and peace.” “In all Paul's letters when grace and peace are coupled together, grace always precedes peace. The reason: Grace is the foundation of peace.” This is a quote from R. A. Torrey, a pastor and evangelist who died in 1928 and was founder of Biola University. I happen to agree with Torrey's conclusion, but unfortunately his facts are a bit off-base.

Grace does precede peace in Paul's opening greetings, but the exact opposite is true in the closing section of those letters. The conclusion I draw from the way Paul bookends his letters this way is that not only is grace foundational to peace, but actually “grace” is the beginning and end of the Christian life, the alpha and omega.

    Grace.......Peace

    ----------------------

    Peace.......Grace

(Rom. 16:20; I Cor. 16:11,23; II Cor. 13:11,13;

Gal. 6:16,18; Eph. 6:23-24; Phil. 4:9,23; I Thess. 5:23,28; II Thess. 2:16,18)

By using these two words, Paul appropriates elements of both Roman and Jewish greetings of the time.

    Roman greeting: rejoice (chairein) ------ Paul's greeting: grace (charis)

    Jewish greeting: peace (shalom) ---------Paul's greeting: peace (eirene)

Paul expanded on the other elements of ancient letters to raise them to a new level. Look at the Thanksgiving section of I Corinthians (1:4-9) as an example:

"I always thank my God for you because of the grace of God that has been given you in Christ Jesus, since in every way you have been enriched in him, in every kind of speech and knowledge – just as the  Christ's testimony has been strengthened among you – so that you are not lacking in any spiritual gift as you wait for the revealing of our Lord Jesus Christ. He will also strengthen you to the end, so that you may be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God is faithful; you were called by him into the fellowship of his Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

This contains statements concerning the identification of Jesus as the Messiah, God's Son and our Lord, God's grace, the giving of spiritual gifts, sanctification, election, assurance of salvation, and the future coming of the Lord. There is at least a year of seminary level theology packed into these few verses.

However, not all NT letters follow the standard format, and departures from the norm may be significant:

Letter to Galatians

There is no thanksgiving, indicating that he didn't have much good to say about this church.

The Epistle of James

Greeting (1:1)

Special Contents (1:2-5:20)

This reads more like notes for a sermon than a letter.

Epistle to the Hebrews

Special Contents (1:1-13:19)

Prayer (13:20-21)

Personal Greetings (13:22-24)

Doxology (13:25)

Today we might include the last three elements in a short e-mail and then say “see attached” for a longer composition already prepared (Special Contents).

One portion of scripture we rarely consider along with the epistles are the seven letters to the churches in Revelation. They have their own common format:

    greetings

    praises

    condemnation

    warning

    promise

In the letters to Smyrna and Philadelphia there is no condemnation. For Sardis and Laodicea, no praise. But it is interesting to note that there is a promise even to those churches with nothing to praise, and a warning even to those with no condemnation.

There are those who see a chronological arrangement to these seven letters in which each church represents a certain church age. They even assign a church leader for each age who is supposedly the “angel” of that church mentioned in Revelation. The problem is that none of these schemes results in the assigned age resembling the characteristics given in Revelation for that particular church. For example, Thyatira is supposed to represent the Dark Ages, but it is the only church that has no threats or warnings attached to it. Also, Sardis is supposed to stand for the Reformation Period with Martin Luther as its angel. This happens to be one of the two churches which Jesus has absolutely nothing good to say about. I would be extremely skeptical about such an approach to these chapters in Revelation.

But there is type of order, not a chronological one, present for these seven letters.

1. Ephesus

2. Smyrna

3. Pergamum

4. Thyatira

5. Sardis

6. Philadelphia

7. Laodicea

The threat/warning component in each of the letters displays the clearest chiastic pattern, moving from threats of utter rejection for churches 1 and 7, to warnings of religious persecution for believers in 2 and 6, to opposition by Christ himself in 3 and 5. The letter to Thyatira in the center is unique in that its threat/warning is almost exclusively directed towards a false prophetess, not the church itself. This particular letter is also the only one in the series that uses the phrase “all the churches.”

Other evidence of chiastic pairings within these letters: (a) the similar condemnations of Ephesus and Laodicea, both including the word “love,” (b) promises to these same churches that both involve eating, (c) mention of a crown and a lack of a condemnation for churches 2 and 6, (d) the phrase “those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan” in letter 2 with the same two clauses reversed in letter 6, (e) promises involving new names and including the word “white” for churches 3 and 5, and (f) the identical opening phrase “The words of him who has” found only in letters 3 and 5.

But no matter what literary pattern may be present, we shouldn't lose track of the fact that these are real letters. They contain historical details that are accurate concerning each city at the time of writing. I gave the example in another lesson about the water supply of Laodicea holding the key to interpreting part of that letter. I could have also pointed out from that same letter the reference to eye salve, referring to the fact that a noted eye salve was manufactured in the region around Laodicea. Also note that the order in which the churches are addressed fits exactly the circular route that a letter carrier would have taken to visit each of them in succession.

Sometimes departures from standard letter format are used by the author to highlight the points of emphasis.

The Structure of II Thessalonians

I. Introduction

A. Thanksgiving (1:3-10)

B. Satan in Action (1:11-2:12)

A’. Thanksgiving (2:13-15)

---------------

A. Prayer (2:16-17)

B. Christian at Rest (3:1-15)

A'. Prayer (3:16)

I'. Conclusion

I Thessalonians uses the same general arrangement but with added expansions, indicating that perhaps it was written after II Thessalonians, not before it.

The Structure of 1 Peter

I. Introduction (1:1-2)

A Believer's Status before God (1:3-12)

B. Our Behavior in Light of this Status (1:13-25)

A'. Believers’ Status Before God (2:1-10)

-----------------------

A. Submission to Human Institutions (2:11-3:12)

B. Christ as Lord and Example (3:13-4:11) (ends in Doxology)

A'. Submission to Persecution and to God’s Institutions (4:12-5:11)

I'. Conclusion (5:12-14)

Note the similarity between this unusual arrangement and that in I and II Thessalonians. This brings up the question of who actually wrote these letters.

Role of an Amanuensis

“I Tertius, the writer of this letter, greet you in the Lord.” (Romans 16:22)

“See what large letters I make when I am writing in my own hand.” (Galatians 6:11)

“Through Silvanus... I have written this short letter...” (I Peter 5:12)

“Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the church of the Thessalonians...” (I & II Thessalonians 1:1)

These passages indicate that it wasn't an uncommon practice for the New Testament writers to employ an amanuensis, or secretary. The main question is: what was their exact role? Did Paul or Peter dictate the letters to them word for word, or did an amanuensis function more like an executive assistant who would take down the necessary details and polish up the author's language and put it into an acceptable literary format to be approved by Paul or Peter before it went out?

Note that Silvanus happens to appear as the amanuensis used in I Peter and is listed as a co-author of I and II Thessalonians. Co-authors were usually felt to be added by Paul as a sort of courtesy to those who happened to be with him at the time of writing. But in the cases of I and II Thessalonians, Paul actually uses the plural “we” throughout his letter, unlike his other letters. The probable involvement of Silvanus in composing I & II Thessalonians and I Peter can be seen in the unusual format used only in these three NT letters.

I mentioned this to someone at church and he was so upset that he went to our pastor and demanded that I not be allowed to teach Sunday school any more. His reaction was a little over the top considering that:

    (1) This scenario would help counter skeptics' argument that a mere fisherman couldn't have produced such polished Greek grammar as we find in I Peter. 

    (2) And it shouldn't affect our acceptance of these letters as Scripture when, after all, we accept the inspired authorship of Paul's other companions Mark and Luke, neither of whom was an apostle. And, of course, there is the Book of Hebrews and only God knows who wrote it. The ultimate author in all cases is the Holy Spirit.