Epistles

About the Epistles

The term Epistle is employed to designate twenty-one out of twenty-seven of the writings of the New Testament (NT), whereas Luke and the Acts are both prefaced by an epistle to Theophilus, a friend of the physician and evangelist, Luke.

Epistles by the Apostle Paul

Paul’s epistles number fourteen (if we include Hebrews) and are arranged in the NT not in the order of time as to their composition but rather according to the rank of the places to which they were sent. It is not known by whom they were thus arranged. Paul’s letters were, as a rule, written by an amanuensis under his dictation, after which he added a few words in his own hand at the close.

Early instruction to the fledgling Church was provided by personal teaching and preaching by the Apostles as well as by letters from them (the Epistles). Paul’s letters to churches in Rome (the book of Romans), Galatia (Galatians), Thessalonica (1 & 2 Thessalonians), and Corinth (1 & 2 Corinthians) documents some of his earliest teachings to the Church. Paul’s epistles to Timothy (1 & 2 Timothy) and Titus (Titus) are called pastoral epistles, because they contain pastoral instructions from a pastor to a pastor. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are known as prison epistles because they were written during Paul’s Roman imprisonment. Authorship of the book of Hebrews is not certain, but it was written to Jewish converts to Christianity who were tempted to revert to their former beliefs to escape the bitter persecution they were facing.

Epistles from other Apostles

The other (non-Pauline) NT epistles were written by the Apostles James (book of James), the Apostle Peter (1 & 2 Peter), the Apostle John (1, 2, & 3 John) and Jude (book of Jude).

(Information Source: The New Unger’s Bible Dictionary)

Notes and Audio Lessons

Romans

1 & 2 Corinthians

Galatians

Ephesians

Philippians

Colossians

1 & 2 Thessalonians

1 & 2 Timothy

Titus

Philemon

Hebrews

James

1 & 2 Peter

1, 2 & 3 John

Jude

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