What Was the Purpose of Paul’s Epistles to the Churches?
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God used the Apostle Paul in a mighty way. He planted many churches, shared the Gospel all around the Mediterranean, and discipled young, future pastors who would go on to spread the Gospel even further. Another key way God used Paul was in the writing of letters inspired by the Holy Spirit that became part of the Bible, God’s book where He communicates His will.
Paul’s writings were not just one message to one audience, rather because they were letters, God was able to address different issues, concerns, theological topics, and provide encouragement through these letters. Paul wrote a total of 13 letters that were canonized into the New Testament. Most of them were written to congregations, three were written to young men he was discipling in the ministry, and one to a believer with whom he needed to address a serious subject.
Understanding the Pauline Epistles to the churches, who their audience was, and what Paul was trying to communicate can provide needed context that can clarify how the subject matter can be applied to the Christian life today.
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What Were Paul’s Letters to the Churches?
Romans
The Church in Rome consisted mostly of Jewish people living in that city. Paul had not met these people and had not yet visited Rome. This letter addresses the nature of the good news of Jesus’ death and resurrection, its implications, as well as briefly addressing the age of the gentiles and the prophesied grafting of the nation of Israel back into God’s plan.
Where: Rome, Italy
Key Verses
Romans 3:22b-25 - “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
Romans 10:9 “ Because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
1 Corinthians
Paul founded the church in Corinth, a primarily gentile church that was full of converts who had no history or connection with the things of God. In this letter, he addresses a lot of basics about church conduct, about how to act like Christ in a world that is fundamentally different, and admonishes them for inappropriate behavior from amongst their ranks.
These former pagans had to let go of many cultural norms, including engaging in behaviors that invoked the prostitutes in the temples of their gods, ascribing power to meat sacrificed to idols, and changing their views on appropriate sexual expression. 1 Corinthians also crucially addresses the use of gifts of the Spirit, how they are dispensed by the Holy Spirit, and not being jealous of the gifts of others.
Where: Southern Greece
Key Verses
1 Corinthians 6:19-23 - “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-13 - “ For just as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many, are one body, so it is with Christ. For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body — Jews or Greeks, slaves or free — and all were made to drink of one Spirit.”
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2 Corinthians
This letter was a follow-up to the first. Some theologians believe there may have been another letter between this one and the previous that was harsher, not ordained by the Spirit, and subsequently lost to history. This letter focuses on reconciliation and forgiveness, affirming their new resiliency walking with the Lord. The people who had been living in flagrant sin addressed in 1 Corinthians have repented and changed, and Paul encouraged them to forgive and re-integrate these people back into the church.
Where: Southern Greece
Key Verses
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 - “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
2 Corinthians 5:17-19 - “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.”
Galatians
The Church in Galatia was a well-meaning church of mostly gentiles who had been led to believe they needed to follow the Law of Moses in order to maintain their salvation. The region in which the church was located was primarily inhabited by a Celtic people, who made contact with Jews living outside of Israel.
Judaizing, the practice of making gentile believers feel pressure to conform to Jewish law to be right with God, was a problem in the early church, with several false teachers pressuring them in this way. Paul addresses the freedom in Christ afforded to Jewish and gentile believers, since they could live without the constraints of the law.
Where: North-central Anatolia, modern day Turkey
Key Verses
Galatians 2:20-21 - “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
Galatians 3:11 - “Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for ‘The righteous shall live by faith.’”
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Ephesians
Paul wrote this letter to the Church in Ephesus while he was in prison, encouraging them in their spiritual walk, reviewing primary points of the Gospel, and reinforcing important tenets of living life as a Christian. This letter serves as a good reminder for what a believer needs in their day-to-day life to succeed, including a fervent prayer life, the armor of God, and unity with other believers.
Where: Greek settlement on the west coast of modern-day Turkey
Key Verses
Ephesians 3:6 - “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Ephesians 4:31-32 - “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Philippians
Another one of Paul’s letters he wrote while imprisoned, it was written as a response to the love and generosity of the Church at Philippi. They were earnest believers who were generous and wanted to help Paul. They actually sent a messenger to see what assistance they could provide him during his trials. This letter is one of encouragement, focusing on joy despite hardship.
Where: North-east Greece
Key Verses
Philippians 1:21 – “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
Philippians 3:8-11 - “Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord…that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”
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Colossians
This book is a good introduction to Christianity for young or new believers. It focuses on who Jesus Christ is, and what it means to be a Christian. When Paul wrote this letter, he had not met the Colossians. They wrote to him inquiring for clarification, and he obliged. Because he was unfamiliar with the church, he focused on the basics, and expressed sincere concern for their spiritual wellbeing. He then cautioned them against false teachers, and provided practical advice for living as a new person in Christ.
As a primarily gentile church, these basics were important, as they had almost no awareness of the beliefs of the Hebrew people when the Gospel was delivered to them.
Where: Mt. Cadmus, modern Turkey, formerly Phrygia
Key Verses
Colossians 3:12-13 - “ Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
Colossians 4:2 - “Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving.”
1 Thessalonians
Paul had been to Thessalonica, and in the Book of Acts his visit to the synagogue there records that there were Jews who accepted Jesus as their Messiah. By the time Paul writes this letter, gentiles had come to faith as well, as suggested by his reference to idols. The church at Thessalonica was suffering persecution. Despite their suffering, Paul wrote to encourage them to continue striving to do great things for God as they prepared for Jesus’ return.
Where: Greece
Key Verses
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 - “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”
1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 - “For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words.”
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2 Thessalonians
Paul continued to write to this church in the same manner, encouraging them to live rightly before God in all circumstances, but placed a heavier emphasis on doing so in light of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Where: Greece
Key Verses
2 Thessalonians 2:13 - “But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth.”
2 Thessalonians 3:6 - “Now we command you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you keep away from any brother who is walking in idleness and not in accord with the tradition that you received from us.”
The Holy Spirit is always illuminating new truths in the Bible to those who will search its contents for God’s will. Paul’s letters communicate important messages to believers that continue to be insightful and helpful. The letters to the churches focus on important messages that will carry a Christian through their life, so they can finish their race well.
Sources
Walvoord, John F. and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Old Testament and New Testament. United States of America: Victor Books, 1987.
Wilmington, H.L. Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1981.
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Bethany Verrett is a freelance writer who uses her passion for God, reading, and writing to glorify God. She and her husband have lived all over the country serving their Lord and Savior in ministry. She has a blog on graceandgrowing.com.