Church
The Establishment of the Church
- The “church” is first mentioned by Jesus as the “group” or “assembly” (ekklesia, Matt. 16:18).
- The early church primarily gathered as groups in homes; official church buildings were not introduced until hundreds of years later.
- The church was a group of people to commit to rather than a program to attend or a building to visit (Acts 2:42-47).
The Spread of the Church
- As the Church grew, the individual churches multiplied in homes (Rom. 16:5), cities (1 Cor. 1:1-2), regions (Acts 9:31), and throughout the world (Eph. 3:21).
- With the remarkable speed of church planting, church leaders had to circulate letters to keep the central message and mission aligned.
- Missionaries would evangelize individuals in a city, plant churches, and train elders to lead in their absence.
The Organization of the Church
- The New Testament describes two roles intended to serve a local church: overseers (leaders) and deacons (servants) [1 Tim. 3:1-13].
- Church leaders are called to equip all saints for the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12) by utilizing each one’s spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:7; 14:26).
- Scripture “orders” a local church to observe the ordinances of baptism (Gal. 3:27) and the Lord’s Supper (1 Cor. 10:17).
Instructions
The Reason for the Epistles
- Epistles or letters are occasional documents; they were written based on the needs of a specific group of people at a particular time.
- Epistles are not theological summaries; they do not tell us everything about an author’s beliefs.
- These instructions helped the maturing Church from diverging into unbiblical beliefs or behaviors.
The Structure of the Epistles
- Letters during the New Testament followed a similar pattern:
- Introduction
- Author
- Recipient
- Greeting
- Thanksgiving
- Body
- Exhortation
- Thesis
- Belief Instructions
- Behavior Instructions
- Conclusion
- Practical Matters
- Individual Greetings
- Personal Note
- Doxology
- Introduction
The Content of the Epistles
- To understand an epistle properly, you must know the author, the recipient, and the occasion.
- Paul’s Church Letters
- Romans
- 1 Corinthians
- 2 Corinthians
- Galatians
- Ephesians
- Philippians
- Colossians
- 1 Thessalonians
- 2 Thessalonians
- Paul’s Personal Letters
- 1 Timothy
- 2 Timothy
- Titus
- Philemon
- Other Letters
- Hebrews
- James
- 1 Peter
- 2 Peter
- 1 John
- 2 John
- 3 John
- Jude