A significant minority of scholars believe, Paul was the author of Colossians, When Paul wrote the letter, but he had not yet visited the city. Located about 100 miles east of Ephesus, was Colossae a town in Phrygia. Paul’s missionary associate, Epaphras who assisted Paul during one of his four missionary journeys’, founded the church of Colossae a short time before Paul’s writings. Which there is no evidence that Paul visited the church at the time the letters were written. Around the same time as Philemon, Colossians very well could have been written because the subject matter is closely related. Paul does not mention Philemon and has him absent from the letter, but this does not mean he is not the author.
The first letter to the Christian community was sent from Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, though Paul was the main author. Paul was writing to them to clear up their misunderstandings about the return of Christ, also considers it as instructions in holy living. Paul wrote about his longing to visit the church in Thessalonica but
Paul is the author of the book of Titus. The book of Titus was written around the years 63-65 A.D. The letter was addressed to Titus who was a gentile and a companion of Paul. Paul called Titus his “True son”. Titus along with First and Second Timothy are called Pastoral Epistles. The reason for being categorized that way is because the letters emphasizes the reason for having leaders within the church. (Votaw, Clyde W. pg.130-38) The book 's theme is instructions to Titus on how to run the churches in Crete and to encourage Titus in faith. The first readers of this letter would be Titus, some of the leaders within the Crete churches, Zenas and Apollos who Paul gave the letter to give of Titus. Paul and Titus most likely visited Crete
Christianity was still quite young at the time Paul wrote to Philemon and was faced with much opposition. The Church existed as local bodies of believers, meeting primarily in homes because there were no church buildings for worship. Persecution of the Church was prevalent and their survival depended heavily on dependence on one another and unity. Many misconceptions and even blatant lies
The letter to the Colossians was written by the apostle Paul. It is likely that Paul wrote the letter of Colossians in the late AD “50’s or 60’s,” while he was imprisoned. This letter was written to a gentile church plant located in Colossae, a city of Rome. Paul planted churches in Ephesus which is 100 miles west from Colossae. However, it is improbable that Paul is the founder of the church of the Colossians since he was imprisoned at the time. For example, Paul said, “Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you,” (Col. 4:10, ESV) indicating his imprisonment as he mentioned his fellow inmate. The book of Colossians is not the only prison epistle that Paul wrote; The book of Ephesians, the book of Philippians and the book of Philemon are all prison epistles. So, perhaps, it was Epaphras who planted the Colossians’ church. This exegetical study will explore the historical context of the Book of Colossians to understand why Paul exhorted and prayed for the Colossians to be filled with God’s divine will. Colossians 1:9-14 is relevant in today’s time because it proves that the power of intercessory prayer edifies the Church to defend the gospel from false teaching.
The author of Colossians has experienced the resurrection of Christ. How can this be since the undisputed letters indicate believers have not experienced the resurrection of Christ. Colossians was written after the resurrection of Christ, therefore Paul did not write it (Ehrman, 444). According to Ehrman, even more scholars are convinced that Ephesians was not written by Paul just as Second Thessalonians and Colossians were not written by Paul. The primary issue with Ephesians is the letter is written to the “Saints in Ephesus” (Eph1:1).
Sharing feelings associated with a place or an idea is the basis of what poetry is. In the poem "The New Colossus" author Emma Lazarus elicits strong feelings of patriotism and freedom through an experience of what it feels like to set your eyes on the Statue of Liberty and what the amazing structure symbolizes for Americans. However, this poem does not stop with just Americans, as half of the entire poem is dedicated to the Statue of Liberty calling out to the world. The poem is split up into two parts of dialogue. In the first dialogue (or the first half of the poem) Emma Lazarus narrates from a reserved observational stance. The reader observes Lazarus’ description of the Statue of Liberty where she expands on the greatness and importance of the structure for Americans and Mankind alike. The second dialogue (or second half of the poem) is the Statue of Liberty herself speaking to out other countries around the world asking for their weary and poor. This dialogue is also where the famous phrase "Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free" makes its debut (Lazarus 514) . Lazarus created a poem that so many Americans and immigrants can cherish to this day, because of the meaning that is transposed from the words that she wrote. This poem, like many other patriotic poems, gives the reader a great feeling of pride for being an American. However, this feeling of pride is much stronger than other patriotic poems. Lazarus can produce these
Philippians The book of Philippians deals with praise, confidence and rejoicing. The book of Philippians was a letter written in prison by Paul in 62 A.D. The key personalities are the Apostle Paul, Timothy, Epaphroditus, Euodia, and Syntyche ( Philippians). Paul is known for his prison epistles ( letter written in jail) there are four and Paul had written Philippians last.
Paul wrote to the Romans from Corinth during his three month stay. Paul was on a missionary trip passing through the east and was on his way to Rome. It was one of two letters; One to Rome and the other to Ephesus. They must have already had churches started in Rome because “We can safely assume that the church was not planted by an apostle”(Schreiner pg.11). The Church was most probably started by Jewish Christians.
The book of Colossians could have been written by Paul, though it is also possible it was later attributed to him and written by one of his followers. Harris points out that if Paul was the author, it would have been before he had visited the church in Colossae, and would have been written in prison during the time he wrote the letter to Philemon (Harris, 2014). The argument for the work then would be that it covers many of the same topics, as well as lists the same people while reaching out to those within the church, including Luke (Harris, 2014). The church at Colossae is believed to have been founded by an apostle Paul knew, meaning that it is entirely possible, if not likely that he would have known about the church and used his status
Certain positons are held by certain scholars as to who Paul’s letter to the churches of Galatia was written. One theory is that it was written in Northern Galatians. A view held by J.B. Lightfoot, he states that it was during Paul’s third journey roughly around 53-58 A.D. and it was to the Celtic and or Gaulish society in northern Galatia. According to Longenecker “Galatians was written to the churches of Ancyra, Pessinus, and Tavium and that Paul in Galatians 2:1-10 was referring to the Jerusalem council of Acts 15”. Another theory is that it was written in Southern Galatians. William Ramsay holds this theory, with the view that the letter was written during Paul’s second journey roughly around 50 A.D. Ramsay says: “the beneficiaries of the letter were the churches of southern Galatia, i.e. Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe”.
The book of Romans is a letter, also called an epistle, written to the Christian Community in Rome. The authorship of Romans is largely attributed to the apostle Paul. There seems to be few, if any, scholars who would disagree with this. Based on the mention of a man named Tertius in Romans 16:22, as his scribe, Paul would have dictated this letter. Further, the provenance of where Paul wrote Romans is a consensus among scholars. According to Jewett, "Paul dictated the letter from Corinth or its vicinity in the period immediately
According the dictionary.com the word creed oringinates from the old English word credo meaning, "an article or statement of Christian beliefs" which eventually broadens to "any statement in which I believe". This creed is not the basis of teaching, rather it supports the sound doctrine of the Bible, where we will specifically be focusing on Colossians 1:15-20. The Nicene Creed defends TRUE Christian faith by fully clarifying the deity of Christ, thus safeguarding the apostles teachings. We will be exploring how Colossions and the Nicene creed work together and their differences.
Paul claims to be the author of Ephesians. In fact, the letter was spread around the world recognizing Paul as the author, early in the church history. However “Since the nineteenth century Pauline authorship of Ephesians has been doubted”(The Baker Bible Handbook, 835).This is because notable differences in language and style have been found between Ephesians and other letters claimed to be written by Paul such us Colossians. Anyways, those who believe it was written while Paul , have concluded that he wrote
1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, also known as the Pastoral Epistles, attempt to describe proper hierarchy in the early church. They reject the idea of having women being significantly involved in the community. Libertarian theology interprets Christianity through the viewpoint of the poor. Leftist theology is a more liberal political party. It advocates equality and rejects the idea of social hierarchy. These three ideas were considered heterodidascalia, or “the other teachings,” in the early church (Menendez, 185). The Pastoral Epistles attempted to limit the number and type of people who could have power and authority, and they did this by “[addressing] specific church leaders and [targeting] specific groups” (Menendez, 186). By narrowing the gap between the secular and religious groups, it is possible to “deepen the national dialogues” (Menendez, 187). Based on the conservative, Pastoral interpretations of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus, there is no room for equality amongst the people and it seems to me like they are taking certain rights away from these different groups of people. If the Pastorals were more sensitive to the three issues stated above, it could allow a better understanding between the state and church.
During the time the letter was written, most believe that Paul was in a prison in Rome. He wrote three letters at around the same time. One letter was to the Colossians; one letter was to Philemon, whose slave, Onesimus, had recently run away; the final letter was to the church that Paul had started in Ephesus. The messenger that carried the letters to the church of Colossae most likely passed through the sea port and great city at Ephesus. Working in Ephesus for at least two years, Paul expanded the reach of the Gospel to the entire