A guide to the study of the Holy Scriptures of the New Testament. Apostle

On the basis of positive and reliable evidence, the common voice of the Church assimilates to the holy Apostle Paul fourteen Epistles, although in antiquity there were many hesitations regarding Paul's recognition of the Epistle to the Hebrews. These epistles are placed in the Bible in the following order: Epistle to the Romans, First Epistle to the Corinthians, Second Epistle to the Corinthians, Epistle to the Galatians, Epistle to the Ephesians, Epistle to the Philippians, Epistle to the Colossians, First Epistle to the Thessalonians or Thessalonians, First Epistle to Timothy, Second Epistle to Timothy, Epistle to Titus, Epistle to Philemon, The Epistle to the Hebrews.This order is not chronological. This placement is made, as can be easily noticed, by the importance and vastness of the epistles themselves, and by the comparative importance of the churches and persons to whom the epistles are addressed. The Epistles to the Seven Churches are followed by the Epistles to the Three Persons, and the Epistle to the Hebrews is placed behind all, because its authenticity is recognized last of all. The Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul are usually divided into two unequal groups: the General Christian Epistles and the Pastoral Epistles. 5:9 [1], also Colossus. 4:16 [2] suggested that there were other Pauline epistles that have not come down to us. But it is improbable that they could have been lost with the care with which the primitive Church preserved the writings of the holy Apostles. The correspondence attributed to the holy Apostle Paul with the philosopher Seneca, the brother of the proconsul Gallio mentioned in the Acts (18:12 [3]), did not deserve recognition of its authenticity. ^When this epistle is read among you, then order that it be read also in the Laodicean church; and the one from Laodicea, read you also. ^Meanwhile, during the proconsulship of Gallio in Achaia, the Jews attacked Paul with one accord and brought him before the judgment seat. ^

The Meaning of the Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul and Their Subject

The Epistles of the Holy Apostle Paul are of great importance in the composition of the New Testament, for in them we find a deep and comprehensive revelation and explanation of the truths of the Gospel teaching.

Therefore, he cannot be a true theologian who has not studied them in the most thorough way. Most of the epistles follow the same plan. They begin with a greeting to the readers and gratitude to God for His providential actions in the place to which the epistle is addressed. Further, the Epistle is usually divided into two parts, the dogmatic and the moral. In conclusion, the holy Apostle deals with private matters, makes assignments, speaks about his personal situation, expresses his good wishes and sends greetings of peace and love. His language, lively and vivid, resembles the language of the Old Testament prophets and testifies to a great acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures.

Epistle to the Romans

The Founding of the Church of Rome and the Composition of Its Members

There is no exact information about the origin of the Roman Church, so important later in church history. One can only speculate about this, however, very likely. The Apostle Paul himself writes in his Epistle to the Romans that among the Roman Christians there are some who believed in Christ even before he himself (Andronicus and Junia – Rom. 16:7 [1]), and that the faith of the Roman Christians is already glorified throughout the whole world (Rom. 1:8 [2]). In the Clement Recognitions it is said that even during the earthly life of the Lord Jesus Christ, news of Him reached the Romans and aroused in them not only amazement, but also faith. This is not surprising, given that from the time of the subjugation of Judea to Rome by Pompey (in 63 B.C.). many Jews began to live in Rome, for whom even a special quarter was later allocated. They went to Jerusalem for the holidays and, of course, could then tell in Rome about what they heard and saw there. On the day of the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles, as the writer testifies, the Romans were among the witnesses of this great event (Acts 2:10 [3]). Among these Romans there may have been believers and baptized Romans, who later became the founders of the first Christian community in Rome. The question arises, where and from which of the Apostles does the ecclesiastical hierarchy of this first Roman community originate? The tradition of the Roman Church says that there was in Rome the holy Apostle Peter, who, after his miraculous release from prison in 43 AD, arrived there from Jerusalem and was bishop there for 25 years until his martyrdom in 67 AD. There can be no doubt that St. Peter was not in Rome at the time when the holy Apostle Paul wrote his Epistle to the Romans. If the holy Apostle Peter had been a bishop in Rome, would St. Paul have dared to instruct his flock, and even if he had nevertheless considered it necessary to address the Roman flock with an epistle, then, of course, not apart from St. Peter, and in one way or another would have mentioned his name in the epistle? In addition, St. Paul says of himself that he did not have the custom of "building on someone else's foundation" (Rom. 15:20 [4]) and preaching in someone else's province (2 Cor. 10:16 [5]). The holy Apostle Paul would not have sought to go to Rome if the holy Apostle Peter had already been there. There was no St. Peter in Rome, and consequently until the end of St. Paul's first bonds. It is impossible that the writer of Acts, who tells of the arrival of St. Paul in Rome and of his preaching there, would not have mentioned that the saint was in Rome at that time. The Apostle Peter. From this the conclusion is clear: the holy Apostle Peter could have been in Rome only after the first bonds of the holy Apostle Paul, that is, shortly before his martyrdom. At the end of the Epistle to the Romans, the holy Apostle Paul sends greetings to a number of persons, apparently very close and well known to him. Who were these persons, and how could the holy Apostle Paul, who had not yet been in Rome before, have become acquainted with them? All of them are undoubtedly exiles from Rome, expelled by Imp. Claudius and scattered throughout Greece, Macedonia and Asia Minor, where they met the Apostle Paul. Some of them were enlightened by him, others became his collaborators. After the death of Claudius, they returned to Rome and spiritually headed the Roman church community. The Holy Apostle Paul burned with a desire to be in Rome in order to reap the fruits of what was sown by his disciples.The tradition that the Roman Church was founded by St. Peter can be explained by the fact that the first believers in Rome were from among the converts on the day of Pentecost, who heard the speech of the holy Apostle Peter and naturally considered him their spiritual father. To this was added the fact that in Rome the holy Apostle Peter accepted a martyr's death.The Roman Church at first consisted mainly of Jews, but later many pagans entered it, so that the latter even began to predominate in number. This is also evident from the Epistle to the Romans. The Roman pagans, disappointed in their pagan superstitions, often became proselytes when they came into contact with the Jews, and this made it easier for them to convert to Christianity, as it gave even greater, already complete satisfaction to their spirit. The Roman philosopher Seneca said on this occasion that the defeated give the laws of faith to the victors, and Juvenal laughed at the Judaizer Romans, and especially Roman women. According to the testimony of Suetonius, the Jews were expelled by Imp. Claudius of Rome because there were troubles among them because of Christ. At the same time, the Gentile believers could not suffer, for the persecution affected only the Jews, and moreover, not for the faith, but for the violation of public peace. The community of former pagans began to grow and develop independently, and thus completely separated itself from the Jews. Christians from the Jews, who later returned, firmly merged with the believers from the Gentiles, forming a single whole with them and also completely separating themselves from the Jews. This separation of the faithful from the Jews was sharply marked at the entry of the holy Apostle Paul into Rome, when the faithful went out to meet the Apostle Paul as far as the Appian Square and the three inns, and the Jews did not come to Saint Paul for three days, until he himself invited them to his place for a conversation. ^First of all, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, that your faith is proclaimed throughout the world. ^Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya adjacent to Cyrene, and those who came from Rome, the Jews and proselytes. ^Moreover, I tried to preach the gospel not where the name of Christ was already known, so as not to build on someone else's foundation. ^so that you may continue to preach the Gospel, and not boast of what is ready in someone else's inheritance. ^

The reason for writing the epistle and its purpose

From the Epistle to the Romans it does not appear that they themselves gave the holy Apostle Paul any reason for writing the Epistle. The Epistle has a completely general character and does not indicate any particulars in the life of Roman Christians. It is in vain to think that there was any controversy or division among them, pointing to 16:17,1 which is also a general passage, like all other exhortations. After all, he was the "Apostle of the Gentiles," and it was natural for him to be concerned about the Christian prosperity of the inhabitants of the capital of the entire cultural world of that time. Intending to visit the Romans, he prefaced this visit with his own message, so that it would temporarily replace his personal visit, preparing the Romans to meet him. In his epistle he outlines the general program of all Christian teaching and warns them against infection by the Judaizers.The nearest reason for writing the epistle at this time was the departure to Rome from Corinth, where Paul was at that time, of the highly respected Cenchraean deaconess of Phoebe, who rendered considerable services to the cause of faith and the Church and was a helper in the work of evangelizing the Gospel to the Apostle Paul himself, as he himself testifies (16:1-2 [2]). She had dealings in Rome, and the holy Apostle Paul, appreciating her merits, considered it his duty to recommend her to Roman Christians.I beseech you, brethren, beware of those who produce divisions and temptations, contrary to the teaching which you have learned, and turn away from them. ^I present to you Phoebe, our sister, deaconess of the church of Cenchrean. Receive her for the Lord, as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she will have need of you, for she also was a helper to many, including to myself. ^

Place and time of writing the epistle

From the data of the Epistle to the Romans itself, it can be established with certainty that it was written in Corinth. This is evident from the fact that St. Paul conveys to the Romans greetings from Gaius, with whom he lived, and from Erastus, the city treasurer (16:23 [1]), and from his other epistles (1 Cor. 1:14 [2] and 2 Tim. 4:20 [3]) it is clear that these persons lived in Corinth. In the same way, Phoebe, from which the epistle was sent, was the deaconess of Cenchreus, and Cenchrea was a suburb of Corinth, a Corinthian harbor on the side of the Aegean Sea (Rom. 6:1). There are also clear indications of this in the epistle itself. The Apostle informs the Romans that he intends to go to Jerusalem with the alms he had collected in Macedonia and Achaia, and from Jerusalem he intends to go to Rome and then to Spain (15:25-28 [4]). Comparing this indication with the narrative of the Book of Acts (19:21 [5] and 20:3 [6]), we establish that the Epistle to the Romans was written by the holy Apostle Paul during the third Apostolic journey, when he spent three months in Greece, that is, about the year 59 A.D. in the spring. Greetings to you are Erastus, the city treasurer, and brother Qart. ^I thank God that I did not baptize any of you except Crispus and Gaius. ^Erastus remained in Corinth; I left Trophimus sick in Miletus. ^And now I go to Jerusalem to minister to the saints, for Macedonia and Achaia are zealous in giving some alms to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem. They are zealous, and they are indebted to them. For if the Gentiles have become partakers in their spirituality, then they must also serve them in the bodily. Having done this, and having faithfully delivered to them this fruit of diligence, I will go through your places to Spain. ^When this was done, Paul resolved in the Spirit, having passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, "Having been there, I must see Rome also." ^There he stayed for three months. When, on account of the indignation made against him by the Jews, he wanted to go to Syria, it occurred to him to return by way of Macedonia. ^

The Authenticity of the Message