New Testament
The Pauline Epistles
Thirteen letters bearing Paul's name · to churches and individuals
Paul's letters are the earliest Christian writings we have, older than the Gospels, addressed into concrete situations of conflict, doctrine, and pastoral care.
They combine theology, autobiography, and pastoral counsel, and their arguments have shaped Christian thought for two millennia.
Period
The undisputed letters span c. 49–62 CE, from Galatians or 1 Thessalonians through the imprisonment letters. Composition covers roughly a decade and a half.
Themes
- ·Justification and life in Christ
- ·Jew and Gentile as one people of God
- ·The cross as wisdom and power
- ·The church as the body of Christ
- ·Ethics shaped by resurrection hope
Authorship — traditional
Christian tradition receives all thirteen letters as Paul's own work, dictated to secretaries and often co-signed with companions (Silvanus, Timothy, Sosthenes). Hebrews was included in the Pauline corpus in some ancient traditions (especially in the East), though its own text names no author.
Authorship — historical-critical
Critical scholarship distinguishes seven 'undisputed' letters (Romans, 1–2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, Philemon), three 'disputed' (Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians), and three 'Pastorals' (1–2 Timothy, Titus) often assigned to a later Pauline school in the late 1st or early 2nd c. Hebrews is universally treated as non-Pauline in modern scholarship.
The books
Click a book to open it in the reader at chapter 1.
- Romans16 ch
c. 57 CE, from Corinth, to the church at Rome.
Paul's most systematic letter: sin, grace, faith, the place of Israel, and the shape of life in the Spirit. The seedbed of Reformation theology.
- 1 Corinthians16 ch
c. 53–54 CE, from Ephesus.
A pastoral letter to a divided, gifted, and messy congregation. Addresses factions, sex, worship, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection.
- 2 Corinthians13 ch
c. 55–56 CE, from Macedonia.
Paul's most personal letter, defending his apostleship: 'we have this treasure in earthen vessels.'
- Galatians6 ch
c. 49–55 CE, depending on the dating of Paul's travels.
A fierce letter against those requiring Gentile Christians to keep the Mosaic law. The charter of Christian freedom.
- Ephesians6 ch
c. 60–62 CE (traditional) or later (critical), possibly a circular letter.
A soaring vision of Christ, cosmos, and church as one new humanity. In critical scholarship often dated to a Pauline disciple.
- Philippians4 ch
c. 60–62 CE, from prison (traditionally Rome).
A warm thank-you letter carrying the great hymn of Christ's self-emptying (Phil. 2:6–11). 'Rejoice in the Lord always.'
- Colossians4 ch
c. 60–62 CE (traditional) or later.
Against a syncretistic teaching, Paul lifts up Christ as the image of the invisible God, in whom all things hold together.
- 1 Thessalonians5 ch
c. 50–51 CE — likely the earliest surviving Christian writing.
Encouragement to a young persecuted church, with instruction about the return of Christ and the hope of the resurrection.
- 2 Thessalonians3 ch
c. 51 CE (traditional) or later (critical).
A follow-up letter cooling apocalyptic fever and calling the church back to steady work and hope.
- 1 Timothy6 ch
c. 62–66 CE (traditional) or late 1st / early 2nd c. (critical).
Pastoral instruction for church order, leadership, and false teaching in Ephesus.
- 2 Timothy4 ch
c. 66–67 CE (traditional), Paul's last letter.
A personal charge to Timothy from a Paul who now expects martyrdom. 'I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race.'
- Titus3 ch
c. 62–66 CE (traditional) or later (critical).
A short letter about ordering the church on Crete and living quiet, faithful lives in a corrupt culture.
- Philemon1 ch
c. 60–62 CE, from prison.
A single-chapter letter asking a slaveowner to receive back the enslaved Onesimus 'no longer as a slave, but as a beloved brother.'