Letters to the Church

The Bible speaks of the “ mysteries ” of God, His ways that are hidden from this world’s “wisdom” and defy human expectations. In his teachings, Jesus declared that not everyone can understand the “ mysteries of the kingdom .” It is God who reveals the deep and obscure things to whomever He pleases, and in His Son, He has done so for all the world to see. In the death and resurrection of the Nazarene, God has disclosed His true nature and the salvation that He now offers to all men and women.

The first literary section of  Hebrews  concludes with an exhortation and ominous warning. Any disciple of Jesus who fails to heed the far “ better word ” that God is now speaking in His Son will suffer an even “ sorer punishment ” than the rebellious Israelites received when they disobeyed the Mosaic Law. The  Torah  was delivered to Moses by angels. Nevertheless, it was God’s word, and therefore, lawbreakers were punished severely.

Paul introduces his ministry to the Church of Rome and begins explaining the Gospel by identifying Christ’s messianic qualifications . The Letter to the Romans begins with a lengthy introduction as the Apostle Paul identifies himself and describes his mission. His calling and God’s grace equipped him to preach the “ obedience of faith ” to the Gentiles. Paul lists Christ’s qualifications to be the Messiah and links what God did through Jesus to the promises of the “ Holy Scriptures .”

When certain “ super-apostles ” began undermining his authority, the Apostle Paul warned the Assembly in Corinth not to heed anyone who “ proclaimed another Jesus, whom we did not preach, or a different spirit, or a different Gospel .” He pointed to the same Jesus that he first proclaimed, the “ Crucified Messiah ,” the Jesus who is the measuring rod against which all other messianic claimants must be evaluated.

After explaining the coming “Apostasy” and the “Man of Lawlessness,” Paul instructed believers in Thessalonica on how to avoid the coming deception and thereby find themselves standing “blameless” before Jesus when he “arrives.” To do so they must “stand fast” by adhering to the teachings and “traditions” of the Apostles. The conclusion to his discussion includes verbal links to his first letter to the Assembly. The second letter was written within a few weeks or months at the most of the first letter.