the apostle paul was a champion of spreading the gospel message after his radical conversion experience when he met jesus. He traveled to numerous cities and countries, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul also corresponded with and supported various churches through letters.
but how many books of the bible did paul write? Thirteen books of the New Testament are attributed to him. the books written by paul were actually letters he wrote to congregations and brothers and sisters in christ during his years of ministry. Paul began most of his letters with a greeting similar to that found in the letter to the Galatian church, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 1:3). /p>
The thirteen books written by Paul are: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.
You are reading: What books did paul write
when did paul write these books?
paul wrote these thirteen books throughout his ministry. he wrote to churches and individuals while in a variety of circumstances. for example, he wrote while on mission trips, after completing his journey, or even while in prison. While in Ephesus, Paul wrote to the church at Corinth.
“after passing through macedonia, I will come to you, because I will pass through macedonia. maybe I’ll stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. because I don’t want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, Lord willing. but I will stay in Ephesus until Pentecost” (1 Corinthians 16:5-8).
information like that has helped scholars piece together when and where paul was when he wrote the books attributed to him. In his writings, readers gain insight into Paul’s deep love and care for the growing Christian church, and the ways he helped people to be saved and grow in their faith. writing letters allowed paul to continue urging others to his faith. From another letter, readers learn that Paul wrote a second letter to Timothy from prison.
“for which I suffer, bound in chains like a criminal. but the word of god is not bound!” (2 Timothy 2:9).
paul described himself as a prisoner in a letter to timothy. This letter was written near the end of Paul’s life before he was sentenced to death and executed. Paul wrote these thirteen letters, which have become part of the New Testament, from AD 50 until his death when he became a martyr for Jesus. Paul is believed to have died around AD 67.
Paul wrote all these letters himself?
From the letters themselves, we know that Paul had the help of a scribe to write letters to churches or individuals. This was a common practice in Paul’s time. The scribe would have written as Paul spoke out loud what he wanted to include in the letter. in the letter to the Romans, the scribe identifies himself.
“I, the third, who wrote this letter, greet you in the Lord” (Romans 16:22).
It is fascinating that the scribe was also a Christian who wanted to convey his greetings to his brothers and sisters in Christ. In other letters, such as the one Paul wrote to the church at Colossae, Paul indicated when it was his own hand that wrote the actual words of the letter.
“I, Pablo, write this greeting in my own handwriting. remember my chains grace be with you” (Colossians 4:18).
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Although Paul worked with scribes to create these letters, we are assured that regardless of how the letter was written, all scripture is inspired by God (see 2 Timothy 3:16).
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why are paul’s personal letters considered writing?
An important part of Paul’s ministry was keeping in touch with Christians and churches, encouraging them in their faith and helping them avoid heresy or being persuaded to believe anything other than the true gospel message given to them. predicate. he did it by visiting and writing letters. it is not clear how many letters out of the thirteen epistles of the bible that paul wrote. however, we know that paul wrote letters that did not end up in the bible. In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul refers to an earlier letter that he had written to them.
“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with fornicators” (1 Corinthians 5:9).
although we don’t know for sure what paul mentioned outside of this letter, it is possible that paul wrote other letters to churches and individuals that did not become part of the bible. however, certain letters were widely circulated, transformative, and recognized as holy scripture by the early church. these letters are now part of the new testament.
We know that not all of the letters Paul wrote became scripture, such as the letter Paul mentioned he wrote earlier to the church in Corinth. Perhaps this other letter did not have the same level of impact and transferability to congregations beyond Corinth. Ultimately, it is unknown why this other letter to the Corinthians was not recognized as scripture. Peter, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, made reference to the writings of Paul.
“Keep in mind that the patience of our Lord means salvation, just as our dear brother Pablo also wrote to you with the wisdom that God gave him. thus he writes in all his letters, speaking in them of these things. his letters contain some things difficult to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist, as also the other scriptures, to his own perdition” (2 Peter 3:15-16).
This is helpful in knowing that even when Paul’s letters were circulating, it was evident that they were inspired by God. Peter believed that Paul’s letters were in fact holy scripture and urged others to view them in the same light and with the same reverence. It’s no surprise, then, that thirteen of Paul’s letters have become part of the Bible.
Is there a central theme in Paul’s letters?
Paul’s letters had common elements, such as an introduction, the name of the writer and to whom the letter was addressed, a greeting or thanksgiving, and the body of the letter conveying the reason(s) for the one(s) paul was writing about and the information he wanted to convey to readers. Paul used to end letters from him with a farewell.
In some of his letters, Paul included lists to demonstrate or expand on what he was teaching. For example, Paul wrote lists of sinful behavior (see Galatians 5:19-21 or Colossians 3:5-6), lists of the fruit of the spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23 or Ephesians 4:2), lists of descriptions ( see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8), or how Christians should live (see 2 Corinthians 6:4-10).
Paul’s letters address many themes and topics, such as marriage, the Christian life, sin, justice, and grace. Paul wrote about suffering, joy, discipleship, forgiveness, and that Jesus would return. Other topics Paul addressed were unity in the body of Christ, death to the flesh, and the power of the Holy Spirit. The central theme of all of Paul’s letters is that we are saved by faith in Jesus.
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“For it is by grace you have been saved through faith; and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).
paul went to great lengths to declare that jesus is lord and savior, the promised messiah, for both Gentiles and Jews. Paul originally rejected the gospel, persecuted the church, and believed that Jesus was an impostor. when he experienced a conversion, no doubt paul made it his mission to follow jesus’ call to go and make disciples of all nations. Paul had a passion to make sure every person knew that one cannot earn salvation, but rather it is a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ alone.
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what happened to pablo?
During his Christian life, Paul went on mission trips, trained other believers to faith, rejected heresies, and preached God’s truth. Paul corresponded with churches and individuals and wrote letters that were eventually recognized as part of the Holy Bible. In his last years, he was imprisoned in Rome and sentenced to death. He was a great supporter of many brothers and sisters in Christ and believed that God was with him no matter what he faced (see Romans 8:38-39).
“The hour of my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now the crown of justice is kept for me, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who long for his coming” (2 Timothy 4: 6-8).
even near the end of his life when facing death, paul fully trusted that god was with him and that it had been an honor to serve god. paul died as a martyr for jesus, one who helped advance the growing christian church and, ultimately, the kingdom of god.
a life dedicated to Christ
Paul wrote numerous letters to churches and individuals during his ministry. Although some were just that, personal or community letters, others were recognized as scripture and became part of the bible. Thirteen books in all are attributed to Paul in the New Testament. Paul wrote on many theological topics and did his best to encourage his audience to persevere in faith.
paul’s passion for jesus and his love for people is evident both in his writings and in the fact that he gave his life to promote the gospel so that more and more people would come to know jesus as their lord and savior .
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Pamela Palmer is a writer, chaplain, and the founder of upheldlife.com, the platform on which she produces weekly devotionals and faith resource articles to inspire keeping faith at the center of it all. She lives and thrives on Jesus, coffee, and music. She is in pastoral ministry and gets to share in the emotional and spiritual lives of many people, being a small piece of each journey. Pamela married the perfect man for her and they have two beautiful kiddos. She has been published on herviewfromhome.com and you can follow her at upheldlife.com, or on Facebook.com/upheldlife.
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