Search
I. Romans
А. The writer(s), the place, and the time
B. The subject
C. The background
D. The central thought
E. The general sketch
F. The sections
II. 1 Corinthians (A to F)
III. 2 Corinthians (A to F)
IV. Galatians (A to F)
V. Ephesians (A to F)
We will cover the fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul in this lesson and the next two lessons. Paul said he was commissioned to “complete the word of God” (Col. 1:25). He meant that he was to complete the revelation of God. If his fourteen epistles were removed from the Bible, the Bible would not be complete. There are [three crucial points in Paul’s Epistles: God as our contents, Christ as God’s mystery, and the church as Christ’s mystery.] [Our God today is in us to be our contents. The mystery of God is Christ as the embodiment and manifestation of God, making God so real and so enjoyable to us. The mystery of Christ is that the Triune God through death and in resurrection is mingling Himself with us, making us the living members of His organic Body. This vision must direct us. It will keep us in the central lane, walking according to the mingled spirit and being in the Body life. This is what the Lord is after.]
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by the apostle Paul to the saints in Rome (1:7). It was written in Corinth (Rom. 15:25-32; Acts 19:21; 20:1-3) about A.D. 60, during his third journey of ministry.
B. The subject: The gospel of God makes sinners His sons, to become the Body of Christ, manifested in the local churches.
C. The background: [The gospel of God is the subject of the book of Romans (1:1). Christians are accustomed to saying that there are four gospels, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. However, Paul also refers to his epistle to the Romans as a gospel. The gospel in the first four books of the New Testament concerns Christ in the flesh as He lived among His disciples before His death and resurrection. After His incarnation and before His death and resurrection, He was among His disciples, but not yet in them. The gospel in Romans concerns Christ as the Spirit, not Christ in the flesh. In Romans 8 we see that the Spirit of life who indwells us is simply Christ Himself. Christ is in us. The Christ in the four gospels was among the disciples; the Christ in Romans is within us. The Christ in the four gospels is the Christ after incarnation and before death and resurrection. As such, He is a Christ outside of us. The Christ in Romans is the Christ after His resurrection. As such, He is the Christ within us. This is something deeper and more subjective than the Christ in the gospels. Keep this one point in mind: that the gospel in Romans concerns Christ as the Spirit in us after His resurrection.
If we only have the gospel concerning Christ as in the first four books of the New Testament, our gospel is too objective. We need the fifth gospel, the book of Romans, to reveal the subjective gospel of Christ. Our Christ is not merely the Christ in the flesh after incarnation and before resurrection, the Christ who was among His disciples. Our Christ is higher and more subjective. He is the Spirit of life within us. He is such a subjective One. Though John chapters 14 and 15 revealed that Christ will be in His believers, yet that was not fulfilled before His resurrection. The book of Romans is the gospel of Christ after His resurrection, showing also that He is now the subjective Savior in His believers. So, this gospel is deeper and more subjective.]
D. The central thought: [Romans explains how the individual Christ can become the corporate Christ and how all of us who were once sinners and enemies of God can become parts of Christ and form His one Body. The book of Romans offers us a full definition of this, unfolding both the Christian life and the church life in detail.]
E. The general sketch: [The major structures of the book of Romans are three — salvation, life, and building. The first major structure of Romans is salvation, revealed in 1:1—5:11 and 9:1—11:31. Salvation includes propitiation, redemption, justification, reconciliation, selection, and predestination.] [Salvation is for the life unfolded in 5:12—8:39.] [In the last part of Romans, 12:1—16:27, we have the building, the Body with all of its expressions in the local churches. Salvation is for life, and life is for building.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction — the gospel of God (1:1-17), 2) condemnation (1:18—3:20), 3) justification (3:21—5:11), 4) sanctification (5:12—8:13), 5) glorification (8:14-39), 6) selection (9:1—11:36), 7) transformation (12:1—15:13), and 8) conclusion — the consummation of the gospel (15:14—16:27).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by the apostle Paul (1:1; 9:1-2) about A.D. 59. He had been sent out as the apostle to the Gentiles fourteen years before he wrote it (Acts 13:1-4, 8), and he had been called eleven years before that (Acts 9:3-6, 15-16). He wrote it in Ephesus after he had been there for three years (16:8; Acts 20:31). The recipients were the saints — the church in Corinth, with all those who call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ in every place (1:2).
B. The subject: Christ and His cross, the unique solution to all problems in the church.
C. The background: First Corinthians [was written because of the confusion and divisiveness in the church at Corinth. If we did not have the book of 1 Corinthians, we would not know how Christ could be our enjoyment in all kinds of situations. This book describes the enjoyment of Christ in a way not found elsewhere in the New Testament. We should thank the Lord for the confusion in Corinth that gave rise to this Epistle.]
D. The central thought: [As Paul was writing this Epistle, he was burdened to guide the distracted, philosophical Christians in Corinth back to Christ. These believers had been distracted by their wisdom, philosophy, and culture. Thus, Paul’s spirit was burdened to bring them back to the very Christ whom he had testified to them. This burden in Paul’s spirit is especially evident in the first two chapters of this book.]
E. The general sketch: [This book unveils to us that the very Christ, who is the portion of all believers, and into whose fellowship we all have been called, is all-inclusive. He is God’s power and God’s wisdom as righteousness, sanctification, and redemption to us (1:24, 30). He is our glory for our glorification (2:7; Rom. 8:30), hence, the Lord of glory (2:8). He is the depths (deep things) of God (2:10). He is the unique foundation of God’s building (3:11). He is our Passover (5:7), the unleavened bread (5:8), the spiritual food, the spiritual drink, and the spiritual rock (10:3-4). He is the Head (11:3) and the Body (12:12). He is the firstfruit (15:20, 23), the second Man (15:47), and the last Adam (15:45); and as such He became the life-giving Spirit (15:45). This all-inclusive One, with the riches of at least nineteen items, God has given to us as our portion for our enjoyment. We should concentrate on Him, not on any persons, things, and matters other than Him. We should focus on Him as our unique center appointed by God, that all the problems among the believers may be solved.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction — the initial gifts and the participation in Christ (1:1-9), 2) dealing with divisions (1:10—4:21), 3) dealing with an evil brother (5:1-13), 4) dealing with lawsuits among the believers (6:1-11), 5) dealing with the abuse of freedom (6:12-20), 6) dealing with marriage life (7:1-40), 7) dealing with the eating of food sacrificed to idols (8:1—11:1), 8) dealing with head covering (11:2-16), 9) dealing with the Lord’s Supper (11:17-34), 10) dealing with the gifts (12:1—14:40), 11) dealing with the matter of resurrection (15:1-58), 12) dealing with the collection of the gift (16:1-9), and 13) conclusion (16:10-24).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: The apostle Paul wrote this book (1:1) about A.D. 60, prior to the writing of the book of Romans (see Acts 20:1 footnote 1 and 20:3 footnote 1). It was written in Macedonia (2:13 and footnote 2; 7:5-6; 8:1; 9:2,4) “to the church of God which is in Corinth, with all the saints who are in the whole of Achaia” (1:1).
B. The subject: the New Testament ministry and ministers.
C. The background: [Paul wrote the Epistles of 1 and 2 Corinthians as a loving father. In his first Epistle Paul disciplined the Corinthians. Parents know that in disciplining children we run the risk of alienating them. If a parent disciplines a child without limitation, the child may want to run away from home. After writing 1 Corinthians, Paul was concerned about how the believers at Corinth would react to his discipline. Paul was not at rest about the matter, and he even regretted somewhat writing that Epistle. He was concerned that the entire church in Corinth would be alienated from him. Because of his deep concern, he was eagerly awaiting Titus to bring him news of the response of the Corinthians to his first Epistle. In chapter two Paul did not have rest in his spirit, for he did not find Titus. But we see from chapter seven that Titus came with good news.
Paul’s first Epistle had caused sorrow to the Corinthians, but this sorrow produced repentance unto salvation. That salvation was a full reconciliation. When Paul heard this good news, he was beside himself with joy. As he says in 7:13, “We rejoiced more abundantly over the joy of Titus.” When he wrote his second Epistle, Paul was in such an atmosphere of encouragement and joy. Thus, as we read chapter seven, we can touch the feeling in Paul’s spirit, a feeling of deep concern for the church in Corinth.]
D. The central thought: [First Corinthians reveals the matter of living Christ for the church. If we read this Epistle in a thoughtful way, we may wonder if there is a pattern of living Christ for the church. We may say as we read this book, “Paul, show us a pattern. We have seen many things in our parents, relatives, neighbors, friends, and colleagues, but we have never seen a person living Christ for the church. We would like to see a pattern, for a pattern is much better than thousands of words.” Realizing the need for such a pattern, Paul presents this pattern in 2 Corinthians.]
E. The general sketch: [The first Epistle to the Corinthians was the apostle’s argument, an argument which defeated and subdued the distracted and confused Corinthians. Now the second Epistle brings them back into the experience of Christ, who was the subject of his argument in the first Epistle. Hence, the second Epistle is more experiential, more subjective, and deeper than the first. In the first, Christ, the Spirit with our spirit, the church, and the gifts are covered as the major subjects. In the second, Christ, the Spirit with our spirit, and the church are further developed, but the gifts are not even mentioned. They are replaced in this book by the ministry, which is constituted with, and produced and formed by, the experiences of the riches of Christ through sufferings, consuming pressures, and the killing work of the cross. The second Epistle gives us a pattern, an example, of how the killing of the cross works, how Christ is wrought into our being, and how we become the expression of Christ. These constitute the ministers of Christ and produce the ministry for God’s new covenant. The first Epistle deals negatively with the gifts; the second speaks positively about the ministry. The church needs the ministry much more than the gifts. The ministry is to minister Christ whom we have experienced; the gifts are just to teach the doctrines concerning Christ. Not the gifts, but the ministry produced and formed by the experience of the sufferings, the afflictions, of Christ, is the proof that the apostles are ministers of Christ.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1—2:11), 2) the ministry of the new covenant (2:12—3:11), 3) the ministers of the new covenant (3:12—7:16), 4) the apostle’s fellowship concerning the ministry to the needy saints (8:1—9:15), 5) Paul’s vindication of his apostolic authority (10:1—13:10), and 6) conclusion (13:11-14).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by the apostle Paul to the churches of Galatia (1:1-2) around A.D. 54, during his third journey of ministry. At this time he had passed through Galatia (Acts 16:6) and arrived in Corinth (Acts 18:1) for the first time. He stayed there for one year and six months (Acts 18:11).
B. The subject: Christ replacing the law and versus religion and traditions.
C. The background: [The churches in Galatia had been bewitched by the Judaizers (3:1). They had been distracted from Christ to Judaism. A good number of the New Testament believers in the churches of Galatia had turned back to the old Jewish religion and were endeavoring to keep the law with the ordinance of circumcision. This was the background that gave Paul the opportunity to write this wonderful book.]
D. The central thought: [The book of Galatians is focused on Christ replacing the law. It is not God’s intention to keep His people under the law. His intention is to dispense Christ into them. Thus, Christ as the center of God’s economy must replace the law. Because the Judaizers were misusing the law, the Epistle to the Galatians was written to reveal Christ as the replacement of the law. Yes, the law was given for a specific purpose, but God did not intend for the law to be permanent. Christ has come to replace the law with Himself. This is the focal point of Galatians.]
E. The general sketch: [In chapter one Paul shows that God is pleased to reveal His Son, Jesus Christ, in us (1:15-16). In chapter two we see that we should live this Christ, not the law (2:19-21).] [In chapter three, the Spirit is mainly for us to have the divine life. In chapter four, the Spirit is for us to be born of God. In chapter five, the Spirit is for us to live and walk.] In [chapter six, the Spirit is for our aim, our goal. In the first two chapters of Galatians we have the revelation of Christ as the focal point of God’s economy, but in the last four chapters we have the Spirit in our experience.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction — the will of God to rescue us out of the evil religious age (1:1-5), 2) the revelation of the apostle’s gospel (1:6—4:31), 3) the walk of God’s children (5:1—6:17), and 4) conclusion — the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to be with our spirit (6:18).
A. The writer(s), the place, and the time: This book was written by the apostle Paul to “the saints who are in Ephesus” (1:1) about A.D. 64, while imprisoned in Rome (3:1).
B. The subject: the church — the mystery of Christ, the Body of Christ, to be the fullness of Christ and become the fullness of God.
C. The background: [Ephesians has a specific position in the order of the books of the New Testament.] [It has been placed in the right position, immediately after the revelation concerning Christ versus religion (Galatians), followed by the practical experience of Christ (Philippians), and leading to the Head (Colossians).]
[In Galatians we see the matter of Christ versus religion. We should not replace Christ with anything. This means that it should not be our emotion versus religion or our practice versus religion. It must be Christ versus religion. Ephesians comes after this revelation of Christ versus religion. The matter of Christ versus religion leads us to the church. Christ is not versus religion merely for our experience. That is the improper emphasis of the so-called inner life people who seek Christ, not for the church, but for their experience. Christ is versus religion for the church. The very Christ who is versus religion is not primarily for our experience, but for the church. Galatians 2:20 says that we have been crucified with Christ and that Christ lives in us. This experience must be for the church life.]
D. The central thought: [God’s intention in His economy is to obtain a glorious church. Strictly speaking, God is not seeking a spiritual church, a heavenly church, nor even a victorious church. He wants a church of glory. Glory is the expression of God and it is altogether different from human morality and behavior.]
E. The general sketch: Ephesians covers seven aspects of the church: the church as [the Body, the new man, the kingdom, the family, the dwelling place, the wife, and the warrior. What we do does not mean very much, but what we are means a great deal. In such a church as described in Ephesians Christ is expressed. Through such a church Christ, the Person, is lived out. In such a church there is the kingdom of God with rights and responsibilities and the family of God with life and enjoyment. This church is also God’s dwelling place, Christ’s satisfaction, and God’s warrior fighting the battle for His eternal purpose.]
F. The sections: 1) introduction (1:1-2), 2) blessings and position received by the church in Christ (1:3—3:21), 3) living and responsibility needed for the church in the Holy Spirit (4:1—6:20), and 4) conclusion (6:21-24).
