What Are the Pauline Epistles About?

The 13 Pauline Epistles make up the most books contributed by a single author to the New Testament — although scholars dispute Paul’s authorship of some of these books. The term “epistle” means “written message” or “letter.” These letters are vital to understanding early Christianity, Christian theology, and church structure.

Paul had extensive theological training as a Pharisee and vehemently opposed the new Christian sect before his conversion. He did not boast about his prior training or status among the Jews, even though his training contributed to his ability to significantly expound on theological matters and explain the significance of Christ and his actions in the light of Old Testament ceremonies, rituals, and prophecies.

Paul’s knowledge did not just come from previous training or later exposure to other apostles who used to be disciples of Jesus. His letters indicate that certain information was revealed to him by Christ directly (1 Corinthians 11:23 and 2 Corinthians 12:1-10).

Paul supposedly wrote these letters over about two decades, from approximately 48 to 67 CE. This period is an approximation as there is no consensus on the exact dates for authorship of these letters.

Authorship of the Pauline Epistles 

The Pauline Epistles were supposedly written by the Apostle Paul. The protestant Bible lists them as consecutive books from Romans to Philemon. These letters identify Paul as the author, however, many scholars debate the authorship of some of these books. The debate gave rise to three classifications of the authorship of the letters: The Pauline Epistles, the Deutero-Pauline Epistles, and the Pseudo-Pauline Epistles.

The Pauline Epistles are epistles scholars generally regard as authentically written by Paul. These epistles are Romans, First Corinthians, Second Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, First Thessalonians, and Philemon.

“Deutero-Pauline” refers to certain letters that were written in the spirit of Paul but which were probably authored by followers of Paul or perhaps by a Pauline school. Early church fathers like Polycarp, Justin, Marcion, Irenaeus, Hippolytus of Rome, and Tertullian considered them authentic. Second Thessalonians and Colossians fall into this category.

The Pseudo-Pauline Epistles are letters that were neither written by Paul nor in the spirit of what Paul would write. They may be pseudepigrapha, a common occurrence in the last centuries BCE and first centuries CE, where an author would attribute his work to another person to give it more authority. Some scholars assign Ephesians, First and Second Timothy, and Titus to this category, though others categorize them as Deutero-Pauline.

Many scholars believe Paul may have used a secretary, also referred to as an amanuensis, to do his writing. This view, however, would not explain the letters dated to a decade after Paul’s death.

The Pauline Epistles had a variety of audiences in mind. Some letters were addressed to churches and faith communities who faced social, theological, or ethical problems, while others were addressed to individuals and gave pastoral guidance on conduct.

Unlike the general epistles, named after the supposed author, the Pauline letters carry the names of the communities or individuals addressed in them. Romans through to Second Thessalonians addressed those faith communities, while the pastoral letters guided Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. Though addressed to these communities and individuals, their content benefits all faith communities or individuals facing similar challenges. They are also beneficial for the establishment of doctrine.

In general, the Pauline Epistles deal with doctrine (things Christians need to know), application (how doctrine should translate to action), and logistics (specific instructions or greetings). In a sense, Paul explains the significance of the Gospel narrative and how it impacts the believer.

The Sequence of the Pauline Epistles 

Many scholars have proposed different motivations for the sequence of the Pauline Epistles. Their theories range from the time of authorship to the suggestion that the epistles constitute two categories: letters written from prison and letters written while free.

An alternative hypothesis is that the length of the epistles determined the sequence with the caveat that a second letter to a congregation or person follows directly after the first letter. Another proposition was that the first letters addressed congregations or faith communities while the last were pastoral letters addressed to individuals.

Structure and Content

The Pauline Epistles generally follow the following structure: an introduction of the author (and his associates), prayers for the readers, answers to questions the readers may have sent, discussion of issues among the target audience, things that Christians should believe, things that Christians should do, then greetings. Not all these elements appear in every letter. Paul uses the term “grace and peace” in his introductions.

The letters to the Romans and the Galatians contain detailed discussions of the Law and its significance in a Christian context. This focus on the Law may indicate that the letters targeted converted Jews. Alternatively, Paul was addressing new Christians confronted by Jews about the Law.

First and Second Corinthians deal with Christian conduct in a gentile environment. In First Corinthians, several issues in the church had to be addressed. These included but were not limited to, quarrels and divisions in the church, sexual immorality, offerings to idols, and proper conduct in a congregational setting.

First and Second Thessalonians tend to focus on eschatological issues such as the second coming of Jesus. Second Thessalonians addresses certain misconceptions that surfaced in the church after the previous letter. The second letter aimed to clarify the issue and correct the Thessalonians’ understanding of end-time events.

Philippians is a compendium that has no specific focus. It addresses various matters that the believers from Philippi needed guidance on. The letters to the Colossians and Ephesians overlap in content with the latter, seeming like a more compact version of the former.

The pastoral letters to Timothy, Philemon, and Titus guide these individuals in their unique circumstances. The letter to Philemon addressed the situation of a slave in the epistle with that name. Timothy was a young believer and associate of Paul who showed great promise. The letters addressed to Timothy encouraged and advised him on conduct in his ministry and what Paul expected of him. The letter to Titus addresses a companion of Paul who needed guidance on issues such as leadership and church organization, false teachers versus sound doctrine, good works, and relationships in the church.

The Pauline Epistles constitute approximately 25% of the New Testament and make up the second largest contribution ascribed to a single author by volume — if the attribution of authorship is correct. The Gospel of Luke and Acts, traditionally attributed to Luke, are larger in volume by 126 verses.

The authorship of Hebrews has been a contentious issue for many centuries. Initially, the early church fathers did not consider Hebrews a Pauline letter, with Origen being a proponent of the non-Pauline view. In the fourth century CE, Jerome and Augustine suggested that Paul did write the letter and that remained the view on Hebrews for some time.

One reason for considering Hebrews as a letter by Paul is that the 13th chapter mentions Timothy as a companion. Timothy was a known associate of Paul. Gradually, the view reverted to it being a general epistle, rather than Pauline, by the time of the Reformation.

Luther was convinced that Hebrews was not of Pauline origin and placed it at the end of the Pauline corpus when he translated the Bible into German. Most Bibles today follow the same sequence. One motivation for not considering Hebrews a work of Paul is the lack of a salutation, identification of the author, and recipient(s), or a benediction at the end, which Paul’s letters usually have.

The Significance of the Pauline Epistles

Paul contributed the largest volume of Christian doctrine to the New Testament. Though Luke contributes a larger verse count, his content is primarily narratives.

Paul addresses the largest variety of issues from doctrine to conduct and from encouragement to admonition. He tends to speak on complex matters and goes into much more detail than the authors of the general epistles do. Peter addresses this in 2 Peter 3:15-16, in which he acknowledges the wisdom of Paul and the complexity of some of his work. Paul was a theological leader among the apostles.

In addition to the doctrinal value of the Pauline Epistles, this corpus provides insight into the early history of the Christian church and its struggle to bridge cultures, distinguish itself from other religions, and establish itself in the gentile Roman Empire.

The work of Paul forms the basis of the moral, ethical, leadership, and organizational teaching in the church. He played a significant role in shaping Christian theology throughout Christian history. His work speaks to believers of gentile and Jewish origin and often seeks to establish unity in the diversity of constituent members.