546 Read the Bible for Yourself 13: How to Read the Church Epistles

This is part 13 of the Read the Bible For Yourself.

Before getting to the Church Epistles, we'll begin with an overview of how letters were written, read, and performed. Then we'll see how they are arranged in our Bibles. We'll spend a good deal of time talking about occasion. Why did Paul write each letter? What was going on that prompted him to initiate the expensive and elaborate process of writing to them? Lastly, we'll briefly consider how to apply what we read to our lives.

Listen to this episode on Spotify or Apple Podcasts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qg3tInZU9JY&list=PLN9jFDsS3QV2TrdUEDtAipF3jy4qYspM_&index=13&pp=iAQB

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—— Notes ——

Letters in the First Century

• Letters written on papyrus with ink by a professional scribe (amanuensis)
• Though most letters that have survived from the ancient world were short and to the point, Paul’s Epistles are extremely long.
• Because there was no postal system, someone had to carry the letter to its destination.
• Upon arrival, most people couldn’t read, so a professional would need to read it aloud.
• This was difficult because there were no chapters, verses, paragraphs, punctuation, or spaces between words (scriptio continua).

Name

Greek Words

English Words

Verses

Chapters

Romans

7113

9506

432

16

1 Corinthians

6832

9532

437

16

2 Corinthians

4480

6160

257

13

Galatians

2232

3227

149

6

Ephesians

2424

3047

155

6

Philippians

1631

2261

104

4

Colossians

1583

1993

95

4

1 Thessalonians

1484

1908

89

5

2 Thessalonians

826

1065

47

3

Church Epistles in Chronological Order