1. Opening Address (1:1-9) Salutation (1:1-5) Condemnation of False Gospels (2:6-9) 2.

2. Pauls Apostolic Gospel (3:1-4:31) Pauls Background and Divine Vocation (1:10-17) First Visit to Jerusalem (1:18-24) Second Visit to Jerusalem (2:1-10) Confrontation with Peter at Antioch (2:11-12)

3.

Pauls Apostolic Gospel

Appeal to Galatians Experience (3:1-5) Faith and the Sons of Abraham (3:6-9) Covenant Curses and Covenant Promises (3:10-18) Purpose of the Law (3:19-29) Divine Adoption in Christ (4:1-7) Personal Appeal (4:8-20)

Allegory of Sarah and Hagar (4:21-31)

4.

Christian life and liberty (5:1-6:10)

Freedom in Jesus Christ (5:1-15) Life in the Spirit (5:16-26) Life in the Household of Faith (6:1-10)

5.

Conclusion (6:11-18)

 The Epistle to the Galatians is a powerful Christian treatise

designed to declare the truth of salvation: namely, a life of joyous freedom from sins tyranny, on the one hand, and increasing enslavement to Christ on the other. It is surely, as one author has called it. the charter of Christian Liberty. Its importance for understanding Paul and the core of his doctrine of Justification by faith alone can hardly be overstated, with the result that it has received a long and extensive treatment by the church. It had a tremendous impact on the Reformers, Including Luther, who said, The Epistle to the Galatians is my epistle. To it I am as it were in wedlock. It is my Catherine. Boice , commenting on its impact since the Protestant Reformation, says, not many books have made such a lasting impression on mens minds as the Epistle of Paul to the Galatians, nor have many done so much to shape the history of the western world.

 Paul wrote to the Galatians because a serious theological crisis

had arisen in the churches he had founded. Sometime in the years following his founding of the churches, Jewish Christian Missionaries Visited the Galatian Churches and challenged Pauls gospel of Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. Paul opposes not only because he has taught that all Christians are free of the law but because they were trying to convince the Galatians that such observance of the law was necessary for salvation. Paul attack this thesis regularly throughout the letter. Paul set fourth the unique importance of Christ, the total sufficiency of Christ and of Faith in Christ as the way to God and to eternal life, and the beauty of the new life of the Spirit. Galatians thus became the First expose of Pauls teaching about justification by grace through Faith apart from deeds prescribed by the law; it is Pauls Manifesto about Christian freedom. Galatians is thus a summary of basic Pauline Theology.

 Apart from a few radical critics, The Pauline authorship of

Galatians (as a whole or certain parts) has never been seriously questioned. Indeed, the letter has often been used as a standard from which to test the authenticity of the other Pauline letters. The most uncontroverted matter in the study of Galatians is that the letter was written by Paul, whose ministry is portrayed in the acts of the apostles. The letter begins by naming him as its author. (1:1) The nature of its theological argument, its distinctive use of Scripture in support of that argument, the character of its imprisoned appeals, and style of writing all point to Paul as its author. Thus, if Galatians is not by Paul, no NT letter is by him, for none has any better claim.

 Paul wrote this letter to defend his gospel against

opponents and to dissuade the Galatians from receiving circumcision. Apparently rival missionaries, Known as Judaizers, infiltrated the ranks of the Galatian churches during Pauls absence and stirred up trouble among his gentile converts. In Pauls view, to add circumcision and Mosaic requirements to the gospel is to exchange freedom in Christ for spiritual Slavery (2:4; 5:1). Strict warnings thus punctuate this letter as Paul appeals to the Galatians to distance themselves from Judaizers and to disregard their Propagandas.

 Galatians is clearly the most polemical of Pauls letters.

Although it shares much in common with the more formal letter to the Romans, the Apologetic tone of this letter is heated and, at times, even combative. There can be no question that Paul perceived the Galatian crisis as a great spiritual threat to everyone involved. As he saw it, the issue at stake touched the very heart of Christian Identity and demanded the forceful defense of the Gospel.

 There is a considerable literature on the opponents of

Paul in Galatia, involving different proposals for identifying them. Since the early of 20th century a few scholars have argued that simultaneously Paul was struggling against two groups: Judaizing Christians from Jerusalem who insisted the Gentiles should be circumcised and either Jewish or Gentile libertine proponents of the Spirit who claimed that believers could gratify the desires of the flesh. It would have been to the second group that Paul directed 5:16-26.

 Another proposal is that the preachers did not come

from the outside but from inside the Galatian community , for instance, the Jewish Christians challenging uncircumcised Gentile members of the community. Still another proposal is that the preachers were gnostics who advocated circumcision as a mystical right that would bring the Galatians to a higher state of Perfection, with or without the Law (6:13). In the majority judgment, these proposals introduce unnecessary complications and bypass the dominant evidence that one group of Jewish Chritian preachers came to Galatia, demanding circumcision of Gentiles who became followers of Christ.

 In this letter, Paul made it clear that if the law was still

valid as the Judaizers claimed, then Christ had died in vain and Christianity offered nothing more than Judaism. The heart of Pauls appeal was hid belief that Christs death deemed all men the theology of the cross. The true teaching of Christianity permits the liberty with regard to the law. Paul also evoked a resounding declaration of the true nature of justification by faith in Christ, which frees the conscience from the Mosaic law as a principle of mans justice before God.

1. 2.

Opening Address (1:1-2) Doctrinal Exposition (1:3-3:21)

a) b) c) d) e)

Divine Origin Prayer of the Church Building up the Church Mystery of The Church Prayer for the Church Unity of the Church Moral Maturity in the Church Household Life in the Church Spiritual Welfare in the Church

(1:3-14) (1:15-23) (2:1-22) (3:1-13) (3:14-21) (4:1-16) (4:17-5:20) (5:21-6:9) (6:10-20)

3.

Moral Exhortation (4:1-6:20)

a) b) c) d)

4.

Closing Farewell

 Pauls letter to the Ephesians is concerned first of all with

Gods plan to bring all creation together, everything in heaven and on earth, with Christ as head(1:10). It is also an appeal to Gods people to live out the meaning of this great plan for the unity of the whole human race through oneness with Jesus Christ. In the first part of it, the writer develops the theme of unity by speaking of the way in which God the Father has chosen his people, how they are forgiven and set free from their sins through Jesus Christ the Son, and how Gods great promise is guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. In the second part, he appeals to the readers to live in such way that their oneness in Christ may become real in their life together.

 Several Figures of Speech are used to show the oneness of Christ: the Church is like a body, Gods people in union with with Christ as the head; or like a building, with Christ as the cornerstone; or like a wife, with Christ as the husband. This letter rises to great heights of expression as the writer is moved by the thought of gods grace as Christ. Everything is seen in the light of Christs love, sacrifice, forgiveness, grace, and purity.

 The author of the Ephesians twice identifies himself as the

Apostle Paul, once at the beginning of the letter (1:1) and the once in the middle (3:1). This claim is universally accepted by the early Church and remained an unquestioned tradition until Erasmus of Rotterdam first raised doubts about it in the 6th century. Since then, many have either questioned or denied that St. Paul wrote Ephesians, alleging that the tone and style of the letter differ so markedly from Pauls undisputed letters that it could not have come from the same author. It is widely held today that Ephesians was written in Pauls name by a Pauline disciple who wished to honor the apostle be developing his doctrine and applying it to new situations in the Church.

 The question of when Ephesians was written depends

upon the prior question of authorship. Supporters of Pauline authorship naturally date the letter within the time frame of the apostles ministry. Most correlate the imprisonment mentioned in 3:1, 4:1, and 6:20 with Pauls first imprisonment in Rome, where he lived under house arrest from A.D. 60 to 62, awaiting trial before the tribunal of Caesar (Acts 28:16, 30). This would imply a date for Ephesians in the early 60s alongside Pauls other Captivity Epistles: Philippians, (Phil 1:12-14), Colossians (4:3), and Philemon (Philemon 9). Scholars who contend the letter was written by one of Pauls admirers date it as late as 90s, long after the apostles Martyrdom in the mid 60s.

 This letter was written

to show the nature of the Church and the Christian Life to those who came to Christ from a Pagan heritage.
To remind the Gentile

Christians that Pauls Theology of Salvation History never disowned the Jewish Background.
Ephesus Celsus Library

 The book of Ephesians sets before us a vision of Christ

reigning in heaven next to the Father (1:20 ) and renewing the earth through His Church (3:10). Though Paul often attacks doctrinal error and Moral laxity in his letters, he seizes the opportunity in Ephesians to step back from these controversies to contemplate and articulate in a more reflective way Gods saving work in Jesus. Instead of pastoral surgery, then, Paul gives Ephesians a dose of preventative medicine , hoping that a deeper appreciation of Gods blessing s will lead them to a more mature commitment to the gospel. Since many of Pauls readers are recently converted, Ephesians might best be described as Pauls Mystagogical catechesis for the newly Baptized.

1. Liturgical 2. Rhetorical 3. Catechetical

1. 2.

Introduction Part 1: News and Instructions

A. B. C.
D.

(1:1-11) (1:12-3:1a)
1:12:26 1:27- 2:18
2:19-30 3:1a

Pauls own Situation Exhortation for the community Announcement about Timothy and Epaphroditus Conclusion

3. 4.

Part 2: Warning against false teachers Part 3: Exhortations to unity, joy and peace
A. B. C.

(3:1b-4:1)
(4:2-9)
4:2-3 4:4-7 4:8-9

Call to unity Call to joy and peace of mind Call to imitation of Paul

5.
6.

Part 4: Acknowledgement of communitys gift Conclusion

(4:10-20) (4:21-33)

1.

2.

3. 4.

First, The letter has a purposive unity, centered around the triangular relationship among Paul, the Philippian believers, and Christ. His imprisonment, his friendship with the Philippians, and his concern for what they are undergoing derive from and express the relationship with Christ. Second, The letter is full of concern for the gospel, for its progress, and for the Philippians; the progress of the gospel is tied up with the triangular relationship of Christ, Paul and the Philippians. Third, Paul constantly stresses like mindedness, which means unity of Spirit, a matter of attitude than concept. Fourth, despite of the letters concern with unity, it is not polemic against an opposition. (Gordon D. Fee, author of the book) argues that Paul assumes mutuality and friendship between himself and the Philippians as well as basic unity among the Philippians themselves.

 The letter to the Philippians is a beautiful letter rich in

insight into Pauls theology and his apostolic love and concern for the gospel and his converts. In Philippians, Paul reveals his human sensitivity and tenderness, his enthusiasm for Christ as the key to life and death, and his deep feeling for those in Christ who dwell in Philippi. With them he shares his hopes and convictions, his anxieties and fears, revealing the total confidence in Christ that constitutes faith. The letter applied by Paul to the relations of Christians with one another. Philippians has been termed as The Letter of Joy. It breathes Pauls radiant joy and severe happiness in Christ, even while in Prison and in danger of death. It is rejoicing of faith, based on true understanding of Christs unique role in the salvation of all who profess His lordship.
The congregation at Philippi was the first established

by Paul in Europe (see Acts 16:9-40). Through the years the congregation continued to show their devotion to the apostle, frequently and generously

contributing money to help him in his work. A further contribution from the Philippians occasioned this epistle (see 4:18), perhaps the most warmly personal of Paul's letters. The apostle used the occasion first to inform the Philippians that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel (1:12). Rejoicing because Christ is proclaimed and will be honored no matter what befalls him, Paul urges the Philippians also to strive for the faith of the gospel and to be unafraid to suffer for what they believe (1:18-29). Above all, he continues, let them imitate the example of Jesus, who humbled himself and became obedient unto death and thus was exalted by God and universally acclaimed (2:8-11). Having told them of his present circumstances and state of mind, Paul next informs the Philippians of his future plans. He has hopes of sending his associate Timothy to them and, if released from prison, to go himself to Philippi. The messenger Epaphroditus, who brought Paul the contribution from Philippi and afterward served him in prison, is being sent home now that he has recovered from a near-fatal illness (2:25-30).

 Talking about its authenticity, Philippians said as not

seriously disputed.

Letter A acknowledges money sent Paul through Epaphroditus Letter B Philippians experience antagonism from their fellow citizen
Koinonia common participation

- In suffering intensifies the union between the apostle and community

- basic koinonia in Christ should shape and determine their mutual relationship Note: BOTH LETTERS ARE WRITTEN IN 54-57 AD

Letter C after Pauls release from prison, polemical warning

 Letter of Paul to the Philippians represents 3 originally

separate letters.
1. 2.

Polycarp, 2nd c, mentions letters which Paul wrote to the Philippians Internal Evidence
A.

B.
C.

Sharp change in tone and content occurs at 3:2 where Paul begins a polemical passage warning against a set of adversaries, not yet mentioned. Paul makes a fresh start at 4:10, acknowledging at length the Philippians' gift. The injunction to rejoice in 4:4 flows very naturally from the similar them in 3:1. 4:10-20 1:1-3:1a; 4:4-7,21-33 3:1b-4:3,8-9 acknowledging gift - urging unity and joy - polemical letter

3.

Proposal
A. B. C.

 The theological

contributions of the letter, made through Pauls confessional and doxological language, include the urgency of the Gospel, the trinity as the heart and soul of Pauls Theology, the centrality of Christ, eschatological urgency and the cruciform nature of Christian faith. (Fee)

Introduction to New Testament By Fr. Cielo Almazan, OFM IFRS