Philippians is believed to be actually composed of three letter fragments, that appear to have been accidentally saved and crudely joined together at some later time by those who collected letters of Paul in the name of the Pauline school (Phil. 4:10-20; l:l-3:l; 3:2-4:9). Even if the first two fragments are genuine, the third could be pseudepigraphical, or was originally addressed to a different church. Such are the difficulties in establishing authorship and meaning for early biblical texts.
Whoever wrote Philippians wanted to portray Paul as blameless in any dispute with another group, and as having both high Roman connections and exemplary Jewish ones. Whereas the clearly authentic epistles all have several obvious objectives - the collection, preaching against sex, warnings about false teachings, admonitions about backsliding and praise for good work - Philippians has no clear objective other that a warning against the 'circumcision' Christians and this subtle defence of Paul.
Philippians is an epistle, that is, a letter, written by Paul to the church at Philippi about 62 AD.
The thirteen epistles that are almost certainly written by Paul, in order, are: Epistle to the Romans First Epistle to the Corinthians Second Epistle to the Corinthians Epistle to the Galatians Epistle to the Ephesians Epistle to the Philippians Epistle to the Colossians First Epistle to the Thessalonians Second Epistle to the Thessalonians First Epistle to Timothy Second Epistle to Timothy Epistle to Titus Epistle to Philemon although some theologians doubt that some letters (eg Ephesians) are written by him as the style of writing is different from the others. The fourteenth letter, the Epistle to the Hebrews - is unlikely to have been written by Paul. He doesn't claim to have written it nor is the style of writing his. Pauline authorship is rejected by modern scholarship and even in the early church its authorship was debated.
Had this letter been written by James, the brother of Jesus (as some maintain) or by the apostle James, the writer would have designated himself as such in the epistle. However, James 1:1 only describes James as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although there are many echoes of Gospel sayings in this epistle, there is not even a general reference to Jesus as a teacher to be found. Martin Luther rejected the Epistle of James as apostolic, calling it worthless and an "epistle of straw". The epistle deals with moral issues, rather than Christian doctrine or the needs of the Christian Church. It could have been an early proto-Christian letter or, alternatively, a much later work intended to combat 'heretical' (gnostic) ideas within the early church.
Viewed from the congregation, the right side is the epistle side and the left side the gospel side. However, the terms epistle side and gospel side do not refer merely to one side of the congregation or the other. One can also speak of the gospel side of the altar, or of the gospel side of the church.
James wrote only the book bearing his name, as the beginning of the letter indicates: James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad, greeting.
The Philippian church was located in the city of Philippi, which is in northeastern Greece. It was one of the first Christian communities in Europe and is mentioned in the New Testament in the book of Philippians.
Philippians is an epistle, that is, a letter, written by Paul to the church at Philippi about 62 AD.
The thirteen epistles that are almost certainly written by Paul, in order, are: Epistle to the Romans First Epistle to the Corinthians Second Epistle to the Corinthians Epistle to the Galatians Epistle to the Ephesians Epistle to the Philippians Epistle to the Colossians First Epistle to the Thessalonians Second Epistle to the Thessalonians First Epistle to Timothy Second Epistle to Timothy Epistle to Titus Epistle to Philemon although some theologians doubt that some letters (eg Ephesians) are written by him as the style of writing is different from the others. The fourteenth letter, the Epistle to the Hebrews - is unlikely to have been written by Paul. He doesn't claim to have written it nor is the style of writing his. Pauline authorship is rejected by modern scholarship and even in the early church its authorship was debated.
1 Corinthians is an epistle, which is a letter written by the apostle Paul to the Christians in Corinth. It is a significant piece of early Christian literature and provides guidance and instruction on various issues facing the Corinthian church.
An epistle.
The half-brother of Jesus and the head of the Church of God @ Jerusalem.
It prompted reforms within the Catholic Church.
We do not know who founded a Christian church in Rome, because Paul's Epistle to the Romans shows there clearly was already a flourishing church there before he ever went to Rome. There is a tradition that Peter also went to Rome but, if he did do so, this would certainly have been later than Paul's Epistle to the Romans
The Epistle to the Colossians was traditionally attributed to the Apostle Paul. It is one of the letters he wrote to a Christian community in the ancient city of Colossae, addressing various theological and practical concerns of the early Christian church. However, some scholars debate whether Paul was the actual author due to differences in writing style and theological emphasis.
The letter known as Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians is considered to be a pseudo-Pauline epistle, because it was written in Paul's name long after his death. Many passages in Ephesians seem to be directly copied from the Epistle to the Colossians, itself a pseudo-Pauline epistle.The epistle is not a letter to a church or group of churches, but an encyclical. The opening address to the Ephesians is considered probably a late addition.
The Church Reformation led to the beginning of new orders, such as the Company of St. Ursula that focused on educating girls. It also prompted an update to Church doctrines, how the Church was run, and the Council of Trent.
Had this letter been written by James, the brother of Jesus (as some maintain) or by the apostle James, the writer would have designated himself as such in the epistle. However, James 1:1 only describes James as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. Although there are many echoes of Gospel sayings in this epistle, there is not even a general reference to Jesus as a teacher to be found. Martin Luther rejected the Epistle of James as apostolic, calling it worthless and an "epistle of straw". The epistle deals with moral issues, rather than Christian doctrine or the needs of the Christian Church. It could have been an early proto-Christian letter or, alternatively, a much later work intended to combat 'heretical' (gnostic) ideas within the early church.