Paul

January 18, 2022

Paul (Titus 1:1)

“Paul,

A servant

Of God,

And an apostle

Of Jesus Christ,

For the sake

Of the faith

Of God’s elect

And the knowledge

Of the truth

That is in accordance

With godliness.”

Παῦλος δοῦλος Θεοῦ, ἀπόστολος δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ κατὰ πίστιν ἐκλεκτῶν Θεοῦ καὶ ἐπίγνωσιν ἀληθείας τῆς κατ’ εὐσέβειαν

Paul said, “Paul (Παῦλος), a servant of God (δοῦλος Θεοῦ), and an apostle (ἀπόστολος) of Jesus Christ (δὲ Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ), for the sake of the faith (κατὰ πίστιν) of God’s elect (ἐκλεκτῶν Θεοῦ) and the knowledge (καὶ ἐπίγνωσιν) of the truth (ἀληθείας) that is in accordance with godliness (τῆς κατ’ εὐσέβειαν).”  This is a long introduction.  Paul called himself a servant or a slave of God.  He always called himself an apostle of Jesus Christ in all his other letters.  The followers of Jesus Christ were called the chosen or elected ones, just like the chosen ones of Israel.  This knowledge about truth pertains to Jesus Christ.  Godliness was to live according to the truth about Jesus Christ.  Thus, Paul gave a brief description of himself and his mission in life.  He was truly dedicated to Jesus Christ.  Are you dedicated to Jesus Christ?

December 27, 2021

Paul (2 Tim. 1:1)

“Paul

An apostle

Of Christ Jesus,

By the will

Of God,

For the sake

Of the promise

Of life

That is in Christ Jesus.”

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ κατ’ ἐπαγγελίαν ζωῆς τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ

Paul said, “Paul (Παῦλος), an apostle (ἀπόστολος) of Christ Jesus (Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ), by the will (διὰ θελήματος) of God (Θεοῦ), for the sake of the promise of life (κατ’ ἐπαγγελίαν ζωῆς) that is in Christ Jesus (τῆς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ).”  This salutation is almost the same greeting as in 1 Timothy, 1:1.  This is almost like Romans, 1:1 and 1 Corinthians 1:1.  However, instead of a command, it is the will of God that has made Paul an apostle, as he clearly identified himself as the apostle of Jesus Christ.  Paul was expecting the promised eternal life with Jesus Christ, not the hope of a savior.  Eternal life would be achieved in Jesus Christ.  This was not a mere human request, but a divine wish for Paul to be an ambassador of Jesus Christ.  In fact, it was the vision of Jesus Christ that led to his conversion to Jesus Christ and his followers.  Thus, Paul stated at the beginning of this letter that he was the one writing it.  What do you think about this greeting from Paul?

November 26, 2021

Paul (1 Tim. 1:1)

“Paul

An apostle

Of Christ Jesus,

By the command

Of God,

Our savior,

And of Christ Jesus,

Our hope.”

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ κατ’ ἐπιταγὴν Θεοῦ Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ τῆς ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν

Paul said, “Paul (Παῦλος), an apostle (ἀπόστολος) of Christ Jesus (Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ), by the command (ἐπιταγὴν) of God (Θεοῦ), our savior (Σωτῆρος ἡμῶν), and of Christ Jesus (καὶ Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ), our hope (ἐλπίδος ἡμῶν).”  Only the Pauline letters used this word ἐπιταγὴν, that means a command, instruction, order, or authority.  At the beginning of this letter, Paul clearly identified himself as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  It was the command of our savior God who called him to be a missionary for Jesus Christ.  This was not a mere human request, but a divine instruction.  Paul was an ambassador of Jesus Christ.  In fact, it was the vision of Jesus Christ, his hope, that led to his conversion to Jesus Christ.  Thus, Paul stated at the beginning of this letter that he was the one writing it.  Are you an apostle like Paul?

November 11, 2021

Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy (2 Thess. 1:1)

“Paul,

Silvanus,

And Timothy,

To the church

Of the Thessalonians

In God

Our Father

And the Lord

Jesus Christ.”

Παῦλος καὶ Σιλουανὸς καὶ Τιμόθεος τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ Θεσσαλονικέων ἐν Θεῷ Πατρὶ ἡμῶν καὶ Κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ·

Paul opened his letter, “Paul (Παῦλος), Silvanus (καὶ Σιλουανὸς), and Timothy (καὶ Τιμόθεος), to the church (τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ) of the Thessalonians (Θεσσαλονικέων) in God the Father (ἐν Θεῷ Πατρὶ) and the Lord Jesus Christ (καὶ Κυρίῳ Ἰησοῦ Χριστῷ), exactly the same as in the first letter to the Thessalonians.  Paul did not say that he was an apostle like he had said in many of his other later letters.  This Silvanus maybe Silas, the prophet from Jerusalem mentioned in Acts, chapter 15:32, who was with Paul on his second missionary journey in Acts, chapter 15:40, after he had separated from Barnabas.  Timothy was Paul’s constant companion.  Timothy was a native of Lystra in Lycaonia, a respected member of the Christian congregation, as mentioned in Acts, chapter 16:1-3.  Timothy became Paul’s disciple, and later his constant companion and co-worker in preaching, as a close traveling companion of Paul.  Paul and Silas took Timothy along with them on their journey to Macedonia.  Timothy was also with Paul in Ephesus.  He was also involved with the founding of the church community in Philippi.  His relationship with Paul was close and Paul entrusted him with missions of great importance.  Timothy’s name also appears as the co-author on 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians,1 Thessalonians, Philemon, and here.  In fact, two biblical letters were addressed to Timothy, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.  Thus, Timothy was an important figure in the early growing Christian gentile church in the second half of the first century.  This letter was addressed to the church or community at Thessalonica, the capital city of the Roman province of Macedonia.  What do you know about Thessalonica?

July 18, 2021

Paul (Eph. 1:1)

“Paul,

An apostle

Of Christ Jesus

By the will of God,

To the saints

Who are in Ephesus

And are faithful

In Christ Jesus.”

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ τοῖς ἁγίοις τοῖς οὖσιν [ἐν Ἐφέσῳ] καὶ πιστοῖς ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ·

Paul said, “Paul, (Παῦλος), an apostle (ἀπόστολος) of Christ Jesus (Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ) by the will (διὰ θελήματος) of God (Θεοῦ), to the saints (τοῖς ἁγίοις) who are in Ephesus (τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν Ἐφέσῳ), and are faithful (καὶ πιστοῖς) in Christ Jesus (ἐν Χριστῷ Ἰησοῦ).”  Right from the beginning, like in most of the Pauline letters, Paul introduced himself.  He was an apostle of Jesus Christ sent to them.  It was not his will, but the will of God that made him an apostle of Jesus Christ.  He was sending this letter to the saints or holy ones, the believers in Jesus Christ in Ephesus, a city on the southwest coast of Asia Minor or current day Turkey.  Some manuscripts did not have the name of Ephesus.  According to Acts, chapter 19:10, Paul spent about two years in Ephesus, a city that dates back to the tenth century BCE.  During the Classical Greek era Ephesus was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BCE.  It had the famous Temple of Artemis from around 550 BCE, mentioned in Acts, chapter 19, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  Ephesus was also one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation.  Ephesus was prosperous as both the seat of the governor and a major center of commerce, second in importance and size only to Rome.  However, the city and temple were destroyed by the Goths in 263 CE.  The population of Ephesus in Roman times was estimated to be about 225,000 people.  Paul was certainly familiar with this city, so that this letter was meant for the believers in Jesus Christ in Ephesus.  Have you ever been to Ephesus?

April 7, 2021

Paul (2 Cor. 1:1)

“Paul,

An apostle of Christ Jesus

By the will of God,

And Timothy,

Our brother.

To the church of God

That is in Corinth,

Including all the saints

Throughout Achaia.”

Παῦλος ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ καὶ Τιμόθεος ὁ ἀδελφὸς τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ σὺν τοῖς ἁγίοις πᾶσιν τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Ἀχαΐᾳ·

Paul introduced himself as Paul (Παῦλος), an apostle of Christ Jesus (ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ) by the will of God (διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ).  He also introduced Timothy (Τιμόθεος), his believing brother (ὁ ἀδελφὸς).  He was sending this epistle or letter to the church of God (τῇ ἐκκλησίᾳ τοῦ Θεοῦ) that was in Corinth (τῇ οὔσῃ ἐν Κορίνθῳ), as well as all the saints (σὺν τοῖς ἁγίοις πᾶσιν) throughout all of Achaia (τοῖς οὖσιν ἐν ὅλῃ τῇ Ἀχαΐᾳ).  Like at the beginning of most of his letters, Paul introduced himself the same way as he did in the 1 Corinthians, chapter 1:1-2, Παῦλος κλητὸς ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ.  He clearly stated that he was called, set apart, and sent as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Paul was a witness and a missionary, after his Damascus conversion to Christ, before he was arrested in Jerusalem.  Paul was born in the early years of the common era in Tarsus and died in the mid-sixties CE in Rome, when he was about sixty-five years old.  Paul was writing to the Church of God at Corinth and the holy Christian saints in the whole area of Achaia.  In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul never mentioned Achaia, the Roman province whose capital city was Corinth.  Paul was just north of Achaia in Macedonia around 56 CE, when he wrote this letter.  He mentioned Timothy, the young man mentioned in Acts, 16:1-5, and elsewhere in the Pauline epistles.  Timothy became Paul’s disciple, and later his constant companion and co-worker in preaching, as a close traveling friend of Paul.  Timothy arrived at Corinth just after Paul’s letter, 1 Corinthians reached that city.  His relationship with Paul was close and Paul entrusted him with missions of great importance.  In fact, two biblical letters were addressed to Timothy, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy.  Do you have a close friend?

March 21, 2021

Paul (1 Cor. 16:21)

“I,

Paul,

Write this greeting

With my own hand.”

Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ Παύλου.

Paul then declared, “I, Paul (Παύλου), write this greeting (Ὁ ἀσπασμὸς) with my own hand (τῇ ἐμῇ χειρὶ).”  Paul must have written his own personal greeting with his own handwriting.  Most of the letter was probably dictated to a secretary as he had mentioned in Romans, chapter 16:22.  This was like his signature to this letter.  Do you have a distinctive signature?

December 24, 2020

Paul (1 Cor. 1:1)

“Paul,

Called by the will of God

To be an apostle

Of Christ Jesus,

And our brother

Sosthenes.”

Παῦλος κλητὸς ἀπόστολος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ καὶ Σωσθένης ὁ ἀδελφὸς

Paul introduced himself as Paul (Παῦλος), who was called (κλητὸς) to be an apostle (ἀπόστολος) of Christ Jesus (Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ) by the will of God (διὰ θελήματος Θεοῦ).  Then he talked about his brother (ὁ ἀδελφὸς) Sosthenes (καὶ Σωσθένης).  He introduced himself like he did at the beginning of most of his letters.  Who is this Paul?  As far as we know, he was born in the early years of the common era in Tarsus and died in the mid-sixties CE in Rome, when he was about sixty-five years old.  He let you know right from the beginning that he was no ordinary person.  He clearly stated that he was an apostle, but he did not choose to do so.  Above all, he had been called, set apart, and sent as an apostle of Jesus Christ.  Paul claimed apostolic importance, a term that originally applied to only the twelve apostles.  However, he was a witness and a missionary, after his Damascus conversion to Christ, before he was arrested in Jerusalem.  Most people put this letter from Paul when he was in Ephesus on his third missionary journey in Acts, chapters 18-19, probably between 53-57 CE, before he wrote to the Romans.  Sosthenes his brother was probably the ruler of the Jewish synagogue who had become a Christian, as mentioned in Acts, 18:17.  They all (δὲ πάντες) seized (ἐπιλαβόμενοι) Sosthenes (Σωσθένην), an official leader of the synagogue (τὸν ἀρχισυνάγωγον).  They beat (ἔτυπτον) him in front of the tribunal (ἔμπροσθεν τοῦ βήματος). Sosthenes was the chief ruler of the synagogue at Corinth.  He had been seized and beaten by the mob in the presence of Gallio, the Roman governor, when Gallio refused to proceed against Paul at the instigation of the Jews.  The motives of this assault against Sosthenes were not recorded. Some people have identified this Sosthenes with the companion of Paul the Apostle referred to here as “Sosthenes our brother”, a convert to the Christian faith and co-author of this epistle, but it is not clear.  What do you know about Paul the apostle?

May 5, 2019

The power of the law (Lk 16:17-16:17)

“It is easier

For heaven

And earth

To pass away,

Than for one stroke

Of a letter

Of the law

To be dropped.”

 

εὐκοπώτερον δέ ἐστιν τὸν οὐρανὸν καὶ τὴν γῆν παρελθεῖν ἢ τοῦ νόμου μίαν κεραίαν πεσεῖν.

 

Luke indicated that Jesus said that it was easier (εὐκοπώτερον δέ ἐστιν) for heaven (τὸν οὐρανὸν) and earth (καὶ τὴν γῆν) to pass away (παρελθεῖν), than for one stroke of a letter of the law to be dropped (ἢ τοῦ νόμου μίαν κεραίαν πεσεῖν).  Nothing in the Law or the Torah could be changed or dropped, plain and simple.  This saying is similar to Mark, chapter 13:31, and Matthew, chapter 5:18, with a few exceptions.  Matthew has this as a great Jesus solemn pronouncement for his disciples (ἀμὴν γὰρ λέγω ὑμῖν).  The next phrase is the same in Luke and Mark.  Heaven and earth would not pass away (ἕως ἂν παρέλθῃ ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ) until the law was fully accomplished (ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου, ἕως ἂν πάντα γένηται).  Matthew, like Luke here, is even more specific with a detailed remark about the fact that not even an iota of the Law or not one stroke of a letter would go away (ἰῶτα ἓν ἢ μία κεραία οὐ μὴ παρέλθῃ ἀπὸ τοῦ νόμου), before the Law was fully accomplished.  Iota was the Greek word for the Hebrew yod, the smallest letter in the Hebrew alphabet.  Mark indicated that it was the words of Jesus, and not the Law, that would not change.  Paul, in his epistle to the Romans, chapter 3:31, would further expand on this idea of upholding the law.  In Matthew, chapter 24:35, and in Luke, chapter 21:33, Jesus said that heaven and earth would pass away (ὁ οὐρανὸς καὶ ἡ γῆ παρελεύσονται), but his words would not pass away (οἱ δὲ λόγοι μου οὐ μὴ παρελεύσονται).  This was a simple statement about the enduring quality of the words of Jesus.  Here, however, it is the words of the law that would not pass away, not the words of Jesus.  Which is more important for you, the law or the words of Jesus?

December 31, 2018

The grandfather of Jesus (Lk 3:23-3:23)

“Jesus was the son,

As was thought,

Of Joseph,

The son of Heli.”

 

ὢν υἱός, ὡς ἐνομίζετο, Ἰωσὴφ, τοῦ Ἡλεὶ

 

Luke said that Jesus was the son (ὢν υἱός), as was thought or supposed (ὡς ἐνομίζετο), of Joseph (Ἰωσὴφ,), the son of Heli (τοῦ Ἡλεὶ).  Right off the bat, there is a problem with the differences between the genealogies of Matthew and Luke.  The end of the genealogy of Matthew, chapter 1:16, is Joseph (Ἰωσὴφ) with his father Jacob (Ἰακὼβ).  Perhaps the names of Jacob and Joseph were an attempt to connect Jesus with the great Joseph, the son of Jacob, who brought the sons of Jacob to Egypt.  However, compared to the text here in Luke, there is a difference with the father of Joseph, the grandfather of Jesus.  Luke called him “the son of Heli,” not “the son of Jacob.”  Luke said that Joseph was the so-called father of Jesus.  Thus, it might seem simple enough to compare this genealogy of Jesus with the one in Matthew, chapter 1:1-1:17.  Both the gospels of Matthew and Luke listed the family tree of Jesus.  These genealogies were theological statements with different parent genealogies and different audiences.  Matthew, went from Abraham to Jesus, so that Jesus was the fulfillment of the Jewish messianic expectations.  The theme of David was important, since Joseph was called the son of David.  Matthew explained that there were 3 sections of 14 generations.  One section went from the call of Abraham to the accession of David as king.  The second grouping went from David to the Babylonian exile.  The final section went from the Exile to the coming of the Messiah.  The Gospel of Luke genealogy, on the hand, goes from Jesus to Adam to God.  Luke’s view was more universal.  Jesus could trace his roots back to God.  Luke, who had the best Greek, was apparently writing for the gentiles of the Pauline Churches.  The Son of God was a more meaningful term.  Luke spoke of the Son of Adam, the second Adam, a theme that Paul also used.  Jesus had both divine and human origins.  This was not difficult for Greeks, since their gods were always having relations with humans in their mythical stories.  Thus, there are two different genealogies for Joseph, with only one common person, David.  This left Jesus with 2 paternal grandfathers, Jacob and Heli.  Matthew listed 52 people, but Luke has 77 ancestors because he went further back in time.  It is what it is.