1 / 4. The Mystery, the Product of Revelation (3:1-6), 2. [24] Murphy-OConnor, Paul the Letter-Writer, 2024, reviews carefully both 1 Corinthians and considerable commentary on said letter to try to discern what contributions Sosthenes indeed made to the letter. A secondary purpose is to teach the practicality of Christian love as we seek to express the life-changing effects of Christs life in ours as it transforms our relationships with others whether in the home or in the master/slave or employer/employee relationships. Pauls other early letterssuch as 12 Thessalonians, Galatians, Philippians,[15] 12 Corinthians, and Romanswere written to individuals or congregations, but, like Greek philosophical letters, they were considerably longer than an average ancient letter and were meant to teach and exhort. 55 Ryrie, p. 1875. The purpose of gifts: unity in diversity (12:12-31), 3. This letter is not an attack against slavery as such, but a suggestion as to how Christian masters and slaves could live their faith within that evil system. So now both Onesimus and Philemon were faced with doing their Christian duty toward one another. It is because organization and administration are not primary. [1] Some of Pauls teaching, taken in isolation and out of context, can seem confusing or even to be in contradiction with gospel principles explicated elsewhere in the scriptures generally or even in the rest of the Pauline corpus itself. However, as noted above, Pauls letters were unusually long, and he adapted the standard letter format to meet each occasion. [7] Lacking Pauls later focus on righteousness by faith rather than by the works of the law, much of these letters consist of ethical exhortations as Paul endeavors to teach these new Christians how to live as Saints (see 1 Thessalonians 4:112; 5:1222; 2 Thessalonians 3:615). 20-26) suggest he was writing from Rome. For instance, the indicative section of Galatians (1:65:1) takes the form of a courtroom speech in which the introduction of Pauls argument that there is no other gospel (see 1:610) is followed by a formal apologia or defense (see 1:1121) and a series of six proofs demonstrating that one is indeed saved by the faith of Jesus Christ and not by the works of the law (see 3:15:1).[41]. Moral Disorders in the Church (5:16:20), B. 59 A.T. Robertson, Paul and the Intellectuals, rev. I. Wisdom occurs 29 times in 22 verses. Paul did not deny the rights of Philemon over his slave, but he asked Philemon to relate the principle of Christian brotherhood to the situation with Onesimus (v. 16).