God used the Apostle Paul in a mighty way. He planted many churches, shared the Gospel all around the Mediterranean, and discipled young, future pastors who would go on to spread the Gospel even further. Another key way God used Paul was in the writing of letters inspired by the Holy Spirit that became part of the Bible, God’s book where He communicates His will.
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Key Verses
Romans 3:22b-25 - “For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins.”
These former pagans had to let go of many cultural norms, including engaging in behaviors that invoked the prostitutes in the temples of their gods, ascribing power to meat sacrificed to idols, and changing their views on appropriate sexual expression. 1 Corinthians also crucially addresses the use of gifts of the Spirit, how they are dispensed by the Holy Spirit, and not being jealous of the gifts of others.
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Key Verses
1 Corinthians 6:19-23 - “Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.”
This letter was a follow-up to the first. Some theologians believe there may have been another letter between this one and the previous that was harsher, not ordained by the Spirit, and subsequently lost to history. This letter focuses on reconciliation and forgiveness, affirming their new resiliency walking with the Lord. The people who had been living in flagrant sin addressed in 1 Corinthians have repented and changed, and Paul encouraged them to forgive and re-integrate these people back into the church.
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Key Verses
2 Corinthians 4:7-10 - “But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies.”
Judaizing, the practice of making gentile believers feel pressure to conform to Jewish law to be right with God, was a problem in the early church, with several false teachers pressuring them in this way. Paul addresses the freedom in Christ afforded to Jewish and gentile believers, since they could live without the constraints of the law.
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Key Verses
Galatians 2:20-21 - “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose.”
Paul wrote this letter to the Church in Ephesus while he was in prison, encouraging them in their spiritual walk, reviewing primary points of the Gospel, and reinforcing important tenets of living life as a Christian. This letter serves as a good reminder for what a believer needs in their day-to-day life to succeed, including a fervent prayer life, the armor of God, and unity with other believers.
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Key Verses
Ephesians 3:6 - “This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
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Key Verses
Philippians 1:21 – “For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”
This book is a good introduction to Christianity for young or new believers. It focuses on who Jesus Christ is, and what it means to be a Christian. When Paul wrote this letter, he had not met the Colossians. They wrote to him inquiring for clarification, and he obliged. Because he was unfamiliar with the church, he focused on the basics, and expressed sincere concern for their spiritual wellbeing. He then cautioned them against false teachers, and provided practical advice for living as a new person in Christ.
As a primarily gentile church, these basics were important, as they had almost no awareness of the beliefs of the Hebrew people when the Gospel was delivered to them.
Where
Key Verses
Colossians 3:12-13 - “ Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
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Key Verses
1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 - “For God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you.”
Paul continued to write to this church in the same manner, encouraging them to live rightly before God in all circumstances, but placed a heavier emphasis on doing so in light of the imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Key Verses
Sources
Walvoord, John F. and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Old Testament and New Testament. United States of America: Victor Books, 1987.
Wilmington, H.L. Wilmington’s Guide to the Bible. Wheaton: Tyndale House Publishers, 1981.
He is a cross pendant.
He is engraved with a unique Number.
He will mail it out from Jerusalem.
He will be sent to your Side.
Emmanuel
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