What happened to Paul after Paul? This book examines the relationships between Paul's undisputed writings, the Pastoral Epistles, and the Pauline legacy adopted and adapted by the early church. Book jacket.

What you are about to read comes from the heart of the Apostle Paul, that great missionary theologian of the first century AD. It is remarkable that our understanding of the Christian faith rests primarily on thirteen letters written by a convert from rabbinic Judaism. No other set of ancient manuscripts has made such a dramatic impact on civilization over the past two millennia. Written to various churches in what we now call Asia Minor, they reveal the unique way in which God allowed the truth of the cross and the open grave to take root in a hostile environment. Paul wrote in simple Greek and this new and vibrant translation stresses what the apostle intended to communicate rather than the specific words he used to accomplish the goal. Readable and free from ambiguity, it presents the ancient letters in a new and powerful way. You the reader will become, as it were, one of the original recipients, so prepare to listen to the once zealous adherent of Judaism who, by a dramatic encounter with the Christ he was persecuting, became the major figure in the westward expansion of Christianity. This title was released in 2016 for a short time under the working title Dear Friends, This is Paul.

This careful, sometimes innovative, mid-level commentary touches on an astonishingly wide swath of important, sensitive issues - theological and pastoral - that have urgent resonances in twenty-first-century life. This thorough commentary presents a coherent reading of 1 Corinthians, taking full account of its Old Testament and Jewish roots and demonstrating Paula's primary concern for the unity and purity of the church and the glory of God. Those who preach and teach 1 Corinthians will be grateful to Ciampa and Rosner for years to come and scholars will be challenged to see this letter with fresh eyes.

The author provides the most extensive analysis available of ancient Jewish letter writing from the Persian period until the early rabbinic literature. In addition, he demonstrates the significance of Jewish letters for the development of early Christian letter writing.

Paul's influence on the history of Christian life and theology is as profound as it is pervasive. A brief survey of almost twenty centuries of Christian thought and practice will confirm the enduring importance of Paul for the life of the church in the Roman and Protestant traditions of the West as well as the Orthodox traditions of the East. Even as Christianity, at the dawn of its third millennium, has become increasingly global and traditions have come to develop and intersect in new and complex ways, Paul's place in the story of Christianity remains deeply rooted in the church's theology, worship, and pastoral life. In both past and present, Paul's influence on the Christian church can hardly be overestimated. Among the many intriguing issues generated by the historical Paul, his New Testament letters, and early church history is the question, what happened to Paul after Paul? Whether we think in terms of the reception of Paul's theology, or the ongoing legacy of Paul, or early Christian reinterpretation of his letters, the questions persist: what did the early church do with Paul's memory? How did it reshape his theology? And what role did his letters come to play in the life of the church? The focus of the present discussion is in the early decades and centuries of Christianity, a time when the memory and legacy of Paul came to serve varied and often competing interests in the emerging church. It was a time when Paul's reputation and importance to the church were being reinforced and when his epistles were gaining the authority that would ensure their place in the sacred library of Christianity. It was also the time when the Jesus movement forged itself into Christianity, a process in which Paul played a pivotal role and eventually also became an object of revision and transformation himself. What is virtually indisputable in this process is that Paul, during his lifetime and after, played a critical role in making Christianity what it was to become.

Acts is the sequel to Luke's gospel and tells the story of Jesus's followers during the 30 years after his death. It describes how the 12 apostles, formerly Jesus's disciples, spread the message of Christianity throughout the Mediterranean against a background of persecution. With an introduction by P.D. James

Originally confined to a small circle of believers centered in Jerusalem, Christianity's stunning transformation into the world's most popular faith is one of history's greatest, most miraculous stories. In Jesus Is Risen, #1 national bestselling author David Limbaugh provides a riveting account of the birth of Christianity. Using the Book of Acts and six New Testament epistles as his guide, Limbaugh takes readers on an exhilarating journey through the sorrow and suffering, as well as the joys and triumphs, of the apostles and other key figures as Christianity bursts through the borders of Judea following the death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Limbaugh particularly focuses on the crucial role that the Apostle Paul played in these historic events. Facing incredible adversities, from arrests to shipwrecks to violent mobs and murder plots, Paul overcomes countless obstacles as he travels far and wide to spread the Gospel. In Jesus Is Risen you will discover: • How the apostles themselves disproved modern arguments that early Christians did not believe in Jesus’ divinity. • The true story behind the first conversion to Christianity by a Gentile. • The many underhanded ways Christianity’s opponents tried in vain to stifle the Church in its infancy. • Paul’s most effective techniques and arguments for bringing converts to Christ. Throughout these pages, Limbaugh’s passion for the Bible is unmistakable and infectious. Replete with deep insights into the actions, arguments, and challenges of the world’s first Christian communities, Jesus Is Risen is a faith-affirming book for Christians at all stages of their faith walk.

This second edition of An Introduction to the New Testament provides readers with pertinent material and a helpful framework that will guide them in their understanding of the New Testament texts. Many new and diverse cultural, historical, social-scientific, sociorhetorical, narrative, textual, and contextual studies have been examined since the publication of the first edition, which was in print for twenty years. The authors retain the original tripartite arrangement on 1) The world of the New Testament, 2) Interpreting the New Testament, and 3) Jesus and early Christianity. An appropriate book for anyone who seeks to better understand what is involved in the exegesis of New Testaments texts today.

Craig Koester's respected study uses the symbolic language of the Gospel of John as a focus to explore "the Gospel's literary dimensions, social and historical context, and theological import." This edition is fully revised and updated and includes a number of new sections on such topics as Judas and the knowledge of God. Fresh treatments are given on a number of issues, including the Gospel's Christology. This new edition offers both new insights and proven worth for students and scholars alike.

What is a Love Letter? Merriam Webster's online dictionary defines love as an unselfish, loyal and benevolent concern for the good of another: as (1): the fatherly concern of God for humankind (2): brotherly concern for others b: a person's adoration of God. Love Letters; Paul's Epistles and Ministry to the Early Church is the epitome of this type of love. For Paul's letters to the early church illuminated his love for God manifested in the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ as well as his true affection for the Jews and Gentiles who were establishing the early Bodies of Christ-the church. This book chronicles the Apostle Paul's missionary journeys through the Roman Empire teaching and preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ to both Jewish Christians and Gentiles. The epistles, letters, written to the early churches served several purposes. They contained heartfelt greetings, praise, thanksgiving, words of encouragement, and when necessary, chastisements. But more importantly, the Love Letters conveyed the unconditional love of Jesus Christ for the believer. The epistles to the early churches also helped to form doctrine, church order, conduct and traditions plus accepted leadership qualities along with responsibilities. The tone of the letters was infused with Paul's genuine benevolent concern for and loyalty to the early Christians establishing churches in a hostile environment. Love Letters; Paul's Epistles and Ministry to the Early Church while serving as an examination of the early church and its formation, it also can be a template for the church today as it meets the challenges of the contemporary world.