Inscribe the Word - November Scripture Writing Plan
If you’ve been following us since the beginning of this year, January of 2019, we started to write out treasures from every book of the Bible. Beginning with Genesis in January and finishing with Revelation in December, we have taken this season to write out gleanings from God’s Word, and it has truly been life-changing. This month, we begin continue in the New Testament with Paul’s Letters.
GLEANINGS FROM The EPISTLES.
In January, we started with the first two books of the Bible; Genesis and Exodus.
In February, we finished the Pentateuch, the Law, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.
In March, we inscribed part one of the Historical books of the Old Testament.
In April, we inscribed part two of the Historical books of the Old Testament.
In May, we inscribed The Psalms.
In June, we finished the poetic books with Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, and Song of Solomon.
In July, we began the major Old Testament prophets with Isaiah and Jeremiah.
In August, we inscribed Lamentations, Ezekiel, and Daniel.
In September, we inscribed the final books of the Old Testament Minor Prophets.
In October, we inscribed the Gospels and the book of Acts.
This month, we turn our attention to Paul’s Epistles.
CLICK HERE to read Bringing the Gospel to the Greeks by THE BIBLE PROJECT.
THE APOSTLE PAUL
Books and commentaries have been written about the life of this great apostle. If we were to take the time to go through his life in this post, we could create an entire series! But it is important to understand the Life of Paul before we read his epistles or letters.
I love THE BIBLE PROJECT and the work that Tim Mackie and John Collins have done in making the Bible accessible and understandable. They have created a phenomenal post on Paul’s Mission to the Greeks that I would encourage you to read before you start this months plan. You can find the Bible Project’s Life of Paul HERE.
THE BOOK OF ROMANS.
WHEN: The Book of Acts ends with Pauls arrival in Rome. It is logical that the next book of the Bible would be Paul’s letter to Rome written before he visited the church there. The date was about A.D. 56 when Paul wrote this letter. He was in Corinth at the time of writing probably on his third missionary journey.
AUDIENCE: How did Christianity get to Rome? Most scholars are unified in the belief that Jews who came to the faith during Pentecost in Acts 2 carried the Good News to Rome. The original audience for this letter was the Christian church in Rome.
KEY FEATURES: The Book of Romans contains the most complete representation of Paul’s theological beliefs. It is one of the most influential books of the Bible. The great philosopher and theologian Augustine, converted to Christianity from the pagan Machanean religion after reading one verse in Romans. History tells us that Augustine opened the Bible and it fell on Romans 13: 13-14. “Not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual excess and lust, not in quarreling and jealousy. Rather, put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the desires of the flesh.” It is said that at that very moment, Augustine felt as if his heart were flooded with light. He turned totally from his life of sin and submitted his life to Jesus Christ.
This is just one of many examples of the Book of Romans influence on so many great heroes of the Christian faith. Martin Luther and John Wesley were among the many men and women whose lives were changed from reading the Book of Romans. May the same be said of us.
THE BOOK OF 1 CORINTHIANS.
WHEN & WHERE: Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 16:8 that he is writing from Ephesus. He stayed in Ephesus for three years ministering to the people there. This book would have been written about A.D. 55 or 56.
AUDIENCE: The original letter was written to the church in Corinth, but is applicable for us even today. Paul visited Corinth on his second missionary journey. (Acts 18) Most Jews in Corinth rejected his message, so he began to preach to the Gentiles.
Paul had received a letter from the church in Corinth talking about serious problems in the church and asking questions about Christian morals and practice. This letter was written to answer those questions.
KEY FEATURES: 1 Corinthians is Paul’s “problem letter”. In it, he address numerous issues in the church from sexual immorality to division to martial problems and spiritual gifts. You will see the phrase
“Now Concerning …” numerous times throughout this letter.
THEME: Theologian William MacDonald writes, “The theme of the Epistle is how to set right a worldly and carnal church that regards lightly the attitudes, errors, and actions that the Apostle Paul viewed with such alarm. As [theologian] James Moffatt put it so succinctly, “The Church was in the world, as it had to be, but the world was in the Church, as it ought not to be.”
Since such a situation is still common in many congregations, the relevance of 1 Corinthians is lasting.
THE BOOK OF 2 CORINTHIANS.
WHEN: 2 Corinthians was written a year and a half after 1 Corinthians and a year before he wrote Romans; around A.D. 57.
WHERE: Paul most likely wrote this book from Macedonia.
AUDIENCE: The original audience of this letter was the same church in Corinth that he addressed in 1 Corinthians. Paul wrote three letters to this church. One of which is now lost. In 1 Corinthians, Paul corrected the problems facing the church. Some people responded favorably and in the right spirit. Others began to attack Paul’s authority. This letter, extremely personal, is a response to those attacks.
KEY FEATURES: 2 Corinthians is Paul’s most personal letter. In it, you truly see his heart and hear his love for God. In 1 Corinthians, Paul takes on the role of a teacher - instructing and correcting. But in 2 Corinthians, he takes on the heart of a pastor - showing his love and care for the people of God.
THE BOOK OF GALATIANS.
WHEN & WHERE: Galatians was written about A.D. 50 from Antioch.
AUDIENCE: Galatians gets its title from a region in Asia Minor were numerous churches were located. These churches in Galatia included those founded in Antioch, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. (Acts 13:14-14:23) They were founded on Paul's first missionary journey. This letter is the only letter of Paul's addressed to churches in more than one city. And of course, it was written for Christians everywhere.
KEY FEATURES: Paul wrote Galatians to refute the Judaizing false teachers who were teaching that Gentiles had to obey Jewish law in order to be saved. If they did not adhere to the Mosaic law, as well as believing in Christ, they could not become Christians. Paul wrote Galatians to bring the churches back to the purity of the Gospel and to remind them that they were free from the law in Jesus Christ.
THEME: The central theme of this epistle is justification by faith.
THE BOOK OF EPHESIANS.
WHEN & WHERE: In A.D. 60 while Paul was imprisoned in Rome, he wrote the epistle of Ephesians.
AUDIENCE: Paul wrote Ephesians to the believers in Ephesus and to Christians everywhere. The church at Ephesus was one of the most prominent churches established by Paul.
KEY FEATURES: Unlike the Galatian churches, Paul did not write to the people of Ephesus to confront any problems in the church, heresy, or false teachers. He wrote to the church in Ephesus to encourage them in their faith and to strengthen them in their walk.
THEME: The central theme of this epistle is unity of the church through Christ. Paul uses the symbols of a body, a temple, a bride, and a soldier to illustrate the unity and singularity of purpose.
THE BOOK OF PHILIPPIANS.
WHEN & WHERE: Philippians was written by the Apostle Paul around 61-63 A.D. from Rome. It is one of the four epistles to be written from prison. (Acts 28:16, 30-31) Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon were the other three.
AUDIENCE: The city of Philippi was named after Philip of Macedonia, the father of Alexander the Great, and it was a major city of Macedonia on the road to Rome. In Acts 16, Paul, Timothy, and Silas were traveling through Asia Minor when a vision appeared to Paul. In the vision recorded in Acts 16:9, a man from Macedonia stood and pleaded with Paul saying, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.”
Paul, Silas, and Timothy (joined by Luke) left the area of Asia Minor and immediately went to Macedonia to bring the Gospel to those in Philippi. During his second missionary journey, Paul founded the church at Philippi.
The account of the establishing of the Philippian church can be found in Acts 16. With Lydia’s conversion, and the amazing story of the Philippian jailer, the church was established. It is clear from the writings of Philippians that the church became a significant support to Paul, (Phil. 4:15-16) and is a church that is very near and dear to his heart.
KEY FEATURES: The Church at Philippi shared a special bond with Paul. This letter, therefore, is very personal and is filled with much love for the church. In Phil. 4:1, Paul tells the church that they brought him “much joy”. That brings us to the purpose of the book.
THEME: Throughout this short book, one word stands out among all others . . . JOY. The word “joy” is found five times throughout the book of Philippians, and the word “rejoice” occurs eleven times. This epistle has often been called Paul’s “hymn of joy”. The purpose of the book was to remind the Philippians, and all Christians alike, that true joy is found only in Jesus Christ.
THE BOOK OF COLOSSIANS.
WHEN & WHERE: Colossians was written by the Apostle Paul around 60 A.D. from Rome. It is one of the four epistles to be written from prison. (Acts 28:16, 30-31) Ephesians, Philippians, and Philemon were the other three.
AUDIENCE: This letter was written to the church at Colosse, a city in Asia Minor. Paul had never visited this church. (Col. 2:1) It had been founded by Epaphras and other converts from Paul's missionary journey. (Col.1:5-7) Colosse had been a healthy and thriving city during the reign of Persian King Xerxes (see Ahasuerus in Esther 1:1) However, by the time Paul came into the picture, new roads and routes had been created that bypassed Colosse leading to its decline.
THEME: The central theme of Colossians is to show us that we have everything we need in Jesus Christ. He has absolute supremacy and is our all-sufficient One. It is written to show us that Jesus Christ is God in the flesh, the Head of the Church, and we have a union with Christ that cannot be broken because of the death, burial, and resurrection of our Lord.
THE BOOK OF 1 & 2 Thessalonians.
WHEN & WHERE: 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians were written in Corinth around A.D. 51 and 52.
2 Thessalonians was written a few months after the first letter of the same name.
AUDIENCE: The original audience of these books was the church in Thessalonica. The church in Thessalonica was very young, established only two or three months before this letter was written. These Christians needed to mature in their faith. (source)
THEME: An important theme of 1 Thessalonians is the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. In 2 Thessalonians, many in the church were confused about the timing of Christ’s return that Paul spoke about in 1 Thessalonians. Because of mounting persecution, they thought the Day of the Lord must be imminent, and they took Paul’s first letter to mean that the Second Coming would be at any moment. This misunderstanding caused many to persist in being idle and disorderly, with the excuse of waiting for Christ’s return. (source)
THE BOOK OF 1 & 2 TIMOTHY.
WHEN & WHERE: 1 Timothy was written approximately AD 64, probably just prior to Paul’s final imprisonment in Rome. 2 Timothy was written about the same time just prior to his execution under Nero.
AUDIENCE: 1 and 2 Timothy were addressed to Timothy. Timothy was Paul’s son in the faith. Paul was a wonderful father to Timothy and gave him godly wisdom and direction as Timothy embarked on God’s call for his life.
THEME: The theme of 1 Timothy is quite clear. 1 Timothy 3:14, 15 says, “These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly; but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth.”
The theme of 2 Timothy is also clearly stated. In 2 Timothy 2:15, Paul writes, “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”
THE BOOK OF TITUS.
WHEN & WHERE: Titus was written around A.D. 64. Titus was written either from Macedonia or Nicopolis.
AUDIENCE: Paul wrote this epistle to Titus, and to believers everywhere. Titus was Greek and was most likely a convert through Paul's ministry. He had become Paul's representative to the churches on the island of Crete.
THEME: The purpose of this epistle is to advise Titus of his responsibility in supervising the churches on the island of Crete.
THE BOOK OF PHILEMON
WHEN & WHERE: Philemon was written about A.D. 60 during Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, at about the same time Ephesians and Colossians were written.
AUDIENCE: Paul wrote this epistle to Philemon. Many scholars believe that Philemon was a wealthy member of the Colossian Church. It was also written to believers everywhere.
THE THEME: The purpose of this epistle is to demonstrate the power of Christ and of true Christian fellowship in action as Paul pleads with Philemon to accept back his runaway slave as a brother.
I hope it has post has been beneficial to you as you study the Word this month.
As always, my prayer is that you see Jesus in every book we read.
