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John Appelt
In the New Testament, the books from Romans to Jude are letters or epistles. They are not in chronological order but grouped by authors. The epistles of Paul are those from Romans through Hebrews. (The authorship of Hebrews has been questioned, but the letter has too many features that connect it with Paul to not be his.) The rest of the letters from James to Jude are often called the “general” or “universal” epistles because they were to general audiences, primarily to the Jews. But the order of the epistles has not always been the way our Bibles have it. The order of the epistles was changed with the translation of the Latin Vulgate which repositioned the “Jewish epistles” to give the Gentile letters of Paul more prominence. It started with “Romans” to appeal to the Latin Church. In ancient manuscripts, the original order of the New Testament was: THE GOSPELS ACTS SEVEN GENERAL EPISTLES: James, I Peter, II Peter, I John, II John, III John, Jude FOURTEEN PAULINE EPISTLES: Romans, I Corinthians, II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I Thessalonians, II Thessalonians, Hebrews, I Timothy, II Timothy, Titus, Philemon REVELATION The general epistles were first as they were to a Jewish audience, as “to the Jews first,” Romans 2:10. They also teach general doctrines that need to be understood before the more involved doctrinal teachings of Paul who came later. The letters of Paul, who considered himself as the last and “least of the apostles,” I Corinthians 15:9, Galatians 1:17, should not actually precede them. These seven letters follow the listing of the leaders of the Jerusalem church, in the order of importance as reflected in Galatians 2:9. There are reasons to think these four were all apostles and not half-brothers of Jesus, as James and Jude are thought to be. If so, the inner circle of Jesus, Luke 8:51, 9:28, Mark 14:33, contributed important epistles on faith (James), hope (Peter), and love (John), I Corinthians 13:13. As the last writer, Jude warns to keep faith, hope, and love. This original order also shows the fourteen Pauline epistles are divided into seven church letters, one general letter (Hebrews), and letters to individuals. The Pauline church/general epistles are arranged by subject matter from the simpler truths to more in-depth truths. Romans is the letter of basic Christian truths, whereas Hebrews is the letter of deeper and more difficult truths. The letters of Paul can be analyzed as follows: Romans – justification through Christ I Corinthians – sanctification through Christ II Corinthians – consolation through Christ Galatians – liberation through Christ Ephesians – exaltation through Christ Philippians – sufficiency through Christ Colossians – fullness through Christ I Thessalonians – promise through Christ II Thessalonians – reward through Christ Hebrews – continuation through Christ The original order and divisions of the epistles offer unique insights to God’s revelation of truth.
Jack Gutknecht
Epistles: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon General letters: Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 2 Peter, 1 John, 2 John, 3 John, Jude, Revelation
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