The thirteen Pauline Epistles.
The thirteen Pauline Epistles.
§ 255. The thirteen Pauline Epistles are: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. It is evident that each and every one of these belongs to the canonical books of the New Testament on the basis both of their internal criteria and of the unanimous approval of the primitive Church, which never doubted that these were apostolic and accepted into the canon.
The devout ancients adorn Paul, the secondary author of these Epistles, with their praises. Chrysostom pursued his praises of Paul in detail in eight homilies. Cyril of Alexandria, bk. 1, on John, c. 9: “He is the receptacle of the mysteries of our Savior.” Jerome, Ad Pammach.: “He is the vessel of election, the trumpet of the Gospel, the roaring of our lion, the thunder of the nations, the river of Christian eloquence.” In vol. 4, p. 2, he calls him “the armory of Holy Scripture.” Eusebius (Hist., bk. 3, c. 24) calls him “more learned than all the apostles; he also is very powerful in his words and senses, and in a small collection of Epistles he contains immense and innumerable mysteries. Inasmuch as he was also snatched up to the third heaven, he saw what was happening there and took his instruction there as a disciple of the heavenly school in paradise.” Augustine, De civ. Dei, bk. 14, c. 9, calls him “the athlete of Christ, taught by Him, anointed of Him, crucified with Him, glorious in Him, a man who lawfully competes in a great conflict in the theater of this world, in which he becomes a spectacle for angels and humans, and pursues the prize of the supernal calling to the foremost things. Him we joyfully behold with the eyes of faith.”
The apostle wrote some of his Epistles before his captivity and some during his captivity. Before his captivity, he wrote seven in the following order: (1) 1 Thessalonians, (2) 2 Thessalonians, (3) 1 Timothy, (4) 1 Corinthians, (5) Titus, (6) 2 Corinthians, and (7) Romans. During his captivity at Rome, he wrote the rest, but there it is not very evident as to their order. Some arrange them as follows: (1) Philippians, (2) Colossians, (3) Philemon, (4) Ephesians, (5) Galatians, and (6) 2 Timothy. Nicephorus (Hist. eccles., bk. 2, c. 34) explains in detail the purpose or occasion for which the apostle wrote those letters. Here we note that golden statement of Augustine (Contra Crescon., bk. 1, c. 9): “Remember that the apostolic Epistles were written not only for those who were listening at the time they were written but also for us. You see, they are read in the Church for no other reason.”
§ 256. The Ebionites rejected all of Paul’s writings and called Paul himself “a Greek and an apostate,” according to Irenaeus (bk. 1, c. 26) and Epiphanius (Haeres. 30). Eusebius (Histor. eccles., bk. 6, c. 27) mentions that this same error pleased the Elcesaites. On the other hand, some heretics magnified Paul but despised the other apostles (Irenaeus, bk. 3, c. 13). Yet like the Christian faith, so also the canonical Scripture of the apostles and evangelists is all connected together. Regarding the Anomoeans, Epiphanius reports that they said that not everything in Paul’s Epistles was written “by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit” but that some things at times were written “under the direction of human prudence and reason alone” (Haeres. 76). That others also believed this is witnessed by Jerome (on Micah 5) and Augustine (Contra adv. legis et prophetar., bk. 2, c. 2). However, just as all of Old Testament Scripture is God-breathed, so also must we declare the same thing about each and every part of canonical Scripture in the New Testament.