books written paul

What Are The 14 Books Of The Bible That Paul Wrote?

The apostle Paul was a pivotal early Christian missionary and leader of the early Church.

Throughout his ministry, he wrote letters to various churches and individuals that addressed key theological issues and offered advice, rebukes, encouragement, and teachings.

If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer: The 14 books generally attributed to Paul are Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Hebrews .

In this comprehensive article, we will explore the background of Paul’s life and ministry, examine the authorship evidence for Pauline authorship of these books, overview their key themes and contents, look at some highlights from each epistle, and summarize why these letters have endured as such a vital part of the New Testament biblical canon.

Background on Paul and His Ministry

Paul’s upbringing and conversion.

Paul, originally named Saul, was born in the city of Tarsus and raised as a devout Jew (Acts 22:3).

He studied under the respected rabbi Gamaliel in Jerusalem and became a Pharisee who vigorously persecuted the early Christians (Acts 8:1-3; Galatians 1:13-14).

However, Paul had a radical conversion experience on the road to Damascus when he encountered the risen Christ (Acts 9:1-19).

This life-changing event turned Paul from Christian persecutor to one of the most influential evangelists and teachers of the gospel.

Overview of Paul’s Missionary Journeys

After his conversion, Paul embarked on three major missionary journeys to spread the message of Christ. His travels took him throughout Asia Minor and parts of Europe, where he established churches and taught new believers.

Key highlights include:

• First journey (Acts 13–14) – Ministered on Cyprus and in modern-day Turkey
• Second journey (Acts 16–18) – Ministered in Greece, Philippi, Thessalonica, Corinth, and Ephesus
• Third journey (Acts 18–21) – Revisited churches in Asia Minor and Greece

On his journeys, Paul faced intense persecution but persevered in preaching the gospel. His missionary efforts played a vital role in the early spread of Christianity.

Paul’s Approach to Ministry and Writings

Paul was a pragmatic, adaptable, and tireless minister. Though steeped in Jewish theology and tradition, he contextualized his teaching to connect with Gentile audiences as well (1 Corinthians 9:19-23).

Key aspects of his ministry approach included:

• Establishing fledgling churches across the Roman empire
• Training local leaders to shepherd new congregations after his departure
• Prolific letter writing to churches to teach theology and address concerns
• A focus on salvation by grace through faith in Christ (Ephesians 2:8-9)
• Instructing believers on practical Christian living

The letters Paul wrote to churches and individuals form a substantial portion of the New Testament. These epistles helped shape early church doctrine and still profoundly impact Christian theology today.

Pauline Authorship of the 14 Epistles

Evidence supporting paul’s authorship.

There is strong evidence that the apostle Paul authored at least 13 of the 14 New Testament epistles traditionally attributed to him.

These include Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

Several lines of evidence support Paul’s authorship of these letters:

• The letters themselves claim to be written by Paul. He identifies himself as the author in the opening greetings of each epistle.
• The early church unanimously affirmed Paul’s authorship. There are no extant manuscripts of these letters that attribute them to anyone other than Paul.
• The letters contain autobiographical details, such as names of companions and visits to churches, that match what is known of Paul’s life from the Book of Acts.
• The theological concepts and vocabulary found in the disputed letters match those of the undisputed Pauline letters.

Thus, there is strong internal and external evidence that a majority of the New Testament epistles did indeed originate with the apostle Paul.

Scholarly Opinion on Paul’s Authorship

While some 19th and 20th century critical scholars questioned Paul’s authorship of the disputed epistles (Ephesians, Colossians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus), contemporary scholarship affirms that Paul wrote most if not all of the 13 letters attributed to him.

For example, leading Pauline scholar James Dunn states there is “broad agreement that Paul wrote Ephesians and Colossians as well as the other letters.”

He contends the vocabulary, syntax, and theology fit Paul’s undisputed writings. Similarly, N.T. Wright affirms Pauline authorship of all 13 epistles, asserting the evidence is “overwhelmingly in favour.”

Though a few doubters remain, the clear consensus of mainstream biblical scholars today endorses the traditional ascriptions of authorship to Paul.

Debates over Pauline Authorship of Hebrews

Of the 14 New Testament epistles traditionally ascribed to Paul, only the authorship of Hebrews remains widely disputed. The letter lacks Paul’s customary autobiographical opening, and its style differs from his other writings.

However, some scholars still argue for Pauline authorship of Hebrews:

• Clement of Alexandria references Paul as the author.
• The theology is generally consistent with Paul’s other letters.
• The author was a friend of Timothy’s (Heb. 13:23), as was Paul.

However, the predominant view among scholars is that Hebrews was likely written by someone other than Paul. While the author is unknown, many propose it could have been Barnabas, Apollos, or another leader in the early church.

The letter’s divine inspiration and canonicity are unaffected by uncertainties over its human authorship.

Major Themes in Paul’s Epistles

Justification by faith.

The major theme that the apostle Paul emphasized was that salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ, not by works of the law (Galatians 2:16).

Paul taught that people are justified (declared righteous) by faith in Christ, apart from observing the law (Romans 3:28).

This doctrine of justification by faith alone was in stark contrast to the teachings of some Jewish Christians who insisted that converts be circumcised and follow the Law of Moses.

Law vs. Grace

Related to the theme of justification is Paul’s contrast between law and grace. He taught that the law was not given to justify or save people, but to show them their sin (Galatians 3:19-29).

Now that Christ has come and fulfilled the law, believers are no longer under the supervision of the law but under the grace of God (Romans 6:14).

Instructions for Christian Living

Paul’s letters contain many practical instructions for Christian living and church life. For example, he taught extensively about the spiritual gifts and gave guidelines for their use in worship (1 Corinthians 12-14).

Other topics he covered include submission to governing authorities (Romans 13:1-7), marriage roles (Ephesians 5:22-33), qualifications for church leaders (1 Timothy 3:1-13), and the proper observation of the Lord’s Supper (1 Corinthians 11:17-34).

Ecclesiology

Paul contributed much to the doctrine of the church. He used metaphors such as the body, the temple, and the family to describe the interconnectedness of Christians (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 2).

He gave qualifications for church leaders (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1), instructions for orderly worship (1 Corinthians 14), and correction for divisive factions (1 Corinthians 1-4).

He also articulated the concept of Jew and Gentile united as one in Christ (Ephesians 2).

Eschatology

Paul’s letters contain the earliest New Testament teachings about end times events. He wrote extensively about the return of Christ and the resurrection of believers (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18, 1 Corinthians 15).

He warned against idleness while waiting for Christ’s return (2 Thessalonians 3:6-13). And he explained how the future restoration of Israel fits into God’s redemption plan (Romans 11:25-27).

Overview of the 14 Books

Paul’s letter to the Romans serves as a systematic explanation of the Gospel message. He outlines core doctrines like sin, justification, and righteousness.

This substantial book lays the theological groundwork for much of the New Testament. Bible scholars often describe Romans as Paul’s “magnum opus.

1 Corinthians

1 Corinthians addresses issues faced by the early church in Corinth. Paul tackles topics like divisions, sexual immorality, marital relationships, food sacrificed to idols, spiritual gifts, the resurrection of the dead, and giving.

He calls the Corinthians to unity, humility, and order according to God’s standards.

2 Corinthians

In 2 Corinthians, Paul continues his correspondence with the Corinthian church. Here he defends his authority as an apostle called by God.

Paul addresses the issues of sorrow and joy, spiritual weaknesses and strengths, false apostles, forgiveness of sinners, generosity in giving, and his love for the Corinthians.

Galatians is a forceful letter combatting those spreading a “different gospel.” Paul clarifies that salvation comes through faith in Christ, not by works.

Freedom in Christ is a central theme. Key verses include “Christ has set us free,” and “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free.

” (Galatians 5:1).

Ephesians contains soaring descriptions of God’s redemptive work in Christ and believers’ identity in Him.

Paul expounds on concepts like predestination, salvation, unity in Christ, grace, the armor of God, marriage relationships, submission, and spiritual warfare against evil forces.

Philippians

Joy permeates Paul’s letter to the Philippians, despite him writing from prison. The prominent theme is rejoicing in Christ. Paul thanks the Philippians for their love and generosity.

He offers profound Christological teaching and calls for humility, unity, and perseverance in living for Jesus.

Colossians has a famous passage describing Christ as supreme over all creation (Colossians 1:15-20). Paul writes about the sufficiency of Christ versus empty human philosophy and legalism.

He gives teaching on living the Christian life – forgiveness, peace, thankfulness, wisdom, family relationships and conduct pleasing to God.

1 Thessalonians

1 Thessalonians provides wonderful insight into an early healthy church. Paul affirms the Thessalonians for their “labor prompted by love” and perseverance inspired by hope in Christ (1 Thessalonians 1:3).

Major topics include the second coming of Christ, living a holy life, and church leadership.

2 Thessalonians

In his follow-up letter, Paul continues to encourage the Thessalonians in persecution, while also correcting misunderstandings about end times teachings.

He says some were alarmed, thinking “the day of the Lord” had already come. Paul issues a sharp warning not to be idle but keep working quietly (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15).

1 Timothy offers practical church leadership principles. Paul instructs his understudy Timothy with sage advice about overseers, deacons, men and women in church, qualifications of elders, caring for widows, avoiding false doctrine, rich generosity, fighting the good fight of faith, and guarding “what has been entrusted” (1 Timothy 6:20).

2 Timothy is a touching final letter from Paul awaiting execution. He movingly charges Timothy to fan his spiritual gift into flame, boldly teach sound doctrine, correct and rebuke, preach the word, fulfill his ministry, and persevere with faithfulness (2 Timothy 4:2).

As Paul mentors Titus in Crete, he outlines qualifications and duties of elders and overseers. Strong emphasis lands on teaching sound doctrine to counter false teaching and stressing good works as evidence of saving faith.

Like Timothy, Titus played a vital role in establishing church leadership.

Philemon delivers a personal appeal from Paul on behalf of Onesimus, a runaway slave – possibly converted under Paul (Philemon 10).

Paul makes a tactful request for Philemon to accept Onesimus back with kindness as a brother in Christ.

The book offers a beautiful picture of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration.

The authorship of Hebrews is uncertain, but church tradition leaned toward Paul or one of his associates like Barnabas or Luke. This rich book calls Christians to persevere by fixing their eyes on Christ – the ultimate revelation of God who became the perfect high priest and sacrifice.

Hebrews makes the Bible’s most in-depth arguments for the superiority of Jesus.

In conclusion, the 14 epistles attributed to the apostle Paul have formed an enduring part of the New Testament biblical canon due to their depth of theological insight, vital exhortations and teachings for Christian living, rich presentation of the gospel message, and inspiration for Christians throughout history.

Paul spread the message of Christianity far and wide through his missionary travels around the ancient Mediterranean world.

His letters to the churches he established and nurtured continue to edify Christians today with their timeless depiction of faith, grace, love, and redemption in Jesus Christ.

Amanda Williams is a dedicated Christian writer and blogger who is passionate about sharing Biblical truth and encouraging believers in their faith walks. After working as a youth pastor and Bible teacher for several years, she launched her blog in 2022 to minister to Christians online seeking to grow deeper in their relationship with Jesus Christ. When she's not creating content or connecting with readers, Amanda enjoys studying theology, being out in nature, baking, and spending time with family. Her goal is to provide practical wisdom and hope from a genuine Christian perspective. Amanda currently resides in Colorado with her husband, daughter, and two rescue dogs.

Similar Posts

Meaning Of Filipino Tribal Tattoo Designs: A Comprehensive Guide

In the realm of body art, Filipino tribal tattoos stand as a captivating fusion of ancient traditions and modern aesthetics. These intricate designs, steeped in cultural significance, have become a sought-after form of self-expression for individuals seeking to connect with their roots or simply appreciate the beauty of indigenous art. If you’re short on time,…

Unveiling The Profound Meanings Of Egyptian Tattoos

In the realm of ancient civilizations, few cultures have left an indelible mark on the world quite like the Egyptians. Their intricate hieroglyphs, towering pyramids, and enigmatic symbols continue to captivate and intrigue people across the globe. Among the many facets of Egyptian culture, tattoos hold a particularly fascinating significance, serving as a window into…

302 Angel Number Meaning: Unlock The Secrets Of This Powerful Numerological Message

Have you been noticing the number 302 appearing frequently in your life? Perhaps you’ve seen it on license plates, billboards, or even digital clocks. If so, it’s not a mere coincidence – the universe is trying to communicate with you through this powerful angel number. If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to…

Zing Meaning In Hotel Transylvania: A Comprehensive Guide

Are you a fan of the Hotel Transylvania franchise and curious about the meaning behind the term ‘zing’? If so, you’ve come to the right place! If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: In the Hotel Transylvania universe, ‘zing’ refers to the intense, magical connection that occurs when two monsters…

Lion And Cub Tattoo Meaning: Exploring The Symbolism Behind This Powerful Design

In the realm of tattoo art, few designs carry as much symbolic weight as the lion and cub tattoo. This powerful image has captivated individuals across cultures and generations, representing a profound connection between strength, protection, and familial bonds. If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your question: The lion and cub…

Unveiling The Enigmatic Meaning Of 8282: A Comprehensive Guide

In the vast realm of numbers, some hold a peculiar allure, captivating our curiosity and inviting us to unravel their hidden meanings. One such number is 8282, a seemingly innocuous combination of digits that has sparked intrigue and speculation across various cultures and contexts. If you’re short on time, here’s a quick answer to your…

How Many Books of the Bible Did Paul Write?

The Apostle Paul was a champion of spreading the Gospel message after his radical conversion experience when he encountered Jesus. He traveled to numerous cities and countries, preaching the good news of Jesus Christ. Paul also corresponded with and supported various churches by way of letter.

But just how many books of the Bible did Paul write? Thirteen books of the New Testament are attributed to him. The books written by Paul were actually letters he wrote to congregations and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ during his ministry years. Paul began most of his letters with a similar greeting to the one found in the letter to the church of Galatia, “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ” ( Galatians 1:3 ).

The thirteen books written by Paul are: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

When Did Paul Write These Books?

Paul wrote these thirteen books over the span of his ministry. He wrote to churches and individuals while he was in a variety of circumstances. For example, he wrote while he was on missionary journeys, after completing his travels, or even while he was imprisoned. While staying in Ephesus, Paul wrote to the church of Corinth.

“After I go through Macedonia, I will come to you—for I will be going through Macedonia. Perhaps I will stay with you for a while, or even spend the winter, so that you can help me on my journey, wherever I go. For I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits. But I will stay on at Ephesus until Pentecost ” ( 1 Corinthians 16:5-8 ).

Information like that has helped scholars piece together when and where Paul was when he wrote the books attributed to him. In his writings, readers gain a sense of Paul’s deep love and care for the growing Christian church, and the ways he helped people become saved and grow in their faith. Writing letters allowed Paul to continue urging others on in their faith. From another letter, readers learn that Paul wrote a second letter to Timothy from prison.

“For which I am suffering, bound with chains as a criminal. But the word of God is not bound!” ( 2 Timothy 2:9 ).

Paul described himself as a prisoner in a letter to Timothy. This letter was written near the end of Paul’s life before he was sentenced to death and executed. Paul wrote these thirteen letters, which have become part of the New Testament, as early as the year 50 AD, and up until his death when he became a martyr for Jesus. Paul is believed to have died sometime around the year 67 AD.

Did Paul Write All These Letters Himself?

From the letters themselves, we know that Paul had help from a scribe to write letters to churches or individuals. This was common practice in Paul’s time. The scribe would have written as Paul spoke out loud what he wanted to include in the letter. In the letter to the Romans, the scribe identified himself.

“I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord” ( Romans 16:22 ).

It is fascinating that the scribe was also a Christian who wanted to relay his greetings to fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. In other letters, such as the one Paul wrote to the church of Colossae, Paul indicated when it was his own hand that wrote the actual words of the letter.

“I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand. Remember my chains. Grace be with you” ( Colossians 4:18 ).

Though Paul worked with scribes to create these letters, we have assurance that regardless of how the letter came to be written down that all Scripture is God-breathed (see 2 Timothy 3:16 ).

Photo credit: Unsplash/Scott Graham

Why Are Paul's Personal Letters Considered Scripture?

An important part of Paul’s ministry was to keep in touch with Christians and churches, to encourage them in their faith and to help them avoid heresy or get persuaded to believe anything other than the true Gospel message that was preached to them. He did this by visiting and writing letters. It remains unclear how many letters outside of the thirteen epistles in the Bible that Paul wrote. However, we do know that Paul wrote letters that did not end up in the Bible. In the first letter to the Corinthians, Paul referenced a previous letter he had written to them.

“I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people” ( 1 Corinthians 5:9 ).

Though we do not know for sure outside of this letter Paul mentioned, it is possible that Paul wrote other letters to churches and individuals that did not become part of the Bible. However, certain letters were highly circulated, transformative, and became recognized by the early church as holy Scripture. These letters are now part of the New Testament.

We know that not every letter Paul wrote became Scripture, such as the letter Paul mentioned that he had formerly written to the church in Corinth. Perhaps this other letter did not have the same level of impact and transferability to congregations beyond Corinth. Ultimately, it remains unknown why this other letter to the Corinthians was not recognized as Scripture. Peter, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, referenced Paul’s writings.

“Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction” ( 2 Peter 3:15-16 ).

This is helpful to know that even as Paul’s letters were circulating, it was apparent that they were God-breathed. Peter believed that Paul’s letters were in fact holy Scripture and urged others to view them in the same light and with the same reverence. It is no surprise, then, that thirteen of Paul’s letters became part of the Bible.

Is There a Central Theme of Paul's Letters?

Paul’s letters had common elements to them, such as an introduction, the writer’s name and who the letter was addressed to, a greeting or thanksgiving, and the body of the letter which conveyed the reason(s) why Paul was writing and the information he wanted to relay to the readers. Paul usually ended his letters with a farewell.

In some of his letters, Paul included lists to demonstrate or expand on what he was teaching. For instance, Paul wrote lists of sinful behaviors (see Galatians 5:19-21 or Colossians 3:5-6 ), lists of the fruit of the Spirit (see Galatians 5:22-23 or Ephesians 4:2 ), lists of descriptions (see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 ), or how Christians should live (see 2 Corinthians 6:4-10 ).

Paul’s letters address many themes and topics, such as marriage , Christian living, sinfulness, righteousness, and grace. Paul wrote about suffering, joy, discipleship, forgiveness, and that Jesus was coming back. Other themes Paul addressed were unity in the body of Christ, dying to the flesh, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Central to all Paul’s letters is the overarching theme that we are saved by faith in Jesus.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” ( Ephesians 2:8 ).

Paul went to great lengths to declare that Jesus is the Lord and Savior, the promised Messiah, to the Gentiles and the Jews alike. Paul originally rejected the Gospel, persecuted the church, and believed Jesus to be an imposter. When he experienced a conversion, Paul undoubtedly made it his mission to follow the call of Jesus to go and make disciples of all nations. Paul had a passion to make sure that every person knew that one cannot earn salvation, rather it is a gift from God through faith in Jesus Christ alone.

Photo credit: ©Getty Images/Tinnakorn Jorruang

What Happened to Paul?

During his Christian life, Paul went on missionary journeys, empowered other believers to have faith, rejected heresies and preached the truth of God. Paul corresponded with churches and individuals and wrote letters that eventually were recognized as part of the Holy Bible. In his final years, he was imprisoned in Rome and was sentenced to death. He was a great supporter of many fellow brothers and sisters in Christ and believed that God was with him no matter what he faced (See Romans 8:38-39 ).

“The time for my departure is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day—and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing” ( 2 Timothy 4:6-8 ).

Even near the end of his life as he faced death, Paul fully trusted that God was with him and that it had been an honor to serve God. Paul died a martyr for Jesus, one who helped advance the growing Christian church and ultimately, the kingdom of God.

A Life Devoted to Christ

Paul wrote numerous letters to churches and individuals during his ministry. Though some were just that – personal or communal letters – others were recognized as Scripture and became part of the Bible. Thirteen books in total are attributed to Paul in the New Testament. Paul wrote about many theological issues and did his best to encourage his audiences to persevere in faith.

Paul’s passion for Jesus and his love for people is evident in both his writings and that he gave his life to advance the Gospel so that more and more would come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

Related articles What Do We Know about Paul before His Conversion? 5 Valuable Lessons from Paul on the Benefits of Giving 6 Things You Didn't Know about Paul in the Bible

Photo credit: Unsplash/Clark Young

Paul, Apostle of Christ

The Gospels are certainly the most important of the New Testament writings, but they were not the first to be composed. As early as the year A.D. 50, some young communities of former Gentiles were receiving Letters from an “apostle,” namely, Paul, who had not belonged to the Twelve or to the circle around Jesus. Of the great figures of newborn Christianity, this “first Christian author” is the most remarkable one known to us, and he remains such through the testimony he has left us in his writings.

Chronological Order of the Letters

Modern criticism has come to the following conclusions in this area.

A first series of Letters was written at intervals during the fifties and sixties; there is practically no one who doubts that Paul was their author.

— 1 and 2 Thessalonians: The first two Christian writings that have come down to us. They were surely written in Corinth between A.D. 50 and 52, in order to encourage a recently founded community and to clarify some points of doctrine (although some scholars have questioned the authorship of 2 Thessalonians).

— 1 and 2 Corinthians: Two Letters written in A.D. 56, during Paul’s time in Ephesus. They contain rather spirited interventions occasioned by disorders and divisions in the community.

— Philippians: A Letter that is especially cordial in tone. It is the first Letter that Paul wrote from prison and can be dated to A.D. 56, although others place it with the Letters of Paul’s Roman captivity between A.D. 61 and 63. We know that Paul was imprisoned more than once.

— Galatians: A fiery Letter to a Church in full crisis; probably written in A.D. 56 or 57.

— Romans: A lengthy theological writing, covering at greater length, and in a more serene tone, the same themes the writer had dealt with in the Letter to the Galatians. It may date from A.D. 57 or 58.

A second and later series of texts is known as the Captivity Letters (which may include the Letter to the Philippians, as noted a moment ago). They can be attributed to Paul, although a bit tentatively, and dated from A.D. 61 to 63, the period of his imprisonment in Rome.

— Colossians: A Letter that encourages authentic faith and authentic Christian life in face of the commingling of religions and new ideas.

— Philemon: A short note of recommendation for a fugitive slave.

— Ephesians: A circular Letter inspired by a profound theology and mysticism.

A third series of Letters is addressed no longer to communities but to individuals, pastors of souls, and is lavish with recommendations and guidelines for the exercise of their responsibilities. These are known as the Pastoral Letters and must be dated to A.D. 66 or 67 at the latest, if they are to be attributed to Paul. Some exegetes think the Letters may be the work of disciples and written around the eighties.

— 1 and 2 Timothy: Two Letters.

— Titus: One Letter.

Toward the end of the 1st century a final writing supposedly by Paul was in circulation, but the attribution is most uncertain. It was written by someone else who remains anonymous.

— Hebrews: A lengthy piece of theology and exhortation, written either just before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70 or much later, between A.D. 80 and 90.

Who Was Paul?

Until his conversion.

Saul was born around the beginning of the century, in Tarsus, the capital of Cilicia in Asia Minor, a little city but open to cultural influences and commercial exchanges between East and West. He was from a family of Diaspora Jews who belonged to the tribe of Benjamin and were intent on a strict observance of the religion of their forebears. They did not, however, reject all contact with the life and culture of the Empire; in fact, they had acquired Roman citizenship and thereby become the Paulus family.

In about A.D 36/37 a mysterious event changed the course of Saul’s life in an instant. The persecutor of Christians became the most ardent missionary of the Gospel.

On the road to Damascus, he had a vision that changed his life. He saw Christ, who revealed that he was totally one with all who believed in him: “Why are you persecuting me?” ( Acts 9:4 ).

After His Conversion

Paul underwent a radical turnaround. From then on, he did nothing but put into practice the unshakable certitude that he received on that day. His Letters set forth this conviction: Christ is living and reconciles human beings in his Spirit; salvation is given by him to the Gentile world and indeed to all peoples. His entire existence was henceforth seized by this mission. His life and thought were animated by an unconquerable love for Jesus.

Allowing Gentiles to become part of the Christian communities posed theoretical problems. Paul was present at the Council of Jerusalem in A.D. 48/49, which rendered liberating decisions on this point ( Acts 15 ; Gal 2:1-10 ).

Thereupon Paul traveled to the great urban centers of the Mediterranean world, proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ and establishing churches, i.e., small groups of men and women, free people and slaves, Jews and Greeks, who believed in Christ. His plan was to go to the ends of the known world, possibly as far as the Spanish coast, by way of Rome. All the while, he nurtured the young Churches by his Letters and delegates, recalling the main lines of the Gospel—Jesus Christ is the only Savior.

We have no sure information on the subsequent course and end of Paul’s life. He would be executed at Rome on the Ostia Road (Via Ostiensis), probably in A.D. 66/67. Many, especially those who defend the attribution of the Captivity Letters to Paul, think that he had once again regained his freedom, had visited the Churches of Greece and Asia Minor, and perhaps had even gone to Spain. Arrested once again, he endured a harsh imprisonment.

The traditional order of the Letters, as seen in any Bible, is not based on chronology. Their order is primarily one of length, longest to shortest. In reading them, however, it is advantageous to follow the chronological order.

The Letter to the Romans

Human beings are justified through faith.

Paul wanted to visit Rome—the center of the universe in his day—on more than one occasion, but he was prevented from doing so (see Rom 1:13 ). Now, in the winter of A.D. 56–57, his third missionary journey has been completed and he has established the Church in the principal Mediterranean urban centers, from Jerusalem to Illyricum ( Rom 15:19 ). In addition, the great crises in Corinth and Galatia seem to have subsided.

Hence, Paul seeks new fields. The West calls to him, and he projects a missionary journey that will take him to the cities along the Spanish coastline. To get there he must pass through Rome (see Rom 15:22-23 ), and he looks for the welcome and assistance of the Christian community established in the capital. He will not be a stranger there. The Jewish community at Rome has more than 40,000 members and some fifteen synagogues. Moreover, the seed of the Gospel has already taken root in its midst. We will probably never know who were the first missionaries of Christ there. It may be that pilgrims from Rome were among the witnesses and converts on the day of Pentecost in the year A.D. 30.

In any case, merchants and travelers could surely have encountered the Gospel and the Church on their travels and in their business dealings and could then have become the promoters of a new community at Rome. St. Peter himself was there for a time and eventually suffered martyrdom under the infamous Emperor Nero, but doubtless his coming took place later than the date of this Letter.

The Church of Rome seems to have developed rapidly. In the year A.D. 49 an edict of Emperor Claudius expelled the Jews. Jewish Christians like Priscilla and Aquila were also affected; they found refuge and work in Greece and Asia (see Acts 18:2 , 18 , 26 ; 1 Cor 16:19 ). As a result, converts from paganism became the majority of Christians in Rome. This brought new problems and some difficulties, especially when the exiles returned after two or three years.

In order to announce his coming, Paul dictated a Letter to his secretary, Tertius ( Rom 16:22 ), and entrusted it, apparently, to Phoebe, “a deaconess of the Church at Cenchreae” ( Rom 16:1 ), who was about to travel to Rome. But if he wanted simply to announce his arrival, why did he send so lengthy a Letter? It is probable that his person and ideas were sufficiently well known in Rome and that there was debate over the positions he had taken. Writing thus to a community, Paul gave free expression to the main concerns that preoccupied him concerning the life of the Church and, above all, concerning faith. To facilitate the reading we can group its themes around three main centers: the necessity of faith, the riches of the faith, the demands of the faith.

We shall discover, contained in these central ideas, the most profound intuitions regarding the realism of the incarnation ( Rom 1:3-4 ), justification and redemption ( Rom 3:21-26 ; 8:2-4 ), the universality of sin and salvation ( Rom 5:12-19 ), the Paschal Mystery present in Baptism ( Rom 6:2-5 ), the hope of Christians and the future of the universe ( Rom 8:19-23 ), the divine sonship ( Rom 8:14-17 ), the certainty of salvation ( Rom 8:28-39 ), the mystery of Israel and the theology of history ( Rom 9–11 ), spiritual worship ( Rom 12:12 ), and the new priesthood ( Rom 15:15-16 ).

Paul sets forth on a theological level what Jesus himself signified and practiced when he mingled with tax collectors and sinners; he did not condone what they did, but he affirmed that justice is a grace of the Father and that it is not acquired by a person’s moral, legal, or cultural effort—no matter how scrupulous that might be. God’s love is offered to everyone by God; it is he who sets free, and it is up to each person to embrace this liberation as a source of life. The redemption and salvation of human beings is of another order than that of social, personal, and historical situations. It pertains to a human transformation inaugurated in Jesus.

Hence, if such liberation is given in the mystery of Christ, in Baptism that enables one to participate in it, and in faith in his Gospel, what is the value of the Law and the whole Old Testament and what is the destiny of Israel? This is a question that needs an answer to show the fundamental unity of revelation, of the promise of fulfillment in Christ. Such an answer is even more necessary since non-Jewish Christians ran the risk of ignoring the plan of God inaugurated in Creation and the time of preparation that constitutes the Old Testament and even looking down on Jewish Christians. It is an answer that Paul carefully provides in this Letter ( Rom 9:1—11:36 ).

The Letter presents the essence of Paul’s message and his mission. It is regarded as the first formulation of Christian theology. Yet its tranquil tone is far different from the stormy character of the Letter to the Galatians whose themes it amplifies. Nonetheless, we sense herein the stirrings of an impassioned soul, for example beneath some uncalled-for blow ( Rom 2:17ff ), in the trust of being in God’s grace (ch. 8 ), in the convert’s compassion for those of his race ( Rom 9:1-15 ; 10:1 ; 11:14-16 ), and in the enthusiasm of the Apostle of Christ ( Rom 11:33-36 ). The Letter to the Romans also distinguishes itself by its literary variety. In its construction, Paul makes use of liturgical pieces and hymns; he follows the expository style of the rabbis or employs the methods of orators of his day. All of this adds up to an exceptional example of Paul’s work.

Did Paul really reach Rome? Yes, but later than he had hoped. In the spring of A.D. 58, he arrived at Jerusalem with the funds collected for the poor Christians of the Mother Church ( 2 Cor 8–9 ). He was arrested in the temple and spent two years in custody at Caesarea before appealing to Caesar as a Roman citizen. In the spring of the year A.D. 60, Paul, apostle and prisoner of Jesus Christ, entered Rome ( Acts 28:16 ) and was welcomed by the Christian community there.

The Letter to the Romans may be divided as follows:

Prologue ( 1:1-17 )

I: Justification through Faith in Jesus ( 1:18—4:25 )

II: Faith, the Riches of Life ( 5:1—11:36 )

III: The Need for Faith in Daily Life ( 12:1—15:13 )

Epilogue: ( 15:14—16:27 )

• Forgiveness
• Resurrection

• Evangelical

What Books of the Bible Were Written by Paul?

The Apostle Paul was the most prolific writer in the New Testament. Here are a list of books or letters (epistles) written by the Paul.

The Book of Romans

This book may be the greatest theological book in the entire Bible.  Paul ties in the Old Testament and Old Covenant into the New Covenant.  I can’t say the New Testament because it was not yet completed. Paul likely wrote Romans while residing at Corinth sometime between A.D. 55 and A.D. 57.   I believe that Romans is Paul’s greatest presentation of the gospel among all of his writings.  The Reformers leaned heavily upon Romans as the key to understanding all Scripture and reveals the assurance of faith in Christ (8), the daily struggle with sin (6, 7), the vital signs of all Christian believers being love for one another (12) and obedience to human authority (13).   If anyone is seeking biblical understanding about justification by faith, the law, judgment, sin, human depravity, the destiny of believers and unbelievers, grace, works, election, sanctification, and the plan of salvation, this book covers it.

First and Second Corinthians

Written about the same time that the book of Romans was written (A.D. 55) and possibly while staying in Ephesus, the Books of First and Second Corinthians covers the gifts of the Spirit more comprehensively than his other books but like Romans, the Christian characteristics and supremacy of love are zeroed in on 1 Corinthians 13.  Church discipline was part of the reason that Paul wrote 1 Corinthians (5) but he also covers important subjects like marriage and divorce (7), sexual immorality (6), frivolous lawsuits (6), proper administration and observance of the Sacraments like Communion or the Lord’s Supper (11), and the essentiality of Christ’s resurrection, the hope of the resurrection, and the details of the resurrection for the believer (15).  Second Corinthians was written shortly after or near A.D. 55, when Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians was written.  In this book, Paul focuses on the permanency of the New Covenant (3), the ministry of reconciliation (5, 6), on Christian giving (8), the call to be holy (6-7), and restoration and forgiveness of a repentant believer (2).

The Book of Galatians

Most scholars believe that Galatians was written around A.D. 49 and might have been Paul’s first letter (epistle).  The Jews were trying to dispute Paul’s authority as an apostle so he defends his apostolic authority as being from Christ and not from men (1, 2), to warn the Galatians of false gospels (1), that justification comes by faith alone in Christ alone and not by the law which only served to condemn while some tried to claim that justification came by works (2, 3),  that the righteous live only by faith (3), the standing of the believer as adopted children of God (4), Christ’s bringing us freedom from the yoke of slavery to sin and the law (5), and that  believers are to carry one another’s burdens (6).

The Book of Ephesians

Written around A.D. 60-62 while under house arrest in Rome, chapter one gives us a broad look at God’s election or predestining of the believer and the sealing by the Holy Spirit of the believer (1), establishing the fact that salvation is through faith alone and not by works so no one could brag about it (2,) that each member of the Body of Christ are one in Him (2), how the gospel that was cloaked beforehand has now been clearly revealed by God’s Spirit (3),  that our new life in Christ makes us the unified Body of Christ (4), that we are commanded to imitate Christ and walk in love (5), shows the fruits of the flesh contrasted to the works of Spirit (5), and the relationship of husband and wife reflects the relationship of Christ and the church (5), and how children and parents are to live with one another in godly relationships (6), which is possible only when believers put on the whole armor of God which enables believers to defend themselves from wicked spiritual attacks (6).

The Book of Philippians

This book has often been called the Book of Joy and may have been Paul’s favorite church.  What seems hard for us to understand is that Paul was filled with joy and mentions joy dozens of times in this letter which he wrote while be imprisoned, sometime around A.D. 61.  Paul speaks briefly about his imprisonment but also about his thankful heart and prayer for the church (1), that life is all about Christ (1), how Christ’s example of humility should be our template for living the Christian life (2), and that this joy in us should be a light to the unsaved world (2), and he repeats the theme that righteousness comes only through faith in Christ and not those who try to say it is through the law (3), and that we are to strive to endure till we cross the finish line (3), and trust God’s provision through all things in this life (4).

The Book of Colossians

Paul never actually visited Colossae and so he wrote a letter to the church (A.D. 53-55) which Epaphras apparently planted.  As is Paul’s custom, he begins with his giving thanks for the believers in prayers of thanksgiving (1), and focuses on the supremacy or preeminence of Christ to the believer (1), and Paul’s suffering as part of God’s purpose and used in his ministry through Paul (1), to not judge others for what they eat, the days they observe, or the things that they drink because these dietary laws and holy days were a shadow and now the reality of Christ is here (2), so the believer is to put on the new self which is in Christ Jesus and dwell on heavenly things and not earthly things (3), and he reviews the marital relationship and the relationship between parents and their children (3).

First and Second Thessalonians

Most like written about A.D. 50 or 51, Paul against give thanks to God for these believers (1).  He speaks to them as a father would his own children but here he is like their spiritual father (2), and he desperately desires to see them again (2), but Paul includes his praise for the encouraging report sent by Timothy about the church at Thessalonica (3), and that we are to live an obedient life that exudes the love of God (4), because the Lord’s return is imminent (4), which will usher in the Day of the Lord (5).  As for 2 Thessalonians, which was also  written near A.D. 51, Paul once again opens with thanksgiving for the church and continues where he left off in 1 Thessalonians about the coming judgment at Christ’s return (1), but first must come the wicked, evil, man of lawlessness (2), so they must remain or stand firm in the truth that they have received (2), and that Paul requests their prayers (3), and rebukes those who are not working and just waiting for Christ’s return while living off of others (4).

First and Second Timothy

Paul writes to his spiritual child, Timothy, who he apparently led to faith in Christ (1) toward the latter end of his ministry, around A.D. 62 – 64 and is one of his pastoral epistles.  As Timothy’s mentor, Paul warns him about the dangers of the many false teachers that were already infiltrating the church (1), reviewing the purpose for which Christ came, lived, and died and that being the salvation of sinners (1), while he admonishes Timothy that we should be praying for all men who are in authority over us because God desires that all be saved (2), he gives the qualifications of the pastoral office and the qualifications for deacons (3), warnings about apostasy and that many will fall away from grace (4), but that the true servants of Jesus Christ will hold on to their promise (4), and final instructions for church organization, structure, and order (5).  Paul also reiterates the warning about false teachers and the fruits that they produce, which are evil (6), and to live in contentment with what one has and to keep fighting for the faith that Paul delivered to him (6).  In Paul’s second letter to Timothy, he exhorts Timothy to guard what had been given to Him (1), that like a good soldier, we can’t be getting bogged down in the interests of the world (2), and that we need to be diligent in our studying the Word of God for His approval and not mans (2), to know what to expect in the last days when the godlessness of mankind will exponentially grow (3), but to trust that God’s Word is God’s speaking to us and inspired by Him and has no error (3), so continue to trust it in preaching (4).

The Book of Titus

Written around A.D. 62to 64 during Paul’s fourth missionary trip was written to Timothy, probably a Gentile convert, about how churches are to be organized and structured, including the qualifications for elders (1), what sound doctrine is which he commands to be taught in the church (2) and to be prepared ahead of time (3).

The Book of Philemon

This letter written to the owner of a slave (Philemon) who had ministered to Paul while imprisoned in Rome around A.D. 60 was written to allow Philemon’s slave, Onesimus, to continue to serve Paul and to receive him back as a freeman so Paul pleas for his release (1) who should no longer to be a slave but a fellow saint (1).

The Book of Hebrews

There is much debate about the author or authors of the Book of Hebrews.  This book has been attributed to Paul but may have been written by several of the leaders of the church.  Whoever it was, they were skilled in the Greek and Hellenistic literary style and was familiar with Timothy ( 13:23 ).   Was this book written by Paul, Luke, Priscilla, or perhaps as some speculate, even Barnabas?  The conclusion is that in the end, all Scripture finds as its source, God the Holy Spirit (2 Tim 3:16 ).  This book is specifically written to Jewish Christians and Jews who may have heard the gospel but had not yet placed their trust in Christ and were still practicing the Mosaic rituals and sacrifices.  It may have been written around A.D. 64 while the severe persecutions under Nero were taking place.

These lists of epistles by Paul are not in chronological order.  It is strongly believed that the last book or letter written by Paul was 2 Timothy because he writes that he is “already being poured out as a drink offering and the time of [his] departure has come [and he has] finished the race [and] kept the faith” (2 Tim 4:6-7) and that he is confident that “there is laid up for [him] the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to [him] on that Day” (2 Tim 4:8) and that everyone had deserted him but Luke (2 Tim 4:10 ) and that no one stood by him “but all deserted [him but prayed] may it not be charged against them” (2 Tim 4:16 ) but only “the Lord stood by [him] and strengthened [him]” (2 Tim 4:17 ) .  Whether the Lord stood by Him in a real, physical sense or in a spiritual presence, we cannot say for sure.  One thing we can almost be certain is that Paul was the greatest Christian and missionary that the world has ever known and that many today are still being brought to saving faith by his writings and yet more, I am sure, will be saved in the future.

Another Reading on Patheos to Check Out: What Did Jesus Really Look Like: A Look at the Bible Facts

Article by jack wellman.

Jack Wellman is Pastor of the Mulvane Brethren church in Mulvane Kansas. Jack is also the Senior Writer at What Christians Want To Know  whose mission is to equip, encourage, and energize Christians and to address questions about the believer’s daily walk with God and the Bible. You can follow Jack on Google Plus or check out his book  Blind Chance or Intelligent Design available on Amazon

• Bible Answers
• Books of Bible

• Library of World Religions
• Advertise With Us
• Write for Us
• Privacy Policy
• Terms of Service
• Do Not Sell My Data
• Radiant Digital
• Manage Newsletter Subscriptions
• Unsubscribe From Notifications

How to go to Heaven

How to get right with god.

What are the Pauline Epistles?

For further study, related articles, subscribe to the, question of the week.

Get our Question of the Week delivered right to your inbox!

Search a pre-defined list

The Whole Bible The Old Testament The New Testament ────────────── Pentateuch Historical Books Poetical Books Wisdom Literature Prophets Major Prophets Minor Prophets ────────────── The Gospels Luke-Acts Pauline Epistles General Epistles Johannine Writings ────────────── Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation

OR Select a range of biblical books

Select a Beginning Point Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation

Select an Ending Point Genesis Exodus Leviticus Numbers Deuteronomy Joshua Judges Ruth 1 Samuel 2 Samuel 1 Kings 2 Kings 1 Chronicles 2 Chronicles Ezra Nehemiah Esther Job Psalms Proverbs Ecclesiastes Song of Songs Isaiah Jeremiah Lamentations Ezekiel Daniel Hosea Joel Amos Obadiah Jonah Micah Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah Haggai Zechariah Malachi Matthew Mark Luke John Acts Romans 1 Corinthians 2 Corinthians Galatians Ephesians Philippians Colossians 1 Thessalonians 2 Thessalonians 1 Timothy 2 Timothy Titus Philemon Hebrews James 1 Peter 2 Peter 1 John 2 John 3 John Jude Revelation

OR Custom Selection:

Use semicolons to separate groups: 'Gen;Jdg;Psa-Mal' or 'Rom 3-12;Mat 1:15;Mat 5:12-22'

Click to Change

Return to Top

Timeline of the Apostle Paul

Note: The chronology and dating of the events in Paul's life are still disputed among scholars.

Search Results in Other Versions

Search results by book, blb searches, search the bible.

Advanced Options

There are options set in 'Advanced Options'

Theological FAQs

Other Searches

Multi-Verse Retrieval

* 'Number Delimiters' only apply to 'Paragraph Order'

Let's Connect

Daily devotionals.

Blue Letter Bible offers several daily devotional readings in order to help you refocus on Christ and the Gospel of His peace and righteousness.

• BLB Daily Promises
• Day by Day by Grace
• Morning and Evening
• Faith's Checkbook
• Daily Bible Reading

Daily Bible Reading Plans

Recognizing the value of consistent reflection upon the Word of God in order to refocus one's mind and heart upon Christ and His Gospel of peace, we provide several reading plans designed to cover the entire Bible in a year.

One-Year Plans

• Chronological
• Old Testament and New Testament Together

Two-Year Plan

• Canonical Five Day Plan

Recently Popular Pages

• Hoekstra's Day by Day by Grace
• O.T. Names of God - Study Resources
• The Safest Place by C. H. Spurgeon
• H3068 - Yᵊhōvâ - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)
• David Guzik :: Hechos 9 – La Conversión de Saulo de Tarso
• Therein, Thereinto, Thereof, Thereon, Thereout, Thereto, Thereunto, Thereupon, Therewith - Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
• David Guzik :: Apocalipsis 12 – La Mujer, el Niño, y el Dragón
• Harmony of the Gospels - Study Resources - Study Resources
• H5377 - nāšā' - Strong's Hebrew Lexicon (kjv)

Recently Popular Media

• Jehovah's Witnesses, Jesus and the Holy Trinity (Walter Martin)
• Part 1 - What is Grace? (David Guzik)
• 1 Corinthians 14 (1982-85 Audio) (Chuck Smith)
• Isaiah 46, 47, 48, and 49 [1990s] (Chuck Missler)
• Revelation 4-6 (1982-85 Audio) (Chuck Smith)
• Deuteronomy 5-8 (1979-82 Audio) (Chuck Smith)
• 1 Kings 19:4 (Dr. J. Vernon McGee)
• Judges 10 (Jon Courson)
• Part 3 - What Does Living in Grace Look Like? (David Guzik)
• Genesis 1:1-8 (1979-82 Audio) (Chuck Smith)

CONTENT DISCLAIMER:

The Blue Letter Bible ministry and the BLB Institute hold to the historical, conservative Christian faith, which includes a firm belief in the inerrancy of Scripture. Since the text and audio content provided by BLB represent a range of evangelical traditions, all of the ideas and principles conveyed in the resource materials are not necessarily affirmed, in total, by this ministry.

View Desktop Site

Bible Commentaries

Bible reference, biblical language resources, theological resources, topical indexes, help & support, devotionals.

Blue Letter Bible study tools make reading, searching and studying the Bible easy and rewarding.

Blue Letter Bible is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization

©2024 Blue Letter Bible | Privacy Policy

Copy Translation Order  [?]

Translation selection order copied to bibles tab order, bibles tab order copied to translation selection order, translation selection order and bibles tab order have been reset.

You can copy the order of your preferred Bible translations from the Bibles Tab to the Version Picker (this popup) or vice versa. The Bibles Tab is found in the Tools feature on Bible pages:

Cite This Page

Note: MLA no longer requires the URL as part of their citation standard. Individual instructors or editors may still require the use of URLs.

Chicago Format

Share this page, email this page.

You must be logged in to send email.

Follow Blue Letter Bible

Subscribe to the newsletter.

Blue Letter Bible

Login to your account.

Email / username or password was incorrect!

Check your email for password retrieval

 Keep me logged in!

Did you forget your password?

Register a new BLB account

Complete the form below to register  [?]

Error: That Email is already registered

Error: Please provide a valid Email

Error: Passwords should have at least 6 characters

Error: Passwords do not match

Error: Please provide a valid first name

Error: That username is already taken

Error: Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores

← Login to Your Account

Passwords should have at least 6 characters. Usernames should only contain letters, numbers, dots, dashes, or underscores.

Thank you for registering. A verification email has been sent to the address you provided.

Did You Know BLB Is User Supported?

Your partnership makes all we do possible. Would you prayerfully consider a gift of support today?

Cookie Notice: Our website uses cookies to store user preferences. By proceeding, you consent to our cookie usage. Please see Blue Letter Bible's Privacy Policy for cookie usage details.

Old Testament

New testament.

• Is There a God?
• Who Is God?
• Who Is Jesus?
• Holy Spirit
• Fruits of the Spirit
• Relating to God
• Meditation  
• Is the Bible True?
• Books of the Bible
• Old Testament
• New Testament
• 10 Commandments
• The Sabbath
• Biblical Laws
• Law and Grace
• Benefits of Bible Study
• How to Study the Bible
• Bible Study Topics
• Encouraging Bible Verses
• What Is the Meaning of Life?
• Why Were You Born?
• Plan of Salvation
• God's Festivals
• Evil & Suffering
• Life After Death
• What Is Heaven?
• What Is Hell?
• Christian Living
• Kingdom of God
• 7 Churches of Revelation
• Great Tribulation
• New Heavens and New Earth
• Book of Daniel
• 12 Tribes of Israel
• America in Prophecy
• Middle East in Bible Prophecy
• Prophecy in the News
• Justification
• Forgiveness
• Women of Faith
• Christian Conversion
• Sermon on the Mount
• Armor of God
• Being a Christian
• Communication
• Visit the Learning Center
• Discern Magazine
• Shareable Images
• Español
• Français

What Are the Pauline Epistles?

by Roy Demarest

The Pauline Epistles are indispensable resources for any Christian seeking God in the modern world. Here’s what you need to know about them.

What are the Pauline Epistles?

The Pauline Epistles—or the Epistles of Paul—were letters written to the early Church by the apostle Paul. God preserved many of those letters for us as books of the Bible.

These ancient epistles contain valuable insight into modern-day Christian living, while also providing us a snapshot of the early Christian Church.

Paul wrote more books of the Bible than any other author—including Moses, Solomon and any of the original apostles. He is credited with writing at least 13 books in the New Testament (14, if we include the book of Hebrews). His writings have been scrutinized by more scholars and students of the Scriptures than perhaps any other Bible author.

The Pauline Epistles are essential to read and study if we want a fuller understanding of the Holy Scriptures. But how much do you understand about these books? Why were they written? To whom were they written? What were the issues that Paul was dealing with in these many letters?

What is an epistle?

Epistle is simply a word that means a “written message” or a “letter.” Some of Paul’s epistles were written from jail cells (commonly referred to as Paul’s Prison Epistles); some are addressed to individuals; and some are addressed to congregations. Paul’s letters were mostly dictated to an amanuensis (secretary), except for the letter to the Galatians, at least part of which Paul says he wrote with his own hand (Galatians 6:11).

Paul wrote these letters over approximately a 15- to 20-year period between about A.D. 48 and 67. The estimates of the dates these letters were written will vary slightly from authority to authority, but they were within this general time frame.

The Pauline Epistles: a snapshot of early Church history

Paul’s letters provide us insight into the congregations of the early Christian Church in the first century. What can we learn from these 14 letters that were preserved for us under direct inspiration from God (2 Timothy 3:16)? In studying them carefully, we can find answers to many questions, such as:

• Who were these people to whom Paul wrote?
• What did they believe?
• What challenges did they face?
• How did Paul’s teachings differ from the Old Testament practices?
• What was important to these early Christians?
• What were their church congregations like?
• Why were they so severely persecuted?
• Are Paul’s letters applicable for us today?

Paul’s letters in order

The Pauline Epistles don’t actually appear in the Bible in the same order they were written. Not all Bible authorities agree on the correct order of Paul’s letters, but context clues within the letters themselves along with extrabiblical evidence allow us to make a reasonably accurate guess:

• 1 Thessalonians.
• 2 Thessalonians.
• 1 Corinthians.
• 2 Corinthians.
• Philippians.
• Colossians.
• Hebrews (?).

When Paul wasn’t writing letters to congregations of the early Church, he was either visiting them in person or journeying through the Roman Empire to spread the gospel message. Those journeys are recorded in the book of Acts, giving us extra insight into both the Pauline Epistles themselves and the general time frame when Paul would have written those epistles.

For instance, the books of Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon—the Prison Epistles—would have been written while Paul was under house arrest in Rome.

(If you’d like a more detailed look at Paul’s journeys and the timeline of the epistles, read “ Chronology of Paul’s Journeys and Epistles .”)

Did Paul write Hebrews?

It’s not clear whether Paul wrote the book of Hebrews or not. Unlike his other epistles, his name doesn’t appear anywhere in the letter. Some early traditions attribute the book to Paul, but the earliest available copies of the Bible’s manuscripts do not include an author’s name.

The purpose of Paul’s letters

Much of the content of the Pauline Epistles was aimed at correcting false teachings and lax behavior that had crept into congregations of the early Church. It didn’t take long before heresy, false doctrine and spiritual compromises started to sneak into the early Church. Much of the content of the Pauline Epistles was aimed at correcting false teachings and lax behavior that had crept into congregations of the early Church.

But Paul was also an encourager. Many of his letters are filled with hope, always returning to “the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:14).

Paul was filled with a “deep concern for all the churches” (2 Corinthians 11:28). He wanted nothing more than to see God’s people remain faithful to their calling and join him in claiming “the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

Here are just a few of the topics that Paul addresses in these letters:

• Divorce and remarriage.
• Speaking in tongues.
• Christian conscience.
• Works and grace.
• Spiritual gifts.
• The resurrection.
• Vegetarianism.
• A woman’s role in the Church.
• Conduct at church services.
• Identifying and appointing Church leaders.
• The place of God’s law in relation to salvation.

An overview of the Pauline Epistles

Let’s now look at a very brief summary of Paul’s letters (in the order they appear in the Bible).

• Romans proclaims that Jesus Christ is the Savior of all men and women, whether Jew or gentile. It shows the way to everlasting life through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
• Both 1 and 2 Corinthians were written to the church at Corinth and deal with the need to recognize and put sin out of our lives. The congregation is instructed to love one another and to look forward to the glorious return of Jesus Christ to this earth.
• In Galatians Paul was dealing with some who were trying to convince gentile Galatians that they needed to be circumcised to be made right with God. Paul shows that we can only be justified and forgiven by faith in Jesus Christ. Then we need to live in the Spirit, producing the fruit of the Spirit, which doesn’t break the law.
• Ephesians explains how it is Christ who brings all people together. When we embrace Christ, we will put off the old man and embrace a new way of life, the way of love, the way of helping one another.
• Philippians is a letter to the congregation at Philippi, encouraging them to continue with their good works and dedicated service to God. The congregation at Philippi was a constant source of encouragement to the apostle Paul.
• Colossians is an admonition to resist some of the pagan, philosophical ideas of the times, like asceticism and the ideas that developed into gnosticism. The way to God is through Jesus Christ and obedience to His moral law of love.
• The two letters to the Thessalonians deal with the issue of when Jesus Christ will return. Many expected Christ to return at that time, but 2 Thessalonians reveals that the end time will be preceded by certain events that have not occurred yet.
• The pastoral epistles of 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus were written to ministers to address issues directly affecting the congregations they served, such as qualifications for elders and deacons; helping widows; and avoiding useless arguments, foolish disputes and all contentions.
• In the very short letter to Philemon, a member in Colosse, Paul tries to encourage reconciliation between Philemon and a slave who had run away from him and become a Christian.
• Hebrews does not give the name of its author, but some early traditions attributed it to Paul. Hebrews deals with the making of the New Covenant between God and His people. The Old Covenant between God and the descendants of Israel is now being replaced with a New Covenant made possible by a new High Priest, that is, Jesus Christ. Instead of physical blessings for obedience to the letter of the law for the descendants of Abraham, people of all nations who please God by striving to obey Him according to the spirit of the law can be given the gift of God, everlasting life through Jesus Christ.

The Love Chapter in the Bible

In 1 Corinthians 13—a chapter of the Bible that’s come to be known as “the Love Chapter”—we find Paul’s explanation of true, godly love.

In one of the Bible’s most famous passages, Paul writes, “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails” (1 Corinthians 13:4-8).

This Love Chapter in the Bible is an excellent resource for Christian self-examination. It’s important to look at ourselves and make sure the way we treat others matches up with this description of how God wants us to treat others. Study more in our article “ The Love Chapter .”

Paul’s last letter

The book of 2 Timothy appears to be the very last letter Paul wrote before he was executed by the Roman government (or, at least, the last epistle that was preserved in the Bible). In this final farewell letter, Paul urges the young pastor Timothy to treasure his calling and to “be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry” (2 Timothy 4:5).

For Paul’s part, he was focusing less on his own imminent death and more on the incredible future that God is preparing for the human race.

He wrote: “For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing” (2 Timothy 4:6-8).

A few paragraphs later, the final Pauline Epistle ends with these words of hope: “The Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Grace be with you. Amen” (2 Timothy 4:22).

The Pauline Epistles point to the Kingdom of God

The apostle Paul was one of God’s greatest servants and was used by Him to boldly proclaim the good news of the coming Kingdom of God to the world in the first century and, through these epistles, to people in all ages.

The Pauline Epistles didn’t just matter a couple of thousand years ago. The lessons Paul teaches in those letters are just as important for us today. As we also journey toward “the crown of righteousness” that Paul claimed, each of these letters is vitally important for us to understand. (And you can read about each one in greater depth in our Related Articles section below!)

About the Author

Roy Demarest

Roy and Pauline Demarest have been married for more than 50 years and have three sons and six grandchildren. Roy served as pastor of the Orlando, Florida, congregation of the Church of God, a Worldwide Association, until his retirement in 2020.

Get the Latest

Get the latest blog posts from Life, Hope & Truth straight to your inbox.

Never miss a post! Sign up to receive the week's latest articles, blog posts and updates.

Discern is published every two months and is available in digital and print versions. Choose your preferred format to start your subscription.

Print subscriptions available in U.S., Canada and Europe

Please choose your region:

• Discussions
• Reading Challenge
• Kindle Notes & Highlights
• Favorite genres
• Friends’ recommendations
• Account settings

The Apostle Paul: His life and writings

A book’s total score is based on multiple factors, including the number of people who have voted for it and how highly those voters ranked the book.

People Who Voted On This List (4)

Post a comment » Comments

Featured news & interviews.

• Create New List
• Lists I Created
• Lists I've Voted On
• Lists I've Liked

Anyone can add books to this list.

Saving My Votes

Friends votes, how to vote.

To vote on existing books from the list, beside each book there is a link vote for this book clicking it will add that book to your votes.

To vote on books not in the list or books you couldn't find in the list, you can click on the tab add books to this list and then choose from your books, or simply search.

Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.

Westar Blog

Blog categories, how to read paul's letters chronologically.

Old Woman Reading a Lectionary (So-called Portrait of Rembrandt's Mother), circa 1630. Credit: Wikimedia Commons .

Back when I was asking Google how the Bible was written, I stumbled across a variety of supposedly “chronological” reading plans for the Bible. Nearly all of them were pious lists that emphasized reading in an order that reinforces a particular theology. They purposefully carry you through the texts in a way that suggests a certain view of Jesus, a view that would change if you simply read the texts in a different order.

Since the word “chronological” in that sense has absolutely nothing to do with when the original texts were written, I thought I’d offer an alternative: a 30-day plan for how to read Paul’s letters chronologically. But first: an explanation.

The late Marcus Borg urged us to read the New Testament in the order in which the books were actually written rather than the order in which they appear in modern Bibles. We should start with the letters of Paul because they are our earliest texts from the Christ movement. Don't read Acts, don't read the gospels. Save those for later. Paul's letters came first .

Although many letters in the New Testament are claimed to have been written by Paul, most scholars who have studied them have reached the conclusion that only seven of the letters were actually written by Paul when he lived in the early 1 century, around 20 to 30 years after the death of Jesus. Where did the other letters come from? They were written by other people in Paul’s name in the late 1 and early 2 centuries. "Beginning with seven of Paul's letters," Borg writes,

illustrates that there were vibrant Christian communities spread throughout the Roman Empire before there were written Gospels. His letters provide a "window" into the life of very early Christian communities.

The seven authentic or “undisputed” letters of Paul, in roughly chronological order, are as follows:

• 1 Thessalonians
• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• Philippians

See the book | Listen to the Author

Talk interview ‍

By far the easiest way I’ve found to read these letters in chronological order is to read The Authentic Letters of Paul (Dewey et al), which not only puts the letters in chronological order but also grapples with places where others may have edited and rearranged the letters, and/or added new material.

Full disclosure: I was involved, albeit only slightly, in the editing process of this book, but I truly have yet to encounter another book that refuses to pull punches on this issue. Why should it be difficult to find Paul’s letters arranged in some sort of chronological order? It shouldn’t be. This sort of resource is the work of good historians, and that’s what I appreciate about it. They took a risk and put an answer out there. I'd have loved to take a New Testament class that gave me a couple attempts like this and asked me to compare the portraits of Paul that emerged.

‍ Related Resource: Listen to a free 2-part interview with the authors and translators of The Authentic Letters of Paul with Ron Way on AuthorTalk Radio.

Have you been meaning to read (or re-read) Paul's letters? We'll be hosting a 30-day challenge here on the Westar blog. How to participate.

‍ This reading plan should get you through the seven authentic letters of Paul in 30 days based on The Authentic Letters of Paul . That's a pretty intense reading schedule, given that Paul's arguments can be a real pain to follow. You may find that you want to slow the pace down to 60 days instead (which you can accomplish by reading 1 to 2 chapters a day instead of 2 to 3).If you try it, let me know how it worked for you! What sort of Paul did you discover? Did you reach the same conclusions as Bernard Brandon Scott ? Do you know of other attempts to arrange Paul's letters chronologically?

‍ Day 1: 1 Thessalonians 1–3

‍ Day 2: 1 Thessalonians 4–5

‍ Day 3: Galatians 1–2

‍ Day 4: Galatians 3–4

‍ Day 5: Galatians 5–6

‍ Day 6: 1 Corinthians 1–2

‍ Day 7: 1 Corinthians 3–4 There are likely some insertions from other writers mixed in

‍ Day 8: 1 Corinthians 5–6

‍ Day 9: 1 Corinthians 7–8

‍ Day 10: 1 Corinthians 9–10

‍ Day 11: 1 Corinthians 11–12 There are likely some insertions from other writers mixed in

‍ Day 12: 1 Corinthians 13–14 There are likely some insertions from other writers mixed in

‍ Day 13: 1 Corinthians 15–16

‍ Day 14: 2 Corinthians 2:14–3:18 Defense of Paul’s Credibility (part 1)

‍ Day 15: 2 Corinthians 4–6:13; 7:2–4 Defense of Paul’s Credibility (part 2)

‍ Day 16: 2 Corinthians 10–13 Parody of “A Fool’s Speech”

‍ Day 17: 2 Corinthians 1:1–2:13; 7:5–16 Letter of Reconciliation

‍ Day 18: 2 Corinthians 8 Collection Appeal to Corinth

‍ Day 19: 2 Corinthians 9 Collection Appeal to Achaia

‍ Day 20: Philemon

‍ Day 21: Philippians 4:10–20 A Thank-you Letter

‍ Day 22: Philippians 1:1–3:1a; 4:4–9 Letter from Prison (part 1)

‍ Day 23: Philippians 21–23 Letter from Prison (part 2)

‍ Day 24: Philippians 3:1b–4:3 Paul’s Testimony and Advice

‍ Day 25: Romans 1–3

‍ Day 26: Romans 4–6 There are likely some insertions from other writers mixed in

‍ Day 27: Romans 7–9

‍ Day 28: Romans 10–12

‍ Day 29: Romans 13–15 There are likely some insertions from other writers mixed in

‍ Day 30: Romans 16 Letter of Recommendation

‍ There are likely some insertions from other writers mixed in 6/3/2015 12:00 pm update: A couple gracious readers have reminded me that, of course, Marcus Borg himself published a chronological reading of the New Testament in 2012, a couple years after The Authentic Letters . He uses the NRSV translation, and he places Philemon and Philippians before 2 Corinthians.

Cassandra Farrin joined Westar in 2010 and currently serves as the Marketing & Outreach Director. A US-UK Fulbright Scholar, she has an M.A. in Religious Studies from Lancaster University (England) and a B.A. in Religious Studies from Willamette University. She is passionate about books and projects that in some way address the intersection of ethics and early Christian history.

Stay in Touch

Subscribe to our email list and receive updates, news, and more.

• Faith & Life
• Marriage & Parenting
• Addiction Recovery
• Unveiling Mormonism

Select Page

The Books Paul Wrote

Watch the video above and talk about it with a group or mentor. Learn more.

Key Points:

Romans : This is Paul’s masterpiece where he explains the deep need all of us have to be made right with God, and the fact that this is only possible through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. 1 Corinthians : Paul points out the kinds of sins churches and Christians can fall into, and invites us to put away those sins and live a life that honors God. 2 Corinthians : In this letter, we learn about the new covenant that we are part of in Christ, which leads to a life of worship of God and service to others. Galatians : Paul demonstrates that salvation is only possible through faith in Christ. Any addition to faith is a compromise to the Gospel. Ephesians : Paul unpacks all the blessings that belong to us in Christ. He shows the nature of faith and the power of the church as the people of God. Philippians : This letter explains the deep joy we should have in life as Christians. Joy for today and joy for tomorrow. Colossians : Jesus is supreme above everything in creation. Because of his work on the cross, we can live lives that honor God. Paul shows us how. 1 Thessalonians : Paul gives us a glimpse of our future, talking about the return of Christ and how to prepare for it. 2 Thessalonians : Paul shares more about our future and the world’s future when Jesus returns. 1 Timothy : Paul explains the organization of the church that will lead to maturity. 2 Timothy : This is Paul’s final letter to the man he mentored. It’s a personal letter that shows us Paul’s heart for God. Titus : This letter to a young man and the church he served shows us how to help each other to maturity. Philemon : Paul writes this letter asking Philemon to forgive his runaway slave who has just become a Christian.

See Also:   New Testament , Theology

• What is your initial reaction to this topic? What jumped out at you?
• How many of Paul’s letters have you read – all or in part?
• What is one important truth or lesson you remember from reading one of Paul’s letters? Why did this impact you?
• Look at the beginning of each book Paul wrote. Identify whether it was written to a person or to a church.
• As you look at the summary of each of Paul’s books, which one are you most interested in reading next? Explain.
• Write a personal action step based on this conversation.

About The Author

PursueGOD Community

The PG Community channel is where we gather videos from trusted YouTubers who aren't yet official authors on our site.

Who Was the Apostle Paul?

by Ryan Nelson | Feb 28, 2019 | Bible characters | 11 comments

The Apostle Paul was one of the most influential leaders of the early Christian church. He played a crucial role in spreading the gospel to the Gentiles (non-Jews) during the first century, and his missionary journeys took him all throughout the Roman empire.

Paul started more than a dozen churches, and he’s traditionally considered the author of 13 books of the Bible —more than any other biblical writer. For this reason, Saint Paul is often considered one of the most influential people in history. He had a greater impact on the world’s religious landscape than any other person besides Jesus, and perhaps Muhammad.

But before he was known as a tireless champion of Christianity, Paul was actually known for persecuting Christians. The Book of Acts tells us that Paul was even present at the death of the first Christian martyr—where he “approved the stoning of Stephen” (Acts 8:1).

Over the last two millennia, countless books have been written about Paul and his teachings. In this beginner’s guide, we’ll explore the basics of what we know—and don’t know—about this important biblical figure.

Here’s what we’re going to cover:

Who was Paul?

Paul’s conversion on the road to damascus, when did paul live, did saul become paul.

• Paul’s ministry to the Gentiles

Paul’s missionary journeys

How many times was paul shipwrecked, assassination attempts against paul, paul’s appeal to caesar.

• Paul’s house arrest

How much of the Bible did Paul write?

How did paul die.

Let’s begin! We’ll start with the basics.

Most of what we know about the Apostle Paul (also known as Saint Paul or Saul of Tarsus) comes from the writings attributed to him and the Book of Acts . However, there are also a couple of writings from the late first and early second centuries that refer to him, including Clement of Rome ’s letter to the Corinthians.

A Hebrew of Hebrews

Before becoming a follower of Christ, Paul was a prime example of a “righteous” Jew. He came from a God-fearing family (2 Timothy 1:3), he was a Pharisee like his father (Acts 23:6), and he was educated by a respected rabbi named Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). His Jewish credentials included his heritage, discipline, and zeal.

In Philippians 3, he explains why if anyone ever had reason to believe that they could be saved by their adherence to Judaism, it was him:

“ If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless. ” —Philippians 3:4–6

He goes on to say that he considers this righteousness “garbage” next to the righteousness that comes from faith in Christ (Philippians 3:8–9).

Paul’s identity used to be rooted in his Jewishness, but after his dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus (more on that later) his identity as a Jew became secondary to his identity as a follower of Christ. He spent much of his ministry dismantling the idea that in order to have a saving faith in Jesus, Gentiles must first “become Jewish” by adopting the Mosaic Law . Being a “Hebrew of Hebrews” lent him credibility and expertise when speaking to Jewish audiences, and helped him speak into the Law’s inability to make people righteous.

A Roman citizen

Paul was born in Tarsus—a prosperous city in the province of Cilicia—which granted him Roman citizenship. This status gave him special privileges, and in some cases saved him from abuse (Acts 22:25–29).

In Acts 25, Paul was put on trial, and his accusers asked that he stand trial in Jerusalem, where they planned to ambush and kill him (Acts 25:3). Paul leveraged his Roman citizenship to demand Caesar himself hear his case (Acts 25:11), and procurator has no choice but to grant him this right. Unfortunately, the book ends before he gets to Caesar—because Paul’s story isn’t the point of Acts .

As a Roman citizen, Paul possessed a coveted status. Some, like the centurion in Acts 22:28, had to pay a lot of money to have it. Others served in the Roman military for 25 years to earn it. But Paul was born into this privilege. And instead of lording this status over everyone, he preached about a citizenship which everyone could choose to claim by accepting Jesus as Lord:

“ But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body. ” —Philippians 3:20–21

A persecutor of Christians

As a Pharisee, before his conversion to Christianity, Paul saw Christians (who were predominantly Jewish at the time) as a scourge against Judaism. From Paul’s perspective, these people were blaspheming about God and leading his people astray. He believed that Jesus was a mere man, and was therefore rightfully executed for claiming to be God.

And since Jesus’ followers kept spreading the idea that Jesus was God, Paul thought Christians were sinners of the worst sort.

So it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Paul made his debut in the Bible as an intense persecutor of Christians. (Though he’s first mentioned by his Hebrew name, Saul—we’ll get to that soon.)

When Stephen was stoned to death for preaching the gospel, “the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul . . . And Saul approved of their killing him” (Acts 7:58–8:1).

Later, Paul asked the high priest for permission to take Christians (known as followers of “the Way”) as prisoners:

“ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. ” —Acts 9:1–2

Paul’s notoriety as a persecutor of Christians made believers uncomfortable around him even after his baptism, and it took a while for them to believe that he’d really changed (Acts 9:26).

A leader in the early Christian church

After putting his faith in Jesus, Paul immediately began preaching publicly (Acts 9:20), and he quickly built a reputation as a formidable teacher (Acts 9:22). Throughout the rest of Acts, Paul is a prominent figure who plays a pivotal role in bringing the gospel to non-Jewish communities.

As we see from Paul’s own letters, he was highly respected in the increasingly scattered Christian communities, many of which he started himself. His letters frequently address problems and questions these churches wrote to him about.

An apostle to the Gentiles

While Paul’s status as a Pharisee and his intense devotion to the Law might have made him well-suited to preach to the Jews, Paul had a different calling. Before Paul ever preached the gospel, Jesus said, “This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel” (Acts 9:15).

Fun fact: Paul did proclaim the name of Jesus to a Gentile king. In Acts 26, he shared the gospel with King Herod Agrippa II while he was on trial in Caesarea.

Paul’s calling as an apostle to the Gentiles was also reinforced by the original apostles . In his letter to the church in Galatians , Paul wanted the Galatians to know that they didn’t need to follow the Law of Moses to be saved. The gospel he preached to them was enough, and they just needed to have faith in Jesus. To prove his point, he told the Galatians that Peter (also known as Cephas), James , and John had nothing to add to Paul’s rendition of the gospel:

“ As for those who were held in high esteem—whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not show favoritism—they added nothing to my message. On the contrary, they recognized that I had been entrusted with the task of preaching the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been to the circumcised. For God, who was at work in Peter as an apostle to the circumcised, was also at work in me as an apostle to the Gentiles. James, Cephas and John, those esteemed as pillars, gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship when they recognized the grace given to me. They agreed that we should go to the Gentiles, and they to the circumcised. ” —Galatians 2:6–9

And if Peter, James, and John had nothing to add to what Paul preached, then why would the Galatians listen to someone else who said there was more they needed to do to be saved?

As an apostle to the Gentiles, not only did Paul need to engage the cultures he was trying to reach, but he had to protect these new believers from the weight of obligation that Jewish Christians often tried to impose on them. He was constantly trying to prove that the Gentiles didn’t need to adopt Jewish customs like circumcision in order to place their faith in Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit.

A missionary

Paul established numerous churches throughout Europe and Asia Minor, and was typically driven toward regions no one had evangelised to before:

“ It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation ” —Romans 15:20

The Book of Acts and Paul’s letters specifically record three missionary journeys to various cities throughout Europe and Asia, each lasting for several years. (We’ll discuss these more later, or you can read more about them now .)

Everywhere he went, Paul established new Christian communities and helped these fledgling believers develop their own leadership. He corresponded with these churches regularly and visited them as often as he could. Occasionally, they financially supported him so that he could continue his ministry elsewhere (Philippians 4:14–18, 2 Corinthians 11:8–9).

A miracle worker

Before Jesus ascended to heaven, he promised his followers they would receive power through the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:8). The Book of Acts records that the apostles performed miracles, and Paul is no exception. He healed people, cast out spirits, and even brought someone back from the dead. (Though to be fair, if Paul hadn’t talked him to sleep, the boy wouldn’t have fallen out of that window to begin with.)

Here are the miracles associated with Paul:

• He made a sorcerer go temporarily blind (Acts 13:11).
• He healed a man who had been lame since birth (Acts 14:8–10).
• He casted out a spirit that was annoying him (Acts 16:16-18).
• He healed people and cast out spirits through items he touched (Acts 19:11–12).
• He resurrected a young man named Eutychus (Acts 20:9-12).
• He was bit by a venomous snake and nothing happened to him (Acts 28:3-5).
• He healed a man with fever and dysentery (Acts 28:8).

To those who saw and heard Paul, these miracles proved his authority from God, just as Jesus’ miracles once demonstrated his (Mark 2:10).

One of the most remarkable aspects of Paul’s life is that as a young man, he was well-known for persecuting Christians, but by the end of his life, he’d endured significant persecution as a Christian. The Book of Acts and Paul’s own letters provide an account of how this dramatic change happened.

“ Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. As he neared Damascus on his journey, suddenly a light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground and heard a voice say to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’ ‘Who are you, Lord?’ Saul asked. ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting,’ he replied. ‘Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do.’ The men traveling with Saul stood there speechless; they heard the sound but did not see anyone. Saul got up from the ground, but when he opened his eyes he could see nothing. So they led him by the hand into Damascus. For three days he was blind, and did not eat or drink anything. ” —Acts 9:1–9

This famous encounter is referred to as the road to Damascus, the Damascene conversion, and the Damascus Christophany (a vision of Christ distinct from his incarnation). On Paul’s way to round up some Christians as prisoners, Jesus stopped him dead in his tracks and crippled him with blindness.

But while Paul now knew the true identity and power of the one he had been persecuting, he had yet to learn Jesus’ grace and power to heal. And for that, he would need to meet a follower of Christ.

“ In Damascus there was a disciple named Ananias. The Lord called to him in a vision, ‘Ananias!’ ‘Yes, Lord,’ he answered. The Lord told him, ‘Go to the house of Judas on Straight Street and ask for a man from Tarsus named Saul, for he is praying. In a vision he has seen a man named Ananias come and place his hands on him to restore his sight.’ ‘Lord,’ Ananias answered, ‘I have heard many reports about this man and all the harm he has done to your holy people in Jerusalem. And he has come here with authority from the chief priests to arrest all who call on your name.’ But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’ Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, ‘Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.’ Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, and after taking some food, he regained his strength. ” —Acts 9:10–19

Paul spent the next few days with the very Christians he had come to capture, and he immediately began preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ—to the confusion of Christians and Jews alike. It would take time for Paul’s reputation as a Christian preacher to outgrow his reputation as a persecutor of Christians.

In his own accounts of his conversion, Paul says that Jesus appeared to him (1 Corinthians 15:7–8), and he claims that Jesus revealed the gospel to him (Galatians 1:11–16).

In his letter to the Corinthians, Paul appeals to the authority of eyewitness testimony, pointing out that Jesus appeared to many people including himself. In his letter to the Galatians, he builds the case that the Galatians can trust the gospel he presented them because it came directly from God, and the first apostles supported his message (Galatians 2:6–9).

This encounter on the road to Damascus completely redefined who Paul was, and it changed the purpose of his journey from silencing Christians to speaking out in support of them. Instead of taking away from their number, he added to it. And once Jesus redirected him, Paul continued on this trajectory for the rest of his life.

Scholars believe Paul was born sometime between 5 BC and 5 AD, and that he died around 64 or 67 AD. While he was a contemporary of Jesus, they never crossed paths—at least, not before Jesus died.

The first century was a tumultuous time for Christianity. The new religion was vulnerable, and it faced opposition everywhere from the Jews who believed it was blasphemy, and from the Romans who believed it challenged Caesar’s authority and created unrest. As a leader in the Jewish community, Paul saw the rapidly spreading Christian community as a threat, and he directly contributed to the persecution early Christians faced.

But after his encounter with Jesus, instead of stamping out Christianity, Paul stoked the flames of the faith wherever he went, at whatever the cost. More than any other person besides Jesus, Paul was the reason Christianity spread so far and so fast.

It’s a common misconception that Paul “used to be Saul,” and that when Jesus called him, he renamed him Paul. You may have heard something like “Saul the persecutor became Paul the persecuted.”

But there’s no verse that says that. And Paul and Saul are actually two versions of the same name.

Shortly after Saul converts to Christianity, Luke tells us he’s also called Paul (Acts 13:9), and for the most part the rest of the Bible refers to him as Paul. But Jesus doesn’t refer to him as Paul, and he was still called Saul 11 more times after his conversion.

It’s true that in the Old Testament, God occasionally changed people’s names (Abram became Abraham in Genesis 17:5, and Jacob became Israel in Genesis 32:28) to represent significant changes in their identity. But that’s not what happened here.

The reality is that Saul was a Hebrew name and Paul was a Greek version of the same name. (Similar to how “James” is the Greek form of “Jacob,” and “Judas” is the Greek form of “Judah.”) As Paul began to evangelize Greek communities (and since most of the New Testament was written in Greek), it makes sense that we see the Greek version of his name most after his conversion.

Paul’s ministry to the gentiles

Of all the ways Paul affected Christianity, the biggest was arguably his role in spreading the gospel to non-Jewish communities. He certainly wasn’t the only apostle to do so, but he is known as the “apostle to the Gentiles” because that’s who Jesus specifically called him to minister to (Acts 9:15), he and the other apostles agreed that was his role (Galatians 2:7), and that was undeniably the focus of his ministry.

When Christianity emerged, it was often thought of as a Jewish sect—it built on Jewish teachings and beliefs, and because most Christians were also Jewish, many still followed Jewish customs and rituals established in the Law of Moses.

But Christianity was radically different from Judaism, and while many early Christians followed the Law, it wasn’t a prerequisite for believing in Jesus. The Law of Moses and the old covenant it bound them to had been replaced by Jesus’ new covenant, and the law of love (John 13:34-35).

For Paul, the apostles, and the early Christians, the Law (and specifically, circumcision) was one of the greatest theological issues of their day. First-century Jews had grown up believing the Law was central to their identity as God’s chosen people, and they struggled to fully grasp that Jesus rendered the Law obsolete (Hebrews 8:13).

The apostles agree with Paul

Paul constantly wrote to Gentile Christians to tell them not to worry about circumcision (as you can imagine, uncircumcised adults were rightfully freaked out by the idea that they’d have to do this), and in Acts 15, the apostles met with Paul and Barnabas to officially settle the matter, because pockets of Jewish Christians were continuing to tell Gentiles to get circumcised.

Peter argued that God hadn’t discriminated between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians because he’d given them both the Holy Spirit, and if in the entire history of Judaism no one had been able to keep the Law (except Jesus), then why would they put that burden on the Gentiles (Acts 15:7-11)?

After listening to everyone, the Apostle James concluded:

“ It is my judgment, therefore, that we should not make it difficult for the Gentiles who are turning to God. Instead we should write to them, telling them to abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood. For the law of Moses has been preached in every city from the earliest times and is read in the synagogues on every Sabbath. ” —Acts 15:19–21

If you’ll notice, the apostles didn’t decide that Gentiles should follow “the most important” commandments, or the Big Ten, or anything like that. Instead, they essentially instructed Gentiles be culturally sensitive to their Jewish brothers and sisters, because the Law was respected and observed by Jews everywhere.

But despite the apostles’ agreement that Gentiles didn’t have to adopt Jewish customs to be Christian, Jewish Christians still saw law-observing Christians as superior, and even Peter let himself get pressured into playing favorites.

Paul wasn’t going to let that slide.

Paul confronts Peter

After he received a vision (Acts 10:9–16), Peter was one of the first apostles to specifically advocate for sharing the gospel with Gentiles. But as the Gentiles joined the church, Paul noticed that Peter still treated Gentile Christians differently in order to save face with those who still valued the law.

So Paul called him out on it.

“ When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself from the Gentiles because he was afraid of those who belonged to the circumcision group. The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray. When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Cephas in front of them all, ‘You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then, that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? ‘We who are Jews by birth and not sinful Gentiles know that a person is not justified by the works of the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law, because by the works of the law no one will be justified. ’” —Galatians 2:11–16

Paul goes on to say that “if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” (Galatians 2:21). And as he explained earlier in his epistle to the Galatians, Peter, James, and John already agreed with him: the Gentiles did not need to follow the Law of Moses, and Jewish Christians were not better or superior than Gentile Christians because they did follow the Law.

Not a fun fact: Even though Paul argued that Christians didn’t need to be circumcised in Acts 15, he circumcised Timothy in the very next chapter “because of the Jews who lived in that area” (Acts 16:1–3).

Acts records three missionary journeys that took Paul throughout Asia Minor, Cyprus, Greece, Macedonia, and Syria. Some scholars argue there was a fourth missionary journey as well. In each of these, Paul and his companions set out to bring the gospel to Gentiles, and they establish the churches Paul wrote to in his epistles (as well as many others).

In some cases, Paul spent well over a year in the cities he preached to, living with the believers there and modeling a lifestyle of imitating Christ. Over the course of his life, Paul likely traveled well over 10,000 miles to spread the gospel.

Paul’s first missionary journey (Acts 13–14)

Paul’s first journey began in Antioch with a calling from the Holy Spirit (Acts 13:2–3). He left the church with Barnabas and a man named John (also called Mark, believed to be the author of the Gospel of Mark ), and together they sailed to Cyprus , an island in the Mediterranean.

Here Paul performed his first miracle, perhaps inspired by his own conversion on the road to Damascus: he blinded a sorcerer who opposed their attempts to evangelize a proconsul (Acts 13:10–12).

Then they sailed to Perga in Pamphylia , where John Mark parted ways with Paul and Barnabas (this became a point of tension between Paul and Barnabas later). From there, Paul and Barnabas went to Psidion Antioch , a city in the mountains of Turkey.

In Psidion Antioch, Paul and Barnabas entered a synagogue during the Sabbath, and Paul preached the gospel to Jews and Gentiles alike. They were invited to come speak on the following Sabbath, and when they did, most of the city attended. Many of the Jews in attendance grew angry and tried to stop them, but the Gentiles were receptive to their message.Paul and Barnabas ultimately left Psidion Antioch due to persecution, and traveled to another Turkish city called Iconium . They spent “considerable time there” (Acts 14:3), and the city became increasingly divided: some Jews and Gentiles supported them, and others reviled them. Those who opposed Paul and Barnabas started a plot to stone them, but they caught wind of it and fled to the Lycaonian city of Lystra .

There, Paul performed another miracle: he healed a man who had been lame since birth (Acts 14:8-10). The people who saw this thought Paul and Barnabas were gods, and attempted to make sacrifices to them even as Paul and Barnabas tried to convince them not to.

Some of the people who opposed them in Psidion Antioch and Iconium followed them to Lystra , and they stirred up the crowd against them. They stoned Paul and left him for dead outside the city. Then he got up and went back in. The next day they left for Derbe , another Lycaonian city where they “won a large number of disciples” (Acts 14:21).

From Derbe , Paul and Barnabas looped back through the cities they’d already preached to, encouraging the new believers there and appointing elders for each church.

Paul’s second missionary journey (Acts 15:36–18:22)

After staying in Antioch for awhile, Paul asked Barnabas to go with him to visit the churches they’d established together. Barnabas wanted to bring John Mark again, but Paul didn’t think John Mark should come since he’d abandoned them before. So Paul and Barnabas parted ways: Barnabas took John Mark to Cyprus , and Paul took a man named Silas to Syria and Cilicia .

Paul and Silas travelled through Derbe and then Lystra , where they picked up a believer named Timothy (this is the Timothy Paul writes to in 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy ). Together they traveled from town to town and told people what the apostles had decided at the Council of Jerusalem where James told Gentile Christians not to worry about circumcision, which was pretty ironic, because Paul had just circumcised Timothy (Acts 16:3).

The Holy Spirit kept Paul and his companions from preaching in the province of Asia , so they went to Phrygia and Galatia (where they planted the church Paul would later write to in Galatians ), eventually making their way to Troas .

Fun fact: “Asia” used to refer to a very specific region in part of what we know as Turkey today, but westerners began using the name to describe pretty much anything east of them, until they eventually used it for the whole continent.

Paul had a vision which led the group to Macedonia , and interestingly, here the author of Acts begins to include themself in the story “After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them” (Acts 16:10, emphasis added).

They wound their way through several provinces to arrive in Philippi , the main city in Macedonia . Here they met with a group of women, including a wealthy cloth dealer named Lydia. After they baptized Lydia and her household, she invited them to stay at her house. These were the first members of the church Paul writes to in Philippians .

During their time in Philippi , a spirit that possessed a local slave girl was bothering Paul, so he cast it out of her (Acts 16:18). Normally people are ecstatic when that happens, but the slave girl’s owners had been making money off of her because of the spirit , so they were pretty mad. They got everyone riled up against Paul and Silas and managed to convince the local authorities to have them beaten and imprisoned.

While Paul and Silas were in jail, there was an earthquake, and the prison doors opened and everyone’s chains came loose, but no one tried to escape. Paul and Silas shared the gospel with the jailer, and once they were freed, they returned to Lydia’s house, and then left for Thessalonica .

For three Sabbaths, Paul taught in the synagogues and established the group of believers that he would later write to in 1 Thessalonians and 2 Thessalonians . He gained many followers, but those who opposed him started a riot and threatened his supporters, so the believers sent him on to Berea .

The Berean Jews “received the message with great eagerness and examined the Scriptures every day to see if what Paul said was true” (Acts 17:11). Unfortunately, some of those who opposed Paul and his companions in Thessalonica heard he was in Berea , so they came and started causing trouble. Paul left to Athens . Silas and Timothy stayed behind, but would catch up later.

The Athenians were accustomed to discussing new ideas, and they’d never heard the message Paul preached before, so they were intrigued and debated with him. Some of his listeners became believers, and then he left for Corinth .

Paul stayed in Corinth for a year and a half, preaching in the synagogues and gaining both Jewish and Gentile followers from a range of social statuses, forming the group of believers he would later write to in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians . He stayed with two named Aquila and Priscilla, who were tentmakers, like him. Silas and Timothy rejoined him here.

The Jews who opposed Paul tried to bring charges against him based on Jewish law, but the Roman proconsul wasn’t interested in hearing their case. Paul left with Priscilla and Aquila and journeyed to Ephesus .

In Ephesus , Paul went into the synagogue and reasoned with the Jews and promised to return if he could. Then he made his way back to Jerusalem and Antioch, where his second journey ended.

Paul’s third missionary journey (Acts 18:23–20:38)

Paul began his third missionary journey by returning to Galatia and Phrygia , where he continued building up the churches he’d established.

From there, Paul traveled back to Ephesus , where he encountered some believers who weren’t familiar with the Holy Spirit, because they’d been taught by Apollos, who didn’t have a complete grasp of the gospel at the time.

Paul remained in Ephesus for more than two years, and during that time he transitioned from teaching in the synagogue to discussing the gospel in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. Acts records that “all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord” (Acts 19:10).

During this time, Paul did many miracles, and even things he touched were reported to have healed people (Acts 19:12). After a dangerous evil spirit claimed to know Jesus and Paul, people flocked to Paul and his followers and the church grew quickly.

Around this time, Paul decided to head to Jerusalem , so he journeyed through Macedonia and Achaia , and made plans to stop in Rome . Meanwhile, Ephesus was in uproar, because Christianity’s explosive growth had stifled businesses that relied on idol worship.

The city was on the brink of rioting, and Paul wanted to return to help his companions, but the city clerk managed to de-escalate the situation without him. (Which was a good thing, because those business owners were pretty mad at Paul, and they probably would’ve killed him.)

Paul spent three months in Greece , then returned to Macedonia to avoid some people who were plotting against him. In Troas (a city in Macedonia ), Paul was teaching in an upper room when a young man fell asleep and tumbled out the window, falling to his death. Paul revived him, then left.

In a rush to reach Jerusalem , Paul bounced from Troas to Assos , Mitylene , Chios , and finally Miletus , where he asked the elders from Ephesus to meet him. After encouraging them, he boarded a ship and returned to Jerusalem , even after numerous Christians warned him not to go there.

Paul’s fourth missionary journey (?)

Some argue that Paul made a fourth missionary journey as well, since some of his letters refer to events and visits that may not be accounted for in Acts. This largely depends on whether Paul was imprisoned in Rome once, or twice, which his letters are ambiguous about.Paul suggested he would travel to Spain (Romans 15:24), but he provides no record of this journey in his letters. However, early church fathers claimed Paul did, in fact, travel to Spain.

In his letter to the Corinthians, first-century church father Clement of Rome said Paul “had gone to the extremity of the west,” which at the time presumably meant Spain. Fourth-century church father John of Chrysostom said “For after he had been in Rome, he returned to Spain, but whether he came thence again into these parts, we know not.” And Cyril of Jerusalem (also from the fourth century) wrote that Paul “carried the earnestness of his preaching as far as Spain.”

Still, scholars can’t be sure that Paul did make this fourth journey, as the primary sources for his other three journeys (Acts and the epistles) don’t give us an explicit account of it.

On many of Paul’s journeys, he travelled by boat. As you can imagine, boats weren’t nearly as safe in the first century—especially on long voyages. In his second letter to the Corinthians, which was likely written before his final trip to Jerusalem, Paul claims he was shipwrecked three times:

“ Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I was adrift at sea; ” —2 Corinthians 11:25

There’s no other record of these wrecks in the epistles or in Acts, but Acts 27 does record a fourth shipwreck in far more detail. On Paul’s way to trial in Rome, his boat encounters a brutal storm and dangerous waters. The soldiers took drastic measures, but an angel spoke to Paul, and he encouraged and advised them along the way.

During his ministry, Paul made a lot of people mad. On six occasions in Acts, Jews and Gentiles alike made plans to murder him—and one of those times, they stoned him and left him for dead.

Only counting the times the Bible explicitly says they planned to kill him, not just attack or harm him, here they in sequential order.

1. In Damascus

Just after his conversion on the road to Damascus, Paul began preaching in the synagogues. After several days, people began planning to kill him, and they watched the city gates day and night. His followers smuggled him in and out of the city in a basket (Acts 9:23–25).

2. In Jerusalem

When Paul left Damascus, he went to Jerusalem and tried to join the disciples there. He began debating with Hellenistic Jews, and they tried to kill him, so the Christians took him to Caesarea an sent him home to Tarsus (Acts 9:26–30).

3. In Iconium

Paul and Barnabas spent a long time in Iconium, and the city was divided: some people supported them, and others hated them. Jews and Gentiles alike plotted to stone them, and when Paul and Barnabas found out, they fled to Lystra (Acts 14:4–6).

4. In Lystra

After Paul healed a man in Lystra, people thought he and Barnabas were the gods, Zeus and Hermes, and attempted to sacrifice to them. But then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and convinced this crowd to actually stone Paul. They thought they killed him, so they left him outside the city gate. (He was still alive.) Then he and Barnabas left (Acts 14:8–20).

5. In Jerusalem (again)

After Paul insulted the high priest and sparked an intense theological debate between the Sadducees and Pharisees, a group of more than 40 men took a vow not to eat or drink until they killed Paul (Acts 23:12–13).

Their plan was to have a centurion send Paul to the Sanhedrin for questioning, and then kill him on the way. But someone warned the centurion of the plan, and instead, he rounded up nearly 500 soldiers to take Paul to the governor in Caesarea.

6. In Caesarea

Years later, Paul was still being held prisoner, and there was a new proconsul named Porcius Festus was in charge. Paul’s accusers requested that Paul be sent back to Jerusalem “for they were preparing an ambush to kill him along the way” (Acts 25:3).

Festus refused, and told them to make their case in Caesarea, where Paul used his privilege as a Roman citizen to make a bold request.

When Paul was first imprisoned in Caesarea, he made his appeal to Governor Felix, then waited two years in prison with no progress. (Governor Felix strung him along because he wanted the Jews to like him, and he hoped Paul would bribe him.)

Porcius Festus succeeded Felix and after hearing Paul defend himself, he asked Paul if would be willing to stand trial in Jerusalem.

Tired of his case dragging on to appease his Jewish accusers, Paul claimed his right as a Roman to appeal to Caesar:

“ I am now standing before Caesar’s court, where I ought to be tried. I have not done any wrong to the Jews, as you yourself know very well. If, however, I am guilty of doing anything deserving death, I do not refuse to die. But if the charges brought against me by these Jews are not true, no one has the right to hand me over to them. I appeal to Caesar!” After Festus had conferred with his council, he declared: “You have appealed to Caesar. To Caesar you will go! ” —Acts 25:10–12

Unfortunately, the Book of Acts ends before Paul’s trial before Caesar. But before he leaves Caesarea, another ruler—King Herod Agrippa II—hears his case, and tells Festus:

“ This man could have been set free if he had not appealed to Caesar. ” —Acts 26:32

Perhaps Paul hoped appealing to Caesar would finally put an end to his case, but unfortunately, it dragged them out even further.

Or . . . perhaps it was a strategic move on Paul’s part to testify about Christ to the leaders of the Roman empire. Having Caesar’s court and the Roman justice system as his captive audience might have been Paul’s play all along.

Paul’s house arrest (Acts 28:14–31)

By appealing to Caesar, Paul forced Festus to send him to Rome to await trial. When he finally arrived, “Paul was allowed to live by himself, with a soldier to guard him” (Acts 28:16). Here, Paul preached freely to the Jews in Rome for two years. Scholars believe this is likely when he wrote his letter to the Philippians , because he references being in chains (Philippians 1:12–13).

The Book of Acts ends with Paul under house arrest, and we don’t learn much more about the situation from the epistles, and scholars debate about whether or not Paul was ever released from house arrest. Some argue that his letters speak of his imprisonment in the past tense and make references to things that could have only occurred after his house arrest.

For example, in 2 Timothy (believed to have been written shortly before his death) he appears to reference a recent trip to Troas (2 Timothy 4:13), which would’ve been impossible if he’d already been imprisoned in Caesarea for more than two years before his house arrest in Rome.

Whether or not Paul made a fourth missionary journey (possibly to Spain) largely depends on if he was imprisoned in Rome once or twice.

The Apostle Paul is traditionally considered the author of 13 books of the New Testament . While Moses still holds the title for writing the most words in the Bible (traditionally), Paul wrote the most documents . (Well, unless you count each individual Psalm as a document, in which case David wins .) The books attributed to him include:

• 1 Corinthians
• 2 Corinthians
• 1 Thessalonians
• 2 Thessalonians

These books are actually letters—or epistles—which were written to churches Paul planted and people he presumably encountered on the missionary journeys we see in the Book of Acts. The letters reference many of the events recorded in Acts, which scholars have used to construct more clear timelines of Paul’s life and ministry.

But not everyone agrees that Paul wrote all of these letters. Most scholars (critical and conservative) believe that Paul did write seven of them: Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. But the remaining six letters have raised some questions, and scholars debate whether or not they can really be attributed to Paul.

Colossians makes some questionable references which Paul doesn’t make anywhere else (he calls Jesus “the image of the invisible God” in Colossians 1:15), and which align more with later Christian theology (like that found in John’s gospel ), so some have argued it was written by Paul’s followers after his death.

Ephesians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus all have very different styles than Paul’s other letters. This could mean Paul simply had a different purpose in writing them, or that Paul’s writing style changed over the course of his ministry, but the epistles to Timothy and Titus also have very different vocabulary and even theology than we see in other Pauline writings.

Many Christians would be surprised to learn that these academic debates are even happening, because these letters are all signed by Paul. But scholars argue that these epistles are actually pseudepigrapha : writings that claim to be written by someone who was not the actual author.

Some pseudepigrapha is harmless, produced out of convenience, necessity, or accepted practices of the time (such as a student writing on behalf of a teacher, with the approval and authority of the teacher). Others, like many of the Gnostic gospels , were blatant forgeries written to advance a theological position.

At worst, someone wrote these letters and deceitfully signed Paul’s name to make them more authoritative. But many scholars believe it’s more likely that Paul asked his companions to write them, told them what to write, and signed his name. This would explain differences in style and vocabulary without really losing the letters’ authenticity.

Did Paul write the Book of Hebrews?

Almost all scholars today agree that Paul didn’t write Hebrews, and the true biblical author remains unknown. However, the early church assumed the letter was written by Paul, and even included it in early collections of his writings. This was contested as early as the second and third centuries, but for more than a millennia the church largely believed Paul wrote it.

Early Christian writers even suggested possible alternative authors. Tertullian (c. 155–240 AD) proposed that it was written by Barnabas. Hippolytus (c. 170–235 AD) believed it was Clement of Rome .

The father of church history, Eusebius of Caesarea (c. 260–339 AD) noted that “some have rejected the Epistle to the Hebrews, saying that it is disputed by the church of Rome, on the ground that it was not written by Paul” ( Church History ). But he himself held the view that Paul wrote the letter in Hebrew and simply chose not to sign it, and then Luke translated it to Greek.

Today, it’s not really even up for debate. Donald Guthrie wrote in his New Testament Introduction that “most modern writers find more difficulty in imagining how this Epistle was ever attributed to Paul than in disposing of the theory.”

We will likely never know who really wrote Hebrews. But we can be pretty confident that it wasn’t Paul.

The Bible doesn’t tell us how Paul died, but numerous early church fathers wrote that he was martyred—specifically, he was beheaded, probably by emperor Nero, which would mean it had to be sometime before 68 AD.

Clement of Rome provided the earliest surviving record of Paul’s death in his letter to the Corinthians (known as 1 Clement), where he mentions that Paul and Peter were martyred.

An apocryphal work from the second century known as The Acts of Paul says that Nero had Paul decapitated. And in 200 AD, Tertullian wrote that Paul’s death was like John the Baptist’s (decapitation). Other early Christian writers support these claims and provide some additional details like where it happened (Rome) and where he was buried (the Ostian Way at Rome).

Paul’s remains

In 2002, archaeologists found a large marble sarcophagus near the location Jerome and Caius described. It had “ PAULO APOSTOLO MART ” (Paul apostle martyr) written on it. No one ever opened the sarcophagus, but using a probe and carbon dating, archaeologists estimated that the remains inside were from the first or second century. The Vatican claims these are in fact the remains of Saint Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

Paul: apostle, missionary, writer, martyr

From the moment he became a believer in Christ, Paul’s life was transformed. While Jesus didn’t give Saul a new name, he did give him a new purpose: one that redefined his life. Instead of persecuting Christians, Paul was called to be persecuted as one of them.

Despite never witnessing Jesus’ ministry, Paul arguably contributed more to the growth of the Christian movement than any other apostle. He laid the foundation for missions work that has continued around the world today, and through his life he modeled evangelism, discipleship, perseverance, and suffering—for the Christians who knew him, and for every believer today.

Explore the Bible with us!

We create research-based articles and handy infographics to help people understand the Bible.

Join our email list, and we’ll send you some of our best free resources—plus we’ll tell you whenever we make something new.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

11 comments.

It’s Sunday morning and my grandson Paul is on his honeymoon. He is named after his great grandfather my dad a caring man that touch many lives especially young boys trough being a Boy Scout master for over forty years. As I sat here this morning thinking of my grandson Paul I decided I wanted to learn more about Paul in the Bible that he was named after through generations and I must say I have not only learned a great deal but your writing style was wonderful even though some of the parts of his life pulled at my heart I then focused on all the amazing things he did to serve our awesome God! A new found reader, Paul’s Mima

Thank you for such an informative piece of writing and breaking down of scriptures, with supporting ref’s. This has help me understand and see the word in a different light, especially Paul’s works.

Absolutely love it.

Thanks, keep up the good work.

There is no book of Paul just his letters, however it is very clear that God used him as a post disciple of Christ Jesus to solidify the truth. Paul’s truth moves us into Revelations as the Church of Ephesus is taken into account of the last days. My fellow Christians we are to ensure other Christians to live up to our heavenly calling.

What a wonderful synopsis of Paul. I am enthralled.

As a GA in my teens I wrote and mapped Paul’s Missionary Journeys. Wonderful maps. I will have to reread this several times to add to my thinking and understanding. Paul was born a Jew with Roman citizenship. He had an elite education. Like his father he was a Pharisee but grafted into Christianity through conversion. Love the name clarification:Paul and Saul. Excellent information in a very understandable way.

I like the map you two put together; it’s clean and crisp looking, and very helpful with where the pertinent towns and country locations. I’m in the process of putting together a book about the three Pastorals and was wondering if you might allow me to use your map as the book cover (front and back – wraparound cover). I would, of course, give you credit for having created the map – cover sheet. I’m just brain-storming here, with you, I’ve been thinking about using such a cover sheet for some time now, and your map just strikes me as being the best one I’ve seen.

Please get back with me, even if you’re not interested in my idea, Thank you, Robin Riley

Glad you like the maps! You’re welcome to include them in a blog post or even a figure within your book with attribution, but we don’t want these to be used as a book cover. If you like the style, you’re also welcome to connect with the artist (Liz Donovan) on dribble or via email.

Dribbble: https://dribbble.com/lizlovesdesign Email: [email protected]

I really enjoyed your history of Pauls life , ministry , journeys etc ,. I am excited to see what you give us next …

Some sources might help your case there, friend.

For my part, I’m not surprised that it would take some time to go from “breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples” (Acts 9:1) to risking your own murder for the sake of making disciples. That’s a huge shift—even a three-year turnaround sounds pretty speedy to me. Just overcoming the feelings of guilt alone would be a time-consuming undertaking.

Thank you so much for the Interesting history of Paul and the guide God bless you

That is a rather good summary … Well Done!

Thanks very much for the guide

• Bible Books
• Bible characters
• Bible facts
• Bible materials
• Bible topics

Recent Posts

• Interesting Facts about the Bible
• Logos Bible Software 10 review: Do you REALLY need it?
• Who Was Herod? Wait… There Were How Many Herods?!
• 16 Facts About King David
• Moses: The Old Testament’s Greatest Prophet

Privacy Overview

• Games & Quizzes
• History & Society
• Science & Tech
• Biographies
• Animals & Nature
• Geography & Travel
• Arts & Culture
• On This Day
• One Good Fact
• New Articles
• Lifestyles & Social Issues
• Philosophy & Religion
• Politics, Law & Government
• World History
• Health & Medicine
• Browse Biographies
• Birds, Reptiles & Other Vertebrates
• Bugs, Mollusks & Other Invertebrates
• Environment
• Fossils & Geologic Time
• Entertainment & Pop Culture
• Sports & Recreation
• Visual Arts
• Demystified
• Image Galleries
• Infographics
• Top Questions
• Britannica Kids
• Saving Earth
• Space Next 50
• Student Center

St. Paul’s Contributions to the New Testament

Although St. Paul was not one of the original 12 Apostles of Jesus , he was one of the most prolific contributors to the New Testament . Of the 27 books in the New Testament, 13 or 14 are traditionally attributed to Paul, though only 7 of these Pauline epistles are accepted as being entirely authentic and dictated by St. Paul himself. The authorship of the others is debated, and they are commonly thought to have come from contemporary or later followers writing in Paul’s name. These authors likely used material from his surviving letters and may have even had access to letters written by him that no longer survive. Read on to learn which Biblical books St. Paul is known to have authored and which ones he probably did not write himself.

Letter of Paul to the Romans

The sixth book of the New Testament, the Letter of Paul to the Romans , was written by St. Paul while he was in Corinth about 57 CE. It was addressed to the Christian church at Rome, whose congregation he hoped to visit for the first time on his way to Spain. The epistle is the longest and doctrinally most significant of St. Paul’s writings and is more of a theological treatise than a letter. In it he acknowledges the unique religious heritage of the Jews (prior to his conversion, Paul was a Jewish Pharisee ) but asserts that righteousness no longer comes through the Mosaic Law but through Christ .

First and Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians

The First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians and the Second Letter of Paul to the Corinthians were both written by St. Paul. The first letter was probably written about 53–54 CE at  Ephesus and addresses some of the problems that arose in the new Christian community that he had established in Corinth during his initial missionary visit (c. 50–51). The second letter was written from Macedonia about 55 CE and applauds the Corinthians’ response to his first letter and reaffirms his apostolic authority. The letters deal with a church of Gentile Christians and are therefore the best evidence of how St. Paul operated on Gentile territory.

Letter of Paul to the Galatians

The Letter of Paul to the Galatians , the ninth book of the New Testament, was authored by St. Paul. The letter was likely written between 53–54 CE and addresses division within the Christian community about whether new converts needed to be circumcised and follow the prescriptions of the Mosaic Law. He reaffirms his teaching that Jewish law is no longer the exclusive path to righteousness and argues that Christians have a new freedom in Christ. The letter is very forceful and specific in dealing with the problems concerned and is the only epistle without kindly ingression, thanksgiving, or personal greetings appended to the final blessings.

Letter of Paul to the Ephesians

Although the Letter of Paul to the Ephesians has been attributed to St. Paul, it is more likely the work of one of his disciples. Scholars think the letter was probably written before 90 CE and that the author consulted St. Paul’s letter to the Colossians as a reference. Of the 155 verses in Ephesians, 73 have verbal parallels with Colossians. When parallels to genuine Pauline letters are added, 85 percent of Ephesians is duplicated elsewhere. This and several other contested letters are usually designated as “deuter-Pauline epistles” to indicate that they were probably written by St. Paul’s followers after his death.

Letter of Paul to the Philippians

The Letter of Paul to the Philippians is believed to have been written by St. Paul while he was in prison, probably at Rome about 62 CE. According to several scholars, the canonical work is likely a later collection of fragments of Paul’s correspondence with the congregation in Philippi. Apprehensive that his execution was close at hand, yet hoping somehow to visit the Philippians again, St. Paul explains that he welcomes death for Jesus’ sake but is equally concerned to continue his apostolate.

Letter of Paul to the Colossians

The authorship of the Letter of Paul to the Colossians is debated. For some scholars, the developed theology of the letter indicates that it was composed by St. Paul during his imprisonment in Rome about 62 CE. Others question Pauline authorship on the basis of the distinctive vocabulary and suggest that it is a deuter-Pauline epistle, written by Paul’s followers after his death. Given its similarities to the Letter of Paul to Philemon , some have suggested that a later Paulinist simply changed details to meet a different situation.

First and Second Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians

The first Letter of Paul to the Thessalonians was likely written by St. Paul from Corinth about 50 CE. However, the second letter is possibly deuter-Pauline in origin, though this is debated. Second Thessalonians is obviously an imitation of the style of First Thessalonians but seems to reflect a later time. Additionally, given that there is notable ambiguity about the proximity of Christ’s Second Coming , its authorship by St. Paul is doubted.

First and Second Letter of Paul to Timothy

Neither of the two Letters of Paul to Timothy are thought to have been written by St. Paul. Linguistic facts—such as short connectives, particles, and other syntactical peculiarities; use of different words for the same things; and repeated unusual phrases otherwise not used by Paul—offer fairly conclusive evidence against Pauline authorship and authenticity. Both epistles are usually considered “trito-Pauline,” meaning that they were probably written by members of the Pauline school a generation after his death, likely between 80 and 100 CE.

Letter of Paul to Titus

The authorship of the Letter of Paul to Titus is disputed. Given many of the similarities in content and style to the two Letters of Paul to Timothy, it is possible that this work is also a trito-Pauline epistle, written a generation after the death of St. Paul. In fact, the three letters together are often called Pastoral Letters, as they were written to instruct and admonish the recipients in their pastoral office rather than to address the specific problems of congregations like many of the other Pauline epistles.

Letter of Paul to Philemon

The Letter of Paul to Philemon was probably composed by St. Paul in a Roman prison about 61 CE, though some sources date it earlier. The brief epistle was written to Philemon, a wealthy Christian of Colossae, on behalf of Onesimus, Philemon’s former slave. While passing no judgment on slavery itself, Paul exhorts Philemon to manifest true Christian love that removes barriers between slaves and free people.

Letter to the Hebrews

While the Letter to the Hebrews has traditionally been ascribed to St. Paul, the work does not contain a salutation with the name of the author. The book is still included in the Pauline corpus in the East but not in the West. Given that the thoughts, metaphors, and ideas of Hebrews are distinct from the rest of the New Testament , most scholars doubt that it was written by St. Paul or his followers. Various authors have been suggested over the ages, and it is possible that the work was composed by a Jewish convert among the second generation of Christians suffering persecution.

• Christian Books & Bibles
• Bible Study & Reference

Sorry, there was a problem.

Download the free Kindle app and start reading Kindle books instantly on your smartphone, tablet, or computer - no Kindle device required .

Read instantly on your browser with Kindle for Web.

Using your mobile phone camera - scan the code below and download the Kindle app.

Image Unavailable

• To view this video download Flash Player

Follow the authors

The Apostle: A Life of Paul Paperback – January 1, 2012

The drama of a novel meets scholarship in leading Christian biographer John Pollock's classic work about one of the most transforming persons in history: the apostle Paul.

The Apostle masterfully combines careful adherence to biblical text, detailed research, and a storyteller's gift to create a book equally relevant for both casual readers fascinated by Paul's life and serious biblical scholars. Pollock begins his fast-movig narrative with Stephen's death and follows Paul through his conversion, missionary journeys, and eventual execution. Many will enjoy it simply as a satisfying and insightful true-life story, although maps and a study guide allow for deeper exploration. The Apostle was originally published in 1969, and this new edition marks the first significant revision in many years.

• Print length 304 pages
• Language English
• Publisher David C. Cook
• Publication date January 1, 2012
• Dimensions 5.98 x 0.76 x 8.98 inches
• ISBN-10 0781405734
• ISBN-13 978-0781405737
• See all details

From the Publisher

Editorial Reviews

About the author.

John Pollock was one of the preeminent Christian biographers of his generation. Over four million copies of his books have been sold in English alone, works that covered the lives of Hudson Taylor, William Wilberforce, and John Wesley. He also wrote The Master: A Life of Jesus , and served as Billy Graham's official biographer. John and his wife Anne traveled widely in many parts of the world for the purposes of research.

Product details

• Publisher ‏ : ‎ David C. Cook; 3rd ed. edition (January 1, 2012)
• Language ‏ : ‎ English
• Paperback ‏ : ‎ 304 pages
• ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0781405734
• ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0781405737
• Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
• Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.98 x 0.76 x 8.98 inches
• #35 in New Testament Biographies
• #1,359 in Christian Bible Study (Books)

About the authors

John charles pollock.

Discover more of the author’s books, see similar authors, read author blogs and more

John Pollock

Customer reviews.

Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them.

To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Instead, our system considers things like how recent a review is and if the reviewer bought the item on Amazon. It also analyzed reviews to verify trustworthiness.

Reviews with images

• Sort reviews by Top reviews Most recent Top reviews

Top reviews from the United States

There was a problem filtering reviews right now. please try again later..

Top reviews from other countries

• About Amazon
• Investor Relations
• Amazon Devices
• Amazon Science
• Sell products on Amazon
• Sell on Amazon Business
• Sell apps on Amazon
• Become an Affiliate
• Advertise Your Products
• Self-Publish with Us
• Host an Amazon Hub
• › See More Make Money with Us
• Amazon Business Card
• Shop with Points
• Reload Your Balance
• Amazon Currency Converter
• Amazon and COVID-19
• Your Account
• Your Orders
• Shipping Rates & Policies
• Returns & Replacements
• Manage Your Content and Devices
• Amazon Assistant

• Conditions of Use
• Privacy Notice
• Consumer Health Data Privacy Disclosure
• Your Ads Privacy Choices

• Programs and Events
• Christian Growth
• Christian Jokes
• Profiles & Biography
• Biblical Questions & Answers

• Apologetics
• Various Lessons

List Of Books In The Bible Written By Apostle Paul

Apostle Paul wrote 13 books of the New Testament

See The List Of Books In The Bible Written By Paul

• The Book Of Romans Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of 1 Corinthians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of 2 Corinthians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of Galatians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of Ephesians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of Philippians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of Colossians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of 1 Thessalonians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of 2 Thessalonians Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of 1 Timothy Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of 2 Timothy Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of Titus Was Written By Paul
• The Book Of Philemon Was Written By Paul

Recommended:  Amazing Bible Facts And Statistics

List Of All Books Of The Bible And Their Authors

Complete List of Apostle Paul’s Prayers In The Bible

List Of Names In The Bible & Meaning From A To Z

RELATED ARTICLES MORE FROM AUTHOR

What Is The Mission Of The Church?

Can a Christian Lose His Salvation?

Where Do Americans Stand on Anti-Israel Campus Chaos? Here’s the Answer

10 comments.

This is really nice.

This is lovely

This is amazing

That’s marvelous

This page is inspiring. Thank you.

Comment: please i need to go to school of bible

That really nice

I like this cause it inspires me

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Editor picks.

Ex-North Korean Military Officer Finds Christ, Converts To Christianity

Newly Married U.S. Missionary Couple Davy and Natalie Lloyd Killed in...

Popular posts.

Muslims Turning To Christ In Great Numbers Through Dreams And Visions

List Of Songs By Victoria Orenze

A Group Of Lions Save Christians From Execution By Islamic Militants

Popular category.

• Persecution 1136
• Church & Ministry 853
• Testimony 754
• Programs and Events 701
• Profiles & Biography 665
• Advertisement

The Definitive Voice of Entertainment News

Subscribe for full access to The Hollywood Reporter

site categories

Paul mccartney will hate their new beatles book (almost as much as he hated their last one).

'All You Need Is Love' authors Steven Gaines and Peter Brown come together for a dishy conversation about their 40-years-in-the-making best-selling sequel to their 1983 landmark Beatles history 'The Love You Make.'

By Maer Roshan

Maer Roshan

• Share on Facebook
• Share to Flipboard
• Send an Email
• Show additional share options
• Share on LinkedIn
• Share on Pinterest
• Share on Reddit
• Share on Tumblr
• Share on Whats App
• Print the Article
• Post a Comment

Forty-one years ago, they published the biggest Beatles biography of all time — The Love You Make , which spent three months in 1983 atop the New York Times best-seller list. The book would make its co-authors — former Circus magazine editor and author of 13 best-sellers Steven Gaines and onetime Brian Epstein protégé and Fab Four confidant Peter Brown — into the most famous Beatle-ologists on the planet. 

Related Stories

John lennon's long-lost guitar fetches record $2.85m at times square auction, kevin macdonald to direct john lennon, yoko ono documentary (exclusive).

As it happens, Gaines and Brown aren’t quite finished with The Beatles yet. Last month, after decades of steering clear of the subject, they released All You Need Is Love: The Beatles in Their Own Words , an oral history of the Mop Tops based on hundreds of hours of old taped interviews Gaines and Brown conducted while researching their original history, including conversations with McCartney, Ringo Starr , George Harrison , Yoko Ono, Cynthia Lennon and scores of others.

The Hollywood Reporter sat down with the two old friends and colleagues for a long and winding discussion about their new book (which hovered on top of Amazon’s best-seller list for a month even before it was published), about how they dealt with the criticism of their old one and about their theory explaining why McCartney hated it so much (something involving venereal disease and sheep).

Your first book was a huge success — it’s considered the definitive Beatle book. Why, 40 years later, write a follow-up?

STEVEN GAINES Well, I mean, there’s so much interest in The Beatles. It never ended. And I realized that although The Love You Make is the biggest-selling book about The Beatles ever — it sold over 500,000 copies — there was still more to the story. And we had all these tapes of all the interviews we had from the first book. We tried to decide what to do. Can we let people hear them? But it turned out it’s against the law to play somebody’s recorded voice [without permission]. So, we couldn’t do that. And so I came up with the idea of maybe it would be OK if we just transcribe the tapes and turn the transcriptions into a book.

GAINES We’ve been seeing each other 40 years. Wait, it’s been 40 years since we wrote the book together. It’s 50 years since Peter and I met.

Peter, you were involved with The Beatles from the beginning, when you worked for Brian Epstein. You even went on tour with them in the 1960s, right? What was that like?

PETER BROWN When we were going around the world doing gigs, we still got on commercial planes. Nobody in that era had their own private planes.

Wait, The Beatles flew on commercial jets? Along with regular passengers?

GAINES Amazing, huh?

Did they get mobbed on these planes or did people keep their distance?

BROWN Not on the plane. But there would be crowds of girls and boys waiting for the plane. Thousands and thousands of kids waiting for them to get off the plane. It was just crazy. That had never happened before.

GAINES Tell him about Manila. Weren’t you beaten up by Imelda Marcos’ goons during that tour?

GAINES They called them “orphans” and “disabled kids” …

BROWN And the news was all about how rude The Beatles had been to these children and to the president’s wife by not showing up at this party. So, the next day, when we woke up, all our hotel facilities had been cut off. There was no breakfast, no maid service. We were just told to go to the airport. And when we got to the airport, there were all these angry people. And all these police. And they just kept checking our passports and keeping us from boarding the plane. We didn’t think we’d be able to leave Manila. But we finally got onto the plane and got away.

That’s a crazy story. So, why do you think, all these years later, there’s still so much interest in The Beatles? What was it about them that was so special?

GAINES First of all, it was the music. The music caught on. It was joyous. It was fun. At first they were just a pop group. But the way they dressed, their thoughts, their ideas … 

BROWN You’re too young to know this, but the thing is that in the Western world, particularly in the United States [in the early 1960s], there wasn’t anything new and cool. There were the Black artists, but they weren’t acceptable. And then you had a lot of white people who were not very interesting. And that was not just in the United States. It was everywhere. And somehow or other, The Beatles came along. 

The Love You Make was obviously a huge best-seller, but you also took a lot of heat for it, a lot of criticism for supposedly betraying The Beatles. 

GAINES On Peter’s behalf, they say in journalism, if you lived it, you own it. And Peter lived it. Peter lived every single second of this. I mean, he was part of it. And he deserved to tell the story as much as anybody did. So the criticism was very unfair. None of them have any right to say that Peter betrayed them. He absolutely did not. It’s his life, too.

Was there a point, Peter, while you were doing that book, when you realized some of these people were going to be mad at you? 

BROWN No, I don’t think I did at all. I mean, the thing is these are famous people. They’ve been around a long time. They’re grown-up people, and they survived very, very well. I thought that what we were doing was telling the truth.

And yet Paul allegedly responded by burning the book .

BROWN Paul was always a drama queen. I don’t know. I can’t remember the details of it. He didn’t make a big fuss about it until later. I mean, he was a close friend of mine. I introduced him — although he says this is not true — to his wife, Linda. She was a friend of mine and she wanted to be a photographer. She came to see me and showed me her portfolio of the pictures that she’d been taking. There was a lot of pictures of The Rolling Stones, really beautiful pictures.

John Lennon , though, would not have been angry. John Lennon didn’t have any secrets. He lived his life very, very openly. When he had trouble with heroin, he wrote a song called “Cold Turkey.” There were no secrets in John’s life. Paul lived in a kind of bubble and wanted everybody to love him, and he is lovable and wonderful and all the rest. But John wouldn’t have cared at all. And I bet you that if John was alive, he wouldn’t have been angry at all. 

Even about the part where you talk about his supposed sexual affair with Brian Epstein, you don’t think he would’ve been upset about that?

GAINES Yeah, sure. I bet you he would’ve been upset back in Liverpool. He got into a fist fight with another guy [over the rumors of a bisexual tryst with Epstein]. But now, this year, I mean, believe you me, he wouldn’t have been the least bitter. But here’s the thing, when we published that book back in 1984, there still wasn’t the openness and understanding and education. So, it was a very explosive thing to write. But I’m sure if we had published this for the first time now, people would kind of just shrug.

So are there things in the new book that are going to shock or offend anyone? Are you bracing for a second round of controversy?

BROWN I think we put together the truth, this is what it is. And I don’t think for a minute that any sensible, grown-up person will think that’s inappropriate.

BROWN I feel very strongly that there’s nothing inappropriate about what we’ve done. We have, in fact, tried very carefully to tell a story, which millions of people in different parts of the world are fascinated about. They’re all fascinated by The Beatles and by the details of their lives. But this book is not going to offend any sensible person. I think that it’s rather unique and we’ve done our best. We’ve tried to make sure that everything we’ve written is accurate.

GAINES Everything that they did or said, what meal they ate on a certain day, has become part of history. Everything is so important about them. And it isn’t just a small cult. There’s millions and millions of fans who know everything. So, I think for some of those to find out the things people disagreed about the way things happened and the order that they happened in, I think that will be fascinating to them. I think when they hear how Paul, George and Ringo really felt about John Lennon, that will be fascinating. So, I don’t think the book is going to be without controversy, but it’s certainly not because of anything Peter and I wrote or did.

When you say how they felt about Lennon — how did they feel?

But he was a leader who turned his back on them, right?

GAINES It all fell apart. You can’t blame anybody. Everything was happening. Yoko came into it. John and Paul weren’t getting along. Brian had died. He was really the glue that kept them together. So, it was nobody’s fault, it really wasn’t. As Ringo says, “It was time for it to end.”

Ringo and Paul have announced they’re going to go on tour together. Good or bad idea?

GAINES What do you think, Peter?

BROWN I think it’s rather sweet. It’s probably because they’re rather fond of each other.

GAINES I think they should leave it alone. I honestly think that they should leave it alone. People will have fun. They’ll be entertaining and everything. But as far as the legend goes, it is a legend.

A rare moment of disagreement between the authors.

GAINES Trust me, darling, not so rare.

THR Newsletters

Sign up for THR news straight to your inbox every day

More from The Hollywood Reporter

Alyson hannigan “was freaking out” when she heard the ‘american pie’ reference in taylor swift’s “so high school”, howard university revokes sean “diddy” combs’ honorary degree following release of cassie assault video, ray j ponders whether sex tape with kim kardashian altered the course of humanity, hermès chooses new york city to stage first u.s. fashion show, rob schneider booted mid-set from another stage after attendees walk out, ariana grande stalks penn badgley in “the boy is mine” music video, featuring brandy and monica.

Paul Lewis: Can the All Blacks’ new tactics outmanoeuvre England’s young guns?

Share this article

Reminder, this is a Premium article and requires a subscription to read.

Paul Lewis is a veteran sports journalist who has written four books and covered Rugby World Cups, America’s Cups, Olympic & Commonwealth Games and more.

• The All Blacks traditionally favour a wide, possession-based game but have sometimes struggled against teams with strong defences and set-piece strategies.
• Scott Robertson , the new coach, might consider a style similar to Vern Cotter’s approach at the Blues , which emphasises a strong forward pack and effective set-pieces.
• This pragmatic approach contrasts with the All Blacks’ usual expansive play but has proven effective in pressure situations, such as previous tests against England.
• Robertson may implement a Crusaders-like efficiency and resilience, focusing on winning rather than just playing attractively.

Could the All Blacks adopt a more conservative style for their first big assignment of the winter, England ?

One of the key principles of rugby coaching has always been: to decide what style of rugby you want your team to play, and then select the players to execute it. The All Blacks of recent years have persisted largely with a get-it-wide philosophy (although there has been plenty of kicking), based on retaining possession and using it quickly – “earning the right to go wide”, as the saying goes.

The urge not just to win but to win attractively still looms large in the national coaching and playing psyche; it is a signature element of New Zealand rugby. But it can also play into the hands of those who prepare the right way; the All Blacks have sometimes struggled against teams who back their defence and attack the All Blacks’ set piece and breakdowns; game plans based on pressure.

When Scott Robertson comes to populate his 32-man squad next month, there may be a lot to be said for adopting the same kind of style Vern Cotter has imbued at the much-improved Blues this season.

Regardless of what happens from this point (seasoned Blues fans are all too familiar with end-of-season disappointment), Cotter’s old-school, it-all-starts-up-front approach has paid dividends for a franchise previously struggling to live up to a long-held philosophy of expansive rugby.

The unspoken doctrine: we have big, fast, creative backs who can rip opponents apart and we play to our strengths. Much effort went into directing ball to attackers who sometimes fell foul of defences who knew what was coming and channelled their own style of play to upset the Blues’ set pieces, the breakdowns and hitting them on the counter.

Sound familiar? The Crusaders did it for years; a couple of weeks ago, they did it again.

Ironically, there have been several instances when under-pressure All Blacks reverted to the same sort of basic pick-and-go, driving and maul play Cotter has made commonplace at the Blues. Two tests against England in 2019 and 2018 come to mind – the former a World Cup semifinal loss and the latter a narrow win after being 15-0 down after 23 minutes.

On both occasions, they looked good as they built pressure when faced with defences starving their normal attacking game of oxygen. It was short-lived. Grinding away, wrestling over the goal line and kicking the goals is not what makes All Blacks happy boys – and there is a partially valid theory that it is playing the sort of game the likes of England prefer.

It may not be pretty but it can be undeniably effective, as Cotter and the Blues have shown. Here’s a small list of what this flinty, no-nonsense approach has achieved for the Blues:

• Boosted confidence; significantly reduced their error rate.
• Provided the platform for Super Rugby ’s best defence.
• Allowed Harry Plummer – previously a flawed first-five with clutch goalkicking problems – to mature into a player so valuable that Perofeta’s return from injury would always be at fullback.
• Enhanced confidence in the pack’s ability has seen depth improve, with fringe players like Cole Forbes, Corey Evans and AJ Lam slotting in with little discernible difference, and winger Lam making a good fist of a forced shift to the midfield.

Robertson will likely be keen to install a Crusaders-like efficiency, resilience and the same know-how-to-win ability displayed over seven successful years.

History suggests England will bring a strong pack but will be less capable in the backs. England coach Steve Borthwick announces his final squad next week and, though his selections to this point have been conservative, his training squad contains a lot of youth – ball-running players like Fijian-born lock Rusi Tuima and Tongan-born loose forward Greg Fisilau, among others.

There are also young back three players new to this part of the world, like Immanuel Feyi-Waboso, Tom Roebuck and Ollie Sleightholme, though none have yet been named in the final touring party.

All Black great Dan Carter believes there are many signs England is interested in a trend towards more ball-playing forwards, turnover-adept loose forwards and more penetrative backs: “I thought they played good tournament rugby to get as far as they did through the World Cup. There was a lot of risk-free rugby, they’re looking to expand and grow that and they’ve definitely got the talent there.

“Now it’s about being willing to continue to play with the ball more … an exciting and attacking style of play I’m sure a lot of their players would love to be a part of.”

Interestingly, they are short of depth at tighthead prop and, if England do loose their own shackles touring here, a forward-oriented approach from the All Blacks could be a smart move, particularly if the All Blacks involve a new lock or locks because of the shortage in those ranks.

It would be a brave move – Robertson knows fans also want to win but do so with style. However, if England do chance their arm a little, it may allow him to form a game plan based on forward grunt, defensive vigilance and counter-attack.

Paul Lewis has been a journalist since the last ice age . Sport has been a lifetime pleasure and part of a professional career during which he has written four books, and covered Rugby World Cups, America’s Cups, Olympic & Commonwealth Games and more.

Latest from All Blacks

Kiwi sport legend’s Super League heroics just 48 hours after vasectomy

Dean Bell and ex-All Black Craig Innes have opened up about their time with Leeds.

Inside the race for the All Blacks' starting halfback

Super Rugby form XV: Who is staking their claim in the All Blacks picture?

Gregor Paul: ABs selection issues provide Razor's 'perfect storm'

First NZ-wide B Corp retail activation

An Old-Fashioned Bluebook Burning

Northwestern Law Journal des Refusés, Vol. 1, No. 1, Art. 2.

Northwestern Public Law Research Paper No. 24-13

38 Pages Posted: 31 May 2024

Paul A. Gowder

Northwestern University - Pritzker School of Law

Date Written: May 29, 2024

This essay argues for an end to law's infamously Byzantine and bloated citation manual, the Bluebook. The very features that make the Bluebook distinctive when compared to citation systems in other academic fields are also those that inflict vast amounts of unnecessary if not downright harmful labor on its users. The root of the problem is its obsolescence: the Bluebook was designed for a system in which legal scholarship was primarily consumed in print and for material where the doctrinal epistemology of authority predominated. Today, legal scholarship is primarily consumed electronically, and it largely shares an epistemology of credence with other scholarly disciplines. (Nor are its hundreds of pages of rules particularly useful for practicing lawyers and judges, who sensibly disregard most of it anyway.) At a minimum, the signals, typographical rules, abbreviations, and cross-references need to be put out of their misery; when those are gone what is left would be practically indistinguishable from the sensible citation systems of other fields, as it should be. Also, we should automate as much as possible---and that turns out to be quite a lot.

Keywords: bluebook, law reviews, citations, legal writing, legal education, legal research, bibliography

JEL Classification: K10

Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation

Paul A. Gowder (Contact Author)

Northwestern university - pritzker school of law ( email ).

375 E. Chicago Ave Chicago, IL 60611 United States

Do you have a job opening that you would like to promote on SSRN?

Paper statistics, related ejournals, northwestern university pritzker school of law, public law & legal theory research paper series.

Subscribe to this free journal for more curated articles on this topic

Legal Education eJournal

Subscribe to this fee journal for more curated articles on this topic

Legal Writing eJournal