Introduction to the Epistles of Paul
The Epistles of the Apostle Paul
have a very distinctive character. All Scripture, up to the Gospel accounts of
the crucifixion, looks forward to the cross, and has primarily in view Israel,
and the blessing of the earth through the Messianic kingdom. But "hid in
God"
Eph 3:9 was an unrevealed fact--the interval of time between
the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ and His return in glory; and an
unrevealed purpose-- the outcalling of the
ecclesia, the church
which
is Christ's body. In
Matt. 16, our Lord announced that purpose, but wholly
without explanation as to how, when, or of what materials, that church should
be built, or what should be its position, relationships, privileges, or duties.
All this precisely constitutes the
scope of the Epistles of Paul. They develop the doctrine of the church.
