Paul's Letters

 While under house arrest in Rome, Paul composed what are commonly referred to as his Prison Letters: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. Although grouped together because all were written from Paul’s place of confinement, these four letters each have their own distinct audience and purpose. One of the Prison Letters (Philippians) was directed to Greece while the other three epistles were sent to Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey). Ephesians and Colossians present the theme of the body of Christ and Christ the head of the church (Christ’s headship)—though from different perspectives. Ephesians focuses on His headship, while Colossians looks more closely at the church. Philippians, written to the members of Paul’s first church plant on European soil, describes how believers can experience joy even in the midst of difficult circumstances. Philemon is the only personal letter of the group, encouraging his dear friend to deal kindly with a recently converted runaway slave, Onesimus. Bill Crowder

Most of Paul’s letters were directed to churches he and his team had planted, but Rome (like Colossae) was an exception. So how did the church at Rome begin? One theory is that it got its start on the day of Pentecost—the day the church itself was born. On that day, as the uneducated disciples of Jesus began speaking of Him in languages previously unlearned, Luke records a list of places from which people had gathered to celebrate the feast in Jerusalem. Among them are “visitors from Rome” (Acts 2:10). The belief is that these hearers of the gospel message carried it with them back to their home and began to evangelize the city—the most powerful city in the world of that day. This resulted in the establishment of the church in Rome to whom Paul wrote his most theological letter, the book of Romans. Bill Crowder