Lesson Seventeen

THE EPISTLES (1)—
PAUL’S EPISTLES—
ROMANS THROUGH EPHESIANS

Scripture Reading

Rom. 8:2, 29-30; 12:1-2;
1 Cor. 1:23-24, 30; 2:2;
2 Cor. 1:21-22; 2:14-15; 3:3, 6; 4:7, 10, 16;
Gal. 1:4; 2:19-20; 3:2, 5, 13-14;
Eph. 1:22-23; 2:14-15, 19, 22; 5:25-27; 6:10-11

Outline

1. Romans
   1. The writer(s), the place, and the time
   2. The subject
   3. The background
   4. The central thought
   5. The general sketch
   6. The sections
2. 1 Corinthians (A to F)
3. 2 Corinthians (A to F)
4. Galatians (A to F)
5. Ephesians (A to F)

Text

We will cover the fourteen epistles of the apostle Paul in this lesson and the next two lessons. Paul said he was commissioned to “complete the word of God” (Col. 1:25). He meant that he was to complete the revelation of God. If his fourteen epistles were removed from the Bible, the Bible would not be complete. There are [three crucial points in Paul’s Epistles: God as our contents, Christ as God’s mystery, and the church as Christ’s mystery.] [Our God today is in us to be our contents. The mystery of God is Christ as the embodiment and manifestation of God, making God so real and so enjoyable to us. The mystery of Christ is that the Triune God through death and in resurrection is mingling Himself with us, making us the living members of His organic Body. This vision must direct us. It will keep us in the central lane, walking according to the mingled spirit and being in the Body life. This is what the Lord is after.]