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Key Themes in Paul’s Letters
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Paul’s letters cover a broad range of theological and ethical themes. It is important to realize that these beliefs were not largely abstract ideas to Paul. On the one hand, the foundations of Paul’s teaching were Jewish, built on the Old Testament and the fundamental beliefs of Judaism (e.g., resurrection). Paul never saw himself or Jesus as starting a new religion. He saw his teaching as nothing other than true Israelite faith, based in Scripture (what we now call the Old Testament).
Where the Jesus movement was unique had to do with Christ, particularly faith in his death and resurrection. The Christ event brought new insight into God’s plan. For example, Judaism did not expect a dying or rising Messiah. Resurrection was not understood to be separated between a key event with the Messiah and then a much later general one. The uniqueness of Christian understanding was largely the playing out of Jesus Christ.
There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”
Galatians 3:28
Within the Christian movement, the distinctiveness of Paul’s theology was forged “on the road,” so to speak. Paul’s theology of the full inclusion of the Gentiles emerged as the good news bore increasing fruit with non-Jews. This almost surprising dynamic brought tensions with Jewish identity, requiring Paul and others to work out a theology of their inclusion. Even in Paul’s letters, the Holy Spirit was leading him to “work out your salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12).
After Paul, debates over the meaning of his letters took on a life of their own. Christians throughout the centuries like Augustine, Luther, Calvin, and John Wesley have debated what they mean. When we come to them today, it is sometimes difficult for us to hear them with fresh ears. For many Protestants, Paul’s letters are almost treated as more central to Christian faith than the Gospels or teachings of Jesus himself.
Here are some of the key themes of Paul’s letters, forged in the context of inner Christian dialog and his missionary journeys:
Throughout his letters, Paul emphasizes the idea that believers are not isolated individuals but integral parts of a larger spiritual organism: the body of Christ (e.g., 1 Cor. 12:12-27; Rom. 12:3-7). He uses the metaphor of the body to convey the interconnectedness and interdependence of believers within the Christian community. Just as different body parts serve distinct functions but work together harmoniously for the well-being of the whole, so too should Christians cooperate, support, and love one another within the church.
Certainly, Paul stresses this unity on a local level, urging those within his churches to be unified (1 Cor. 1:10; Phil. 2:1-4). But Paul also stressed the unity of Jewish and Gentile believer, a theme that comes out mostly powerfully in Ephesians 2. The unity of Jewish and Gentile believer drives a good deal of Paul’s theology, as we will see below.
One of Paul’s most significant contributions to Christian understanding is the concept of “justification by faith.” This understanding formed in the midst of debates over which “works of the Jewish Law” Gentiles needed to keep and whether the Law forbade a Christian Jew from socializing with Gentile believers. More than any other single event, God may have used the conflict at Antioch in Galatians 2 over Jewish and Gentile Christians eating together to shape this understanding.
God inspired Paul to realize that it is only through faith in Jesus Christ that one can be in right standing with God. “Works of Law” could not achieve that rightness or “righteousness.” He saw his opponents in the church as trying to be “justified,” trying to be in right standing with God, on the basis of their works rather than by trusting or having faith in what God had done through Christ Jesus (Romans 3:21-26, Galatians 2:16).
One distinctive of Wesleyan understanding is the degree to which we believe God wants to actually make us righteous. When we first come to Christ, righteousness is only “imputed.” It is “legal,” on the books, but not yet real in our lives. Wesleyans believe that God also wants to “impart” righteousness to us as well. He wants to actually empower us to do right.
Grace is another central theme in Paul’s writings. Grace is “unmerited favor,” God’s propensity to forgive our sins and restore us to relationship with him. It is God’s grace that initiates salvation, not our works. It is through grace that believers are empowered to live Christian lives (Ephesians 2:8-10).
Paul did not originate this concept. It is clearly the understanding of the Old Testament. Unlike some stereotypes, grace was also part of Jewish understanding at the time of Christ. However, God used Paul to work out the implications of grace in relation to Jesus in ways that had never been done before. Jesus is the only means by which God brings the grace of salvation to the world.
Sometimes unnoticed, Paul repeatedly uses the expression “in Christ” or “in the Lord” throughout his letters. In fact, this theme is far more common than his language of justification by faith. When we are baptized, we are “buried with Christ” in baptism (Rom. 6:4). Similarly, when we come to Christ, we are “crucified with Christ” and Christ lives within us (Gal. 2:20). We die with Christ, and we will also rise from the dead with Christ (Rom. 6:8; 1 Cor. 15:22). Just as we bore the earthly image of Adam, we will bear the image of Christ in our resurrection (1 Cor. 15:49).
The cross may not be as central a theme in Paul’s letters, but this is because it was the central feature of his preaching. This is another reminder that in Paul’s letters we are getting the inspired “clean up,” the issues that arose beyond his central preaching that he did when he was face to face with his churches. Nevertheless, Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:2 that the cross was the center of his face-to-face preaching.
When Paul preached the cross, he preached that Jesus had taken our sin on him. He had become a sacrifice for sins. Paul uses different imagery for this aspect of the cross. Christ is our Passover lamb (1 Cor. 5:7). Christ is a sin offering (Rom. 8:3). Christ is the offering on the Day of Atonement (Rom. 3:25). Christ took our curse on the cross (Gal. 3:13). The point is that Christ satisfied the justice of God on the cross (Rom. 3:25-26).
Paul probably expected Jesus to return within his lifetime (1 Cor. 7:29-31). God no doubt used this sense of urgency to drive Paul’s mission to spread the good news to the whole world. 1 & 2 Thessalonians are often thought to be two of Paul’s earliest letters, and they deal extensively with the return of Christ. Salvation involved escaping the judgment of God when Jesus returned, and Paul lived under the assumption that it would happen soon (Rom. 13:11-12). So must we all live with the anticipation that Christ might return any day.
Theme Overview
| Epistle | Brief Themes |
|---|---|
| Romans | The righteousness of God, salvation by faith, unity in Christ |
| 1 Corinthians | Church divisions, spiritual gifts, love and Christian conduct |
| 2 Corinthians | Apostolic authority, God’s comfort, generosity and giving |
| Galatians | Freedom in Christ, justification by faith, Law vs. grace |
| Ephesians | Unity of the Church, spiritual blessings, living in Christ |
| Philippians | Joy in suffering, humility, Christ-like mindset |
| Colossians | Supremacy of Christ, completeness in Christ, false teachings |
| 1 Thessalonians | Second coming of Christ, Christian living, brotherly love |
| 2 Thessalonians | Second coming of Christ, perseverance in trials |
| 1 Timothy | Church leadership, false teachings, conduct in the church |
| 2 Timothy | Perseverance in ministry, passing on the faith |
| Titus | Church leadership, sound doctrine, good works |
| Philemon | Forgiveness, reconciliation, treating slaves as brothers |