Paul's Epistles Trivia Quiz

Romans, the sixth book in the New Testament, was probably written sometime between 55-58 AD. The longest of Paul's letters, or epistles, it is believed to have been written while Paul was in Corinth and was probably copied by Tertius, who was his scribe.

By this time Paul had already taken his message to different areas and some believe he was hoping to stop by Rome while traveling to Spain. The letter was his way of tell the people in the church - Jews, Christians, and Gentiles - what he viewed as the purpose of his upcoming visit. It is easy to tell that he knows some of the people personally as he calls them by name.

The basic theme is that anyone can find salvation through God (Romans 1:16-17). He puts forth the idea of justification by faith, which has been a core principle of Christianity since its inception (Romans 3:21-5:11), and assures the people that they will receive God's salvation (Romans 5-8).

Scholars believe that I Corinthians was not the first letter Paul sent to the church in Corinth, but it was the first one included in the New Testament. Its co-author is Sosthenes, who scholars believe helped to record Paul's words.

Paul had established a church in Corinth about 50 AD, and was living in Ephesus (53-57 AD) when he heard there were some issues there. His letter emphasizes that everything a Christian does should be for the glory of God.

Apparently there were factions in the church at Corinth that weren't getting along (I Corinthians 1:10-4:21). One scholar wrote that in this letter he found fifteen separate issues, including incest, divorce, idolatry, class differences, and even concerns about Christ's resurrection (I Corinthians 5:1-6:20).

It is believed that II Corinthians was co-authored by Timothy sometime around 55-56 AD. Paul had visited the church in Corinth after writing his first letter to them, and apparently the visit was quite painful for him. During his visit, some had even questioned whether he was really an Apostle of Christ (II Corinthians 1:12-7:16).

After the visit, Paul wrote a very severe letter that no longer exists, and the purpose of II Corinthians was to give the people some encouragement because they had shaped up a bit, to remind them to help the poor (II Corinthians 8:1-9:15), and to tell them that he planned to visit again soon.

The exact location of the church to which Galatians was addressed is uncertain; scholars believe it was either in southern or central Anatolia. It is apparent that the people were Gentile converts. Paul had worked among them, but when he left, they had the tendency to go back to their old ways. Paul's letter was written sometime in the late 40s or early 50s AD.

The first two chapters of Galatians give important historical information about Paul's early missionary work, but the rest of the book attempts to solve one of the main the problems faced by early Christians - did they still need to follow the Laws of Moses? There had been some disagreement between Peter and Paul over the issue of circumcision and other concerns as well. There is an attempt to give the people some new direction as they are all one in Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:28).

Paul's letter to the church in Ephesus is believed to have been written about 62 AD while he was in prison in Rome. It doesn't seem as if he was notified of any problems in the church; it appears from his letter that he was trying to prevent future upheaval. Because he had served the Church in Ephesus for three years, he knew the people; many were converted Gentiles. Many scholars believe that this epistle clearly states the essence of what Paul's teachings were all about, as he summarized points that he had surely taught when he was their pastor.

His main point in the letter has to do with reminding people of Christ's redemption and blessings (Ephesians 1-3), conducting their daily lives in order to receive those blessings (Ephesians 4:17-6:9), and keeping unity within the Church (Ephesians 4:1-16). At the time Ephesus was still the center of the worship of Artemis, and Christians were not well accepted; in fact, sometimes they were targeted for persecution.

The letter to the Philippians was co-authored by Timothy while Paul was in prison - probably in Rome. At this time in his life, Paul may have been facing the possibility of a death sentence.

It had been about ten years since Paul visited the Philippians, but the people of the Church who had heard about his troubles had sent Paul gifts (Philippians 4:14-18). The letter is largely a thank you note to them, as well as Paul's beliefs regarding suffering, joy, and living as a servant of Christ (Philippians 1:27-2:30). Once again he touched on the issue of circumcision, and assured the people that it was not necessary in order to find salvation (Philippians 3:1-4:1).

Both Paul and Timothy are mentioned in Colossians 1:1-2 as authors of this letter, which could have been written during Paul's first imprisonment c. 62 AD. It does not appear that Paul had previously visited the church in Colossae, but felt that the people needed some encouragement.

Paul was concerned about false teachers who were influencing the beliefs of the congregation, as he wrote about Christ being the supreme power over the entire universe (Colossians 1:15-23), and then pleaded with the people to reject false teachings, and explaining how to deal with them (Colossians 2:8-23). He also reminded the congregation about the type of conduct required in order to lead a Christian life (Colossians 3) and touched on the issues of master and slave relationships (Colossians 3:18-4:1).

It is believed that Paul was in Corinth when he wrote I Thessalonians, and that it was one of his first letters that dates to c. 49-51 AD. Timothy apparently had just returned from Thessaloniki, a city from which Paul himself had been expelled, and had reported that even though the congregation had held fast to their beliefs, they were under quite a bit of persecution - which prompted Paul to write a letter of encouragement.

It mirrors information seen on other letters, as Paul saw the need to defend himself and reminded the people that he led by example (I Thessalonians 2:1-12). He further discussed the self-control Christians were to practice (I Thessalonians 4:1-8), and also reminded the people that everyone would share in Christ's Resurrection at the time of his Second Coming. (I Thessalonians 4:13-18).

The second letter is essentially a follow up, written shortly after the first. Early Christians weren't sure when the Second Coming would take place (II Thessalonians 2:1-12); it could be any day - so why work hard? Paul explained that the appearance of the Antichrist would be a sign of the event, and, that until then, Christians had to earn their own living (II Thessalonians 3:10-11).

When Paul wrote the letters to Timothy it is clear that he was in prison, and he didn't think the verdict was going to work out in his favor. It seems as though there were certain points his wished to discuss with the young man once again.

I Timothy was a warning to stay away from unorthodox teachings (I Timothy 1:3-20), and be sure to appoint bishops and deacons who were worthy examples (I Timothy 3:1-13). There was a reminder to Timothy to lead his congregation by example, and teach them the traditional beliefs (I Timothy 4:6-16), and finally, Paul gave a summary about how to deal with different types of people - men, women, and slaves (I Timothy 5:1-6:10).

II Timothy was similarly written, and is largely believed to have been the last letter Paul wrote before his execution. He asked Timothy to visit him (II Timothy 4:9-18), and to maintain his courage and loyalty in preaching the Word despite certain hardships (II Timothy 1:6-4:5). He also named people who should be chosen (or not) to continue the ministry (II Timothy 4).

Titus participated in missionary work along with Paul, and was sent to Corinth to work out some problems in the church there. He also helped to establish a Christian Church on the island of Crete, and continued to minister to the church there.

The main topic of the letter was the appointment of bishops and elders (Titus 1:5-9); Paul also asked Titus to be sure to appoint people who lead virtuous lives themselves (Titus 2:11-3:11) and believe in Christian doctrines (Titus 2:1-10), to preach the doctrine of Christ, and to lead by example.

The letter to Philemon was written while Paul was in prison sometime around 57-62 AD. Paul was writing in regard to a slave, Onesimus, who had run away from his master, Philemon. This was a pretty serious crime, and Paul not only asked Philemon to forgive Onesimus, he also said that he would pay any debts that Onesimus owed to his mater (Philemon 8-20).

It's clear in the letter that Paul and Onesimus had become friends, and that Onesimus had converted to Christianity; it almost seems that Paul would have liked to continue his association with Onesimus. In writing the letter, however, Paul sought a reconciliation between the master and slave.