The Letters and Revelation

Douglas J. Moo

Letters occupy an important place in the NT. Of the 27 books of the NT, 21 are letters—35 percent of the NT. By contrast, no OT book is in the form of a letter, though letters are preserved within those books.

There are many reasons that letters loom so large in the NT, but three deserve mention. First, letters were a very popular method of communication in the NT world (see The Letters: New Testament Letters in Their Ancient Context). Second, the early Christian movement was scattered across a wide area, and letters afforded a natural way for believers to keep in touch with each other. Apostles, who are responsible for at least 19 of the 21 NT letters, traveled widely and used letters as a means of “pastoring” churches from a distance. Third, and related to this second factor, the letter was considered a means of establishing one’s personal presence at a distance. When the apostles were unable to assert their authority in person, they used letters as a “stand-in” for their presence (1 Cor 5:4; Col 2:5).

NT letter writers, as we would expect, focus on issues relevant to their audiences. Spread across the eastern Mediterranean world, from modern Turkey to Rome, Christians are thanked for sending gifts (Phil), warned about false teachers (2 Pet, Jude), encouraged in the midst of persecution (1 Pet), and rebuked for dallying with idol worship (1 Cor). Yet these first-century issues are addressed in light of God’s revelation of his Son. They have been preserved in our Bibles as enduring witnesses to the truth of the gospel and to the way that truth is to form the lives of God’s people.

Classifying the New Testament Letters

The 21 NT letters were written by six different early Christian leaders: 13 letters are attributed to the apostle Paul; two to the apostle Peter; one to James; and one to Jude, “a brother of James” (Jude 1). No specific name is associated with the four remaining letters. The author of Hebrews cannot be identified. The author of 2 and 3 John is identified as “the elder” (2 John 1; 3 John 1), and the similarities in style and content with 1 John make it likely that the same author is responsible for all three. As the titles in our Bibles suggest, John the son of Zebedee, one of the 12 apostles and the author of the fourth Gospel, is probably the writer of these three letters. (These titles indicate the way these letters were viewed in the early church, but the titles were not part of the original NT text.)

Hebrews and the General Letters

Paul wrote 13 of the NT letters. The remaining eight letters defy simple classification. Many Christians in the first centuries of the church thought that Paul wrote Hebrews, so it was included among the Pauline letters. The other seven letters (James, 1-2 Pet, 1-3 John, Jude) were then categorized as “catholic” (in the sense of “universal”) or “general” letters because it was thought that they were written to the church as a whole (see Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 2:23–25). The titles given to these books reflect this way of looking at them: rather than being named according to their destinations or audiences, as in the case of all the Pauline letters and Hebrews, they are named according to their authors.

This traditional way of categorizing the letters does not stand up to scrutiny. Hebrews was almost certainly not written by Paul (see Introduction to Hebrews: Author). Nor is it likely that the remaining seven letters were written to the church “universal.” To be sure, none of them is explicitly addressed to a single local church (or group of house churches). But they do have specific audiences in view. The letters of 2-3 John explicitly address, respectively, a local church (taking “the lady chosen by God” in this sense [2 John 1]) and a Christian leader (Gaius [3 John 1]). First Peter addresses Christians living in five Roman provinces in northern Asia Minor. Three of the letters, to be sure, have very general addressees. James writes to “the twelve tribes” (Jas 1:1), a reference to the people of God in the era of fulfillment; Peter writes in his second letter to “those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours” (2 Pet 1:1); and Jude writes to “those who have been called, who are loved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ” (Jude 1). But the content of these letters shows that the authors are dealing with specific problems that are probably confined to a particular church or group of churches. The same is true of 1 John (which lacks any addressee).

Paul’s Letters

Paul, for his part, addresses nine of his letters to particular local churches, three to co-workers in ministry (1-2 Tim, Titus), and one primarily to a co-worker and secondarily to two other prominent believers and the church that met in his house (Phlm). Paul’s letters have usually been divided into four main groups:

1. Romans, 1-2 Corinthians, and Galatians have been labeled the “chief letters” because of their length and theological content.

2. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon are called the “prison letters” because Paul claims to be “in chains” in each of them.

3. 1-2 Timothy and Titus are called the “pastoral letters” because of their common themes and the fact that they are addressed to Paul’s co-workers.

4. 1-2 Thessalonians comprise the fourth group.

This traditional scheme corresponds generally to the historical circumstances in which the letters were written—with two exceptions. First, while Galatians shares many themes with Romans, it may not come from the same period of time as the other three “chief letters.” Second, Philippians stands apart from the other prison letters. The common themes and specific historical references common to Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon are absent from Philippians. Whether Paul wrote Philippians at a different time during the same imprisonment as the others or during an entirely different imprisonment is not clear.

New Testament Letters in Their Ancient Context

Though letters were used as a means of communication for centuries (e.g., 2 Sam 11:14–15; Ezra 4–5), in the Greco-Roman world letters became an established and popular method of communication. The NT, as we have seen, reflects this situation. In addition to the 21 canonical letters, the NT refers to at least nine other letters written by and to believers (Acts 15:23; 18:27; 1 Cor 5:9; 7:1; 16:3; 2 Cor 2:3–4; Col 4:16 [two different letters are mentioned]; 2 Thess 2:2; note also the seven letters to the churches in Rev 2–3).

Introduction and Conclusion

NT letters follow the general pattern of the Greco-Roman letter, although there are differences. The typical Greco-Roman letter was composed of an address and greeting, a body, and a conclusion.

The address and greeting were usually very short, typically taking the form “A to B, greetings.” NT letters tend to expand this formula, adding characterizations of the sender (e.g., “James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” [Jas 1:1]) and of the recipients (e.g., “To God’s holy people in Colossae, the faithful brothers and sisters in Christ” [Col 1:2]). In Romans, Paul spends six verses introducing himself. On the other hand, some NT letters (Hebrews, 1 John) have no letter opening at all.

In place of the usual “greeting” found in Greco-Roman letters, NT letters often include a “grace wish” (it is found in all the Pauline letters, 1-2 Pet, and 2 John). The NT letter writers may be indulging in a bit of wordplay: Greek “greetings” is chairein, whereas Greek “grace” is charis. Ancient letters also often opened with a “health wish” (see 3 John 2); perhaps the NT penchant for putting a thanksgiving (all the Pauline letters except 2 Cor, Gal, 1 Tim, and Titus) or blessing (2 Cor, Eph, 1 Pet) at the beginning of letters reflects this practice.

The concluding elements in the ancient letter varied considerably, although they typically included a request to greet other people. NT letter closings often include such requests for greetings and in addition, often mention travel plans, the movements and work of other ministry workers, requests for prayer, and benedictions and doxologies.

Body

The formal introduction and conclusion framed the letter body. Naturally, the letter body differed considerably in length and substance, depending on the purpose and audience of the letter. Some ancient letters were very brief personal notes requesting information or asking someone to perform a specific task. None of the NT letters is this kind of private note. Even the letters written to individuals (1-2 Tim, Titus, 3 John) deal with practical and theological issues affecting other Christians. At the other end of the spectrum, some ancient letters were written for a very general audience and intended for wide distribution (somewhat comparable to our “letter to the editor”). Especially relevant for the NT are letters sent by philosophers to communicate their teachings to a wider audience. Some NT letters tend toward this type (Rom, Eph, 1 John). Yet even these more generally focused letters are written for specific audiences.

While using the popular letter form of their time, the writers adopt the form for their own uses. For instance, many of the NT letters stand out from their contemporary secular models in length. Private letters in the ancient world averaged 87 words in length. Public letters were longer. Two of the most prolific letter writers in the ancient world were the Romans Cicero and Seneca. The former’s letters average 295 words; Seneca’s, 995. By contrast, the shortest NT letter (2 John) is 219 words, the longest (Romans) is 7,111 words, and they average 2,141 words.

Writing, Sending, and Receiving New Testament Letters

Communicating by letter writing in the ancient world was a cooperative enterprise. The first-person singular verbs scattered through all the NT letters make clear that one particular individual is largely responsible for each of them. However, Paul frequently includes co-workers when he introduces the writers of his letters: Timothy in Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon; Timothy and Silas in 1-2 Thessalonians; and “all the brothers and sisters with me” in Galatians (1:2). Paul usually mentioned these co-workers because they were with him as he wrote and had significant contact with the believers being addressed. Mentioning other believers (as in the broader group in Gal) may also strengthen Paul’s appeal in the letter by reminding the recipients that he was speaking for a wider group of believers.

Producing letters was also a cooperative venture. The parchment on which the words of letters were physically recorded was expensive, and most ancient letter writers dictated their letters to a scribe, or “amanuensis,” who was skilled at fitting a lot of words into a very small space. We have one definite reference to such an amanuensis in the NT: “I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord” (Rom 16:22). Tertius recorded the words of Romans as Paul dictated them to him (many interpreters think that 1 Pet 5:12 may also single out Silas as the amanuensis of that letter). The actual “author” of the letter would sometimes add a final, authenticating greeting in his own hand (Gal 6:11; 2 Thess 3:17; Phlm 19). Most of the NT letters were probably produced in this way. Authors who knew and trusted their amanuenses would often entrust that amanuensis with the precise wording of a letter. This may explain some of the variety in style among NT letters with the same author (Paul and Peter). We can assume that NT authors took ownership of their letters by checking them over to make sure that the amanuensis had accurately communicated the author’s intentions.

If the writing of a letter was a collective enterprise, so was its delivery. Mail service was basically nonexistent in the ancient world. The only way to get a letter to its destination was to entrust it to a friend or associate who was traveling to the destination of the letter. While never mentioned explicitly in the NT, letter carriers can be identified by language such as we find in Eph 6:21: “Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing.” Col 4:7 is similar; see also Phoebe in Rom 16:1–2, Epaphroditus in Phil 2:25–30, and Silas in 1 Pet 5:12 (if he is not the amanuensis; see preceding paragraph). These letter carriers probably also played a significant role in the dissemination of the letter once it reached its destination. They would often be the ones to read the letter to the assembled congregation, adding information and perhaps clarification along the way (see Eph 6:21, quoted above, and also Col 4:7–9).

The Authenticity of New Testament Letters

Many books in the ancient world were written by an anonymous person in the name of a more famous person. A Jewish apocalyptic work from the first century AD, for instance, is attributed to the ancient Israelite scribe Ezra. Many modern scholars identify this phenomenon, called “pseudepigraphy,” in the NT letters. It is typical, for instance, to claim that the apostle Paul himself actually wrote only seven of the thirteen letters attributed to him (Rom, 1-2 Cor, Gal, Phil, 1 Thess, and Phlm) and that Paul’s followers wrote the other six letters in his name. Similar doubt is cast on the authorship of James and 1-2 Peter. According to one form of this theory, the authors who wrote in the names of the apostles were not being deceptive but simply using a standard literary device of the time to communicate Christian truth. However, while pseudepigraphy in general was widespread in the ancient world, the writing of letters in someone else’s name did not often take place. And when it did, the practice was frowned upon. The church fathers are very clear on this point: they viewed writing a letter in someone else’s name as inherently deceptive, and they roundly rejected any letter suspected of being pseudepigraphical. In light of this attitude, we should take the claims about authorship of NT letters at face value.

Interpreting New Testament Letters

Occasion

NT letters are “occasional,” i.e., they are written to a particular first-century audience and therefore naturally deal with issues relevant to that audience. Because the NT letter writers are engaged in helping their recipients understand the significance of Christ’s coming and putting into practice the implications of his lordship, the issues the NT deals with are often the same issues Christians face today. But even when those issues are the same, faithfully interpreting the NT letters demands that we take into account the occasional nature of those letters.

Paul’s teaching on the significance of the law of Moses in Galatians provides a good example. His teaching on this issue is clearly of enduring relevance, and what he says on this matter must figure importantly in our attempt to understand the place of the law of Moses in the history of salvation and in the life of the church. But we must also recognize that Paul writes to the Galatians about the law of Moses with a particular purpose: to convince them not to follow false teachers who have taken a wrong view about the law. Because Paul is refuting a particular viewpoint, his teaching is inevitably slanted to one side of the issue.

What is true concerning Paul’s teaching about the law in Galatians is true for many, if not most, of the issues discussed in the NT letters. Many of these letters were written directly to counter some kind of false teaching, and what the NT letter writers say is tailored to that situation. To read and interpret these letters rightly, then, requires that we understand the situations in which they were written; this information is provided in this study Bible’s separate book introductions. At the same time, we must always compare Scripture with Scripture before drawing broad conclusions about what the NT or the Bible says about any particular topic.

Social and Cultural Context

The occasional nature of the NT letters provides another interpretive challenge: recognizing how the first-century social and cultural context might affect our reading. Both the writers and readers of the NT letters often simply assumed this context, but it is sometimes utterly foreign to modern readers. For example, just what were the women in Corinth doing that upset Paul (1 Cor 11:2–16)? Were they refusing to wear a veil over their heads? Were they refusing to put their hair up on their heads? And in either case, why would Paul have a problem with it? Only by understanding the culture of that day can we hope to accurately understand what Paul is teaching in this passage. Faithfully reading the NT letters will often, then, require the believer to learn something about the first-century world—an inquiry that the notes on particular passages in this study Bible should assist with.

General Principles

Whatever the particular issue a NT letter deals with, the way in which the author responds to it has much to teach us. We learn not only from the specific instructions the letter writers give but also from the general principles they constantly bring to bear on each issue they confront. Again and again the NT letter writers remind us of the all-encompassing importance of the lordship of Christ and the work of the Holy Spirit. The believer’s every thought and action must be subjected to Christ, who as Lord wants to reign over every facet of the believer’s life. And it is the Holy Spirit who both empowers and guides this radically Christ-centered new life. When the NT letter writers call on believers to think and act in accord with the person of Christ, they expect believers to respond because God has sent his Spirit into the hearts of his people, producing from within the attitudes and perspectives that will enable them to obey. As “occasional” letters, we must read each NT letter against the background of its particular setting, asking: when was it written? for whom? why? in what circumstances? But at the same time, God himself speaks to us in and through these occasional letters. As canonical Scripture, these letters ultimately address the church of every age and of every place.