The Apostle Paul and His Pastoral Epistles - Essay Example

The Apostle Paul and his Pastoral Epistles I hold the view that Paul wrote what are known as the Pastoral letters that includethe epistles of 1st and 2nd Timothy and Titus. Though there have been arguments to the contrary, Paul identifies himself as the writer in the salutations, calling Timothy to whom he denotes he is writing to in the 1st and 2nd epistles, ‘my own son in the faith’ and, ‘my dearly beloved son’ (1st Tim1: 1-2 and 2nd Tim1:1-2) and writes in Titus 1:4 that the epistle is to ‘Titus mine own son in the common faith’. Titus and Timothy were two of some of the men and women that God used to make the Ministry of Paul successful and fruitful, both of who were pastors. Though Titus is not mentioned in the book of acts, he and Timothy were Paul’s Spiritual children who he was mentoring for Pastoral ministry, with Titus being mentioned in the book of Galatians 2:1 for the first time (Christ Lutheran Church of the Deaf). Paul wrote the three epistles, known as pastoral letters to provide instructions to his two sons pertaining to their pastoral duties and to warn them about false teachings and occult practices which could easily have affected the churches they were pastoring. Both Timothy and Titus were young and Paul as their mentor also wished to encourage them, like he tells Timothy not to let anyone despise him because of his youth but to be an example 1 Tim 4:12. Paul was imprisoned twice in his life in Rome, in 60-63A.D and in 67-68A.D (NewApologia). He wrote 1Timothy during his first imprisonment, wrote Titus upon his release and 2 Timothy during his second imprisonment, after which he was killed by beheading. The letters contained instructions for ministry to Timothy and Titus, and thus he was able to continue with his work even while in prison. Timothy had been a companion of Paul in his missionary journeys and now was serving God in Ephesus. The different vocabulary and writing style from other Pauline letters should be understood from the view point that their theme is common, as they are aimed mostly to address the issue of Pastoral care and that is why between them they are very similar. Linguistic evidence to prove that they were not written by Paul could be countered by the fact that there is much that is not known pertaining to the conditions of production of the three epistles and also the other Pauline letters (Smith). There is also general concurrence that the Pastoral letters do not provide an adequate sample by which to make comparisons with the other Pauline letters. The differences are not also as great as may be thought to be in their significance as the comparison is done. Noteworthy also is the fact that Luke, who wrote Luke’s gospel and was Paul’s companion during the latter’s companion during his imprisonment could have been dictated to by Paul to write the pastoral letters and thus the change of grammar and vocabulary. The different vocabulary found between the Pastoral letters and Paul’s other letters could be explained by the fact that they were written at different times during which Paul could have added more words to his vocabulary, and it should also be considered that the situation being addressed was completely different (NewApologia). The Pastoral letters in question are usually thought to have been written after Paul was first released from prison, which was many years after he wrote his other letters, during which time he could have acquired many words into his vocabulary. Some have argued about the absence of Pauline words and phrases or group of words typical of Paul’s style of writing in the pastoral letters. This can only be relevant if the one arguing proves that that words and phrases ought to have been used and furthermore, this occurrence is common not only in the case of the pastoral letters but also is found in the other Pauline letters. It is also worthy to note that there are more than 500 words shared by the Pauline and the pastoral letters, and also many phrases that are unique with Paul’s writing style shared also by both (Smith). When we take this vocabulary and writing style issues into consideration, it strengthens the argument that the Pastoral letters were actually written by Paul. It is also common to find Paul using different words to denote the same meaning between the Pauline letters and the pastoral ones. In Colossians 3:22, the Greek word’ Kurioi’is used to mean slave while ‘despotai’ is used in the pastoral letters to mean the same thing. In 1Timothy 1:12 and 2Timothy 1:3, the word ‘eucharisteo’ is used to denote to give thanks, while ‘charin echo’ is used in the pastoral letters to denote the same thing. While this is worthwhile to note, the explanation can be that Paul could have used words with different meanings to pass on different messages at different times, concerning the different situations and issues he needed to address. There was nothing to prevent Paul from using one word with different meanings and at different times in his life, something that is also seen in the other Pauline letters, where even the same word is used to denote different meanings in the same letter. In Philippians 3:1, Paul refers to those who are in Christ as brethren while in Philippians 1:1, he refers to the same people as saints (Smith). This denotes that the argument about the use of different words for different meanings cannot be the basis to verify whether it was or was not Paul who wrote the pastoral letters. The change of tone and the seeming lack of vigor and liveliness in the pastoral letters cannot also be the basis to argue about Paul’s authorship when we consider the reason for writing the letters and to whom they are written. While most of the other Pauline letters are written to the saints and brethren or in other words to the general body of believers in the various places where Paul planted churches, and with the purpose of giving general instruction to Christians, the pastoral letters were written by Paul specifically to Timothy and Titus to instruct them about pastoral duties, responsibilities and guidelines about qualifications of the people expected to assume leadership positions in Church as found in 1Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:7 (NewApologia). He also As seen earlier, he was their mentor and spiritual father and had the duty to guide them towards their spiritual advancement, their duty to instruct the church flock under their care and their quest to bring others into Christianity. In 2Timothy 2:1-2, Paul addresses Timothy as his son, pointing him to his source of enablement which is becoming strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus, and also teaches him about spiritual multiplication, which is the passing unto others what he has heard from him to other faithful men who will continue the process. The change of tone in the pastoral letters is because they are like leadership training manuals while the other Pauline letters are general instruction letters to all believers (Christ Lutheran Church of the Deaf). The change of circumstances, the people to whom the pastoral letters are addressed and the purpose for which they are written thus explains this facet of argument about authorship. The view that the pastoral letters are written to individuals rather than the church as not been consistent with Paul is arguable looked at the point of view that Paul intended to establish credible leadership in the church. While some have argued that the church structure as shown in the pastoral letters did not exist during Paul’s time, this is not true since, in the book of Acts 4:13, Paul is recorded to have appointed elders in the churches he planted during his missionary journeys. He also is recorded to have called for the elders and deacons of the church in Acts 20:17, when he came to Melitus. This shows that the order was in existence even during Paul’s time, and he needed to have it established in the churches where Timothy and Titus shepherded. In the Pauline epistle to the Philippians, Paul also addresses the letter to the Bishops and deacons, showing that the procedure was well established during Paul’s time (Christ Lutheran Church of the Deaf). The church structure as described in the pastoral letters is also very similar to the Jewish synagogue model and, Paul being a Jew was very familiar with the Jewish structure and so it is no wonder that he advances it in the pastoral letters. The argument too that the beliefs which the author of the pastoral letters was countering were Gnostic, which did not exist during Paul’s time is not entirely correct, since Paul was arguing against Jewish and pagan believes which were prevalent during the time of authorship. Some of these can be found in 1 Tim 4:3 and Titus 1:10. Teachings that warned against false teachings were very common in Pauline letters for example in Romans14:2 about the eating of foods. There were the teachings about circumcision too so as to harmonize the relationship between Jews and Gentiles in the Christian faith. The foregoing observations point to the fact that the pastoral letters were written by Paul to Timothy and Titus. Works Cited Christ Lutheran Church of the Deaf. Titus and Timothy, 2012.Web Available at: http://www.christdeaf.org/bible/unknowns/titus_tim.htm NewApologia. Who wrote 1 Timothy?2012.Web. Available at: http://newapologia.com/who-wrote-1-timothy/ Smith, Barry, B. Pauls Pastoral Letters, 2011. Web. Available at: http://www.abu.nb.ca/courses/ntintro/1Tim.htm Read More