Introduction to the letter to the Philippians The 50th book of the Bible, the 11th in the New Testament The church in Philippi, a city in the eastern part of the Roman province of Macedonia, in northern Greece, was the first Christian community on the European continent.It was founded by the Apostle Paul during his…
Introduction to the letter to the Ephesians The 49th book of the Bible, the 10th in the New Testament Ephesus was one of the most important cities of antiquity, both economically—a wealthy trading city on the west coast of modern-day Turkey—and in terms of pagan religion, with its temple dedicated to the Greek goddess Artemis…
Introduction to the letter to the Galatians The 48th book of the Bible, the 9th in the New Testament During his second missionary journey, Paul traveled through Central Anatolia, where Turkey’s current capital is located, and founded several churches there. About 300 years earlier, some 20,000 Celtic mercenaries from the Volcae tribal confederation, who originated…
Introduction to the second letter to the Corinthians The 47th book of the Bible, the 8th in the New Testament Paul wrote the Second Letter to the Corinthians not long after his first letter, probably as early as 56 AD from Macedonia. It is a very personal letter in which the apostle reveals much about…
Introduction to the first letter to the Corinthians The 46th book of the Bible, the 7th in the New Testament Paul likely wrote the First Epistle to the Corinthians around A.D. 55 during his stay in Ephesus on his third missionary journey. Corinth, located in southern Greece, was at that time a large and important…
Introduction to the letter to the Romans The 45th book of the Bible, the 6th in the New Testament The Epistle to the Romans is one of Paul’s longest and most important letters, and is considered the first—and perhaps the greatest—work on Christian theology.It is also the earliest evidence of a Christian congregation in the…
Introduction to the Acts of the Apostels The 44th book of the Bible, the 5th in the New Testament Like the Gospel of Luke, the Acts of the Apostles is addressed to Theophilus and was written by Luke the physician, a companion and co-worker of the Apostle Paul. This second account by Luke was likely…
Introduction to Gospel according to John The 43rd book of the Bible, the 4th in the New Testament The fourth Gospel was also written by one of Jesus’ disciples, namely the Apostle John. On this point, not only the Church Fathers but even the early opponents of Christianity are in agreement. John came from a…
Introduction to Gospel according to Luke The 42nd book of the Bible, the 3rd in the New Testament The author of the third Gospel is Luke the physician; like the writer of the Gospel of Mark, he was a companion and co-worker of Paul. Luke, who also wrote the Book of Acts, is the only…
Introduction to Gospel according to Mark The 41st book of the Bible, the 2nd in the New Testament The early Church Fathers attribute the Second Gospel to John Mark, the son of a woman named Mary from Jerusalem and the nephew of Barnabas (Acts 12:12; 2 Timothy 4:11).Mark was not one of the disciples; even…