Epistles

By David Maas
{STUDIES FROM THE EPISTLES}

[Click on the title below to open an article]


{THESSALONIANS}
  1. This Evil Age - {PDF Copy} - (The death of Jesus inaugurated the messianic age with consequent changes in the status of the Law and God’s people)
  2. Concerning Times and Seasons - {PDF Copy} - (Paul does not detail the times and seasons since the Thessalonians understand that the Lord will come like a thief in the night)
  3. Paul, Signs and Seasons - {PDF Copy} - (Paul does not provide a detailed outline of the signs and seasons that will precede the End. Instead, he exhorts disciples to live righteously now)
  4. Comfort One Another - {PDF Copy} - (Foundational to the church’s future hope is the bodily resurrection of believers when Jesus arrives in glory)
  5. His Revelation from Heaven - {PDF Copy} - (The arrival of Jesus will mean vindication and rest for the righteous, but everlasting loss for the wicked)

{GALATIANS}
  1. Rescued from this Evil Age - {PDF Copy} - (Paul anchored all that God has done in the past Death and Resurrection of Jesus, which inaugurated the messianic age)
  2. Controversy in Galatia - {PDF Copy} - (The dispute at Galatia was whether Gentile converts must be circumcised and keep the required deeds of the Torah)
  3. A Different Gospel - {PDF Copy} - (The Judaizing opponents of Paul at Galatia preached a different message and a different)
  4. Paul's Statement - {PDF Copy} - (Paul presents the points of agreement and disagreement with his opponents at Galatia)
  5. The Jurisdiction of the Law - {PDF Copy} - (Paul argues that with the arrival of the promised seed, Jesus, believers are under a new covenant)
  6. Rudimentary Things - {PDF Copy} - (The Messianic Age dawned in Jesus, and calendrical rituals and other Levitical regulations belong to the obsolete old order)
  7. The Spirit of Life - {PDF Copy} - (It is the Spirit of God that imparts all life, especially the everlasting life in Jesus of which the gift of the Spirit is a foretaste and guarantee)
  8. Having Started in the Spirit - {PDF Copy} - (The receipt of the Spirit while in an uncircumcised state is irrefutable proof that Gentiles are accepted by God AS GENTILES)
  9. The Promised Spirit - {PDF Copy} - (The promise of the Spirit is part of the blessing of Abraham for the nations and the children of Abraham)
  10. Redemption & Adoption - {PDF Copy} - (The Law was an interim stage with a termination point. Disciples are no longer under its jurisdiction, but now, are in Christ)
  11. Dividing the Church - {PDF Copy} - (For the church to insist on a Torah-observant lifestyle means the restoration of the old social barriers between Jew and Gentile)
  12. Neither Jew Nor Greek - {PDF Copy} - (Galatians 3:20.29 - To return to the custodianship of the Law would mean to erect again the divisions between Jewish and Gentile believers)
  13. Circumcision - Cutting Issue - {PDF Copy} - (With the new era inaugurated by Jesus, circumcision is no longer the sign of membership in the covenant community)
  14. Preaching Another Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (Is Jesus still the “slain Lamb,” or has he become the “roaring” Lion of Judah out to exact payback from his enemies?)
  15. Seed of Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the true “seed” of Abraham, the heir of the covenant promises, and receipt of the inheritance is based on faith in Him)

{CORINTH}
  1. Yea and Amen -{PDF Copy} - (The types and “shadows” of the Hebrew Bible find their substance in the Son of God, Christ Jesus)
  2. Power and Wisdom - {PDF Copy} - (God's power and wisdom are revealed in Christ Crucified, not in great miraculous displays)
  3. The Death of Death - {PDF Copy} - (The arrival of Jesus at the end of the age will mean the termination of the Last Enemy - Death)
  4. The Day of Jesus Christ - (Jesus will arrive on the Day of the Lord when the dead are raised, the wicked are judged, and death will cease forevermore) - {PDF Copy}

{ROMANS}
  1. Heir of the World - {PDF Copy} - (According to Paul, the covenant promise of land for Abraham and his seed always envisioned the inclusion of the entire world)
  2. The True Seed of Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the promised "seed of Abraham" destined to inherit all things, and all those who are "in him")
  3. Works of the Law - {PDF Copy} - (In Romans, discussions about justification by “works” has a specific category of works in view – the “works of the law”)
  4. Righteousness, Wrath, Salvation - {PDF Copy} - (Paul argues from plight to solution as he presents his gospel to the churches in Rome)
  5. Coheirs with Jesus - {PDF Copy} - (The covenant with Abraham is fulfilled in Jesus, his seed and heir, including the promise of land)
  6. Food and Calendars - {PDF Copy} - (Romans 14:1-5 - The dietary and calendrical regulations of the Levitical system are not mandatory for Christians)
  7. Inheritance of Abraham - {PDF Copy} - (In Jesus, the original limited promise of territory to Abraham is transformed to encompass the entire creation)
  8. Spirit and Resurrection - {PDF Copy} - (The gift of the Spirit is the first fruit of the bodily resurrection and the foretaste of the promised New Creation)
  9. Life from the Dead - {PDF Copy} - (Paul presents his gospel from humanity's plight due to sin to the resurrection of the dead and the New Creation)
  10. Resurrection and Creation - {PDF Copy} - (The Spirit is the first fruit of the future resurrection of believers and the redemption of the Creation)

{EPHESIANS}
  1. One Covenant People - {PDF Copy} - (By his death, Jesus has formed one covenant community - “one new Man” - based on faith in him, not ethnicity)

{HEBREWS}
  1. His Superior Word - {PDF Copy} - (God’s definitive word has been spoken in His Son. All previous words were partial, preparatory, and incomplete)
  2. "Upon These Last Days" - {PDF Copy} - (The era of the Levitical priesthood terminated with the arrival of the word of God spoken in His Son)
  3. His Supremacy - {PDF Copy} - (Through a series of comparisons, Hebrews demonstrates the supremacy of the Son over his predecessors)
  4. Purification of Sins - {PDF Copy} - (Having achieved the purification of sins, Jesus sat down at the right hand of God where he intercedes for his people as their faithful high priest)
  5. His Distinguished Name - {PDF Copy} - (Having achieved the purification of sins, Jesus inherited a more distinguished name than the angels – Son)
  6. Do Not Drift Away - {PDF Copy} - (A dire warning of the consequences for failing to hear and obey the superior word of the Son)
  7. Merciful High Priest - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus qualified as our high priest by participating fully in human suffering, mortality, and death)
  8. Superior to Moses - {PDF Copy} - (The word of the Son is superior even to the word of Moses, the servant and Great Lawgiver in the house of Yahweh)
  9. Priest Forever - {PDF Copy} - (The priesthood of Jesus is superior because it rests on his endless resurrection life, the priest after the order of Melchizedek – Psalm 110:4)
  10. Shadow to Substance - {PDF Copy} - (The types and “shadows” of the old covenant find their substance and fulfillment in the Son, Jesus Christ)
  11. The Incomparable New Covenant - {PDF Copy} - (In his death, Jesus inaugurated the promised and vastly superior new covenant, rendering the old one obsolete)
  12. The Exaltation of the Son - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus is the Son who is exalted after his suffering and death to become our sovereign and faithful High Priest)
  13. The Tent Pitched by God - {PDF Copy} - (Jesus intercedes without ceasing for his people in the true heavenly Tabernacle, one not made with human hands)
  14. New Priesthood - Change of Law - {PDF Copy} - (The new priesthood after the order of Melchizedek inaugurated in Jesus also means a change in the Law - Hebrews 7:1o2)