The Paul Letters in 2min

Connecting The Paul Letters to the Big Picture of the Bible

Action Steps

To better understand Paul's letters, let's take a look at the big picture of the Bible. In the beginning, God reveals himself as a loving creator in heaven, providing everything mankind needs on earth. Sadly, however, mankind prefers to rule earth without the authority of heaven and rebels against their creator. Since then, the relationship between heaven and earth has been broken.

But God desires to restore this relationship by saving people both through and in Jesus Christ. And Paul's letters explain what it means to be saved in Christ. You see, Paul grew up as a devout Jew waiting for the Messiah, the Savior King. But then he realized that Jesus was the Messiah who had already come to earth and returned to heaven. And now from heaven, Jesus is directly connected to every believer on earth through his spirit.

This truth characterizes all of Paul's letters. Jesus is the head in heaven and Christians on earth form his body. Paul refers to this bond with Jesus in heaven as being in Christ. In this body, there is no longer any distinction between Jews and non-Jews. All who believe in Jesus belong to this new group called the church.

The church is not a lifeless religious building on earth, but a heavenly living body of believers that represents Jesus Christ here on earth. However, Paul emphasizes that this is only an intermediate state. The church is meant to bear witness of the kingdom of God here on earth and give a foretaste of the coming kingdom. One day, Jesus will gather all believers to himself and they will rule the world with him in righteousness.

To summarize, Paul's letters reveal the closest bond between God and humanity. They show us that God not only wanted to restore the relationship with humanity, but also desires to be deeply connected with them. Do you know how much God loves you, that he not only wants to save you, but also desires to live in you through the Holy Spirit?