This sermon is from the Rev. Charles G. Dennison sermon archive, part of “The History of Salvation” series, and was preached at Grace Orthodox Presbyterian Church in Sewickley, PA, during a worship service on Sunday, February 24, 1991.

We begin our scripture reading this morning, excuse me, with Philippians 3. We will conclude it in 2 Timothy 4, first of all in Philippians 3. We begin in verse 1 here, Lord God. Finally, my brethren, rejoice in the Lord. To write the same things again is no trouble to me, and it is a safeguard for you. Beware of the dogs, beware of the evil vermin, beware of the false circumcision. For we are the true circumcision, who worship in the spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh, although I myself might have confidence even in the flesh. If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more. To circumcise the eighth day of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Gentia, of the Hebrew of Hebrews, as to the law of the Pharisees, as to the devil, the persecutor of the Church, as to righteousness, which is in the law, found blameless.

Whatever things were gained to me, those things I encountered as laws. for the sake of Christ. More than that, I count all things to be lost in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, in whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own, who I have become the law, that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings being conformed to His death, of order that I may attain to the resurrection from the death, not that I have already attained this, but have already become perfect. I press on in order that I may lay hold of that for which also I was laid hold of by Christ Jesus. Brethren, I do not regard myself as having laid hold of that. One thing I do, getting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upper part of God in Christ Jesus.

Because, therefore, as many as are perfect have this attitude, and if in anything you have a different attitude, God will reveal that also to you. However, let us keep living by that same standard to which we have obtained. Brethren, join in following my example and observe those who have walked according to the patterns left in us. For many walk with whom I have often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ, whose end is destruction, whose God is their appetite, and whose glory is in their shame, who set their minds on earthly things.” For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform the body of our humble state into conformity with the body of His glory by the exertion of power that He hath even to subject all things to Himself.” And turning over to 2 Timothy, the fourth chapter, reading verses 6 through 8, and then verses 16 through 18. 2 Timothy 4, beginning with verse 6.

The time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith. In the future there is waiting for me the crown of righteousness which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved His appearance.” At my first defense, no one supported me, and all deserted me. May it not be counted against me. But the Lord stood with me and strengthened me in order that through me the proclamation might be fully accomplished, and that all the Gentiles might hear. I was delivered out of the lion’s mouth.” The Lord will deliver you from every evil deed and will bring you safely to His heavenly kingdom. To Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Very good. Even now, I want to go on with verse 7-4.

You can now warn Him that the heavens are witness for you, the earth is brought to testify on your behalf. For the heavens and the earth have seen them by the works. They know what has been accomplished in them. Lord, Your servants have been raised up, they too, to bring incovenient witness to the earth that all might be convicted. that some glory may in fact be transformed by the proclamation of the Gospel. So Lord, our prayers are in keeping with the testimony that has been given in heaven and on earth by your servants. Our expectation is with respect to the transformation of the men, the gathering of your elect from the four corners of the earth, so that the growth crates post this assembly. And in the day, Lord, in the day which You appear, surely all Your saints shall be congregated, and the joy will be immeasurable.”

To that end, Lord, we worship Thou. To that end, we serve and live, our life being at peace with our worship, our worship and our life bound together. I put that to Your praise. We exalt You now in Christ, by whom we have access to and cope with respect to that great day which is promised.

Well, this has been an ambitious undertaking from the beginning. We’re almost to the end of our consideration of the Old Testament. But in the midst of this ambitious project, we come to an ambitious project tonight, which is to cover, would you believe it, all thirteen epistles of Paul. So sit tight. Sit back. You may want to take out a few notes here. You may want to pass this way again.

There are thirteen epistles, thirteen letters, written by Cole. I might say at the outset that there are many questions surrounding these epistles. There are many questions that deal with particulars attached to these epistles, questions that have to do with time and place, circumstances in the epoch of life. We’re not keyed in with respect to those matters at every point.

In fact, we can even say that there’s something of a general tone to the epistles of Paul, a general tone that makes these epistles useful throughout the entirety of the history of the Church. a general and universal tone that makes them applicable at whatever point you find yourself along that line between Christ’s resurrection and our own. We won’t be spending any time tonight dealing with those particulars, except that we want to organize these epistles in a chronological fashion for you. That is, we want to group them for you so that you can easily see where ordinarily they have been placed within the life of the apostle and his ministry. Our interest, therefore, will be chronological this evening, not canonical.

We know that the epistles are all run from Romans to Philemon, and they’re not necessarily appearing in the New Testament in the order in which they are written. We tried to map out a strategy tonight, an overview of the epistles where we’re able to set them in some sort of chronological frame, and that you’re able to move through them then in some way that will make some sense to you.

There are four divisions for Paul’s letters. Four divisions for Paul’s letters. Now, his first two letters were written, as we have already stated previously, his first two letters were written to the Thessalonians. He judged that these were the first of Paul’s letters.

They were written during his second missionary journey. They were written in the early fifties A.D., and they were written, most likely, from Paul. So Paul has, in that second missionary journey, moved down from Macedonia into Achaia to come down and visit Athens, and then he visited Corinth. And the supposition is that from Corinth, then Paul writes to the Thessalonian churches churches that had been formed founded by him in the process of that second missionary journey.

So that’s the first letter. That’s the first division. The second group of letters is written during his third missionary journey. Here we have four letters, namely Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and Romans. That’s not necessary in that order. Second-moving Galatians, 1st and 2nd Corinthians, and Romans.

Now Paul’s Third Dictionary takes place in the middle years, in the fifties. in the middle part of that sixth decade in the first century of G. 1 Corinthians is the first letter produced by Paul in this group. 1 Corinthians is the first letter produced by Paul in this group.

It was written from Ephesus to the church in Corinth. Now, keep your geography in mind. You know where Ephesus is, you know where Corinth is. Ephesus is in Asia Minor or present-day Turkey, and Corinth, of course, is in Achaia or in present-day Greece. So Paul has come to Ephesus first in his journey, moved through the territory of the eastern portion of Asia Minor to the territory of Galatia. in his third missionary journey, that he sends a letter across the sea, the Aegean Sea, to Achaea and to Ptolemy.

And as you read through 1 Corinthians, you find out that this is actually his first letter to the Corinthians. It’s more likely his second letter to the Corinthians. But does it mean 1 Corinthians is the second Corinthians? Well, that’s what it seems. If you check out 1 Corinthians 5 and on, you’ll find there that Paul has written a previous letter to his church. We don’t know much about that letter except that the Corinthians are confused about what Paul is saying in that letter. So here we are with the first letter. which we have in Scripture, is written to these saints in Corinth. And we know something about the circumstances.

I think it’s obvious to you there is severe fragmentation of the Church. There are terrible divisions. in the Church of Corinth, and there are particular problems that have arisen in the Church of What do we do with our relationship with pagans? How do we treat an offending brother, someone who has sinned in our midst? What do we do with the question of spiritual gifts? What about the question of the resurrection, bodily resurrection of Christ and our hope, respectively, in bodily resurrection?

1 Corinthians 15. In the midst of this, of course, there is that gem, 1 Corinthians 13, the love chapter in which Christ himself expounded in terms of the love that he presented there. Paul, of course, then, beckoning this church to unity, despite the division, beckoning them to doctrinal orthodoxy in lieu of the heretical tendencies that have been arisen within that church. Well, we know Paul’s stated emphasis a bit before he makes his way north to Troas and across the strait and into Macedonia. But Paul, en route now to Corinth, writes to Corinth again, and 2 Corinthians, penned by Paul at this time.

This letter is actually the most intimate of his larger letters. If you want a long treatise written by the apostle in which his heart is in a sustained way being laid bare for you, here it is in 2 Corinthians. It’s an extended love letter written by Paul to this Corinthian church. It’s the most moving, moving letter written by the Apostle, out of his great love and concern for these saints who are in poverty.

By and large, this epistle comes about As an extensive defense of Paul’s apostleship, it seems that his credentials are being questioned, and he puts forth an extensive defense of his apostleship in many wonderful stern passages within that epistle in which Paul, in a very poignant manner, presents his apostleship as that which has been conferred upon by Christ for the benefit of even these Corinthians who are resisted presently.

Now, there is great debate about Galatians. But generally, what is held is that Galatians is written when Paul gets to Corinth. He’s making his way around the loop from Ephesus through Macedonia down to Corinth, having arrived in Corinth. There is word of waiting him there. about the defection of many in the Galatian churches. And, of course, there’s tremendous debate about some of the particulars surrounding the Galatian letter, but nevertheless we recognize it as being something of the Apostles’ great declaration of spiritual independence.

The gospel is the means of liberty from Jewish legal tyranny, the root of true spiritual freedom found in and through Christ’s work, and that comes to realization in a life that is lived in the Spirit. I think that some of the marvelous passages that have come to us out of the relational I think I’ve been over in the fifth chapter. “…for free of the evidence that free from snagged visitors.” Stop! If you’ve been made alive by the Spirit, then walk in the Spirit.

It’s a tremendous declaration by the Apostle. Also, you find in this epistle The statement concerning the way of justification, not by our works but by the work of Christ. It is the work of Christ that vindicates us. Our faith is directed toward that work, and that work is our hope and confidence. We are not then to glory in our own works or both in ourselves.

Well, we contend, and it generally will be now, that this letter, this magnificent letter, the desertion of Galatian Christians to a Jewish formalism. This letter was tendered by Paul when he had, in fact, a wide affluence during the process of his third missionary journey. And finally, the set of epistles during the third missionary journey, we have the letter of Paul to the Romans, the letter of Paul to the Romans again. We suspect that this letter was written from heart, and this one is pried greatly, it seems, to stand as the first of letters for reason. It seems to be the most objective of all letters.

There seems to be something of a systematic development within this letter that makes to reform the people who are deeply into the systems themselves, into the system of doctrine that is presented in Scripture. They gravitate, it seems, to the epistle to the Romans, and there they find a good, friendly territory to traverse for themselves.

The epistle is concerned mainly with the issue of Jew-Gentile relations. The fact that now the Gentiles have been brought in, what does this mean for the Jews? Specifically, what does this mean with respect to the faithfulness of God to recover? Have God’s promises to Israel then failed? In the context of this discussion, Paul once more asserts the magnificence of that doctrine of justification by faith, spelling it out more fully than he has in his Epistles of the Galatians, and to this he adds, of course, his marvelous exposition and affirmation of that doctrine of predestination, God’s sovereign election by which he calls his own to himself.

So this rounds out, then, the second grouping of Paul’s epistles. You have the first grouping, Second Missionary Church, First and Second Thessalonians, second grouping now in the Third Missionary Church, Galatians, First and Second Corinthians, and Romans.

Those epistles were up to six years down the line ago. We come now, then, to the third group of letters written by the This third group is known as the prison epistles. Do you know which are the prison epistles? Name one prison epistle. So we’re going to have a test at the end of this sermon, and we’ll see how well he learns it. something that’s well for you to keep in mind.

You can actually position these letters by Paul and keep these groupings in mind. So we’re at the third group now. Paul’s third missionary journey is concluded. And you know how things go for Paul. At the end of the Book of Acts, you remember, he returned from his third dictionary journey, went up to Jerusalem, and there he’s arrested, and now he’s being carted off to Rome, and he is in chains. So, the Book of Acts ends with Paul in a state of imprisonment, and thus the prison Now, he writes four letters from prison at this point. Four letters from prison at this point. And these letters are Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. There’s four. We’re up to ten. We’re getting there. Aren’t we? We’re getting there.

And we associate these with Paul’s first imprisonment. We don’t know much about his subsequent imprisonments. There may have been multiple imprisonments. There may have been just one more. But at any rate, we contend that there were at least two imprisonments. And from the first imprisonment, we have these four epistles. Now, three of these are grouped together. We believe written as a… the same time.

Maybe you could tell me which ones they were. Of course, you have Ephesians and Colossians, which are parallel pieces. Have you ever read Ephesians and Colossians together? They read alike. They have parallel passages, a parallel order to them, parallel statements. You can read the one in light of the other.

Philemon is also grouped with these epistles that you have between Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. And the first two of these, Ephesians and Colossians, are powerful treatises that revel in the fullness of Christ. that revel in the tremendous, magnificent fullness of Christ in the excellency of the Savior. Just read through those epistles if you want a spiritual high in which the glory of Christ are trekked out in front of you, for you there to behold.

Christ is superlatively portrayed. He is the beginning of creation. For Him and by Him, all things have been made. In Him, all the fullness of the Deity, of the Goddess dwells bodily. You have all of these magnificent statements about Christ. In fact, in philosophy, you’re told that He is the All-in-all.

You can’t get much higher. in your descriptions of Christ. the marvelous sections throughout Ephesians and Colossians. Grace is not shortchanged. You know that passage that you were taught as a child, Ephesians 2a, for by grace are you saved through faith. That love of yourselves is a gift of God, not of worthless. Any man should boast.

You know that passage. You know the marvelous way, what have been called practical sections of those epistles. Now, Paul has instructions there for congregations as they are called upon to submit in Christ, how wives are instructed to love or submit to their husbands, and husbands are commanded to love their wives. You have children and parents given specific instruction, masters in service given specific instruction in those epistles, Ephesians and Colossians. And all of this, you see, coming forth from Paul while he is in chains. He’s dwelling on the breadth, the expansiveness of Christ while he is sitting confined in severe limitation in Rome.

Then you have, by the way, what else? What can I say about Philemon? We’re going to have to do some more about Philemon someday, because here in brief form we have the Heart of the Apostle in compact, compressed form, the Heart of the Apostle, laid out in front of us. A brief epistle, yet a bold line.

Here Paul proves himself Christlike and servant. to this master named Philemon. And he graciously asks Philemon to prove himself the same, that is, to prove himself Christlike and a servant to Onesimus, the runaway slave, one who has possibly been converted by Paul’s ministry while in chains in Rome. He asks, by Leman, the master to become the slave of the slave, and thus reflect Christ, who made himself slave to us, that we might be served. It’s marvelous stuff! The Christ is preached so powerfully here, not just by the words of an apostle, not just by doctrine laid out before Philemon, but by the very life of a man.

With reason, then, this short, brief letter to Philemon is included in the corpus of Paul’s letters. almost as if you can’t go any higher, which you can in Ephesians and Colossians, and then you move on to Philemon. But let me tell you, we do move higher seemingly when we come to Philippians. Didn’t you enjoy hearing Philippians 3? Isn’t that a marvelous, marvelous chapter out of the Apostles’ writings?

And how he sits forward so vulnerably. In the very center of his existence in this epistle, he says in the opening chapter, for me to live in Christ’s body. The second chapter, remember what stands at the center of the second chapter, Philippians? Have this mind of you which is also in Christ Jesus. You remember how that goes. Then you have the third chapter, which Paul tells us that he counts everything that may have been gained to him in the plague as but refuse. when compared to Christ and to knowing Him.

How would we be found in Him without having my own righteousness, which is after the law, but the righteousness which is by faith, by faith in Jesus Christ? That I might be conformed to Him, now in the power of His resurrection and also the fellowship of His sufferings.

How He presses on towards the end Towards the end of that chapter, it speaks about our heavenly citizenship, which is permanent, fixed, unshakable. From heaven we await our Savior. His coming shall mean the transformation of our vile minds into the image of His glory. What shall we say about the fourth chapter of Philippians? God’s psychometry talks about the peace that passes all understanding capable of guarding our earthly minds in Christ Jesus. God’s psychometry. Incredible, duh. Living is marvelous, marvelous indeed.

Well, that concludes the third grouping of the assistance standard. in the first and second Thessalonians in the second missionary journey. We have those four letters that we spoke of in the third missionary journey. We had Galatians and Romans in the first and second trinity. Now the third grouping was the Prismatists, Ephesians, Olympians, Colossians, Philemon. We have three left, and what three on the day? Three. We have the pastoral epistles, 1 and 2 Timothy and Titus. There it is. There it is. We’re done.

Now, most likely, the imprisonment that is spoken of with regard to Paul at the end of Acts was not the final imprisonment experienced by the Apostles. There’s other evidence within his epistles that He was released, he had a period of freedom before he was arrested again and then tried and, yes, in fact, executed. Now, most likely, Paul’s second arrest occurred in the year 64 AD. But the period now in which he writes these pastoral epistles is that period from about 62 to 64 A.D. Now, believe it or not, these epistles are very, very important. They seem to be the last epistles that he writes. Do you think he saved the best for last? Well, in some respect, he does.

But when people are thinking about looking for the best from the Apostles, they don’t ordinarily turn to the pastoral epistles, do they? They turn to somewhere else. But the pastoral epistles are glorious. Now, why so? Because, you see, the pastoral epistles are transitional documents. What do I mean by that? They are documents that are born to them, chart out for us the pattern of things, the way in which things lay, as we move from the apostolic period to the post-apostolic period. From that period in which we have a living, breathing apostle with us, to a period in which we don’t. That makes these epistles very important, doesn’t it? Because here the apostle is going to tell us things that are of vital importance for us, and we will be in a state, in a condition, in which we have no living, breathing apostle among us.

It’s almost as if the pastoral epistles are Paul’s last will and testament. These are the things he wants to say as he prepares to leave this world. Now, we can say something more about these pastoral epistles. They are architectonic. Oh, that’s a nice word. They are architectonic. They are concerned with architecture. What do I mean?

They are concerned with structure, with order, the structure and order of the Church of Christ, how Christ’s Church is to look, how it’s to behave, how it’s to be ordered in terms of its offices, and the responsibilities that arise within the order of the Church.

Now, Paul probably writes first Timothy and Titus from Macedonia, then released from Rome. He’s making journeys now through some of the territories that he has traversed before he comes to Macedonia, and from Macedonia he writes his letters to Timothy and to Titus. Where is Timothy? Timothy is in Ephesus. He has responsibilities there. And where is Titus? Titus is in Crete, the island of Crete.

Now, after Paul has had a period of freedom, as we’ve said, he’s moved about the Mediterranean world and had a great impact, still further impact, possibly even made his way to Spain. He had hoped to get there, you know. He possibly got as far as Spain, but at any rate, he knows that there is an end to this period, and he is arrested a second time. He is taken to Rome now, and from Rome, during the second imprisonment, he writes his final letter, his glorious letter, second to the letter, from which we have read tonight.

And this, most likely, immediately before his execution. If you were going to be executed for Christ, do you think that you could not be such wise as these? You might well be. And you think of Christians in Iraq and Kuwait, who may be facing death because of their faith? How would they express themselves? Were saints in Germany held up before the onslaught? Were believers in Holland during the Second World War? and were persecuted and executed for their faith.

Well, marvelous stuff, and you’ll note as you go through it how the Apostle speaks in Christ-like language. Did you notice how things move from that 16th verse on? He’s already described Himself as an offering about to be poured out, a sacrifice. That’s Christlike. But in verse 18, He talks about His first offense. Noah stood with Him. Well, that sounds familiar. Then He says, but all deserted Me. Yes, that sounds familiar. May it not be counted against Him. That sounds familiar too.

It’s paramount in His own departure, after the departure of life, for me to live His life. Then He speaks about His own. In this very statement, a personal quote, as wonderful as that 18th verse, the Lord will deliver me from every evil deed and will bring me faithfully to His heavenly kingdom.

Now, here are the thirteen epistles of Paul. I’ve got them organized now. Okay, we’re having a test. The Thessalonian epistles in the Second Missionary Journey, the next four from the Third Missionary Journey, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, and Romans. Then the prison epistles. We have Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Pliny. Then the last period, the pastoral epistles, 1 and 2, Timothy, and the rest.

There it is, what I made up. The letters themselves are a monument to the grace of God. As the apocryphal servant of the Spirit declares, the Gospel has given to successive ages that we are the beneficiaries of this. The apocryphal articulates the great doctrines of the faith, setting them before us as the standard, the rule, the canon for us.

But He lives out those doctrines so wonderfully in the Spirit of Christ, so that Christ Himself is seen in the Apostle. Not only are we to embrace the doctrines, we are to live the doctrines. Not only are we to believe in Christ, we are to live Christ. So the Apostle Abel said, 1 Corinthians 11. be imitators of Me, even as I am of Christ.

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