This article is the third in a seven-part series exploring the historical, literary, and theological reality of the Apostle Paul. Relying on modern historical-critical scholarship, this series unpacks who Paul was, what his core ideas were, and provides a synopsis of every letter attributed to him in the New Testament. Part 3 focuses on the literary nature of Paul’s writings and provides a historical-critical overview of his seven “undisputed” letters.

When reading the letters of the Apostle Paul, it is easy to forget that you are actually reading someone else’s mail.

For centuries, theologians have treated Paul’s writings as a comprehensive, systematic manual of Christian doctrine. However, historical-critical scholars emphasize a vital literary concept: Paul’s epistles are occasional documents. He did not sit down to write a timeless theological textbook. He wrote letters to specific people, in specific cities, to address specific, chaotic occasions.

Reading Paul is like listening to one side of a heated phone call. We only hear Paul’s responses, and scholars must carefully reconstruct the questions, crises, and opponents that prompted him to write in the first place.

Of the thirteen or fourteen letters attributed to Paul in the New Testament, critical scholars universally agree that Paul actually wrote seven of them. Here is a brief synopsis of the “Undisputed Epistles,” the authentic voices of the historical Paul.

1 Thessalonians: The Apocalyptic Crisis

Date: c. 50–52 CE (Likely the earliest surviving Christian document)

The Occasion: Paul had founded a small community in Thessalonica (Greece) and taught them that Jesus would return at any moment to establish God’s kingdom. However, time had passed, and some members of the community had died before the apocalypse occurred.

The Message: The Thessalonians were panicked, wondering if their deceased loved ones had missed out on salvation. Paul writes to comfort them, assuring them that when Jesus returns, the dead will be resurrected first, and the living will join them. It is a letter saturated in urgent, first-century apocalyptic expectation.

Galatians: The Fiery Defense

Date: c. 53–56 CE

The Occasion: After Paul established churches in Galatia (modern-day Turkey), rival Jewish-Christian missionaries arrived. These opponents told the Galatian Gentiles that Paul was a second-rate apostle and that they needed to be circumcised and follow the Jewish Law to be truly saved.

The Message: Galatians is Paul’s angriest letter; he is so furious he skips his usual polite thanksgiving at the beginning. He fiercely defends his apostolic authority, claiming he received his gospel directly from a revelation of Jesus. He argues passionately that requiring Gentiles to be circumcised is a betrayal of the gospel, insisting that both Jews and Gentiles are justified by faith, not by the Torah.

1 Corinthians: The Chaotic Church

Date: c. 53–54 CE

The Occasion: Corinth was a wealthy, bustling, cosmopolitan Greek port city. Paul’s church there was a disaster. The community was fractured by class divisions, lawsuits, sexual immorality, and chaotic worship services where people were competing over who had the most impressive spiritual gifts.

The Message: Paul writes to put out multiple fires. He tackles the issues one by one, addressing everything from whether Christians can eat meat sacrificed to pagan idols, to proper behavior during the Lord’s Supper. The letter contains Paul’s famous meditation on love (Chapter 13) and a crucial, detailed defense of the physical resurrection of the dead (Chapter 15).

2 Corinthians: The Ministry Under Attack

Date: c. 55–57 CE

The Occasion: The relationship between Paul and the Corinthians had deteriorated. Rival teachers, whom Paul sarcastically calls “super-apostles,” had arrived in Corinth, dazzling the church with their rhetorical skills and mocking Paul’s suffering, physical weakness, and lack of speaking ability.

The Message: Many historical-critical scholars believe 2 Corinthians is actually a composite text—a compilation of two or more separate letters stitched together by a later editor. The letter is deeply personal and highly emotional. Paul defends his ministry by arguing a core paradox: his physical suffering and weakness are not signs of failure, but rather the exact places where the power of the crucified Christ is made visible.

Philippians: The Joyful Prisoner

Date: c. 55–60 CE (Written from prison, possibly in Ephesus or Rome)

The Occasion: The church in Philippi (Macedonia) had sent financial aid to Paul while he was imprisoned.

The Message: Philippians is a warm, affectionate “thank you” note to one of Paul’s favorite communities. Despite facing the possibility of execution, the letter is marked by a profound sense of joy. It is most famous for containing the “Christ Hymn” (Chapter 2), which scholars believe was an early Christian poem or song that Paul quoted to encourage the Philippians to practice humility and unity.

Philemon: The Master and the Enslaved

Date: c. 55–60 CE (Written from prison)

The Occasion: This is Paul’s shortest and most personal surviving letter. He is writing to Philemon, a wealthy Christian and slave owner. Paul had encountered a man named Onesimus, who was enslaved by Philemon and had somehow been separated from him.

The Message: Paul is sending Onesimus back to Philemon, but with a highly persuasive, rhetorically brilliant request. Paul asks Philemon to receive Onesimus no longer as a slave, but as a “beloved brother.” While the letter does not explicitly condemn the institution of slavery outright, it introduces a radical, egalitarian theology that fundamentally subverts the Roman social order.

Romans: The Theological Masterpiece

Date: c. 57–58 CE

The Occasion: Romans is entirely unique among Paul’s letters because he is writing to a church he did not found and had never visited. Paul was planning a missionary journey to Spain and needed a new home base and financial support. He wrote to the Christians in Rome to introduce himself and secure their backing.

The Message: Because he had to prove his theological credentials to strangers who had only heard rumors about him, Romans is Paul’s most systematic and comprehensive defense of his gospel. He carefully maps out his understanding of sin, the inability of the Law to save, justification by faith, and how God’s promises to the Jewish people remain intact even as Gentiles are brought into the family. It stands as the most influential theological document in the history of the Christian church.

This concludes Part 3/7 of this series. In Part 4 of “The Historical Paul: Life, Letters, and Legacy,” we will address the great mystery of the Pauline epistles: the pseudepigrapha. We will explore the six letters attributed to Paul that modern scholars believe were actually written by later, anonymous authors.