Course Summary

The New Testament epistles of Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon, with concentration on introductory matters and exegesis

The course is organized in three modules: (1) Romans and Galatians, (2) Ephesians, and (3) Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. 3 semester hours of graduate credit.

Objectives

• Summarize the audience, purpose of writing, date and place of composition, the setting of each church studied in the course.

• Relate key theological concepts of each epistle and how the writer applied them to situations in the lives of the Christians reading the letter.

• Analyze the meaning of each epistle.

• Evaluate the meaning of the letters for modern life.

Credit.  Credit for the course requires a score of 70% or greater on three multiple choice examinations and two research papers, with each valued at 20% of the final grade. Additionally, the student is invited to make postings the Discussion Forum. A sample exam problem is given below.

The specific occasion that called forth the letter to the Galatians was (A) disagreement between two women, (B) a list of questions presented to Paul from the Galatians, (C) a man who was attempting to take over the Galatian churches, (D) heretical teachers at Corinth.

Resources. Several commentaries are available in the Electronic Collection and are without cost.  If hard copy commentaries are preferred, the following may be considered: 

Longman, Tremper III and David E. Garland (eds.). Ephesians-Philemon. A vol. of The Expositor's Bible. Rev. ed. Zondervan, 2006. $29.79. ISBN: 978-0310235033.

Romans-Galatians. A vol. of The Expositor's Bible. Rev. ed. Zondervan, 2008. $34.61. ISBN: 978-0310235019