A Biblical Vision, Part II: Mastering the New Testament Witness to Christ

Ses s i on 6: The Ep i s t l es : The I nterpretat i on and App l i cat i on of Chr i s t 173

Its Worth . 2nd edition. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Books, 1983, p. 49).

6. Authoritative prophetic quality . The epistles provide us with a clear and powerful sense of the importance of the life and teachings of Jesus for the ongoing sojourning life of the Christian community. In this sense, they are both prophetic and decisive for the Christian community. We simply cannot be Christians without the apostolic tradition.

a. We are exhorted to stand firm on the apostolic traditions, 2 Thess. 2.15 – So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.

b. Those who avoid the apostolic understanding of Christ for life and service will produce confusion in the body, Rom. 16.17 – I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. c. We are to understand the apostolic traditions well enough that we can contend for the faith they have delivered to us, Jude 1.3 – Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

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The Epistles as Explanations of the Life and Teachings of Jesus

The writers [of the Epistles], indeed, do not write primarily as individual persons but in their role as apostles – as the conveyors of divine truth in a manner reminiscent of the Hebrew prophets. The destination of the epistles is usually the believing community, either a local church or a group of churches. Everything considered, the