GTJ 5:2 (Fall 84) p. 234 purposes for which it was written: (1) to thank them for their gift (4:16, 17); (2) to inform them of Paul’s well-being (1:12–26); (3) to encourage them to rejoice in their faith (3:1; 4:4); and (4) to help resolve the conflict between two feuding women (4:1–3). Now which of these is the purpose? How do we know for sure? Which purpose would we use to determine the meaning of the text? This leads to the next reason. Third, many times we do not know what purpose(s) the author