first-century emissary of Jesus Christ. And, as such, Paul’s ministry—including his letter-writing ministry—carried (and carries) a special weight. The fact that these words were written by “an apostle of Christ Jesus” means that we cannot study this epistle as a mere academic exercise. Some people do that, of course—opening the books of the Bible and reading them as fascinating historical documents that teach us how the early Christians thought, how the ancient world worked, or how Christianity