When I was in early elementary school, my Sunday School class was challenged to memorize the books of the Bible in order. This challenge was incentivized with a trip to McDonald’s for breakfast, so I took it very seriously and memorized the books from Genesis to Revelation. I’ll admit that it was my hunger for Hot Cakes and not my thirst for knowledge that drove this pursuit, so I never really pondered why some of the books had funny sounding names like Galatians or Colossians. It probably wasn’t until my later high school years that I figured out that names reflected the places to which the Apostle Paul wrote those letters. In college, I discovered that these letters were essentially in order by length (and not chronology) and the locations to which and from which Paul wrote these letters and the times when he wrote them relate back to the maps of Paul’s missionary journeys that I had always seen in the back of my Bibles. A passion of mine has always been to relate the things I learned about the Bible in studies to a wider audience, so I wanted to “map” out the thirteen letters of Paul (Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians, 2 Thessalonians, 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon) in time and space, noting when they were written and how they relate to the places we read Paul visits in Acts.
First Missionary Journey and the Letter to the Galatians
Acts 13-14 recounts the travels Paul undertook with Barnabas to Cyprus as well as places like Antioch in Pisidia, Iconium, Lystra, and Derbe. These cities were in the southern region of the Roman province known as Galatia. While there is some dispute about this among scholars, it thus seems that this letter was written to the people he ministered to on this first trip and was most likely written after he left but before the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15. It’s not clear exactly where Paul was when he wrote the letter, but it would most likely be Antioch in light of that being Paul’s home base for ministry. Therefore, if you are wanting to read through Paul’s letters in chronological order, it seems best to start with Galatians. An interesting point about his first letter is that Paul’s handwriting was large at the start of his ministry (Galatians 6:11), which indicates he may have had eyesight issues long before old age; it could have come about from the injuries inflicted upon him on this trip (see Acts 14:19), a scarring from him being blinded when Jesus appeared to him (see Acts 9), or a general physical limitation that he had.
Second Missionary Journey and the Letters to the Thessalonians
In Acts 15:40, we see Paul set out for what many people call his second missionary journey (this time with Silas rather than Barnabas). He begins by going back to the cities in south Galatia (picking up Timothy) and then heading towards Europe. In that time, he visits and gets driven out of Philippi and Thessalonica and eventually lands in Corinth (modern-day Greece), staying there for a year and a half (Acts 18:11). Acts 18:14 mentions that Paul stood before Gallio, who was procounsel (governmental official) in the region that contained Corinth; this same figure is mentioned as rising to that position in AD in an ancient inscription – dating Paul’s time in that city and connecting the Bible to archaeological discoveries.
It was in Corinth on this trip that Paul wrote the two letters to the Thessalonians, who he had visited on this trip (so there are two letters connected to this trip). This means he seems to write these letters in the same general time span. That letter has references back to Paul’s experiences in Philippi and then also his travels afterwards. We also see those letters as being from Paul, Silas, and Timothy, reflecting Paul’s missionary partners on this trip. Acts then describes Paul going to Ephesus before going to Jerusalem and then back to Antioch.
Third Missionary Journey and the Letters to the Corinthians and Romans
Acts 18:23 tells us that Paul then set out from Antioch for yet another trip, essentially retracing his steps from his previous trips. This is often called his third missionary journey, and there are three letters connected to this trip (these letters don’t mention Silas like the ones to the Thessalonians). He starts in the region of Galatia and Phygia but then ends up in Ephesus and spends two years there (Acts 19:10). This is where he likely writes 1 Corinthians from. He then travels into Macedonia (modern-day Greece), likely writing 2 Corinthians in that time. He eventually visits Corinth again, and it is from there that he writes a letter to the Romans, a place he has never visited but hopes to go to some day (on the way to Spain). Another interesting historical link is that Paul mentions Erastus, the city treasurer, in Romans 16:23, and we know of such a figure as the treasurer in Corinth.
In his letters to the Corinthians and Romans, Paul mentions a collection of funds he is seeking to gather to then take to Jerusalem. In Romans he explicitly notes that he is planning on bringing this offering to Jersuaelm before seeking to head to Rome (Romans 15:25-28). While Acts doesn’t mention this collection, we see in Acts that Paul journeys back from Macedonia to Jerusalem (Acts 20-21).
Imprisonment and the Letters to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon
When Paul gets to Jerusalem, he is arrested under accusations by Jewish leaders of preaching against “our people, our law, and this place [the temple]” (Acts 21:28). His arrest leads to his imprisonment in Caesarea and then his eventual transport to Rome as a prisoner (see Acts 22-28). Four of Paul’s letters are known as the “Prison Epistles” because Paul indicates he wrote them from prison, likely during this time of imprisonment in Rome: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, and Philemon. It is not readily apparent the order in which these letters were written. I have seen various scholars posit that Philippians was first but others put it last. Scholars also debate whether it makes more sense for Ephesians to precede or follow Colossians in light of their similar messages. Philippi and Ephesus were places that Paul visits on the second and third trips, but we have no record of him being in Colossae. The Letter to the Colossians affirms that Paul has not been there but knows people there. Philemon was written to a member of the church in Colossae. Colossae was not as prominent of a city and one that was close to Ephesus.
Likely Later Ministry and the Letters to Timothy and Titus
Acts ends with Paul in prison, noting that he was there for two years (Acts 28:30), a similar amount of time to which he spent in Ephesus and Corinth. Some think this note about two years indicates that Luke wrote this book before Paul’s release; while that is possible, there is also a possibility that Luke intentionally ended the book this way to indicate in part that Paul was released after his imprisonment. Historically, most people believe that Paul died closer to AD 64/65 but Acts would end around AD 62, which seems to point to Paul being released after these two years. This time is when Paul most likely wrote the final three letters that we have in the New Testament: 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus. There are a number of similarities between 1 Timothy and Titus, as Paul wrote these letters to ministry partners. Both Acts and Paul’s letters reference Timothy, but Titus is only referenced in Paul’s letters; the fact we hear about Titus in Galatians and 2 Corinthians indicates he was present near the beginning as well as towards the end of Paul’s ministry.
Paul wrote 1 Timothy from Macedonia to Timothy while Timothy ministered in Ephesus, a place we read Paul visited many times in Acts. There is a possibility that this letter was written earlier in Paul’s ministry. However, since Timothy travelled with Paul and various points and often carried messages back and forth, it would seem more likely that Timothy settled down there in ministry after the missionary journeys rather than during those trips, but there is a possibility this letter was earlier.
Titus was in Crete, which we do not read about Paul visiting on one of his trips. It is possible he visited there at some point, as the itineraries we have in Acts may not be exhaustive; this leads some to think that Paul might have written this book in an earlier period. However, we do know Paul visits Crete in Acts, but it is on his trip to Rome as a prisoner in Acts 27 rather than on the missionary journeys we see in Acts 13-21. This means that Paul could have left Titus there at that point (perhaps he was travelling with him), or Paul may have decided to go back after he was released from prison.
Paul indicates he wrote 2 Timothy from prison, but his imprisonment there seems a little different than the one that we read about in Philippians, Ephesians, Colossians, and Philemon. He notes his “first defense” (2 Timothy 4:16), which could indicate that this is a second imprisonment in Rome, and he seems much less confident of his release but rather anticipates his death (see 4:6-8). Thus, it seems more likely that this was the last letter, written after the events of Acts and before his martyrdom when Timothy was still ministering in Ephesus.
Remembering All of This
I know that is a lot of information, so I wanted to offer a practical tip that has kept it straight in my mind over the years: there is one letter connected to the first trip (Galatians), two to the second (1 and 2 Thessalonians), three to the third (Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians), and then four to his imprisonment (Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon), with three likely coming afterwards (1 and 2 Timothy, Titus). Hopefully this overview of Paul’s letters in relation to the book of Acts helps you connect the different parts of the Bible together and to our world in terms of time and space, reminding us of how the Bible truly is one real and true story of God’s work in and through the people of our world.
Questions about the Bible or theology? Email them to Pastor Brian at Theology@WeAreFaith.org. You can also email to be added to the list that receives weekly emails with our blog posts.
