Red-Letter Epistles: How Apostles Speak the Words of Christ

ABSTRACT: During the time that elapsed between Jesus’s ascension and the writing of the Gospels, the apostles faithfully taught the early churches all that Jesus had commanded. A careful reading of the Epistles reveals that Jesus’s teaching was not ignored but shaped the life and doctrine of the spreading church, such that when penning letters the apostles could frequently assume familiarity with Jesus’s words. Examining select texts from 1 Corinthians, James, and 1 Peter demonstrates the fundam