Do Paul's later letters contain a greater revelation than his earlier ones?
Paul's letters reflect progressive revelation, so later prison epistles such as Ephesians, Colossians, and Timothy contain greater revelation and detail than earlier pre-prison letters like Romans and Corinthians. These later writings came toward the end of his writing career and reveal more than the earlier revelations he received.
Les teaches that when he teaches Paul's letters, he always stresses that Paul had a progressive revelation even as the Bible as a whole does. Some things come out in greater detail in his later prison epistles than in the first one. Romans and Corinthians were the pre-prison epistles, the revelations Paul got early on. But Ephesians and Colossians and Timothy are toward the end of his writing career, and he has a greater revelation than he had back there. In Ephesians 1:9, Paul speaks of the secret of God's will made known, purposed in Himself, that in the dispensation of the fullness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both in heaven and on earth. Les says this secret now revealed is the hope of the believer.
More Questions
Which of Paul's letters contain his greatest revelation?
Ephesians, Colossians, and Timothy were written toward the end of Paul's career and contain a greater revelation than his earlier letters.