Had the Gospels been written by the time Paul was preaching?
No. The Gospels had not yet been written during Paul’s preaching ministry. According to the context, there was no New Testament, and the Gospels were not written until after Paul had written his letters. Paul could not point people to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because those accounts did not yet exist.
Les teaches that when Paul went to the synagogues in every city, he expounded from the Old Testament because there was no New Testament. The Gospels had not been written until after Paul had written his letters. So Paul could not tell people, “If you want to know more about Jesus in His earthly ministry, read Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.” They had not been written yet. Everywhere Paul went, he had to speak the Word verbally because nothing was written until he began his letters.