It is highly probable that some of the fourteen epistles of Paul were written before any other portion of the New Testament, for we have already seen [180:2] that the greater number of them were transmitted to the parties to whom they are addressed during the time over which the Acts of the Apostles extend; but though Luke makes no mention of these letters, his account of the travels of their author throws considerable light on the question of their chronology.  Guided by statements which he supplies, and by evidence contained in the documents themselves, we have endeavoured to point out the order of their composition.  It thus appears that they are not placed chronologically in the New Testament.  The present arrangement is, however, of great antiquity, as it can be traced up to the beginning of the fourth century; [180:3] and it is made upon the principle that the Churches addressed should be classed according to their relative importance.  The Church of Rome at an early period was recognised as the most influential in existence, and hence the Epistle to the Romans stands at the head of the collection.  The Church of Corinth seems to have ranked next, and accordingly the Epistles to the Corinthians occupy the second place.  The letters to the Churches are followed by those to individuals, that is, to Timothy, Titus, and Philemon; and it has been conjectured that the Epistle to the Hebrews is put last, because it is anonymous.  Some have contended that this letter was composed by Barnabas; others have ascribed it to Clement, or Luke, or Silas, or Apollos; but, though Paul has not announced his name, the external and internal evidences concur to prove that he was its author. [181:1]

“Every word of God is pure,” [181:2] but the word of man is often deceitful; and nowhere do his fallibility and ignorance appear more conspicuously than in his appendages to Scripture.  Even the titles prefixed to the writings of the apostles and evangelists are redolent of superstition, for no satisfactory reason can be given why the designation of saint, [181:3] has been bestowed on Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, whilst it is withheld, not only from Moses and Isaiah, but also from such eminently holy ministers as Timothy and Titus.  The postscripts to the epistles of Paul have been added by transcribers, and are also calculated to mislead.  Thus, the Epistle to the Galatians is said to have been “written from Rome,” though it is now generally acknowledged that Paul was not in the capital of the Empire until long after that letter was dictated.  The first Epistle to Timothy is dated “from Laodicea, which is the chiefest city of Phrygia Pacatiana;” but it is well known that Phrygia was not divided into Phrygia Prima, or Pacatiana, and Phrygia Secunda until the fourth century. [181:4] It is stated at the end of another epistle that it was “written to Titus ordained the first Bishop of the Church of the Cretians;” but, as the letter itself demonstrates, Paul did not intend that Titus should remain permanently in Crete, [182:1] and it can be shewn that, for centuries afterwards, such a dignitary as “the Bishop of the Church of the Cretians” was utterly unknown.