Ancient Truth: Paul's Letters

I realized I had never written an introduction for Paul’s Letters because I had written them up as individual studies. If this turns out having too many pages, I’ll have to break it into two volumes. What follows is the new introduction for the next part of the series:
********
We are introduced to Paul and his teaching in the Book of Acts. We learn as much by the false accusations of his opposition as we do from the record of Paul’s words and actions as recorded there by Luke. We learn early enough Paul sees his work merely as a continuation of what Jesus did and said. By no means should we imagine Paul regarded his letters Scripture. Yet the early churches must have deemed them too important a repository of truth to lose all of them in dust of history. We know for certain we do not have them all, only these which have been preserved for whatever reason.
The greatest threat we face today is from those who insist on ignoring the context of these letters. The burden is upon us to understand the recipients, and occasion, but most of all the broader context of what Paul taught as a whole. Paul was a Hebrew man, a lawful citizen of Judah, along with being a Roman citizen. He had a foot in both worlds. He was not simply a highly trained Jewish scholar, though he was that, but he spent years reviewing his entire rabbinical training in light of the teaching of Jesus. He did this all before he ever became acquainted with the Apostles. With Jesus, Paul rejected the Hellenized Judaism in favor of the ancient Hebrew Mysticism of the Old Testament.
Paul is so reluctant to boast, he barely tells us how he learned the gospel message. He proctored the stoning of Stephen just a matter of weeks after Christ’s Ascension. A few weeks later he’s on the way to Damascus to extend this persecution, is converted and stays there in town. From there, he hints at spending time alone with the risen Christ in Arabia, up to three years. From there, he returns to Damascus, but has to flee. It was only then he met with the other Apostles, and they agree what he learned is what they remembered of their time with Jesus. After that, he goes home to Tarsus for as much as a decade. Only later did he begin his missionary journeys.
He was so thoroughly literate in Greek, he could make up words from Greek roots and they would be understood. He used Greek expressions and modes of thought, but he consistently uses these things to express a generally Hebraic mystical faith. Thus, we see him pulling in very ancient Hebrew customs as native to first century Christian worship. It is he who reminded Timothy it was necessary to parse the Old Testament through the Holy Spirit to discern what was mere symbolism so as to abstract what was binding on the conscience of a Christian. The answer to that would surely be greater than zero.
These letters are not at all in chronological order, but in order of importance as the early churches viewed it. The actual chronology is very hard to ascertain, and may not matter in some cases. For example, we know Galatians came early, but we have only guesswork when. It would seem the Thessalonian letters came earliest, shortly after he got to Corinth estimated around 52 AD. He wrote the Roman letter while dealing with problems at Corinth a few years later, writing more than the two letters we find. We collect several of his letters as Prison Letters from Rome (Philemon, Colossians, Ephesians and Philippians) often considered 60-62 AD. The letters to Timothy appear to come rather later in his life. Most people agree Paul was released from his first Roman confinement, but was arrested again a few years later and executed roughly 66 AD.