General epistles are books in the New Testament in the form of letters. They are termed "general" because for the most part their intended audience seems to be Christians in general rather than individual persons or congregations as is the case with the Pauline epistles. However, 2 John and 3 John are included in this group despite their addresses respectively to the "elect lady", speculated by many to be the church itself, and to "Gaius", about whom there has been much speculation but little in the way of conclusive proof as to his identity.
There has been considerable speculation as to the authorship of these works. All but the most conservative scholars tend to believe 2 Peter to be a pseudonymousforgery, but these scholars are adamant in their defense of its authenticity and place in the Biblical canon. Protestant Conservatives tend to attribute the books of James and Jude to Jesus' younger half-brothers, while Roman Catholics and others who hold to the doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary see this, obviously, as heretical.
Listed in order of their appearance in the New Testament, the General Epistles are:
Additionally, some scholars include the anonymous Book of Hebrews as falling within this group; its traditional title is derived from its contents, not a specific address within the letter. Old tradition ascribed it to Paul, but its writing style makes this extremely unlikely, and almost no modern scholar accepts this idea currently.
The epistles of the New Testament are Christian writings of Apostles to churches in particular parts of the world.
For instance, the "prison epistles" are the ones written by Paul while he was in prison, while the "pastoral epistles" are the letters to Timothy and Titus, since they contain advice about providing pastoral care to their churches.
Epistle of the Romans to the Corinthians (1 Clement)
His epistles seem to be written to the believing Jews and Gentiles; especially those who were suffering persecution, or were obliged to leave their country on account of the gospel, and take refuge in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia.
The design of this epistle is to inculcate the doctrine of holiness of heart and life springing from love to God and man. Indeed this love seems to be his text, and he has written the whole epistle on this text.
This epistle is of a private nature, being written to an eminent Christian matron in or near Ephesus, probably a deaconess of the church; or one who was in the habit of accommodating apostles and itinerant evangelists.
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