Why Ambassador Bible College?

The General Epistles
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Victor Kubik talks to the ABC class during this year’s Orientation.
Victor Kubik talks to the ABC class during this year’s Orientation.
Ariana Del Signore/UCG.org
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Ambassador Bible College classes offer refreshing, exciting biblical knowledge and understanding to our students. We invite you to come to Cincinnati and spend an academic year with our faculty and fellow students to study and become firmly grounded in the scriptures. It may very well be the most eye-opening and transformative year of your life.

I teach the General Epistles as a one-semester class that covers the letters of James, Peter, Jude and John. They are called “general” because, as contrasted to the letters of Paul, they are addressed to a general audience, not a particular church or person.

Originally, the placement of these letters was following the Gospels and the book of Acts, which describe the foundation of Christianity and the Church. Two of the authors (James and Jude) were half-brothers of Jesus Christ; they grew up with their brother, Jesus, and knew Him in a particularly intimate way. John was a cousin of Jesus, while Peter was a leading voice of the early Church.

These books center around the three greatest gifts of the Holy Spirit: faith (James), hope (Peter), and love (John). They give critical prerequisite knowledge of these subjects before venturing into the more complex writings of Paul.

Among our students, the book of James is the most popular in this set of letters. It is a New Testament version of the book of Proverbs, covering a variety of topics compacted in its 108 verses: trials, patience, faith, wisdom, temptation, lust, the tongue, pure religion, favoritism, the law of God, the source of conflict, the world, pride, humility, healing and more.

In the two epistles of Peter, we learn about how to cope with persecution from the outside—which comes from the government and society. In 2 Peter (and Jude) we learn how to cope with opposition and heresy from within, which has been present throughout history to our time now.

We use an expository style of exegesis. We first explain the meaning of the words, then what they meant to the original audience. We describe the important background of these letters. Finally, and most importantly, we hear the voice of God as He speaks to us personally through these words.

We hope that you can join us later this year at ABC for a journey through the seven letters of the General Epistles.