Segments of Paul’s letters provide glimpse of earliest Christian beliefs
Brief passages may be hymns or creedal statements
![Image of Jesus and others at the Basilica of St. Paul. Image of Jesus and others at the Basilica of St. Paul.](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/w_1456,c_limit,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fc1d7f7c8-648c-46f7-82d9-1bba0cd48bd3_1024x683.jpeg)
Small sections of Philippians and Colossians may include some of the oldest words or creeds of Christianity.
Students of the Bible have long noticed that two segments of Paul’s letters — Philippians 2:6-11 and 1:15-20 — seem to be quotations of older material that Paul incorporated into…