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TABLE OF CONTENTS |
THE NEW TESTAMENT |
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These Books in work:
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Overview The New Testament consists of 27 Books written between 50 B.C. to about 150 B.C. Unlike the Old Testament, which was written in Hebrew, they were written in a Greek language called Koine. The principle types or divisions of these books are: the Gospels; the book of Acts that recounts the History of the early church and the works of the Apostle; the Epistles and the apocalyptic Book of Revelations. The New Testament was written by 8 men: 6 Apostles ( Matthew,Luke,John,Peter,Paul,James) and two evangelists Mark and Luke. The New Testament books are neither placed in chronological order or according to History. Rather they are placed according to subject matter classifications. The first 4 books, the Gospels, are essentially Biographical. The Book of Acts is Historical in nature, being a record of the events of the early church and its missionary work in spreading the Gospel of Jesus Christ. These five books are followed by the Epistles, or letters to the first century Christians and Churches. The final book, Revelation, is a book of Prophecy. There are two books that are doctrinal: Romans and Hebrews. These books stand apart and can be read separately. The writer of Hebrews is anonymous but some scholars attribute it to Paul, although there is no proof that he wrote it. While there were other literary productions by the Christians and others of that period, these are the accepted Canon, or body of doctrine, that all but a few Christian religions recognize today. The words of Jesus are preserved for us in the Gospels by the Apostles and others. The writings of the Apostles are contained in the other two divisions, Epistles and Revelations. The main story of Jesus' life is found in the Gospels. They deal with the first 30 years of the Christian era. They cover the story of the life and teachings of Jesus. Jesus did not write any of the Gospels Himself but left His teachings for others to write. Two of the Gospels were written by the Apostles, Matthew and John. The other two were written by Mark and Luke,companions of the Apostle Paul. Paul did not write any of the Gospels. The word "Gospel" simply means "good news." They are somewhat biographical in structure Three of these Gospels: Matthew, Mark and Luke are called the "synoptic" Gospels. This simply means that they can be seen or viewed together. While there is some differences, they are sufficiently similar that they can be viewed side by side in parallel columns. The Gospel of John however differs in his portrayal of Jesus. The differences between all four Gospels can be explained by understanding the audience to whom the writer was directing his account. Matthew, for example was writing to the Jewish audience and intended to show Jesus as the fulfillment of the of the Old Testament prophecies. On the other hand Luke was writing to the Greek audience to present an accurate account of Jesus, His teachings and His ministry. Of the four Gospels Luke's is the most intellectual because he was a physician and historian. Mark, on the other hand directed his writings to the Roman audience to tell of the power of Jesus. John's Gospel is one of belief and is expressly concerning Christ. In it he gives us seven signs involving miracles of Christ that show Jesus' power over time, place,death etc. A study of the New Testament should begin with Luke. Read all 24 Chapters of Luke to get the thread of the New Testament.. This will give a good overview of Christ's childhood, his ministry, death etc.This should take about a week to complete. Following this, read Matthew, then Mark and finally John. Following the study of the Gospels the Book of Acts should be read. The Book of Acts teaches us about the early church and the work that the Apostles did during this period of growth. It is a good guide to what the church did in these times and serve as a source for our authority to do the things which are commanded. The book's actual name is The Acts: of the Apostles. The Book of Acts to the final book, Revelation, is a history of the Church (33 A.D. to 100 A.D). that covers the time from the establishment of the church to the death of John. The word Epistle simply means "letter." There are a total of 21 Epistles that were written by 5 writers, Paul, Peter, John, James, Jude, (The writer of the Hebrews is not positively known). Of this total, Paul wrote 13, Peter 2, John 3, James 1 and Jude 1. Revelations was also written by John but is considered a book of Prophecy. It is possible that there were other Epistles that did not survive. For example, Paul mentions in 1 Corinthians 5:9 that he had previously written to the Corinthians. Also, in Colossians he refers to a letter that he had written to the Laodicean church. The Epistles generally were written to deal with various problems that occurred within the early church. In this respect things were not any different than they are today. Just as there are those who persist in bringing in man-made doctrines today so there were those who attempted to interject false teachings, philosophies, Old Testament Laws, and various other teachings not authorized by the New Testament. The Epistles themselves can be divided according to General and Doctrinal letters.
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