The New Testament

The English word Bible comes from a Greek word “Biblia,” meaning books. This is a very fitting name because the Bible is not just one book, but a collection of 66 books. These books have been collected through the ages and have been put together in what we now call the Bible. The Bible is divided into two main parts called the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word “Testament” is also translated as covenant. The Old Testament contains the covenants God made with man before the coming of Christ, and the New Testament contains the covenants that God made with man after the coming of Christ. As you study the Bible it is important to remember that it is a collection of books from different settings and different time periods. It is well then to read and study the Bible not as though it were one book, but as a collection of sacred writings, all dealing with the covenants that God has made with man.

The New Testament is an outgrowth of the establishment of the Pristine or Primitive Church of Jesus Christ. Jesus, Peter, and Paul in establishing the Christian faith, spoke as moved upon by the spirit quoting at times to their Jewish listeners from the Old Testament. Their sayings and writing were cherished so much by the Christian communities that they were preserved, copied, exchanged, and finally collected and canonized into our present New Testament. Let us take a look at the books within the New Testament.

The Gospels
The first set of books that we run into in the New Testament are referred to as “The Gospels.” They include Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John and document Christ’s life and teachings from 4 different perspectives.

The Acts
Next we have the Acts. The Book of Acts was written by Luke. It is a continuation of his gospel, telling of the establishment of the Church under Peter and Paul.

Epistles of Paul
Next we have the Epistles of Paul. There are thirteen of these. They are letters written to the saints in various places were the Christian church had been established. They are Romans, I and II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I and II Thessalonians, I and II Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

Hebrews
The book of Hebrews is also found in the New Testament and is traditionally ascribed to Paul. It was written to all Christians to encourage them in the persecutions they were suffering.

The General or Universal Epistles
Next we have the General or Universal Epistles. They were written to the Church at large and include I Peter, James, Jude, II Peter, and I, II, and III John.

Revelation
Finally we have Revelation, written by John while on the Island of Patmos. The book of Revelation is a highly dramatic and symbolic writing, difficult to understand, declaring the downfall of Rome and the triumph of Christ.

The New Testament, it is believed, was originally written in everyday Greek, the cultural language of the Graeco-Roman world of the First Century A.D. The New Testament is a collection of writings of various types and character. The life and mission of Jesus Christ is the central and unifying theme of these twenty-seven remarkable books.