As the Old Testament was giving the promise of God’s coming Savior; the New Testament is, of course, how that promise was fulfilled in Jesus Christ. Beginning 400 years after the Old Testament was completed, God’s plan of redemption is fulfilled by the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
The New Testament was written beginning after 30A.D. and was completed around 70A.D. It has 27 books which are broken down into four categories: Gospels, History, Letters or Epistles, and Prophecy.
The Gospels
The four Gospels are written as biographies of the life of Jesus Christ. Two were written as first-hand accounts: Matthew and John. The other two, Mark and Luke, were written by two men who took time to interview as many first-hand witnesses as possible, in order to share a complete look at Jesus’ life.
It is in the gospels that we see God’s promise fulfilled. Every prophecy given in the Old Testament concerning his birth, specific details of his life, and even regarding his death and resurrection, are fulfilled in the New Testament.
History
The book of Acts is the only general history book in the New Testament. Written by Luke, the book of Acts continues where his gospel left off, and follows the life of the early church from Pentecost, through the expansion to all the world in the ministry of the Apostle Paul and others.
The point of the book of Acts is that those who had been looking for the promised Savior and then put their faith in Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of that promise, believed so whole-heartedly that they gave everything they had, including, at times, their lives, to see this good news spread to all the world. As we look at this early history of the church, we must decide for ourselves if Jesus is the promised one who is worth our lives, as well.
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Letters or Epistles
After the new church was launched in the Gospels and then began to spread through the book of Acts, there were two primary ways that the new faith was established and maintained. The first was through individual ministers of the Gospel who traveled from church to church teaching the Word of God. The second was through the distribution of written letters, also called ‘epistles,’ intended to teach truth, encourage believers, and correct errors in doctrine. Some letters were written to whole churches. Other letters were written to individual pastors and church members.
At the heart of every New Testament letter is a desire to point people’s lives, thoughts, and actions around the person and work of Jesus Christ. They affirm from the Old Testament that Jesus is the Savior whom God had promised. They teach us how He sets us free from sin and death, and they encourage us to look to Him and to be transformed into His image, as we are being built into His body on the earth, until He comes again.
Here is a simple breakdown of the letters of the New Testament.
History records that once these letters were delivered to their intended recipients, that they were copied by hand, and shared with other nearby churches and leaders, so that the Word of God could continue to spread and be established in every town and city.
Prophecy
The New Testament closes out the Bible with the book of Revelation. This is a book of prophecy, both forth-telling (recalling what Jesus has accomplished) and foretelling future events, as Jesus continues to build His kingdom, save humanity, and restore the world.
While there are many thoughts and opinions about the book or Revelation and its various prophetic messages, the main point of the book is Jesus. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. In Revelation we get a glimpse into eternity where the promised one who was to come, is now seated on the throne, judging the rebellious ones who refused to accept him and ruling the world with his saints, as all of creation worships Him alone.
Just by this brief overview of the Bible’s breakdown, we begin to understand that from the first book to the last, the Bible is all about Jesus. As we continue to look closer at each of the books of the Bible in detail, this singular story will begin to take shape, woven piece by piece, as God’s promised Savior is revealed as the prominent theme in every one.
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© Anthony Scott Ingram 2020. All Rights Reserved.
Photo by Carolyn V on Unsplash
Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®, copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”
