Fruit of the Spirit

For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth...Eph 5:9

Summer 2003                                                            Volume 4, Issue 3


Where Did The Bible Come From? Part 5

The New Testament is a library of 27 books, written in the Greek language with some portions written in Aramaic. The purpose of this lesson is to take a look at the books of the New Testament and their division. We will also take a look at how other scholars and teachers divided the books of the New Testament.

THE NEW TESTAMENT DIVISION

The books of the New Testament, just like the Old Testament, have also been divided into sections to make them easier to understand. Several people have given what they believe to be a logical division of the New Testament. For the purposes of this lesson the division we will use is: Gospel Accounts, History, Letters (Epistles), and Prophecy (Apocalyptic).

The Gospel Accounts: The first four books of the New Testament are called the Gospel Accounts. These books teach us about Christ when he was in the flesh walking on the earth. In these books we find the parables, story of John the Baptist, the beginning of Christ preaching, the death of Christ, the life of Christ, and other information concerning our Lord and Savior. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are the books labeled the Gospel Accounts.

History: The book of Acts is the only book in this section. In this book we learn about the establishment of the Church and of the early Christians. This book also gives us a record of when the church began, what we must do to be saved, and some of the struggles the church of the first century faced.

The Epistles (letters): The next 21 books of the New Testament are called the Epistles or Letters. Paul wrote 13 of these books and the others were written by various other authors, except for the book of Hebrews. No one knows who wrote the book of Hebrews. The Epistles can be broken up into two sections (1) the Pauline Letters and (2) the General Epistles. Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon are called the Pauline Letters. Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude are the General Epistles. In these books we find information on how Christians should live their daily lives.

Prophecy (apocalyptic): The New Testament book of Prophecy is Revelation. In this book we find information on the Seven Churches of Asia, the beauty of heaven, and we find out that as long as the faithful stay faithful they receive a crown of righteousness.

Just like the Old Testament, the New Testament was also broken into divisions to make things easier to find and understand. The books are not in the order they were written. In the next portion of our lesson we will take a look at how others have divided the books of the New Testament.

OTHER DIVISIONS OF THE NEW
TESTAMENT

Several others have divided the books of the New Testament into what they consider logical divisions. One of the more popular is listed below:

New Testament History: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts.

Books of Letters: Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 and 2 Thessalonians, 1 and 2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, Hebrews, James, 1 and 2 Peter, 1, 2, and 3 John, and Jude.

Apocalyptic Writing: Revelation.

As you can see there are many different ways you can divide the books of the New Testament. Each time the books were divided, it seemed to be an attempt to make the book easier to understand. For example, if you want to learn about the life of Christ the logical place to start would be the Gospel accounts. If you wanted to learn about how the church started and learn what you need to do to be saved then you need to look in the book of Acts.

In order to be a good Bible student of the New Testament it would help to learn the divisions of the New Testament. I would suggest learning the division mentioned in the section of the lesson titled, “The New Testament Division.”

Lawrence Robinson
Travis Air Force Base, CA


Inside...
Page 1 - Jesus Loves The Little Children | Page 2 - Where In The Bible Will I Find...
Page 3 - Prison Report | Page 4 - Old Testament Studies | Page 5 - Where Did The Bible Come From?
Page 6 - Self Esteem, Part 1 | Page 7 - Christian Evidences | Page 8 - Same Sex Marriages?
Page 9 - The Christian Home | Page 10 - Continuations | Page 11 - The Children's Page
Page 12 - Announcements

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