HOW TO STUDY THE BIBLE Lesson Three: New Testament Overview Mat 4:4 (KJV) But (Jesus) answered and said, It is written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God. (Mat 24:35 KJV) Jesus said, Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away. (Mark 8:38 KJV) Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. The New Testament consists of 27 books. The word "Testament" means a "covenant, agreement, contract". "New" is used as in contrast to the "Old" Testament, or the way God related to men and women after the coming of Christ. Perhaps the we could title the Bible God's Plan. The "Old" Testament would be Volume One: The Plan Begins. And the "New" Testament would be called Volume Two: The Plan Completed. The Purpose of the New Testament: TO REVEAL THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST, as the fulfillment of Old Testament history, ceremony and prophecy. The General Content of the New Testament . The New Testament is very similar in its structure to the Old Testament. Last week we learned the Old Testament has three major sections: history, poetry, and prophecy. The New Testament also has three major divisions: a. HISTORY, including the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) and Acts. b. TEACHING, or the Epistles (personal letters) of Paul, Peter, James and John. c. PROPHECY, the Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse of Saint John. The Specific Content of the New Testament Books. History: The Gospels The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John) are not biographies in the pure sense, although they are historical in every sense. Perhaps "portraits" is a better word than "biographies." In each of the Gospels, Jesus is painted in a different pose. Each Gospel writer saw Jesus from a different angle and wrote his Gospel for a unique purpose. MATTHEW was the tax collector. He wrote his Gospel for the purpose of showing a Jewish audience how Jesus was the Messiah promised in the Old Testament, More than in any other Gospel. Matthew uses the phrase, "This was to fulfill ..." See Matt. 1:22. MARK was the first Gospel account to be written, and it seems quite clear that Matthew and Luke borrowed material from Mark. Mark begins with the baptism of Jesus in the Jordan river and contains no Christmas story. Some feel Mark was addressed more to the Roman mind. His use of "straightway" throughout the book, and his direct "get to the point" writing style may be a reflection of the Roman attitude. LUKE was a physician and the only non-Jewish author in the Bible. He also wrote Acts. He was not one of the original apostles, but was a traveling companion of Paul. Luke's Gospel is the most detailed and carefully organized of the four gospels. See Luke 3:1. Luke also has the most extensive material on the birth and early childhood of Jesus. JOHN is very different in its content and style from the other Gospels. It is the most theological, in that it is almost entirely teaching. You can see this stand out in a red letter edition of the Bible. In fact, of the 21 chapters in John, the last 10, almost half the book, are about the last week in Jesus life. Chapters 13, 14, 15, 16, arid 17 are composed of teaching that took place in the Upper Room the night before Jesus' crucifixion. A key phrase in John is "I am ..." The purpose of John is clearly stated in John 20:30-31: BELIEVE. History: Acts of the Apostles ACTS is Luke's record of the events that took place in the early church, Underlying the special events is a powerful explanation and defense of Christianity, to the Jews, the Greeks and the Romans. If you read the book carefully you can "see" where Luke joined Paul by change of the tense (from "they" to "we"). IMPORTANT NOTE: The pivotal event in each of the Gospels is the baptism of Jesus, when the Holy Spirit came on his life. The pivotal event of Acts is the Spirit baptism of the disciples. Acts is the story of God's people, receiving what Jesus received (the power of the Holy Spirit) in order to do what Jesus did. The Epistles: Q: What is the meaning of "Epistle"? A: A writing, directed or sent, communicating intelligence to a distant person; a letter; a letter missive. It is rarely used in familiar conversation or writings, but chiefly in solemn or formal transactions. The Epistles:Paul ROMANS, written to the Christians in Rome, is the most systematic presentation of Christian doctrine in the Bible. Its themes are judgment and righteousness, Jew and Gentile, law and grace, free will and predestination.....or in one word, salvation, 1 CORINTHIANS, written to the Christians in the Greek city of Corinth, is about a myriad of seeming!y unrelated issues--like law suits, communion, spiritual gifts, women in the church, matters of conscience, the resurrection. But the unifying theme is the community, or how Christians are to relate to one another in all kinds of settings and situations. 2 CORINTHIANS. It seems that there were some leaders in Corinth who were questioning Paul's authority, so much of 2 Corinthians is autobiographical, defending Paul's calling and right to apostolic authority. GALATIANS was written to the Christians in the Roman province of Galatia, or modern-day Turkey. It is the declaration of the Christian's independence from the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament. The theme of Galatians is that salvation is by grace..Jesus plus nothing. EPHESIANS, written to the Christians in the Greek city of Ephesus, is about the church - what it is and how God wants to use it. See Ephesians 3:10. PHILIPPIANS, which Paul wrote from prison to the Christians in the Greek city of Philippi, is about the joy of our salvation. COLOSSIANS, written to the Christians in the Greek city of Colosse, is about the magnificence of Christ. PHILEMON is a short personal letter from Paul to a wealthy Christian by the name of Philemon. Paul had somehow met Philemon's runaway slave, and sent this letter back to Philemon, imploring him to receive back his former employee - as a brother in Christ. 1 & 2 TIMOTHY and TITUS are personal, instructional letters from Paul to his young understudies. The Epistles: Hebrews HEBREWS is in a class by itself in that no one really knows who wrote it. Written to Jewish Christians, it is perhaps the most profound book of the New Testament. The letter presents a comparison between the Old Covenant of law and ceremony and the New, or "better" Covenant of grace in Christ. The Epistles: James JAMES is a short but powerful letter about the importance of how you live out your faith. It is a kind of New Testament book of proverbs. The Epistles: Peter 1, 2 PETER, among other things, focus on how the Christian is supposed to respond in adversity. Keywords in the book are sanctification, suffering and obedience. The Epistles: John 1,2,3 JOHN are three little letters by the "Apostle of Love" ...the same John who wrote the Gospel of John. The themes epistles are Christian love and character, assurance of salvation, and truth. The Epistles: Jude JUDE is a fiery little letter about serving God with purity and integrity. Prophecy REVELATION It is a temptation to view the book of Revelation as if it is written in symbolic language, mysterious and cryptic, and not understandable. But once you follow 2 simple principles, it suddenly becomes more straightforward and precious. It's purpose, is to present Jesus Christ as risen and glorified, and in total control of the universe. There are messages to the Church, and then the focus turns to end- times prophecies regarding Israel, and the destruction of sinful and rebellious gentiles. Also we are allowed to view the last Judgement of sinners, the casting of Satan into the Lake of Fire, and a brief glimpse into Heaven, the New Jerusalem and future glories. Priniciple one: Read the book of Revelation as literal, unless Principle two: The book itself tells you that something is a symbol. The Book of Revelation is a book of revealing, not a book of hiding and mystery. For those who were alive at the time of the writing of the Book of Revelation, there is also the purpose of providing comfort and hope to those undergoing persecution for their faith. It can be simply stated, that Jesus and his kingdom will triumph, no matter how bleak life becomes. This was an incredibly important message at the time, because the church was going through one of the most fierce persecutions in its history. http://www.theanswer.org/biblestudy/inspiration.htm -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mat 26:26-29 (KJV) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. {27} And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; {28} For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. {29} But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. Jer 31:31-34 (KJV) Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: {32} Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD: {33} But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. {34} And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Heb 8:8-13 KJV) For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: {9} Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. {10} For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: {11} And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest. {12} For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more. {13} In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away. (Mat 26:26-30 KJV) And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. {27} And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; {28} For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. {29} But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. {30} And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives. (1 Cor 11:23-26 KJV) For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread: {24} And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. {25} After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. {26} For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show{Grk=proclaim, preach} the Lord's death till he come. (2 Cor 3:5-6 KJV) Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; {6} Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN GROWTH DEVOTIONALS ALWAYS FREE OF CHARGE (but not necessarily free of COST) Feel free to redistribute these materials to whomever you want. Please submit all questions, comments, suggestions, or REQUESTS FOR SUBSCRIPTIONS to ixtheus@... Request a free email copy of my evangelistic presentation: "The God Who is Really There" from ixtheus@... View back-issues of Devotionals at this site: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/IxtheusChristianGrowthDevotionals/ Just click on "messages". to unsubscribe from these devotionals, send an email with CANCEL in the subject line to ixtheus@... 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