Begin Your Study of the New Testament
The most important journeys should always be planned before you set out on a long adventure. Chart your course! We have charted a course through the Old Testament in a previous study. As you begin your study of the New Testament books in the Bible, there are several truths to take with you.
* NOTE: Be sure to visit our Journey Through Scripture Page. It features overviews, messages, articles, and resources for every book of the Bible.
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Overview of the New Testament
There are 27 books in our New Testament. I hope you will get very familiar with your Bible and know not only the books of the Bible, but also learn the spelling and order of them. This will help you as you study, and it will help you as you show the Scriptures to other people.
The Four Gospels
There are four Gospel Records. However, I believe it is somewhat improper to call them the four gospels because really there is only one gospel. The gospel is the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
In Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you simply have four records of the same gospel. You have four vantage points of the same Person: the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Book of Acts
Then you have what might be called the fifth gospel record. It is the book of the continuing Christ, and that is the book of Acts. The book of Acts really stands alone as a book of history. It is interesting, but the first four books of the New Testament give you the history of Christ during His life and ministry. Then the book of Acts gives you the history of Christ’s church, the extension of His body, the work of the Holy Spirit of Christ in this world in the early stages of the New Testament church.
The Christian Church Epistles
The book of Acts lays a foundation for the next nine books, beginning with the book of Romans and ending with 2 Thessalonians. We refer to as the Christian Church Epistles. These are simply letters that are written by the Apostle Paul to individual Christian churches, to believers and newly established congregations scattered everywhere who are trying to understand what it means to be true followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are powerful!
The Personal Epistles
After the nine Christian Church Epistles, the Bible contains four Personal Epistles. We call them personal because these are not addressed to large groups of people or congregations. They literally are addressed to individuals. They include 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon. The first three are really pastoral in nature because Timothy and Titus were young pastors.
The Hebrew Church Epistles
Then there are eight Hebrew Christian Church Epistles. Picking up with the book of Hebrews, through the rest of the letters of the New Testament and through the book of Jude, these books are written primarily to Jewish believers. These are people who had come out of Judaism to become true followers of Jesus Christ the Messiah, and they are scattered, by and large, in many different places trying to serve the Lord. These are Hebrew Christians, and so there are definite letters written to them.
Now the beautiful thing is, though they may address individual groups or individuals, and you may say, “Well, that is not me; I do not fall into that category,” I will remind you that all Scripture is given by the inspiration of God and is profitable (2 Timothy 3:14-17). All of it may not have been written to you, but it was all written for you, and we need it all.
Revelation
The capstone, the climax, the great crescendo of the New Testament is the last book, the 27th book, which is, very appropriately, the Revelation of Jesus Christ. This book records events that will take place in the future. However, always remember that the New Testament is not only about events; it is also not about places, it is not about individuals, and it is not even simply about doctrinal truths. It is primarily about the person of Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament is Completed in the New Testament
Years ago, I was witnessing to a young man at a university, talking to him about the Lord, and trying to find a starting point. I said to this young man, “Do you believe that the Bible is the Word of God?” His immediate response to me was, “Well…the Old Testament is.” He was a practicing Jew who believed the Old Testament Scriptures, but could not accept the New Testament Scriptures.
My friend, the Old Testament and the New Testament fit perfectly together. They do not compete; they complete! More specifically, it is not the New Testament itself that completes the Old Testament; it is the Christ of the New Testament. He is the Completer.
Every section of the Old Testament seems to cry out for Christ.
- The Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, are good, wonderful, and rich, but yet in some ways unexplained. They help me understand why we must have this law and what it is leading to.
- The twelve Historical Books, while there are great victories there, seem that the story is not complete. They cry out, unachieved; something is still missing.
- The Poetic Books, the heart books, right in the heart of the Old Testament, and still, something seems to cry out for more. The questions of Job and the heartache of Solomon, and the word that comes to my mind is unappeased.
- Read the Prophetic Books. They tell about something that is yet to come and someone that is yet to come. And the word there is unfulfilled.
Think of the Old Testament this way: unexplained, unachieved, unappeased, and unfulfilled without the person of Jesus Christ.
The New Testament is the Fulfillment of the Old Testament
The Pentateuch points to Christ. The historical books point to Christ. All of the poetic books point to Christ. The prophetic books point to Christ. Every section cries out for Christ because every soul cries out for Christ. That is why the great finale of the New Testament is the revelation of Jesus Christ.
It is wonderful that when you begin studying in the New Testament, you see this recurring theme of fulfillment:
- The very first book, the book of Matthew, twelve times uses this phrase “that it might be fulfilled.”
- Mark 1:15 says, ”And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.”
- Luke 4:21, “And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.”
- John 1:41, “…We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, the Christ” and later in John 1:45: “…We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.”
On and on, each New Testament book shows us the fulfillment of the Old Testament. The same One who fulfilled the Old Testament will fulfill all the prophecies of the New Testament as well because it is all about the person of Jesus Christ. (Find our FREE printable list of 55 Prophecies Jesus Fulfilled and study through it.)
The Purpose of the New Testament
There are 27 books in the New Testament. 260 chapters. 7,959 verses. And one great purpose. That one great purpose is to reveal the purpose and the work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Remember, the word “testament” is the same as covenant. In the Old Testament, they were operating under an old covenant. When you come to the New Testament, Jesus Christ brings us into a new covenant. It is not a covenant between God and me. It is a covenant between God the Father and God the Son.
This is not a covenant that will be broken because this is a covenant between God and God. This is a covenant between God the Father and God the Son who paid the full penalty for our sin. All who come to Jesus Christ in repentance and faith enter into this new covenant, which means that all the realities that are found in the New Testament are for us.
Learn more about this covenant by listening Scott’s broadcast below:
The great message is not just to know God in some general way or to serve Him out of fear. No, it is to draw near in love and in full assurance. It is to know Him intimately and personally. It is not simply to have God around you or with you or on you; it is rather to have Christ in you. That is the great message of the New Testament.
As you journey through the New Testament, I hope you will do more than simply come to know the New Testament better. I hope you will come to know the Christ of the New Testament in a greater way than ever before. I hope as you do, you will enjoy the journey.
RELATED RESOURCE: Parables of Jesus Study Guide
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