NEW TESTAMENT

 Testament – The word “testament” is from the Latin “testamentum” which translate the Hebrew word
meaning “covenant.”
 Covenant – is a sacred agreement between God and his people
 Gospel comes from the Old English godspel.
A. GOSPELS
 The term gospel in the Greek New Testament is evangelion (noun) which means “good news” and
evangelize (verb) means “to bring or announce good news”.
 It is the sum total of the saving truth as God has communicated it to the lost humanity and is revealed in
the person of His Son, Jesus Christ. It tells about the life, death, resurrection and ministries of Jesus
together with His disciples.
 Matthew-John
B. HISTORY BOOK
 The Book of Acts–The author of this book is Luke. It tells about the acts of the apostles, the history of
the church and its growth, from the ascension of Christ to the imprisonment of Paul at Rome and the
opening of his ministry.
C. THE PAULINE LETTERS/EPISTLES
 They tell about the meaning and application of the gospel for Christians. They give the interpretation of
the person and work of Christ, and apply the truth of the gospel to believers.
 Romans-Philemon
D. GENERAL EPISTLES
 The seven are often called the General Epistles because they speak to the Christian church in general
rather than to individual churches.
 They are also united by their interest in practical matters such as organizational leadership, hard work,
fairness, good relationship and effective communication.
 Reflect the essential challenge Christians faced in the Roman Empire and how to follow Jesus in a
difficult environment.
 Hebrews-Jude
E. APOCALYPSE/PROPHECY
 BOOK OF REVELATION The writer of the book of Revelation was John the beloved, one of the
disciples of Jesus. When he wrote this book, he was in Patmos Island. His visions deal with events in
the religious history. A great moral conflict is portrayed between the divine and satanic powers, ending
in the victory of the Lamb.
The Book of Acts
Author: Luke, a Gentile physician
Date Written: Between AD 63 and 70
Purpose: to give an account of the birth and
growth of the Christian
Features: Acts is a continuation of the Gospel
of Luke. Luke ends abruptly and he wrote Acts
to continue the story.
Blueprint
A. Peter’s Ministry – all about establishment;
expansion of the church
B. Paul’s Ministry – all about his first, second,
and third missionary journey.
PAULINE LETTERS/EPISTLES
 Letters – Before, letters were written with a
quill pen or a pen. Then they were placed in envelopes with the receiver’s address and mailed at the post office.
Letters will travel to the receiver and most often are delivered after several weeks or even months.
  Apostle Paul– He was a Pharisee from Tarsus. Original name was Saul. He was recorded in the Scriptures as one
of the fiercest persecutors of the Christians. Paul preached the good news to the Gentiles and travelled through the
Roman Empire thrice in his missionary journeys. He was imprisoned several times, was shipwrecked, and put
under house arrest.
 ROMANS
Date: 56 A.D.
Recipient: The saints in Rome who are loved by God
Purpose: To establish the church through instructions concerning the basics of salvation.
 1 CORINTHIANS
Date: 54 A.D.
Recipient: To the church of God in Corinth
Purpose: Paul gives advices to the problems inside the Corinthian church, sexual immorality, food offered to idols, public
worship, doctrine on the resurrection and rebukes division.
 2 CORINTHIANS
Date: 55 A.D.
Recipient: To the church of God in Corinth
Purpose: To show Paul’s concern and love for his converts.
 GALATIANS
Date: 52 A.D.
Recipient: The churches in Galatia
Purpose: Paul directs them concerning the legalism of the Jews (Jewish Christians required the Gentile converts to
observe festival days and practice circumcision) endangering the teaching that faith alone brings salvation
 EPHESIANS
The clear theme of the letter is unity. God’s plan is to bring to an end all that divides men and women, social classes,
cultures, nations and religions. Jesus Christ is the unifying force, as the head unites the human body.

Date: 64 A.D.
Recipient: To the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus (may include several churches)
Purpose: To set forth the believer’s union in Christ, relating this with union of Jews and Gentiles in Christ.
 PHILIPPIANS
Is a warm personal letter to a church. He shares about his being imprisoned and how he used his situation to share the
Gospel to the Roman officer. He also shares about Jesus as the servant who was willing to give up his rights for the good
of others, and encourages the Philippians to do the same.

Date: 61 A.D.
Recipient: The church at Philippi
Purpose: To exhort the Philippians to consistency of Christian living

 COLOSSIANS
The letter notes that wrong teaching is creeping into the church. In his letter Paul stresses the true Gospel: Jesus is
absolutely central. He existed before time began and he is the one who brings God and human race together. “Rituals,
regulations, philosophical reasonings and self-denial are not what is required but right relationship and attitudes in the
church, the family, the workplace and the world.”

Date: 60 A.D.
Recipient: The holy and faithful brothers in Christ at Colossae.
Purpose: It is a refutation against a Judaistic-Gnostic heresy with its ceremonialism and doctrine of emanation. Paul
expounds the supremacy of Christ overall principalities and powers, the fullness of his redemption, and his own hardships
in making known the gospel message.
 1 THESSALONIANS
Paul insists on his apostleship. Timothy was sent to visit them and returned to Paul with the message of encouragement.
Other questions include, “What will happen when Christians die?” and “When will Jesus return?”

Date: 52 or 53 A.D
Recipient: Thessalonian Church
Purpose: To urge the Thessalonians to worth-while conduct and work in the light of the return of Christ; to comfort them
concerning those who have died with the Lord; and to instruct them in the elementary truths of the Christian gospel.
 2 THESSALONIANS
The Thessalonians were confused about Paul’s message in 1 Thessalonians regarding Jesus’ return, some say He already
had and this affected some people’s work attitudes.

Date: 52 or 53 A.D.
Recipient: Thessalonian Church
Purpose: To instruct the Thessalonian Christians concerning the Day of Christ
“And our gathering together in union with him” and to settle them in their conviction that in the Day of Christ the Lord
will translate the living saints and raise the dead ones.
 TIMOTHY
Timothy was a young pastor from Lystra who was trained by Paul to be a missionary and to pastor the churches. He
accompanied Paul in his missionary journey.
The first letter of Paul to Timothy is like a “leadership manual for church organization and administration.” The second
letter of Paul to Timothy, however, are like “last words”.
 1 TIMOTHY
Date: 62 or 66 A.D.
Recipient: Timothy
Purpose: To encourage Timothy in his responsibility for overseeing the work of
the Ephesian church and also the other churches in the province of Asia.

 2 TIMOTHY
Date: 67 A.D. approximately shortly before Paul’s death
Recipient: Timothy
Purpose: To encourage Timothy and all believers to persevere in faith and
proclaim the Gospel.
 TITUS
He was a convert to Christianity during the first missionary journey of Paul. Titus was a Greek (gentile) who became a
Christian and faithfully served Jesus by travelling with Paul in his missionary journeys. He joined Paul for three years in
Ephesus teaching people about the power of God and also in the other later missionary journeys of the Apostle.

Date: 66 A.D.
Recipient: Titus
Purpose: Encourage Titus to lead the church in Crete, advises Titus on the qualifications of Church leaders and a possible
visit to Nicopolis.

 PHILEMON
Philemon is a Christian from Colossae, wealthy and had high standing in the local church. He was looked up to by the
members of his church because of his warmth and loving nature. Paul was aware of the positive character of this
Christian. Philemon owned slaves who worked in his property and one of them was Onesimus. He robbed his master with
some valuables and ran away from him. That made Philemon angry. Paul wrote Philemon to request him to receive his
slave back and treat him as a brother-in-Christ and a fellow member of God’s family.

Date: approximately 60 A.D

Recipient: Philemon
Purpose: Urged Philemon to receive back his run-away slave
 General Epistles – They are books of the New Testament that are considered as letters by apostles other than Paul.
It starts with the book of Hebrews to the Epistle of Jude.
 JAMES
Of the three apostles who comprised the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples (Peter, James and John), we know the least about
the apostle James. James was the eldest brother of the apostle John and that their father’s name was Zebedee and their
mother’s name was Salome.

Date: A.D. 49
Recipient: Christians in Jerusalem; 12 tribes
Purpose: To expose unethical practices; teach right Christian behavior and true intent of the law.
 PETER
Peter was born in Betsaida. By profession, he was a fisherman. So firm was Peter’s faith that Jesus gave him the name of
Cephas, meaning, in the Syriac language, a rock (Peter is the Greek translation of Cephas.) The house in which Peter
lived, in Capernaum, is still standing; in the 5th century AD, however, a Christian church was constructed over it.
 1 PETER
Date: A.D. 62 - 64Recipient: Christians scattered in Mediterranean World.
Purpose: To encourage suffering Christians.
 2 PETER
Date: A.D 67
Recipient: Christians scattered in Mediterranean World.
Purpose: To warn Christians against false teachers, exhort them to grow in their faith and knowledge of Christ.
 HEBREWS
Author:
Anonymous Date: A.D. 70
Recipient: Jewish and Roman Christians
Purpose: To present Christ’s superiority
 JOHN
The apostle is thought to have been a disciple of John the Baptist before meeting Jesus. John the apostle was the Lord’s
cousin, his mother Salome being Mary’s sister.
 1 JOHN
Date: A.D. 85 – 90
Recipient: Gentile congregations
Purpose: To reassure Christians of their faith and counter false teachers.
 2 JOHN
Date: A.D. 90
Recipient: To the elect lady, and to Christians everywhere
Purpose: To emphasize the basics of following Christ; warning against false teachers.

 3 JOHN
John the Apostle
Date: A.D. 90
Recipient: Gaius, the prominent Christian
Purpose: To commend Gaius for his hospitality and to encourage him in his Christian life.
 JUDE
The apostle Jude was believed to be from the Jewish tribe of Judah. And after the ascension of Jesus, Jude was one of the
first apostles to leave Jerusalem for a foreign country. Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James, Jude
Thaddaeus, Judas Thaddaeus or Lebbaeus.
Date: A.D 65
Recipient: Jewish Christians
Purpose: To remind the church of the need for constant vigilance – to keep strong in the faith and defend it against
heresy.
 APOCALYPSE
It is derived from the Greek word “apokalypsis” in Revelation 1:1, which means “revelation” or “unveiling”, and is
applied to apocalyptic writings because they contain alleged revelations of the secret purposes of God, the end of the
world, and the establishment of God’s Kingdom on earth.
Author: The Apostle John
Date: About A.D. 95, from the Island of Patmos
Recipient: Seven Asian Churches, all believers everywhere
Purpose: To reveal the full identity of Christ and give warning and hope to believers.