The basic story of the New Testament is that Jesus Christ is God incarnate as our Savior. All the Gospel authors, whether first-hand witnesses or faithful writers, described ways in which Jesus of Nazareth fulfilled Old Testament prophecies about the Messiah to come. The death and resurrection of Jesus are pivotal to the story of the Old and New Testament, as the climax and fulfillment of the salvation hopes expressed from the beginning of recorded history. The Gospels not only describe the birth and death of Jesus of Nazareth, but detail his life and teaching including minutiae which parallel portions of the Old Testament - and one would think this truth would have been recognized by more of His contemporaries. The rejection that was experienced by Christ in his day opened the door for redemption for the uttermost parts of the world, after which Israel is finally restored to Him.
The book of Acts continues the story of God’s redemption of all-He-Wills. The church are ruled by the Holy Spirit leading God’s people as we live and are witnesses of His continued redemption. The book of Acts follows Jesus’ Great Commission, as stated in Acts1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” - Jerusalem (Acts chapters 1–5), Judea and Samaria (Acts chapters 6–9), through Syria, Asia Minor, and Europe towards Rome (Acts chapters 9–28) – the uttermost parts of the earth for them. The death and resurrection of Jesus Christ opened up the story of the Old Testament to be fulfilled and a blessing to the entire world – not just the chosen Jews.
As a whole, the Epistles continue where Jesus’ story was closed in the Gos...
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The New Testament teaches about who Jesus is and what he did on the earth. John wrote the last of the four gospels which recount Jesus’ life and what is to come. The gospel of John is somewhat different from the other three gospels, in that it is more symbolic and less concrete. For example, John expresses Jesus as the Passover Lamb when Matthew, Mark, and Luke do not. This gospel is showing that Christianity is moving away from the long-practiced Jewish traditions. John’s gospel can be laid out into four parts: the prologue or the incarnate word, signs of the Messiah with teachings about life in him, the farewell teaching and the passion narrative, and the epilogue or the roles of Peter and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. The Gospel of John is arguably the most
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The Book of Acts was written to provide a history of the early church. Acts emphasis the importance of the day of Pentecost and being empowered to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ. Acts sheds light on the ministry gift of the Holy Spirit, which empowers, guides, teaches, and serves as our Counselor. When reading the Book of Acts many of the readers will be enlightened and encouraged by the many miracles that were being performed during this time by the disciples Peter, John, and Paul. The Book of Acts emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s Word and the transformation that occurs as a result of knowing Christ. There are also many references to those that rejected the truth that the disciples preached about in Jesus Christ. Power, greed, and many other vices of the devil or evidenced in the book of Acts. Acts 1:8 serves as a good summary of the Book of Acts. Acts records the apostles being Christ's witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the rest of the surrounding world.
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In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
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