A Survey of the New

Testament
What is the New
Testament?
 Last 27 books of the Bible
 8-9 different authors
 New Testament refers to the
New Covenant (Keathley,
2004)
Greek – diaqhkh
Latin – testamentum
 Focuses on the creator and
recipient of this New
Covenant
Jesus
The Church
Historical Context

 Written between around 50-95

A.D. (Appendix)
 400 years between Old
Testament and New Testament
(Gundry, 2012)
 Roman Empire in power
 Setting initially focuses on
Palestine but expands greatly
 Greek influence “Hellenism”
(Gundry, 2012)
 Jews under Roman authority but
governed locally (Gundry, 2012)
 Judaism predominant among
Jews
 New Testament Themes:
Jesus Christ at the
Center
 Central focus of the New Testament
 The Gospels
Jesus as fulfillment of Old Testament
promise
Jesus as Savior and bringer of a New
Covenant
 Acts
Jesus as center of missions and spread of
Christianity
 The Epistles
Jesus as center of Christian theology
Jesus as center of Christian action
 Revelation
Jesus as the returning conqueror, king, and
redeemer
New Testament
Themes (cont.):
The Church
 Beginning of the New Testament
church
Acts 2
Matthew 16:18
 Spread of the church
Growth in numbers
Expansion beyond Jerusalem
 Theology of the church
Church as the body and bride
Christ as the head
New Testament Themes
(cont.):
Universality of the Gospel

 Jesus ministry
 Great Commission
 All things made clean
 Jerusalem Council
 Paul’s ministry (Gundry,
2012)
 Vision of the end times
New Testament Themes
(cont.):
A guide for Christian living

 Teachings of Jesus
Great commandment
Sermon on the Mount
 Epistles
Doctrine
Ethics and virtue
Guidelines for the church
 Revelation
New Testament
Genres:
The Gospels
 Unique literary genre or sui
generis (gospels)
 Historical
 Biographical narrative
Setting, character, plot
 Proclamation or kerygma
(gospel)
The New Testament
Genres:
Acts
 Historiography
Beginnings of the church
Growth of the Jerusalem
church
Outward expansion of the
church
 Also contains theological
intent
Universal salvation
Apologetic (Wallace,
2004)
The New Testament
Genres:
Epistles
 Letter form
Introduction
Body
Conclusion
 Specific audience
 Specific purpose
The New Testament
Genres:
Apocalyptic
 Revelation as a letter
 Revelation as apocalyptic
literature
Prophetic
Symbolism and imagery
 Purpose of apocalyptic
literature
Facing persecution
How did the New
Testament Canon
come about?
 Inspired by God
Theopneustos (Ham, 2010)
 New Testament Canon (standard or
rule).
The books accepted by the church
as divinely inspired (Gundry).
 Canon not instantly recognized
(Gundry)
 Councils of Athenasius (A.D. 367) and
Carthage (A.D. 397) (Litke, 2008)
 Criteria for canonization include: (Litke,
2008)
Apostolicity
Consistency
Acceptance
Why is the New
Testament
Important?
 Sufficient word of God
2 Tim 3:16-17
Salvation
Training in righteousness
 Encouragement
 Guidelines for the church
 Historical relevance
In Conclusion:

Historical
Theological
Diverse
Worth checking out!
References
Appendix 8: Chronological Order of the Books of the New Testament. Retrieved from:
https://www.biblestudytools.com/resources/guide-to-bible-study/order-books-new-
testament.html
Gundry, R (2012). A Survey of the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.
Ham, S. ( 2010). What Does “Inspiration”Really Mean? Retrieved from:
https://answersingenesis.org/answers/biblical-authority-devotional/what-does-
inspiration- really-mean/
Keathley, J (2004). Introduction to the New Testament. Retrieved from:
https://bible.org/seriespage/2-introduction-new-testament
Litke, S. (2008). Canonicity. Retrieved from: https://bible.org/seriespage/6- canonicity
The Gospel Genre. Retrieved from:
http://www.mycrandall.ca/courses/NewTestament/Gospels/GENRGOS.h m
The Gospels. Retrieved from: https://www.biblegateway.com/resources/asbury-bible-
commentary/Gospels
Wallace, D. (2004). Acts: Introduciton, Outline, and Argument. Retrieved from:
https://bible.org/seriespage/acts-introduction-outline-and-argument