Image: internetmonk.comOrganization of the Bible Part 2

Divisions:

TestamentsOLD & NEW

POINTSTHE KEY

Have confidence in the authority of the biblical

canon as God’s inspired message

You better can understand THE BIG STORY by

knowing the old and new testament divisions.

When you have familiarity with Scripture’s

divisions, you become more comfortable

reading, studying and applying it.

Let’s talk about the

canon & divisions

The biblical canon is God’s

Primary

Features

Biblical Canon

Inspired by God

Accepted as Scripture

1

2

3

Divine Authority

“It is a mistake to say that the church

determines, forms, or judges the canon. Rather,

God determines the canon” (Bernard, 2005. p.

23).

The 39 Old & 27 New Testament books

form the biblical canon.Inspired Authoritative Accepted

“The Bible tells one Big Story. The Old

Testament introduces the Hero ─

Yahweh. The New Testament tells how

Yahweh became a man. Not two

stories. One; God is the Hero in both

Testaments”(Norris, 2010, p. 8).

THE BIG STORY

Learning about the Bible’s groups

(or divisions)

Groups(Or Divisions)

Within each testament

The New Testament

has 27 books

The Old Testament

has 39 books.

The New Testament divides into 4 groups, too.

The 4 NT groups are Gospels (4

books), History (1) Letters (21) & Prophecy (1).

The 4 OT groups are Law (5 books),

History (12), Poetry (5) & Prophecy (17).

The OT divides

into 4 groups.

Books of

LAW

PROPHECY

HISTORY

POETRY

OLD TESTAMENT (4):

Did you know?

The New Testament did not exist at the

formation of the early church, rather the

Apostles relied on their knowledge of the Old

Testament and first-hand, eye witness accounts

of Jesus’ teaching as they taught and preached

under the anointing of His Spirit.

LAW (Also, the Torah or Pentateuch)

God reveals Himself as the Creator, a loving

and patient Father, Provider and just Judge

Who wants to bless His creation (Root, 1998, p. 20)

Contains categories of corporate blessings for

covenant faithfulness and curses for

disobedience (Fee & Stuart, 2003, p. 187)

Provides the setting in which God gave the

Hebrews His redemptive plan and divine law(Coogan, 2009; Halley, 2000; Root, 1998)

L

A

W

Genesis

Exodus

Leviticus

Numbers

Deuteronomy

HISTORY

Relates a connected history of Israel from

Moses’ death to its restoration after Babylonian

captivity

Tells the effects of following God’s law and

disobeying it

Deals primarily with the Hebrews, from whom

the Christ would come; and records

preparation for the coming Messiah(Root, 1998)

H

I

S

T

O

R

Y

Joshua

Judges

1 & 2 Samuel

1 & 2 Kings

1 & 2 Chronicles

Ezra

Nehemiah

Esther

POETRY (Also, Wisdom)

The writing spanned from Abraham through the

Old Testament’s end

Highlights godly choices—Fee & Stuart say that

within the inspired biblical wisdom, good choices

are godly choices (2003, p. 288).

Was a medium prophets used to give their

message because of its appeal. One can read,

for example, of the coming Messiah in the royal

psalms (Johnson, 2005; Root, 1998)

P

O

E

T

R

Y

Job

Psalms

Proverbs

Ecclesiastes

Song of Solomon

PROPHECY

Prophets were covenant enforcement mediators

who delivered God's word. Their inspired

message would be an example for generations.

Prophecy exists as two elements: Forthtelling and

foretelling. Forthtelling: Prophets addressed the

issues, people and nations of their day.

Foretelling: Prophets delivered God's will for the

future regarding Israel, nations and the 1st & 2nd

comings of the Messiah.

P

R

O

P

H

E

C

Y

MAJOR

Isaiah, Jeremiah,

Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

MINOR

Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah,

Jonah, Micah, Nahum,

Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai,

Zechariah, Malachi

What do you think?

Books of

GOSPEL

PROPHECY

HISTORY

LETTERS

NEW TESTAMENT (4):

Did you know?

Marcion, in AD 140, dismissed the Old

Testament and books that favored Jewish

readers like Matthew, Mark, Acts and

Hebrews.

“This nudged the church into thinking

about forming a New Testament” (Shelley, 2008,

p. 64) for an authoritative list of inspired

writings (churchhistory101.com).

GOSPELS

Gives the good news of salvation through the

teachings of Jesus and stories about Him (Fee &

Stuart, 2003, p. 127)

Provides the “testimony of Jesus Christ, the

Son of God (God manifested in flesh) from four

perspectives: Matthew (Jesus, the King of

Israel), Mark (Jesus, the Servant), Luke (Jesus,

the Man) and John (Jesus, the Almighty God)”

(Cox, 2013)

G

O

S

P

E

L

S

Matthew

Mark

Luke

John

HISTORY

Containing the Book of Acts, it records the early

church’s history, tells how people become

Christians, chronicles the early missionary

movement from Jerusalem to Rome and the way

the Church grew upon the outpouring of the Holy

Spirit under the New Covenant

Bridges the gospels with the letters in the New

Testament canon (Shelley, 2008; Tenney, 2005; Root,

1998)

H

I

S

T

O

R

Y

Acts

LETTERS (Also, the Epistles)

Gives Paul’s and other writers’ correspondence

to churches and/or individuals for teaching and

counsel

Provides clarity and encouragement for

application of the Gospel message

(Tenney, 2009; Root, 1998)

L

E

T

T

E

R

S

Romans,

1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians,

Ephesians, Philippians,

Colossians,

1 & 2 Thessalonians,

1 & 2 Timothy, Titus,

Philemon, Hebrews, James,

1 & 2 Peter,

1,2 & 3 John, Jude

PROPHECY Contains both prophetic and apocalyptic

message

Records the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Shows conflict between good and evil, as well as

the final victory of Christ and His people

(Coogan, 2009; Root, 1998)

P

R

O

P

H

E

C

Y

Revelation

What do you think?

SUM UP!

The biblical

canon is inspired,

authoritative and

accepted

The group (or division) from each testament gives you

a road map around the Bible

All groups within each

testament fill in the roads

that lead to understanding

the fullness of Scripture

“The scriptures are not merely catalogues

of beliefs, although they certainly include

such lists, propositions, and assertions.

Rather, the scriptures are inspired by

God─with inspiration usually connected to

the Holy Spirit─for specific purposes

related to Christian practices, life, and,

ultimately, salvation” (Amos Yong, 2008, p.

40).

References

• Bernard, D. (2000). God’s infallible Word. Florissant, MO: Word Aflame

Press.

• Bernard, D. (2005). Understanding God’s Word. Florissant, MO: Word

Aflame Press.

• Coogan, M. (2009). A brief introduction to the Old Testament. New York,

NY: Oxford University Press.

• Cox, D. (2013). The gospels. Cited on February 21, 2014, from

http://www.slideshare.net/drjparon/the-gospels-anli

• Duvall, J. S. & Hays, J. D. (2005). Grasping God’s Word. Grand Rapids,

MI: Zondervan.

• Eichenberger, J. (2011). Training for service: A Basic Overview for every

Christian. Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing.

• Fee, G. & Stuart, D. (2003). How to read the Bible for all its worth. Grand

Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

References (Cont’d)

• Green, J. (2007). Seized by truth: Reading the Bible as Scripture.

Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press.

• Halley, H. (2000). Halley’s Bible handbook. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan

Norris, D. (2010). Big ideas. Florissant, MO: Apostolic Teaching

Resources

• Root, O. (1998). Survey of the Bible: Training for service student book.

Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing.

• Pfeiffer, C. F., Vos, H. & Rea, J. (Eds.). (2005). Wycliffe Bible dictionary.

Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishing.• Shelley, B. (2008). Church history in plain language (3rd ed). Nashville,

TN: Thomas Nelson.• Williams, D.H. (2014). How the New Testament canon was formed. Cited

on February 22, 2014, from http://www.churchhistory101.com/new-

testament-canon.php

• Yong, A. (2008).) Hospitality & the other. Mary Knoll, NY: Orbis Books.

Images from Bing.com

LAW GOSPELS HISTORY

HISTORY LETTERS

LETTERS

LETTERS PROPHECY

POETRY MAJOR PROPHETS

MINOR PROPHETSImage:

Mardel.com

Walking Through the Word

Online Supplemental Resources

All Nations Leadership Institute

4501 W. 127th St.

Alsip, IL 60803

www.allnationsleadershipinstitute.org