Correspondence Course Series

Overview and Theme of the Bible

The Testaments

God's Plan for Mankind's Salvation

Simply Christians

The Testaments

Lesson 2 of 4

The Bible is divided into two main sections: the Old Testament and the New Testament. The word “testament” refers to a covenant that God made. It is His ‘will’ in which He has laid down His law for people to follow. Since the Bible is divided into these two sections, it is important for us to understand something about them.

The Old Testament

            The Old Testament is composed of 39 books beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi. Genesis is the history of the origin of man, of sin entering the world, and God putting His plan for salvation into effect. Genesis tells of Abraham and the promises that God made to him. There were three main promises given in Genesis 12:1-3: 1) Land, 2) Nation, and 3) Seed. God promised that He would make a great nation from the descendants of Abraham. This would be fulfilled through his son Isaac. Isaac had a son named Jacob, and Jacob, whose name was changed to Israel, had twelve sons. From these a great nation arose which became known as the children of Israel. It would be these people who were to be God’s chosen nation. God also promised them land. This promise was fulfilled when God brought them out of Egyptian bondage into the land of Canaan, which later was known as Palestine. The third promise was the seed promise. God had promised to send a Savior through Abraham’s seed (offspring), through which all nations would be blessed. This was fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Acts 3:25-26).

The book of Exodus tells how Moses was raised up by God to deliver the children of Israel out of Egyptian slavery. They had, years before, gone down to Egypt to live and became a large nation; and Egypt turned them into slaves. God determined to bring them out of Egypt with a mighty hand to bring this chosen nation into their own land. God made a covenant with these people and they accepted the terms (Exodus 19, 20). The Ten Commandments were recorded on tablets of stone, and God gave many additional instructions which were a part of what came to be known as the Law of Moses. These instructions are recorded in the books of Exodus through Deuteronomy. The rest of the Old Testament tells the history of the people. Unfortunately, the Israelites did not live up to the terms of the covenant and they were expelled from the land and taken into captivity. The books known as the Prophets are records of the many warnings, saying that God would judge them if they did not turn from their sin. It was important that the Israelites remain a distinct nation. God was bringing about His promise to send the Savior into the world through them. Thus God spared a remnant of the people and fulfilled His promise when Jesus Christ was born.

The New Testament

            The New Testament begins with the four accounts of Christ’s life on earth. They were written to show that Jesus was the promised Messiah (anointed one). They show that Jesus was “God manifested in the flesh” (1 Timothy 3:16; John 1:1, 14). They tell of the life He lived and of His cruel death on a Roman cross. This was necessary that mankind might be saved from their sins (Hebrews 2:9).

When Christ died on the cross, He ushered in the New Covenant. Christ Himself lived under the Law of Moses (Galatians 4:4). However, He also came in order to fulfill the Old Law (Matthew 5:17). God had promised through Jeremiah the prophet that He would establish a new covenant unlike the old (Jeremiah 31:31-34). This is fulfilled in the books that we call the New Testament (Hebrews 8:6-13). The Law of Moses was a law for the children of Israel, but this new law would be for all nations (Isaiah 2:1-4). When Christ died on the cross, the Law of Moses was also nailed to the cross and taken out of the way (Colossians 2:14). Thus, the Law of Moses is no longer in effect, and the people were rebuked when they tried to go back under that law (Galatians 5:1-4). This does not mean it is of no use for us today. It is for our learning and example (Romans 15:4; 1 Corinthians 10:1-11). However, we are not bound by the conditions of the Old Law.

When Christ died and took the old law out of the way, He opened up a new and living way for us to approach God (Hebrews 10:19-22). The Law of Moses, which served as a barrier between the Jew and Gentile, was broken down so that Jew and Gentile could be one in Christ (Ephesians 2:11-16). The problem was that the Law of Moses was not adequate to take away the sins of the people. The sacrifices did not satisfy the requirements for forgiveness (Hebrews 10:1-4). When Christ came, He satisfied the requirements and forgiveness is available through Him (Hebrews 10:5-10). This is what the new covenant is all about.

Christ promised that He would build His church (Matthew 16:18). It was prophesied that He would establish His Kingdom (2 Samuel 7:12-13). Christ fulfilled this when He was raised from the dead and sent the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost to work through His apostles (Acts 2). “Church” refers to the group of people who had accepted the terms of the covenant and were saved (Acts 2:38, 41, 47). These are the people who submitted themselves to the rule of Christ to become a part of His Kingdom (Colossians 1:13). Those who do the same today are also His church, His kingdom.

The book of Acts is a history of the early church, showing how it grew and multiplied, both during times of peace and persecution. The rest of the books of the New Testament are written to churches and individuals, revealing further the will of God which embraces all people.

All Truth Given

            Before Jesus died, He promised His apostles that He would send the Holy Spirit, and that the Holy Spirit would reveal all truth to them: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” (John 14:26). “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come” (John 16:12, 13). This was a promise given to His chosen apostles. Either it was fulfilled or it wasn’t. If it was fulfilled, then all truth has been given and we need not look for further revelation today. If it was not fulfilled, then what Christ said was false and the New Testament is meaningless.

The apostles affirmed that what Christ said was true. They claimed to receive all truth; and they were in the process of writing it down. The apostle Paul spoke of the mystery, “which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets” (Ephesians 3:5). Peter spoke of the fact that God’s “divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Peter 1:3). Jude confirmed this when he wrote exhorting his readers to ‘contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints’ (Jude 3).

Jude wrote that the faith, which is the whole of the gospel, was “once for all delivered.” This means that the faith delivered then is of perpetual validity and never needs repetition. This is the meaning of the word translated “once for all.” The miracles that were performed were to confirm the message of the gospel, proving that it was from God (Mark 16:20; Hebrews 2:1-4). The apostle Paul further wrote that when revelation was completed, then the spiritual gifts, which imparted revelation in partial form, would cease (I Corinthians 13:8-13). Since revelation is complete, then so have the spiritual gifts ceased.

The New Testament was written in the first century and compiled into one volume within the second century. It has been brought down to us through the centuries and is trustworthy today. Hundreds of ancient manuscripts exist which show that what we have today is true and accurate. This is what God Himself had promised, that His words would never pass away, and that His word is incorruptible, living and abiding forever (Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:23, 25). We have God’s promise that His word which was delivered in the first century will always be valid and true. God has seen to it that we can have a faithful reproduction of what was delivered by the Holy Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets.

The Gospel Is For Obedience

            The New Testament reveals God’s will for us today. It is the law of Christ that all are bound under (1 Corinthians 9:21). Therefore, we must obey the conditions that God set forth in this covenant. It is a gospel of grace, and there is no way that we can earn our salvation (Ephesians 2:8-10). However, grace does not nullify the fact that we must obey God’s will. “And having been perfected, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). “But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’” (Romans 10:16). From this verse we can see that faith and obedience go hand in hand (see also James 2:14-26). Without faith we cannot please God (Hebrews 11:6); and the kind of faith that pleases God is an obedient faith. When we obey, then we receive the blessings of God’s grace. It is only after we have done the will of God that we receive the promise (Hebrews 10:36). It is therefore vital that we study God’s word in order to know what He would have us to do. We cannot go to any other source for our faith and practice.

Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The way that we come to the Father is revealed in the pages of the New Testament. Let us search it diligently, making sure that what we believe and practice is the truth (Acts 17:11).

Doy Moyer