DOES HE REVEAL IT?
The Old Testament laid much of the foundation for knowledge about God and Christ. It also contained special rules from God for those who lived before the time of Jesus. The Law of Moses showed the Jews how to live, worship, and offer sacrifices. But the Law of Moses was completed and ended by Christ (Romans 7:1-6; 10:4). Christ began His “New Covenant”—the new agreement (Hebrews 8:6-13; 9:15; 10:9). We are not under the rule of Moses, but of Christ (Galatians 3:25; 1 Corinthians 9:21; Matthew 28:18-20).
The words of Christ are found in the New Testament, though He often quoted the Old Testament. Jesus gave His words to His apostles. He promised that the Holy Spirit would give them “all truth” (John 14:26; 16:13; 17:8). Thus, their words were not their own, but God’s (Matthew 10:20; 1 Corinthians 2:13). They safely wrote down the will of Christ (1 Corinthians 14:37; 2 Thessalonians 2:15). Christ has returned to heaven (Acts 1:9; 2:35), and so does not speak to us directly today. In order to listen to the teaching of Jesus, we must learn from the New Testament.
The Bible is a library of 66 books. It was written by forty different writers who wrote over a period of 1500 years. They wrote what God inspired them to write (2 Peter 1:21). Some of them wrote the history of God’s people. Others wrote God’s laws and judgments for that time. Many of these also wrote prophecies looking ahead to Christ and His church.
The Bible has two main parts: 1) The Old Testament which covers the period from Adam until about 400 years before Christ was born; and 2) the New Testament which records the life of Christ, the King who should be obeyed by all today (Hebrews 1:2; 5:9) and the results of His work.
The New Testament begins with four accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. His reporters were Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. They tell of the birth of Jesus, His early years, the beginning of His public work, His choosing apostles, His miracles, His teachings, His promise to build His church, His trial and crucifixion, His death and burial, His resurrection on the third day, His promise to come again, His sending the apostles into all the world to preach the Gospel to every person, and finally of His return into Heaven. These books were written to build faith in Christ (Luke 1:1-4; John 20:30-31).
The next book, Acts, records the activities of the men whom Jesus chose to carry on His work after His return to Heaven. This book tells how His special messengers, called apostles, preached the Gospel so that people could be saved, started congregations in many places, and helped them grow up in Christ. This book tells how men and women were converted, what they did to obey the Gospel, and how they worshipped after being added to the church. The book of Acts helps us to see Christ’s pattern for being saved, for teaching others, and for starting His congregations throughout the world.
The rest of the New Testament is made up of letters to churches and individual Christians. These letters tell us by command and example how to live the life of the Christian, and how to work and give glory to Christ through being His church (Ephesians 3:21).
Honest study of the Bible is high worship to God. It honors Him as the Creator who made us, and who alone can guide us. It admits that His power and wisdom are far greater than ours. By obeying God’s word through Christ we show our love for Him (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3), we prove that we truly believe He is Lord (Luke 6:46), and so we become His true followers (John 8:31). As we learn from the New Testament we see what Christ’s church is, how to be in it, and what it does in each new place.