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The Bible
New Believer's Guide
Lesson 1.6
"All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work."
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Learning Objective
The Bible lesson will give you the basics for understanding the different categories of the Bible and how to begin studying it.
Overview
The Bible is not like any other book. It is written by God through faithful men for the purpose of changing lives both physically and spiritually.
What is the Bible?
The Bible contains 66 different books from over 30 different writers. God, of course, is the ultimate author of the Bible (2 Timothy 3:16). The Bible can be organized into a few different categories which help us to understanding it better. The Old and New Testaments functions as the most known categories of the Bible. Both tell one big story about God’s holiness and His free invitation to have a forever relationship with Him.
Let's examine the organization of the Bible and explore some reading methods.
Two Categories
Old Testament
The Old Testament develops the story of God’s holiness and grace within 39 books. It begins with creation and the flood. Then, the focus becomes on God’s relationship with the people of Israel. Throughout the Old Testament, God promises to send the Savior. The entire Old Testament points to the coming of Jesus Christ.
The Old Testament can be categorized into four types of writing: Law, History, Poetry, and Prophetic.
The Law
Genesis through Deuteronomy are commonly referred to as the Law. Moses wrote these five books, which take us from creation to Israel’s journey in the wilderness. In these books, God gave the law to Israel to demonstrate man's need for a Savior (Romans 3:20).
Historical Writings
Joshua through Job contain what’s known as the historical writings. They not only focus on God’s works but His relationship with Israel in the Promise Land. In these books, God promised a forever king, who would be Jesus (2 Samuel 7:16).
Poetic Writings
Psalms through Song of Solomon contain the poetic writings. These books contain prayers and are filled with the great wisdom of God and man’s desire to see the work of His hand. Many of these books were written by two of Israel’s kings while they were in the Promise Land. These books point towards a forever, wise (Proverbs 8) king (Jesus), who would suffer for our sins (Psalms 22).
Prophetic Writings
Isaiah through Malachi are the writings of the prophets. We refer to the larger books of this category as the Major Prophets and the shorter books as the Minor Prophets. These prophecies speak about God’s work, warnings, and promises to Israel and the rest of the world of their need for redemption and a coming Savior (Isaiah 53).
New Testament
The New Testament develops the story of God’s holiness and grace in 27 books. It begins with four accounts of the life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus. Then, the focus becomes on God’s relationship with the Church. Throughout the New Testament, we see God fulfill His Old Testament promise of salvation through Jesus Christ.
The New Testament can be categorized into two groups of writing: 1) The Gospels & Acts and 2) The Epistles & Revelation.
The Gospels & Acts
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are known as the Gospel writings. These four books focus on the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Matthew and Luke each give an account of the birth of Jesus. Matthew contains what is known as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), which is a sermon preached by Jesus on a mountain to His disciples and a crowd. Mark is the shortest of the Gospels. Luke contains the largest collection of Jesus’ parables. John details in 5 chapters a meal Jesus has with His disciples, where Jesus unfolds amazing truths to them.
The Book of Acts unfolds the church receiving the Holy Spirit and the Good News of Jesus going throughout the world. In Acts, the disciples learn that salvation is not just for the Jews but for anyone who trusts in Jesus can be saved. The conversion of the Apostle Paul and His many mission trips are detailed in this book.
The Epistles and Revelation
Romans through Jude are the letters written to specific Churches, people, or groups of believers. The Apostle Paul wrote the majority of these letters. However, many of them were written by Peter and John as well.
The Book of Revelation contains a prophecy written by the Apostle John to the seven Churches. This book details events that will happen before, during, and after Jesus’ return. Revelation ends with a declaration that Jesus is coming soon (Revelation 22:20).