New Testament – Pauline Epistles – 13 Books

The word epistle means letter, especially a formal or didactic (teaching) one; written communication. The first 13 New Testament epistles to the Churches were written by Paul. They were not written first, but are arranged first in the published canon of scripture.

The 4 Gospels are Jesus’ human biography; the Acts of the Apostles (1 book) is the early history of the Church; the Epistles are the teaching to the Church about the Christian Way of Life, designed for His New Creation: born-again believers in Jesus who are no longer Jews or Gentiles, but Church; Jews AND Gentiles, IN CHRIST forever, having been redeemed by His finished work on the cross. In these epistles the doctrinal revelation and theological significance of all those prior events are explained.

Since our purpose here is to hone our Bible Skills, we will occupy ourselves with memorizing the names of the epistles, in their published order. Again, as with the Old Testament books, we’ll employ a little gimmickry. Here’s my breakdown in three sections:  

Romans,  1^st & 2^nd Corinthians

Say it that way. “Romans, First and Second Corinthians.” It rolls off the tongue quickly and easily and will be easier to remember. They are the first 3, and generally the longest of the Pauline Epistles. Romans (to the Church at Rome) is deeply theological, setting forth Jesus’ work of redemption as humanity’s only hope. In 1^st Corinthians (written to the Church at Corinth), Paul taught those former pagans to separate themselves from the decadence of their former life and grow up spiritually. 2^nd Corinthians is Paul’s defense of his own apostolic authority in the face of harsh criticism by false teachers.

Galatians, Ephesians ,Philippians, Colossians  

Many years ago, while teaching Bible Skills to children, I was introduced to a clever acrostic for these 4 epistles: General Electric Power Company (Thanks, Rebekah Beene.) Easy to remember. Easy to say to oneself while reciting or trying to locate these teaching letters about the importance of grace versus legalism  (Galatians), the truth of our eternal union with Christ (Ephesians), rejoicing even as we are tested (Philippians), warnings against asceticism and mysticism, which are false systems of spirituality (Colossians).

1^st & 2^nd  Thessalonians, 1^st & 2^nd  Timothy, Titus and Philemon  

For the purpose of memorization, “3 T’s and a P.” Thessalonians (1 &2) – Timothy (1 & 2) – Titus (only one) – and Philemon. Remember Thessalonians is the longest name (to the Church at Thessalonica). Timothy is a shorter name (written to Paul’s protégé and adopted son in the faith, advice and encouragement for pastoring). Titus is the shortest of the T names, and the last of this group of T’s. He was also a young pastor and protégé of Paul. That leaves Philemon, the final epistle from Paul. It is the name of a slave owner who was Paul’s Christian friend. His slave stole from him and had run away and had believed in Christ through Paul’s preaching. This letter is a very personal appeal to the slave’s owner for forgiveness and restoration to fellowship of this new believer in Jesus Christ. Philemon is short and personal, but contains great teaching of practical application to all Christians.

Although the epistles were addressed to particular local congregations or individuals, they were recognized and circulated as scripture to be studied and applied for the whole Church. People are people wherever they are, and the teachings of the Word of God have universal application to all believers at all times.

Paul wrote prolifically, as he traveled and preached, establishing local Churches and moving on to another area to preach. He wrote some letters from prison. He knew the law was fulfilled in Christ and that the Church is the manifestation of Christ’s body in the earth, and that her eternal position is IN HIM. The new believers had lived their former lives either as Gentile idolaters or as legalistic Jews. In either case, they were in need of clear teaching about their new nature as Sons of God. So are we. The epistles written by Paul and the other apostles establish the doctrines of the Church and enable individual believers to understand exactly who we are and how we should conduct our (now eternal) life.

“…… I (Paul) became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you, to make the word of God fully known, the mystery hidden for ages and generations but now revealed to his saints. To them God chose to make known how great among the Gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.” Colossians 1:25-27

New Testament History – 1 Book

The Gospel books we have recently “walked through” gave us 4 perspectives on the biography of the God-Man, Jesus Christ. They do not contradict one another. They mesh into a complete portrait of God the Son in His human incarnation. In the gospels, Jesus was introducing Himself to Israel as their long anticipated king and introducing the Kingdom of God as God Himself has designed it. His challenge to those who were positive toward Him was “follow me.” Pay attention. Imitate. Learn My ways and serve as my assistants in this mission. Those who believed in Him were born anew and remained with Him through His death, burial, resurrection and ascension. That all occurred during the Age of Israel. It had to be accomplished before the Church could come into existence.

Our next category of New Testament book is the only one that gives a historical record of the birth of His Church and her early development as His Body in the world, conceived by the Holy Spirit, nurtured by the Holy Spirit and the Eternal Word, commissioned to continue His work until He calls her home to be His eternal Bride. Since the Day of Pentecost, those who have believed in Jesus are IN HIM. That is the permanent position of the Church. One is not following the body in which one resides. I believe that technical detail makes the difference in how the individual believer relates to Jesus and all things regarding the Kingdom of God. That technical detail will also help us get a good grasp on the importance of the enormous transition which took place in one generation of God’s people after the resurrection and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Acts is the historical link between the Gospels of Jesus Christ and the Epistles to the Church. The whole title is The Acts of the Apostles. It was written by Luke as part of his report to his friend, Theophilus. The first part of the report is the Gospel of Luke. He shows in his report that the men in the gospels who had left careers and trades to follow Jesus became apostles (messengers) to Israel and then to Jesus’ new creation: the Church.

Acts traces important events in the early history of Christianity from the ascension of Christ to the outpouring of the Holy Spirit to the rapid progress of the gospel, beginning in Jerusalem and spreading throughout the Roman Empire.

Acts is a pivotal book of transitions: from the Gospels to the Epistles, from Judaism to Christianity, from law to grace, from Jews alone to Jews and Gentiles, and from kingdom to church. 

Key Chapter: Acts 2—Chapter 2 records the earth-changing events of the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came, fulfilling Christ’s promise to wait until the Holy Spirit arrived to empower and direct the witness. The Spirit transformed a small group of fearful men into a thriving, worldwide church that is ever moving forward and fulfilling the Great Commission. 

Nelson, Thomas (2006-04-11). Open Bible, NKJV (Kindle Locations 113708-113711). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition.

Acts contains 28 chapters of dramatic action, beginning immediately after the resurrection of Jesus. He spent forty days with the saints at Jerusalem, teaching them and preparing them to receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit, which he commanded them to await together. They had no idea what that would be like, and expected Him to restore the Kingdom to Israel NOW. He told them that times and epochs were not to be their concern right now, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Please notice this is not a command or a request. It is a statement of fact. “you WILL receive power.” “you WILL be my witnesses.” Then they watched as He was taken into heaven. As they stood with their mouths agape, staring into the sky, “behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11). This Jesus, not another. In this same way, just as He went. What could be plainer than that?

These believers, who were recovering from their shock and confusion of having seen their Lord crucified, buried and resurrected, were now about to receive in themselves a miraculous transformation. They stayed together, as Jesus had commanded them, praying and becoming organized under Peter’s leadership. He reminded them of all they had experienced with Jesus and they “elected” Matthias from among their ranks to replace Judas, who had betrayed the Lord and then committed suicide. According to the apostles’ standards for this office, Matthias must have been a fine believer, but nothing more is ever said about him in the scriptures.

Then came the day they had waited for: Pentecost. It means 50, and it occurred 50 days after Passover, when the Lamb of God had been sacrificed for our sins. It is familiar to all students of the New Testament. A mighty rush of wind. Tongues of fire. Languages spoken by these men which they had not learned. Specific languages, not unknown ones.  Real languages, not ecstatic gibberish. The languages were unknown only to those who were speaking them, for there were Jews in the audience that day who spoke those languages and heard the gospel of Jesus Christ in the languages of the Gentile nations from which they came. There were at least 14 national languages listed in Acts 2:9-10. This helped to jump-start the evangelism to those nations as those pilgrims returned home with the amazing sermon they had heard.

For with stammering lips and another (Gentile) tongue will he speak to this people. To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear. Isaiah 28:11-12. Another important prophecy to stiffnecked Israel (THIS people) fulfilled.

Now organized and empowered, the Church began her work under hostility from the Jews and oppression from Rome. The persecution served to keep believers in close fellowship with one another as it scattered them into the surrounding communities and nations, carrying the gospel message wherever they went. Thousands of souls were added to the Church in the times and events Luke wrote about in Acts. Those thousands bore testimony to thousands more, and the Church grew.

As the Church Age began, the apostles and other saints were gifted with certain miraculous “sign” gifts, which enabled them to perform healings, resuscitations, and speak in foreign languages as they presented the gospel of Jesus Christ to any who would listen to their message. These gifts certainly attracted the attention of those who witnessed them, and gave credibility to the apostles as representatives of Jesus Christ. As time went on, and the New Testament canon was written, these miraculous “apostolic” gifts diminished, for they were no longer needed. God’s perfect Word is its own witness. Signs and wonders are not needed to validate that which is “alive, powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword” – Hebrews 4:12 –it “shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.” – Isaiah 55:11.

They preached. They traveled. They healed. They shared their worldly goods. They told the world about the Lord Jesus Christ, Who is the only Savior of mankind. “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.” Acts 4:12

Moving through the infancy of the Church: in Acts chapter 6 the Church appointed deacons to help with the chores of the Church, so the apostles could devote their time to praying, studying and teaching. One of those deacons, Stephen, became the first martyr of the Church age, when the crowd to whom he witnessed stoned him to death (ch. 7).  Saul of Tarsus, a Pharisee who had stood by and watched with approval the stoning of Stephen, conducted a mission to put a stop to all Christian activity. On the road to Damascus this religious zealot was clobbered and blinded by the risen Christ (ch. 9). He left that traumatic scene a man forever changed, having been saved and commissioned to preach Christ to the Gentiles. From that time, he is called Paul (his Roman name). Peter and Paul were the most prominent apostles throughout the book of Acts, as they worked toward the spread of Christ’s message to the whole world. There were many other apostles and believers at work, too, but those two seemed to project the most authority regarding Christian doctrine.

The Holy Spirit very quickly led Peter and Paul into evangelizing the Gentiles, some of whom were waiting to be taught about Jesus and receive His baptism. J. Vernon McGee lists 3 representative conversions seen in Acts: in chapter 8, the Ethiopian eunuch – Son of Ham; ch. 9, Saul of Tarsus – Son of Shem; ch. 10, Cornelius, Roman centurion – Son of Japheth. Those 3 names represent the sons of Noah, who were the fathers of all the nations on the earth (Genesis 10:1).

The mission of the Church was a huge undertaking, and those early evangelists were equipped by the Holy Spirit to get the job done, no matter the obstacles they faced. They preached in the synagogues, in the streets, on mountaintops and in prisons. They faced opposition and danger almost everywhere they went. They even had some mimicking their message to ridicule and embarrass them. Their attitude was that of grace, as expressed by Paul in Philippians 1:18:

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed, and in that I rejoice.

New Testament Gospels – 4 Books

After about 400 years of no direct word from God, THE WORD -- (logos: thought, reasoning, communication, expression) – of God, Who had been with God and existed as God from eternity past (John 1:1-4) actually entered the world as a living human baby. The Old Testament had been written as a foundation of the truth He would reveal. The Pentateuch established His standards, the History prepared His people, the Poetry sang of His perfection, and the Prophets foretold details of His first advent and His second advent. He came as a human baby, born of a young virgin; therefore He was born with no Old Sin Nature. He came as the perfect Lamb of God to fulfill the whole plan of God, just as it had been proclaimed throughout the Old Testament. The Old Testament believers knew about the Redeemer Who would come and set all things in order, beginning with the hearts of the people He came to save. What they did not know about was the New Creation He would build “upon this rock” – His Church. Matthew 16:16-18 “Simon Peter replied, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” And Jesus answered him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my Father who is in heaven. And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”  “This rock” is “the Christ, the Son of the living God” and not Peter himself. Only those who believe in Jesus Christ are Church, and all those who believe in Jesus Christ are Church.

That is the Gospel message. Gospel means good news. Declaration of glad tidings. The good news is our Redeemer has come. He purchased our salvation. He is building His Church upon the rock of faith in His finished work of grace. More good news: He is coming back again to receive us unto Himself. The gospel is the good news about the eternal salvation we have through God’s uniquely born Son, Jesus Christ. We cannot do anything to earn this salvation. He has done it all. We can simply receive.

I don’t need to coach any Bible student how to memorize the titles of the 4 Gospels. I think most humans know those names, in their published order: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John. What we do need to familiarize ourselves about are the perspectives the four writers of these books reveal about the Son of God, and how they reflect His character as it was shown by writers from much earlier times.

Matthew had been a tax collector before he left everything and became a disciple of Jesus. His gospel was written specifically for the religious Jews of Israel. He gives us Jesus’ royal lineage as the King of the Jews. Then he presents the person, the preparation, the public ministry, the program, the passion and the power of the King. In Ezekiel’s vision (chapters 1-3), one of the faces of the living creatures was that of a lion, representing kingship. J. Vernon McGee insists “you must know Matthew to understand the Bible.”

Mark shows Jesus as the Servant Son of God. The book is written for the Roman mind to grasp. Its style is blunt and to the point. Rome ruled the world during the time of the gospels, and maintained an enforced order over known civilization by strong-man tactics. In this active gospel narrative, Jesus is presented as the Servant of God. Ezekiel’s living creatures had a face like that strong service animal, the ox.

Luke the Gentile physician presents Jesus as the Son of Man. There was a man’s face on the living creatures, as our Lord must become true humanity to purchase our salvation. The physical and scientific aspects of life were the focus of the Greeks. Jesus is the representative man, the last Adam, who would be born free from sin, live 33 sinless years in human flesh, die under the penalty of our sins, be buried, be resurrected and ascend to the right hand of the Father. In so doing, He bought us back; redeemed us from the slave market of sin and the dominance of Satan. Luke, the scientist, performed a thorough examination of the facts regarding Jesus’ humanity and found Him to be the perfect man. The most detailed account of Gabriel’s announcement to the virgin Mary and the circumstances of the birth of Jesus is in Luke’s gospel. Luke is the one who gave us the story of the rich man and Lazarus, the parable of the Prodigal Son and many other parables we love to learn and remember.

John wrote a gospel of the eternal being; God in human flesh. Supreme Authority, represented by the face of the eagle on the living creatures in Ezekiel’s vision. This gospel is different from the first three in its style and in the information given. It is written for the understanding of all mankind. John’s teaching concerning the person and work of Christ is profound, philosophical and beautiful. In John’s gospel we find the plain truth expressions from our Lord that just take our breath away as we read and study them. As we read John, it is clear that Jesus is presenting Himself as God, and as the only hope for mankind. John wrote his gospel for a specific reason: John 20:31 “…these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.”

4 writers. 4 declarations of good news. 4 types of culture represented. 4 personal characteristics depicted. 4 ways to learn about and reinforce our knowledge of the humanity of Jesus Christ, the only Savior.

God the Father made the perfect plan. God the Son did all the work in executing that plan. God the Holy Spirit covered all the bases in giving the world the good news about the perfect plan and the finished work.

Good News: God’s policy is Grace.

Old Testament Minor Prophets – 12 Books

In our efforts to remember the books of the Bible in their published order, we employ several techniques. First and foremost to me is to learn a familiar overview of each book; its places, its people, its historical events. That is a must for youth and adult students of the Bible. Children can learn and remember some of this information, too, and it is very valuable as they grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord. I’ve been known to resort to a few “gimmicks,” also, to encourage memorization of the more difficult and same-sounding names. I mentioned this in reference to the 12 OT history books, because there are so many of them in sequence and some of their information tends to overlap. I recommend a rhythmic “chant,” a cadence to file in our memory banks for the confusing names also, of the 12 Minor Prophets:

Hosea Joel Amos! / Obadiah Jonah Micah! / Nahum Habakkuk Zephaniah! /  Haggai Zechariah Malachi!

I’m not kidding. Imagine a drumbeat. Just repeat these names over and over to yourself, aloud, with rhythm. You’ll find after a few times they’ll roll off your tongue just that way. I’m not big on word association, because it can get silly to the point of blasphemy. I make one exception in the case of Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah. As a means of distinguishing those books from the last 3, I taught the kids to chant “my neighbor’s (Nahum) tobacco (Habakkuk) ‘s on fire! (Zephaniah)” Then we could remember the correct names in their correct order. The last 3 - Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi, closely rhyme, so it’s easy to chant them at the end.

The Minor Prophets are called minor because each is brief in comparison to the 5 very lengthy Major Prophets. Here’s a quick description of the 12 Minor Prophets and their messages. The numbers represent the years, Before Christ, of each book’s time in history:

Hosea  - The Lord loves Israel despite her sin. 755-15 BC. God’s persistent love for His people is demonstrated by Hosea’s faithfulness to his sluttish wife.

Joel  - Judgment precedes Israel’s future spiritual revival. 835-796 BC*. Joel tells of the Day of the Lord.  

Amos - God is just and must judge sin. 765-50 BC. Privileged and arrogant Israel had become decadent.  

Obadiah - Sure retribution must overtake merciless pride. 848 BC*. Esau’s descendants must pay for their gloating over the destruction of Jerusalem.

Jonah - Divine grace is universal in its sweep. 780-50 BC. The AWOL Prophet, Jonah tried to run from his responsibility to deliver God’s message of grace to Nineveh. The big fish delivered him to his appointed destination and he was angry with God for demonstrating grace to the repentant Ninevites.  God’s Word will do its work, even when the messenger is uncooperative. It isn’t the man, it’s the message.

Micah - Bethlehem-born Messiah will be mankind’s Deliverer. 740-690 BC. Present Judgment; Future Blessing.

Nahum - Doom is to descend on wicked Nineveh. 630-12 BC . 100 years after their repentance because of Jonah's message, Nineveh reverted and was destroyed.

Habakkuk - Justification by faith is God’s way of salvation. 625 BC or earlier. Questions regarding the continuing evil in humanity. Why is this allowed? The answer the prophet received is valid for all time. A sovereign God has the incontestable prerogative of dealing with the wicked in His own time and way. ‘But the righteous will live by his faith’ (2:4).

Zephaniah - The Day of the Lord must precede kingdom blessing. 625-10 BC. A Deluded People.

Haggai - The Lord’s temple and interests deserve top priority. 520 BC. The Unfinished Temple.

Zechariah - The Lord will remember His people Israel. 520-15 BC; Ch. 9-14 after 500 BC. This book is unique in its messianic emphasis among the Minor Prophets and in its unfolding of events connected with the first and second advents of Christ. It has been called the most messianic, the most truly apocalyptic and eschatological of all the writings of the OT.

Malachi - Let the wicked be warned by the certainty of judgment. 433-400 BC. Unrecognized Love. The previously revived people of God had become mechanized in their routine religion of meaningless ritual. Judgment is coming on God’s people. God’s silence is also coming, because they have ignored His Word. Nevertheless, there will always be a remnant according to the election of grace. The remnant will remember and cherish God’s Word and will enjoy fellowship with one another even in adversity (Malachi 3:16-17).

All dates are approximate. *The text does not specifically date these prophets. As a result differences of opinion exist concerning the time of their ministries.

Unger, Merrill F.; Unger, Merrill F. F. (2005-04-01). The New Unger's Bible Handbook (Kindle Locations 9497-9502). Moody Publishers. Kindle Edition.

There was at least a 400 year gap between Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament and Matthew, the first gospel of the New Testament. When Jesus came, He was a breath of fresh air to Israel because He was and is the incarnation of God’s Holy Word.

Next, we will categorize and memorize the books of the New Testament. Don’t hesitate to memorize and to repeat to yourself the information that’s covered here, as well as in the tables of contents and the book introductions in your Bible. Repetition is the best teacher. The things you always remember in life are the things you cannot forget, such as the alphabet, the multiplication tables, nursery rhymes and other things you learned by rote. You’ll be amazed how much you can learn and retain about God’s Word when you apply 1 John 1:7-9 and James 1:5, prayerfully, before you begin to tackle these things.