The New

Testament
Section 1: The Word of God

Part 1: A Matter of
Perspective
As human beings, we are oriented toward

knowing God.
God first communicated Himself to us

through:
Creation
Conscience

But God wanted to communicate to us

more than His existence; He wanted us to

know His love for us.
God revealed Himself and His love next

through:

Covenants

Israelites
Prophets
Jesus Christ

Part 1: A Matter of
Perspective

Jesus Christ is God's final and full revelation of

Himself.
Sacred Scripture tells the story of God's Divine

Revelation to us, or God's self communication

through which He makes known the mystery of
His divine plan.
Since Scripture reveals God, it is sacred and

authored by God.
However, we do not mean God dictated Scripture, word for word;

rather, He inspired human authors of Scripture.

Through Biblical Inspiration, the Holy Spirit

assisted human beings to write biblical books;

as such, they teach truths about God without
error.

Part 1: A Matter of
Perspective

The doctrine of Biblical Inerrancy says

that the books of Scripture are free from

error regarding the truth God wishes to
reveal for the sake of salvation.
Truths that are without error are those relating to our

salvation, to our faith and morals, how we are to live as

God wishes, etc.

Not every story presented in the Bible is

historically or scientifically accurate.

Example: The Book of Job

Bible authors interpreted the spiritual

ramification of events, therefore writing

them down for future generations to also
know about.

Part 1: A Matter of
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The process of forming the Bible took many

hundreds of years.
The word Bible, from the Latin word biblia,

means books or library of books.

The Church authenticated certain writings as

revealed by God, through Sacred Tradition,

or the passing on of the Gospel message by
the Apostles first orally, then written down,
and interpreted by the Magisterium of the
Church.

Sacred Scripture
46 Old
Testament
Books
27 New
Testament
Books

Sacred Tradition
Doctrines & Dogmas from
Magisterium
Encyclicals
Council Teachings

Deposit of Faith,
or the heritage of
faith passed on
from the Apostles
to today as
revealed truth.

The
Catholic
Church
teaches
that BOTH
Sacred
Scriptures
and
Sacred
Tradition
are
important
elements
to properly
understan
ding faith.

Part 1: A Matter of
Perspective
Many Protestants only depend on

Scripture to gain salvation, eliminating

the living transmission of the Churchs
teaching throughout the ages (Sola
Scriptura).
If we focus only on Sacred Tradition,

we lack having the Word of God at our

core.
Along with Sacred Tradition and Sacred

Scripture, the Magisterium, or the

Church's living teaching office,
interpret and expand on Christs
teachings to address our worlds
issues.

Pope Francis
(2013 Present)
Wrote the encyclical Lumen Fiedei, The Light of
Faith, explaining how faith and reason work together
to build societies that promote the common good.

Part 1: A Matter of
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The Old Testament tells of

the preparation of Christ's

coming into the world
through the covenants
made with Israel.
The New Testament tells

of God fulfilling the

covenants He made with
Israel in Jesus Christ.
All Scripture, both Old and

New Testament, point

toward and are fulfilled by
Jesus Christ.

Part 1: A Matter of
Perspective

1
.

The New Testament about Christ was not written

until AFTER Christ ascended back to the Father.

The process of putting the Old and New

Testament together took many steps, including:

2
.

1. Translating the Hebrew Old Testament into

Greek, called the Septuagint.

2. After translating, the texts had to be transferred

from scrolls into manuscripts called codices in the

2nd century.
3. The early Church then added apostolic writings

about Jesus with the Septuagint, effectively

creating the Bible.

3
.

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By putting Old and New Testaments together, the

Church showed that the one God of the Old Testament

was the same God who sent His Son in the New
Testament.
To understand what God accomplished in Christ, we

have to look at the promises God made with Israel to

fully understand the whole picture.
Jesus did not negate the old covenants made with

Abraham or Moses, but rather came to fulfill the

promises in them as God said He would.

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For a particular book to be added to the canon

(collection) of books of the New Testament, the early

Church used four criteria to judge a piece of writing as
whether of not worthy to be placed in the Bible:
Apostolic: the writing had to be based on the teaching of

the Apostles and their closest companions/ disciples.

Community Acceptance: the writing had to be accepted

by the Christian community as being consistent with their

beliefs.
Liturgical: the writings had to assure growth in faith of

the Church, especially at Mass.

Consistent: the writing had to be consistent with the

other books of Scripture and not contradict what already

was accepted as God's Word.

Part 1: A Matter of
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The books of the New

Testament are divided into 5

categories:
Gospels
Acts of the Apostles
Pauline Letters (Letters of St.

Paul)
Catholic Epistles (Letters
from other Saints)
Book of Revelation

Part 1: A Matter of
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The word Gospel comes from the Greek word

evangelion, meaning Good News.

Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, and they are

known as the Evangelists.

The Gospels are the primary source from

which we learn about Jesus Christ; they are

all in agreement on issues pertaining to
Christs life.
Each Gospel was written by a separate

author in different historical situations and

for different audiences.

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The Acts of the Apostles is

considered to be a sequel to the

Gospel of Luke since Luke was it
author.
It speaks of how the Apostles

actions spread the faith in the

early Church to the Gentiles, from
Jerusalem to Rome.
A Gentile was any non Jewish

person who was not under the

covenants God made with the
Jewish people, and as such, were
not in right relationship with God.

Part 1: A Matter of
Perspective
The Pauline Letters are a

collection of letters believed to be

written by St. Paul to early Christian
communities he visited and
established, such as:
Corinthians
Romans
Thessalonians, etc.
Not all letters were written by St. Paul,
even if attributed to him.

The Catholic Epistles were letters

written by other different writers to

the all Christian audiences.

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The Book of Revelation

is the last book of the

New Testament.
The Bible begins with a

vast and empty universe,

on the verge of Creation,
and ends in Revelation
with an affirmation of a
hope for a New Creation.

Part 1: A Matter of
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1.

The New Testament was formed in 3

broad stages:

2.

1. Life and Teaching of Jesus (Jesus

teaching on Earth)
2. Oral Tradition (Apostles passing on

the teachings of Jesus)

3. Written Books (Writing down the

stories passed down or refining written

texts that need more explanation)

3.