Summary of the Books of the New Testament

Summary of the books of the New Testament

Matthew

The Book of Matthew is one of the four Gospels. The reason Matthew wrote the book was to show the Jews that Jesus was the Messiah that was promised to come. He does this by showing the Jews how Jesus fulfilled prophecies that were foretold in the Old Testament. He also details for them the lineage of Jesus to David. Matthew then tells us a little bit about Jesus' early childhood and then he moves into the ministry of Jesus. He tells us about the Sermon on the Mount, what the disciples' purpose and mission were to be, and about the hypocrisy and the future. He finishes up the book with Jesus' arrest, His torture, and His death on the cross. The final chapter tells us that Jesus has risen and then describes the Great Commission that He gives to his disciples to carry out. You can see Matthew's love and concern for the people by the way he told the gospel story.

Acts

The Book of Acts is narrative in genre. It gives us the history of the Christian church and the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ. It also shows us the mounting opposition to it. Although there was many faithful people were used to preach and teach the gospel of Jesus, Saul, whose name was later changed to Paul, was the most influential. Paul's life before he became a follower of Jesus was one of persecuting and killing Christians. His dramatic conversion on the Damascus road is a highlight in the Book of Acts. After he became saved he did a complete 180 and became someone who loved God with all they had and began preaching His Word with power, fervency and in the Spirit of the true and living God. The Holy Spirit came and empowered the disciples to be His witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. In the last chapters of Acts we are told about Paul's three missionary journeys, his trials in Jerusalem and Caesarea and his final journey to Rome.

Ephesians

The Book of Ephesians is of the epistle genre. Paul wrote this book for those who strived to have a Christ-like maturity. He talks about our standing in Christ and how important it is as followers of Jesus that we know who we are in Jesus. He talks about how we need to become grounded in the knowledge of God and everything He has done for us. We need to continue to strengthen our walk with God so that we no longer fall for false teachings. Paul wanted to help equip a maturing church and teach them about the authority they have as a believer in Christ. A study of the book of Ephesians will help the believer know how they can fulfill the purpose and calling that He has placed in their life. It is important to remember that in order to live out our lives practically for God; we first need to know