ephesians
Understanding the New
Testament
2 Peter
hebrews
A Guide to discover the truths
in the story of Jesus Christ
Philemon
titus
Reading the New
ephesians
Testament
• What is your
approach to reading
the New2 Testament?
Peter
• …open the Bible
and see where it
leads?
• …a chapter-a-day?
• …I have no clue?
Philemon
titus
hebrews
Reading the New
ephesians
Testament
• This study is designed to bring
clarity and help you make sense titus
of
Peter
what 2you
read when you read the
New Testament
hebrews
• Let’s start with the Gospels and
work our way through the Book of
Revelation
Philemon
Theephesians
Gospels Quick Quiz
• How many
Gospels are
there?
2 Peter
• Who wrote the
first Gospel
account?
• Are there
contradictory
accounts in the
Gospels?
Philemon
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hebrews
Theephesians
Gospels Quick Quiz
• The Bible gives us
4, but there are
others2“nonPeter
canonical” accounts
• We don’t know—
maybe Mark
• It depends.
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The Gospels
ephesians
• The Gospels are
“stories” about
the life2 of
Christ.
Peter
• They were written
for the purpose of
explaining who
Jesus was and
what he did.
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The Gospels
ephesians
• Each of the Gospel writers had a
purpose in writing his account…
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– Matthew shows Jesus as the
2 Peter
fulfillment of the Old Testament
– Mark presents Jesus ashebrews
the unique
“Son of Man”
– Luke gives the account of Jesus
mission---to Jerusalem and the Cross
– John presents Jesus as divine
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The Acts
of the Apostles
ephesians
• Luke continues
his gospel account
in the Book of
2 Peter
Acts.
• Acts traces the
mission of the
early church from
the Jews (through
Peter) to the
Gentiles (through
Paul)
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The Acts
of the Apostles
ephesians
• The main purpose of
Acts was to answer
three main
2 Peter
questions for the
early Church
– What do we believe?
– Who are we?
– Why should we be
taken seriously by
the Jews and
Romans?
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Paul’s Epistles
ephesians
• Paul is considered
the 1st Christian
theologian
2 Peter
• He was the
author of 7 New
Testament
epistles
• Can you name
them?
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Paul’s Epistles
ephesians
• Some keys to look for when reading
Paul’s letters:
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– What does he say about God? (only 2
2 Peter
chapters in his writings do not mention
God)
hebrews
– … about humankind?
– …the Law?
– …Jesus Christ?
– …the Spirit?
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• If you look for these keys everything
else will make more sense!
General
ephesians Epistles
• The remainder of
the books in the
New Testament
2 Peter
(except for
Hebrews) are
called the general
or “catholic”
epistles
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General
ephesians Epistles
• These epistles
represent a variety
of genres:
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2 Peter
– Wisdom (James)
– End-times (Jude, 2
Peter)
– False Teachers (1,
2, 3 John)
– Enduring
persecution (1
Peter)
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General
ephesians Epistles
• The “catholic” epistles are like a
titus
difficult jig-saw puzzle:
Peter
• They 2are
difficult to piece together
and should not be forced!
hebrews
• It is easy to get confused when you
try to harmonize the theology in
these epistles with Paul (James
and
Paul
and
works!)
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Hebrews
ephesians
• The epistle to the
Hebrews is an
anonymous letter
2
Peter
• Although its name
implies differently it
was probably written
to a Gentile or mixed
(Jewish/Gentile)
audience
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Hebrews
ephesians
• The progression of the argument in
titus
Hebrews helps identify the
2 Peter
important
topics
–
–
–
–
–
The supremacy of Christ
hebrews
Jesus a faithful High Priest
The “better” sacrifice
Enduring and persevering
The Last Days
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Hebrews
ephesians
• Keys to the epistle
– “Hold Fast”
– The 2
New
Peter
Covenant
– The Faithful High
Priest
– Understanding
the Old Testament
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Revelation
ephesians
• Revelation is perhaps
the most difficult
book in the New
2 Peter
Testament
to
understand
• It is written as a
letter (epistle), a
prophecy (telling the
future) and an
apocalypse (another
worldly vision)
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Revelation
ephesians
• To read the John’s vision it is best to
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take the images figuratively unless they
are obvious!
2 Peter
• The book begins with an introduction
hebrews
about the vision on Patmos, moves to
Seven letters to the seven churches of
Asia Minor, details John’s vision and
concludes with the New Heavens and
New Earth
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Revelation
ephesians
2 Peter
Philemon
• Most importantly,
don’t be afraid to titus
read it!
• This book provides
some
of the most
hebrews
vivid imagery in
literary history!
• It also promises a
blessing to the
reader!
Understanding the New
ephesians
Testament
• These keys are designed to help
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guide you through the New
2 Peter
Testament
hebrews
• They are NOT set rules!
• The idea is for you to read seeking
understanding to help you grow in
your faith!
Philemon