A third type of love, eros, expresses sexual love, but the word is nowhere to be found in the new testament. Four genresdivisions of the new testament flashcards. In the four gospels, we witness the fulfillment of the prophesied and promised salvation symbolized in the old testament. The categories are based on how each manuscript relates to the various texttypes. Lewis wrote this book was based on a set of radio talks from 1958. The catholic church and eastern christian churches hold that certain deuterocanonical books and passages are part of the old testament canon. It appears that, in new testament times, there were at least four different greek words that we translate as the english word love. The first four books of the new testament are the book of matthew, the book of mark, the book of luke and the book of john. Testament books of isaiah through malachi, the section of the bible labeled prophecy by both jews and christians. The new testament is enfolded in the old testament, and the old testament is unfolded in the new. The four books of the new testament that detail the life.
Only three of these actually appear in the bible, but pastors often refer to a. The new testament is comprised of twentyseven different books. Okay, first of all, youre most likely not referring to four biblicallydefined types of love, but the four greek words all typically translated into english as love. While many virtues are stressed, christ makes it very clear that love is the most valuable and necessary manifestation of christianity. What every book of the new testament is about crossway. There are 27 books in the new testament and they fall in three different categories. Well explore these different types of love characterized by romantic love, family love, brotherly love, and gods divine love. A distinctive feature of matthew is its arrangement into. The new testament discusses the teachings and person of jesus, as well as events in firstcentury christianity. Nov 11, 2015 despite variations in the arrangement of early lists of the new testament books, matthew always comes first. Division of new testament books books of the bible. Of course, we see how phileo gets translated love, because in modern culture we say we love things that we strongly like. Versions are translations of the different new testament books into languages other than greek. These seven types of love are loosely based on classical readings, especially of plato and aristotle.
From genesis to malachi the holy spirit reveals the necessity and the promise of salvation through types and symbols. Start studying four genresdivisions of the new testament. Did you know that there are four types of love found in the bible. What are the four parts of the new testament answers. Gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john which tell the life story of jesus. The bible speaks frequently about love, and illustrates 4 types of love within its 66 books. Perhaps this is why one famous scholar called matthew the most important book ever written. Christians see in the new testament the fulfillment of the promise of the old testament. I am to speak today of the origin of the gospels, and some of their characteristics.
Agape love is perfect, unconditional, sacrificial, and pure. Historical books, pauline epistles and nonpauline epistlesrevelation. Love and compassion in the new testament sometimes i. The gospels record the greatest story ever told, the events of the life, death, and resurrection of jesus. What is the main theme that unites all the books of the new. The new testament, which was originally written in greek, speaks of different kinds of love. Ancient literature was rarely translated into another language with the new testament being an important exception. Found in the book of romans, and in the stories of noah and jacob, among others. Books of the new testament include the four gospels of matthew, mark, luke and john, as well as the account of the early church in the book of acts. By focusing on romantic love, we neglect other types of love which are more readily. These four words are greek for different kinds of love. These chapters together tell the story of jesus and his church. The historical books of the new testament are the four gospels the gospel according to mathew, the gospel according to mark, the gospel according to luke, the gospel according to john and the book of acts.
The new testament contains 27 books, which can be categorized into four main sections. This language was basically the worldwide international language. The setting of the new testament within the christian community is one factor that makes a biography of jesus or a history of the 1stcentury church difficult or impossible. The biblical writer with the most references to love is, not suprisingly, the apostle john. He is a british writer and held academic positions in english literature at both oxford university magdalen college, 19251954 and cambridge university magdalene college, 19541963.
Lewis explains that true friendships, like the friendship between david and jonathan in the bible, are almost a lost art. Christians regard both the old and new testaments together as sacred. This variety actually helps us in the work of translation because each of the four different greek words carries a slightly different definition from the other three. In other words, sometimes they were good examples to us and sometimes they were bad examples. Among its 27 books are selected recollections of the life. What different sources are used to establish the text of. The gospels, the first four books of the new testament, tell the story of the life of jesus. Only two of these greek words are used in the new testament, agape selfsacrificial love and phileo brotherly love.
A list of books with brief descriptions of contents. What every book of the new testament is about crossway articles. All 66 books of the bible in easy, onesentence summaries. All of the gospels share certain traits, and all of them have unique features as well. It is a philia born out of eros, and that in turn feeds back into eros to. The new testament books can be divided in four categories. The gospel which means good news is that jesus, the messiah the christ, the son of god came into the world, god entering his own creation.
This term defines gods immeasurable, incomparable love for humankind. The hebrew bible recognizes the books referred to as the old testament in the protestant bible, but not the apocryphaldeuterocanonical books or. Novum testamentum is the second part of the christian biblical canon, the first being the old testament. God is very clear in the bible that eros love is reserved for marriage promiscuity of all types was rampant in ancient greek culture and was one of the obstacles the apostle paul had to battle when planting churches in the eastern mediterranean. Handling different types of literature in the bible. To study the gospels is to study the foundation of christianity, and in four portraits, one jesus, author and professor mark strauss provides an expert and understandable introduction to these first four books of the new testament. It would probably be helpful if phileo were never translated love in the new testament, because it refers to a strong liking or a strong friendship. What are the types of literature genres in the bible. The new testament is composed of four particular types of books.
By preservation of god, our twentyseven new testament books were set apart from many other writings during the early church. It relates and interprets the new covenant, represented in the life and death of jesus, between god and the followers of the christ. The four gospels make up about 46 percent and the book of acts raises this to 60 percent. Mathew, mark, luke and john are not the new testament pastor leo another answer. They are communicated through four greek words eros, storge, philia, and agape and are. Acts or acts of the apostles which recounts the early history of christianity when. I love ice cream, i love my car, i love the way your hair looks. There are at least two categories or types of love mentioned in the bible. Love in the form of eros seeks its own interest and satisfactionto possess the object of love. The four forms of love in the bible learn religions. They offer the framework by which you can understand the rest of the new testament because these books provide the. The old things are the types of the old testament, and the new things what they stand for in the new testament. The four gospels and the book of acts are the main narrative sections of the new testament. What are the gospels, and why are there four of zondervan.
The new testament tells of this good news through four different types of books. These four books present the ministry of jesus christ and are known as the historical books. There can be no doubt that an oral account, an account of the life and teachings and works of jesus christ that passed from mouth to mouth, was the basis of our present gospels. Apr 18, 2019 this might seem simple to most but the theme that unites every book in the new testament is the gospel. There are three types of books in the new testament. Lewis wrote a book called the four loves, dealing with the four classical loves, usually spoken of by their greek names, eros, storge. Ancient literature was rarely translated into another language with. Generally speaking, earlier alexandrian manuscripts are category i, while later byzantine manuscripts are category v. The new testament has 27 books total, which consist of. Uhgahpay is the highest of the four types of love in the bible. The categories are based on how each manuscript relates to the various text types.
So lets look at the four types of love found in the bible, and that. Originally, the books of the new testament were separately circulated and only gradually collected together to form what we now know as the new testament part of the canon of scripture. Explicit references to nt books in extrabiblical documents can push this upper limit down a bit further. The word testament, as a translation of the greek word diatheke which means covenant, has been nothing less than a great calamity. Most famous among the gospels not included in the new testament is the gospel of thomas, which offers a different view of jesus, and one that conflicts with the other gospels.
New testament manuscripts in greek are categorized into five groups, according to a scheme introduced in 1981 by kurt and barbara aland in the text of the new testament. What does the bible say about love in the new testament. The individual documents naturally existed before the collection, and some of them were grouped in smaller collections before they were ultimately gathered together in the complete nt. This means 60 percent of the new testament is directly historical tracing the roots and historical development of christianity. Lets take a closer look at each of the four different types of love. Yet only onethe gospel of johnclaims to be an eyewitness account, the testimony of the unnamed disciple whom jesus loved. Despite variations in the arrangement of early lists of the new testament books, matthew always comes first. The four gospels we now find in the new testament are only four among many such gospels that exist, some of which were deliberately excluded. The four books of the new testament that detail the life and. The roman catholic canon also includes the deuterocanonical books as part of the old testament these are considered apocryphal by most protestants. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. This might seem simple to most but the theme that unites every book in the new testament is the gospel. Matthew, mark, luke and john the christian gospels of the new testament examples of prophetic biographies in film and television, include.
According to the bible, what are the four types of love. The remainder of the new testament consists of letters from apostles such as paul, and closes with the book of revelation. Cs lewis clive staples lewis 1898 1963 is one of my favorite authors of all time. The second letter presents many problems to the exegete. Love and compassion in the new testament over and over in the bible, the theme of love is emphasized as the most important fruit of the spirit, as christ continues to call us to love each other. The first three gospels are similar in content and structure and are also called the synoptic gospels. They are the historical books, pauline epistles, and general epistles. The first four books are called the gospels and they provide accurate description and record of jesus christ.
The four greek words for love are agape, phileo, storge, and eros. In speaking of the books of the nt we must be clear whether we refer to the individual documents or to the whole collection as such. Cs lewiss the four lovesa humble summary logically. Introduction as previously mentioned, the new testament falls into three categories based on their literary makeupthe historical, the epistolary, and the prophetical. Keep in mind that the narratives are stories of real people who experienced both mistakes and successes. What are the four main types of books in the new testament. The three types of literature found in the new testament include history, letters and prophecy. It is clear from even a cursory reading that the bible stresses the importance of love. Like the old testament, it contains a variety of kinds of writing.
The ancient greek language had four words to describe different types of love. Because these are greek terms, none of them are directly present in the old testament, which was originally written in hebrew. The second part is the greek new testament, containing 27 books. In jesus, gods covenant is expanded beyond whom and for whom. The book of matthew presents jesus as the messiah of the jewish people. What is the main theme that unites all the books of the. What different sources are used to establish the text of the. Each of the books of the new testament were originally distributed separately and were later brought together in a logical order. The books of the new testament were composed not in order to satisfy historical curiosity about the events they recount but to bear witness to a faith in the action of god through these events. Books of the bible list order complete new and old testament. The four types of love in the bible learn religions. The new testament books fall into five general categories. There are over 2000 specific predictions that have already come to pass, hundreds of years after the authors death.
The earliest manuscripts of new testament books date from the late second to early third centuries although see papyrus 52 for a possible exception 479480 these manuscripts place a clear upper limit on the dating of new testament texts. Know the four types of biographies ed sharrow medium. In his remaining four chapters, lewis treats love under four categories the highest does not stand without the. The gospels and their origin, popular lectures on the. Im now going to guide you through seven types of love, each with a name from ancient greek. A second line of evidence by which the new testament text can be established comes from the versions.