The Remaining New Testament Books as Sacred

2021 ◽  
pp. 171-205
Author(s):  
Donald Senior
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Peter 1 ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Unique Identity ◽  
1 John

In attempting to make the case that the defining reason the books of the New Testament are considered sacred is because of their focus on the unique identity of Jesus Christ, we have explored the Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, and writings of Paul. We turn now, with the same conviction, to some of the remaining New Testament books. Our goal here is not to consider every book of the New Testament but to make the case that in the vast majority of them, their proclamation of Christ is central and defining. The books we will focus on in this chapter include Hebrews, James, 1 Peter, 1 John, and Revelation, taken in the order in which they appear in the canon. Despite the evident literary diversity of these texts, there is a commanding unity—a unity grounded in their focus on the figure of Jesus Christ. It is that varied but unifying portrayal found in these books which will command our attention in this chapter.

Catholic Epistles

2010 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter H. Davids ◽  
Darian R. Lockett
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Early Period ◽  
Peter 1 ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
1 John ◽  
History Of ◽  
Catholic Epistles ◽  
Eusebius Of Caesarea ◽  
2 Peter

Alongside the four Gospels, Acts, the Pauline letters (which often included Hebrews), and the Apocalypse, the Catholic Epistles (James, 1–2 Peter, 1–3 John, and Jude) form a discrete collection of works the New Testament. While 1 Peter, 1 John, and Jude were all known and used at an early period in the history of the Christian Church, all seven of these letters entered the New Testament canon as a group. Eusebius of Caesarea (Historia Ecclesiastica 2.23.25, in the early 4th century ce) was the first to explicitly list these seven letters as “the Epistles called Catholic” or Catholic Epistles. Whereas Eusebius is clearly depending upon earlier tradition, it is unclear when exactly these seven letters were first viewed as the collection called the Catholic Epistles. He grouped them since none of them is addressed to a single named church and so they are catholic (in the sense of “universal”) or general. About the same time, the great 4th-century codices Sinaiticus and Vaticanus featured the seven in the same order as they are found in most New Testaments today. This collection of seven disparate works from multiple authors became a standard part of the New Testament canon, grouping, as it does (if one accepts the traditional attribution of the works), two of Jesus’ apostles (Peter and John); James, the brother or relative of Jesus (whom later tradition also identified as one of the Twelve); and his brother Jude (called “the brother of James”). The order of the books deliberately brackets Peter and John between the bookends of the third “pillar” of the Jerusalem Church (Gal 2:9) and his brother. This article will be broken down into treatments of multiple works and then treatments of each work or group of works.

scholarly journals Die betroubaarheid van die apostels en hulle getuienis volgens 2 Petrus 1:3-4 en die betekenis daarvan vir die geskrifte van die Nuwe Testament: ‘n Eksegetiese studie

2021 ◽  
Vol 55 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Douw G. Breed
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Peter 1 ◽  
Divine Power ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
God's Grace ◽  
2 Peter

The reliability of the apostles and their testimony according to 2 Peter 1:3–4 and its significance for the writings of the New Testament: An exegetical study. In this exegetical article, it is shown that, in 2 Peter 1:3–4, Peter indicates that the apostles were reliable witnesses of Jesus Christ. As the New Testament writings are bearers of the apostolic testimony, 2 Peter 1:3–4 also provides important testimony regarding the Bible and, in particular, regarding the New Testament. The aim of this article is to show that, according to 2 Peter 1:3–4, the apostles and their testimony are reliable and that these testimonies are significant for the writings of the New Testament. This study follows an exegetical method and follows the grammatical-historical model. From 2 Peter 1:3–4, it is clear that the reliability of the apostles is the result of divine power. Jesus Christ worked through his Spirit with divine power in the apostles. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ provides the apostles with everything that leads to true life, as well as to godliness. To the apostles, this was all given within their intimate and personal relationship with the glorified Christ. According to 2 Peter 1:3–4, Jesus Christ himself called his apostles to proclaim the message of God’s grace. As eye- and earwitnesses of Jesus Christ’s divine power, they could reliably reveal the meaning of what they witnessed of him. In 2 Peter 1:3–4, Peter testifies that the apostles received promises from Jesus Christ. These are great promises that have profound significance for anyone who accepts them in faith.Contribution: The contribution of this article is to show that 2 Peter 1:3–4 gives important information about the reliability of the apostles and their testimony.

Jesus Christ and the New Testament

2021 ◽  
pp. 102-138
Author(s):  
Donald Senior
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Early Christianity ◽  
Historical Context ◽  
First Century ◽  
Christian Faith ◽  
Biblical Scholarship ◽  
Unique Character ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Unique Identity

A unifying motif of the New Testament and one that renders it sacred in the eyes of Christian faith is its assertion of the unique identity of Jesus Christ. While much of modern biblical scholarship has attempted to reconstruct the actual historical circumstances of Jesus in his first-century Jewish context, the New Testament writings themselves find their sacred character in their affirmation of the unique character of the Jesus of faith as both human and divine. This is affirmed in a variety of ways in the Four Gospels as they consider in diverse ways the ultimate origin of Jesus, the “theophanies” that occur during Jesus’s ministry, various titles assigned to him, and the nature of his death and resurrection. While biblical scholarship legitimately explores the historical context of Jesus’s life and teaching, Christians strive to see the intrinsic connection between the historical circumstances of Jesus’s life and the faith affirmations of early Christianity about his unique identity.

The New Testament (50–100)

2020 ◽  
pp. 27-52
Author(s):  
David W. Kling
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Acts Of The Apostles ◽  
Synoptic Gospels ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Basic Level

This chapter focuses primarily on the New Testament, the charter document for Christian views of conversion. It examines the vocabulary of conversion and the multitudinous ways that Scripture depicts conversion. At a basic level, conversion in the New Testament is a personal response of faith to God’s saving activity in Jesus Christ: theologically, affirming certain beliefs about Jesus; ethically, conforming in behavior to Jesus; and sociologically, joining a community of followers of Jesus. Following a discussion of the vocabulary of conversion in the Old and New Testaments, the chapter discusses conversion in the Synoptic Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles (emphasizing the contrast to the pagan world and discussing household conversions), the Johannine writings, and the conversion of Paul. It concludes with comments about the relationship between baptism and conversion.

scholarly journals Preaching and Evangelism

1985 ◽  
Vol 19 (75) ◽  
Author(s):  
D. J. Hart
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Kingdom Of God ◽  
Good News ◽  
Peter 1 ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
Thessalonians 1 ◽  
Ministry Of The Word ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Royal Priesthood ◽  
The Way

In the New Testament any follower of the Way could preach, de­clare good news. Luke reports that Jesus said to someone, “Follow me.” But the man wanted first to bury his father. Then Jesus said, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and pro­claim the kingdom of God” (Luke 9:59, 60). Jesus sent the disciples out on a preaching and healing mission (Matthew 10:5; Mark 6:7) and also the seventy. The Gadarene demoniac is told, “Go home to your friends, and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you” (Mark 5:19). The disciples are charged with preaching the Gospel to the whole world (Matthew 16:19; Mark 16:15; Luke 24:47, 48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8). Per­secuted believers are scattered “and went around preaching the word” (Acts 8:4; cf. 15:35). In order that the Apostels can devote themselves “to prayer and to the ministry of the word” seven men are chosen to administer the daily distribution of food (Acts 6:1—6). But at least two of these men turn out to be preachers also (Acts 7 and 8:5). The Thessalonian believers “sounded forth” the word of the Lord everywhere (Thessalonians 1:8). All this is summarized in the familiar words of 1 Peter 1:9, “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s own people, that you may de­clare the wonderful deeds of him who called you out of darkness into his marvellous light.”

Is Episcopacy a Jewish Institution ?

1949 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 23-26
Author(s):  
Alfred Guillaume
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
The Other ◽  
Church Of God ◽  
General Sense ◽  
Holy Ghost ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Church

IT is a commonplace that the New Testament never speaks of the ordination of bishops. Elders or presbyters with powers of administration and instruction were the only ordained ministers. The church at Jerusalem was in the care of “the apostles and the elders”. When St. Paul visited Ephesus, it was the elders (presbyters) whom he summoned and addressed. It is not a little strange that he should tell these elders that the Holy Ghost had made them “bishops” to feed the church of God. The natural inference (unless the word episcopus is used in a general sense of overseer) would be that the office of elder and bishop could be held by the same person. St. Paul left Titus in Crete with the express purpose of completing the organization of the church there by appointing elders. But here, too, the bishop and the elder seem to be one and the same if any meaning is to be given to γὰρ in v. 7. Again, 1 Peter v, 2, if the reading ἐπισκποῦντ∊ς be allowed to stand, points in the same direction; if it is to be omitted then the epistle recognizes no bishop but Jesus Christ, and then only in a verbal, not a real sense. Moreover, though there are presbyters in heaven, there are no bishops: at any rate the apocalyptist of Patmos saw none !On the other hand St. Paul, in addressing the whole congregation of the faithful at Philippi, adds “together with the bishops and deacons”, making no mention of presbyters.

scholarly journals The Missionary Activity of St. Peter Outside Palestine in the Light of the New Testament Literature

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (5) ◽  
pp. 415-442
Author(s):  
Franciszek Mickiewicz
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Asia Minor ◽  
Peter 1 ◽  
1 Peter ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
Northern Regions ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Eusebius Of Caesarea

From the historical works of Eusebius of Caesarea we learn that St. Peter went to Rome in 42 and preached the Gospel there for 25 years. However, this information is not confirmed in the books of the New Testament. For this reason, this article attempts to answer the question of where St. Peter could have stayed and acted from the moment he left Jerusalem (Acts 12:17) until his arrival in Rome. The analysis of Gal 2:11–14 leads to the conclusion that after the Council of Jerusalem he certainly stayed in Antioch for some time. It is possible that during his long journey he reached the northern regions of Asia Minor, as a reminiscence of this can be found in 1 Peter 1:1. Then, on his way to Rome, he probably paid a visit to Christians in Corinth, as evidenced by 1 Cor 1:12; 9:5. These texts therefore allow us to suppose that after leaving Jerusalem, St. Peter became an itinerant apostle, carried out extensive missionary activities and, thanks to his personal contacts with Christian communities, gained great authority among them.

The New Testament and Intellectual Humility

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Grant Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Holy Spirit ◽  
Intellectual Humility ◽  
Christian Communities ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
The Holy Spirit ◽  
Sacrificial Love ◽  
The One ◽  
The Mind

This book examines how the New Testament scriptures might form and foster intellectual humility within Christian communities. It is informed by recent interdisciplinary interest in intellectual humility, and concerned to appreciate the distinctive representations of the virtue offered by the New Testament writers on their own terms. It argues that the intellectual virtue is cast as a particular expression of the broader Christian virtue of humility, which proceeds from the believer’s union with Christ, through which personal identity is reconstituted by the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence, we speak of ‘virtue’ in ways determined by the acting presence of Jesus Christ, overcoming sin and evil in human lives and in the world. The Christian account of the virtue is framed by this conflict, as believers within the Christian community struggle with natural arrogance and selfishness, and come to share in the mind of Christ. The new identity that emerges creates a fresh openness to truth, as the capacity of the sinful mind to distort truth is exposed and challenged. This affects knowledge and perception, but also volition: for these ancient writers, a humble mind makes good decisions that reflect judgments decisively shaped by the sacrificial love of Jesus Christ. By presenting ‘humility of mind’ as a characteristic of the One who is worshipped—Jesus Christ—the New Testament writers insist that we acknowledge the virtue not just as an admission of human deficiency or limitation, but as a positive affirmation of our rightful place within the divine economy.

Soteria

1953 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 406-416
Author(s):  
R. McL. Wilson
Keyword(s):  
New Testament ◽  
Jesus Christ ◽  
Good News ◽  
Early Church ◽  
The Bible ◽  
The World ◽  
The New Testament ◽  
In Christ ◽  
Love Of God ◽  
Wrath Of God

In the Gospel according to St. John it is written that ‘God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have ever-lasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.’ In these familiar words is summed up the message of the Bible as a whole, and of the New Testament in particular. In spite of all that may be said of sin and depravity, of judgment and the wrath of God, the last word is one not of doom but of salvation. The Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ is a Gospel of salvation, of deliverance and redemption. The news that was carried into all the world by the early Church was the Good News of the grace and love of God, revealed and made known in Jesus Christ His Son. In the words of Paul, it is that ‘God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself’.

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