A-Z: General definitions: New Testament

This is the most Jewish of the gospels portraying Jesus as the Messiah promised by David. It contains many parables and accounts of miracles. It also has an account of Jesus' birth and uniquely records the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem guided by a star.

Famous stories from the Bible: Jesus, his birth; Jesus, his temptation; Parable of the sower; Feeding of the 5000; Jesus, his death and resurrection

The shortest of the gospels, Mark is full of life and action. The writer moves rapidly from scene to scene with extraordinary vividness. At the same time, Jesus is an enigmatic figure, misunderstood even by his closest disciples. There are no resurrection appearances to complete his account, adding to the air of mystery.

Famous stories from the Bible: Jesus, his birth; Feeding of the 5000; Parable of the sower

Luke is the author of both this gospel and an account of the early church (Acts). The gospel is addressed to Gentiles and includes unique stories e.g. the good Samaritan and the prodigal son. There is also the only New Testament record of a childhood incident when Jesus was found in the Temple with Jewish religious leaders of the day.

Famous stories from the Bible: Jesus, his birth; Feeding of the 5000; The good Samaritan; The prodigal son

John is quite unlike the other gospels in its concentration on the significance of Jesus as seen through the eyes of the beloved Disciple who was almost certainly John the son of Zebedee, the traditional author of this gospel. It is the gospel of signs and includes the unique series of I am sayings by Jesus e.g. 'I am the way, the truth and the life'. This recalls the portrayal of God as the I AM in the Old Testament (Ex 3:14).

Famous stories from the Bible: Feeding of the 5000; Jesus and Nicodemus; Jesus, his death and resurrection

Big ideas: Bread; Blood; Cross; Sheep, shepherd, lambs; Miracles

Acts was written by the same author as Luke's gospel, and tells the story of the growth of the Christian church from its origins in Jerusalem to its establishment in Rome, the capital of the Roman Empire, concentrating mainly on the mission work of Peter and Paul.

Big ideas: Mission, evangelism, conversion

This is a systematic letter of Paul. He wrote it in preparation for a visit to Rome, and a church he had not founded, to set out his understanding of the gospel about Jesus. Here he expounds the key doctrine of justification by faith. Also important is his theodicy i.e. his justification of God in light of the apparent failure of the Jews to accept Christ (Chs 9-11).

Big ideas: Redemption, salvation; Messiah

1 and 2 Corinthians: The church in Corinth was Paul's most troublesome ' hence these two long letters. In 1 Corinthians Paul deals with a number of issues raised by the Corinthians themselves e.g. marriage, food offered to idols. He also explains deeper matters like the nature of true wisdom and the primacy of love (Ch 13). In Ch 15 he sets out his understanding of the resurrection against the Corinthians' scepticism. 2 Corinthians is a very personal letter in which Paul expresses his intense anxiety about the church and its acceptance of his apostleship. He has harsh things to say about those whom he regards as false apostles.

Big ideas: Bride and marriage

1 and 2 Corinthians: The church in Corinth was Paul's most troublesome ' hence these two long letters. In 1 Corinthians Paul deals with a number of issues raised by the Corinthians themselves e.g. marriage, food offered to idols. He also explains deeper matters like the nature of true wisdom and the primacy of love (Ch 13). In Ch 15 he sets out his understanding of the resurrection against the Corinthians' scepticism. 2 Corinthians is a very personal letter in which Paul expresses his intense anxiety about the church and its acceptance of his apostleship. He has harsh things to say about those whom he regards as false apostles.

Big ideas: Bride and marriage

This is a challenging letter by Paul to the church in Galatia. He expresses amazement that the Galatians have turned away from the gospel about Christ to 'another gospel' based on 'works of the (Jewish) law'. He holds up the figure of Abraham as the true exemplar of faith.

Big ideas: Patriarchs; Doubt and faith

Thought by many to be written by an admirer of Paul, Ephesians sums up a good deal of Pauline teaching about the work of Jesus Christ and projects it onto a universal plane, as the writer envisages the entire universe being reconciled to God. A New Testament scholar called it 'the crown of Paulinism'.

Big ideas: Cross; Death and resurrection

This is a warm letter from Paul, written to a church which had supported him financially. He writes to thank them from prison in Rome and encourages them to imitate the humility of Christ as this is expressed in a famous 'hymn' in Ch 2.

Colossians was written to a church confronted with a type of false teaching which sought to reduce the significance of Christ in God's plan of salvation. Because of its similarity to Ephesians, some believe Colossians to be non-Pauline.

Big ideas: Messiah

1 and 2 Thessalonians: These two letters are almost certainly Paul's earliest, written to a church caught up in fervent expectation of Christ's return. He warns them against idleness and reassures them that that those who die before Christ's return will not miss out on the glorious events that will accompany his second coming.

Big ideas: Judgement

1 and 2 Thessalonians: These two letters are almost certainly Paul's earliest, written to a church caught up in fervent expectation of Christ's return. He warns them against idleness and reassures them that that those who die before Christ's return or will not miss out on the glorious events that will accompany his second coming.

Big ideas: Judgement

1 and 2 Timothy: These letters plus Titus are generally called the Pastoral Epistles because they are largely taken up with pastoral issues in the church such as the place of women and the behaviour required of bishops (overseers) and deacons. The feel of these letters is of a settled community of the second generation of Christians and Pauline authorship is considered unlikely by many.

Big ideas: Community

1 and 2 Timothy: These letters plus Titus are generally called the Pastoral Epistles because they are largely taken up with pastoral issues in the church such as the place of women and the behaviour required of bishops (overseers) and deacons. The feel of these letters is of a settled community of the second generation of Christians and Pauline authorship is considered unlikely by many.

Big ideas: Community

This letter is addressed to Titus as Paul's co-worker. It specifically concerns the appointment of elders and explains why it is important to oppose false teachers. It is strongly moralistic.

This brief letter is addressed by Paul to a Christian slave-owner Philemon, whose slave Onesimus has found refuge with Paul. He urges Philemon to take back Onesimus now as a 'beloved brother'. This provideds a snapshot of one of the social realities (slavery) of the ancient world.

Big ideas: Community; Slavery

This is more a theological essay than a letter. Profound and densely argued, Hebrews is addressed to Jewish Christians who are in danger of apostasy due to persecution. The common thread is that Judaism is now superseded by Christianity.

Big ideas: Redemption, salvation

This is the first of a group of letters addressed to Christians in general. James is extremely practical and deals with issues such as social distinctions, control of the tongue, faith and action, patience and prayer.

Big ideas: Prayer; Community

1 and 2 Peter: 1 Peter, probably written by the apostle Peter, is addressed to a church facing persecution. He gives practical instructions for living in a hostile environment and promises glory for those who endure suffering. 2 Peter is quite different. The writer warns against false teaching, especially those who deny that Christ will return.

1 and 2 Peter: 1 Peter, probably written by the apostle Peter, is addressed to a church facing persecution. He gives practical instructions for living in a hostile environment and promises glory for those who endure suffering. 2 Peter is quite different. The writer warns against false teaching, especially those who deny that Christ will return.

1, 2 and 3 John: 1 John is similar in content to John's Gospel. The writer stresses that to know God is to obey him. Right living is characterised by love and teachers are to be judged by their recognition of Jesus as the Christ. 2 John is addressed to the 'elect lady' which is probably a reference to the church and again stresses the 'law of love'. 3 John is a rather obscure letter addressed to an elder, Gaius, who is commended for his work and warned against a certain Diotrephes who is behaving in a very highhanded manner.

1, 2 and 3 John: 1 John is similar in content to John's Gospel. The writer stresses that to know God is to obey him. Right living is characterised by love and teachers are to be judged by their recognition of Jesus as the Christ. 2 John is addressed to the 'elect lady' which is probably a reference to the church and again stresses the 'law of love'. 3 John is a rather obscure letter addressed to an elder, Gaius, who is commended for his work and warned against a certain Diotrephes who is behaving in a very highhanded manner.

1, 2 and 3 John: 1 John is similar in content to John's Gospel. The writer stresses that to know God is to obey him. Right living is characterised by love and teachers are to be judged by their recognition of Jesus as the Christ. 2 John is addressed to the 'elect lady' which is probably a reference to the church and again stresses the 'law of love'. 3 John is a rather obscure letter addressed to an elder, Gaius, who is commended for his work and warned against a certain Diotrephes who is behaving in a very highhanded manner.

This is a short letter from Jude, the brother of James, warning against those who reject Christ. He describes their behaviour in very colourful language and predicts their certain doom.

Big ideas: Judgement

This is an example of apocalyptic literature, full of colourful imagery and symbolism. It contains seven letters to churches in Asia Minor (modern Turkey) who are commended for their zeal or criticised for lack of it. The overall message is that kingdom of God will triumph in the battle against evil and the book ends with a beautiful description of the Heavenly Jerusalem as the symbol of God's presence among humankind in a new heaven and earth.

Big ideas: Judgement; Dreams, visions and prophecy; Serpent, devil, Satan, beast; Apocalypse, Revelation, the End Times, the Second Coming