Overview
The New Testament consists of twenty-seven books written over roughly fifty years (approximately AD 35 to AD 95) by ten or eleven authors, entirely in Greek.
The Four Sections
The New Testament breaks into four parts: The Gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John—record the good news of God's plan of salvation through Jesus Christ's life, ministry, and death. Each writer uses a distinct style and emphasis. The Acts of the Apostles—Luke's second volume—records how Jesus' followers acted and were transformed after the resurrection. The Letters (Epistles)—Paul's thirteen letters to young churches, pastors, and friends offer guidance, encouragement, and correction, alongside eight "general" letters from other apostles addressing early Christians facing persecution and false teaching.
Revelation—addressed to seven churches in Asia Minor—encourages believers under persecution and affirms God's control over history.
How the Canon Formed
Milton Fisher traces five broad periods in the New Testament's formation: the books were written and copied among churches; they became known and cited as authoritative; by the end of the third period they held recognized status alongside the Old Testament as "Scripture" and began to be translated and commented on; during the third century, the books began to be collected into a single New Testament; and finally, in the fourth century, church leaders formally affirmed a canon the whole church recognized as settled.Fisher singles out Bishop Athanasius of Alexandria's Festal Letter of AD 367 as the earliest surviving document listing exactly today's twenty-seven New Testament books without qualification—explicitly written to rule out continued use of apocryphal texts.
Fisher stresses the early church's process was one of recognition, not invention. Church leaders examined which writings carried authentic apostolic testimony and authority, rather than deciding by committee which books "counted." The church did not create the canon but bore witness to a canon already existing by virtue of its apostolic origin. Geisler and Nix add that practical, theological, and political factors worked together to finalise recognition of the twenty-seven books, but in an important sense the canon was already complete the moment the last book was written.
Disputed Books (The Antilegomena)
Twenty New Testament books were never seriously disputed (the Homologoumena). Seven books faced questioning in the early centuries: Hebrews (author unknown), James (questioned for its content), 2 Peter (authenticity disputed), 2 and 3 John and Jude (authenticity questioned), and Revelation (authorship challenged). All seven were eventually affirmed as canonical.
Summary of the New Testament Story
Elwell and Yarbrough describe the New Testament as the Old Testament's fulfilment. It tells of the Saviour, born of the virgin Mary, announced by John the Baptist, ministering in Galilee as Isaiah foretold. His message provoked opposition—yet both his death and resurrection had been foretold in Old Testament Scripture. The church's preaching of salvation was likewise foreshadowed. The New Testament announces the arrival of the Saviour the Old Testament awaited, and both Testaments point beyond the present world to an eternal order.
Religious Groups of the New Testament Era
Four groups shaped Jewish religious life in Jesus' day: Pharisees—a relatively small but highly influential group combining the Old Testament with oral tradition, treating both as authoritative, and believing in providence, angels, resurrection, and a coming Messiah.Sadducees—a priestly aristocracy rejecting nearly everything Pharisees believed. Essenes—a strict, communal, ascetic sect (notably at Qumran) devoted to Scripture study, ritual purity, and expectation of a coming Messiah or Messiahs. Zealots—a movement rooted in Maccabean tradition of taking up arms against foreign rule.