CHART 2 | Church of Christ

CHART 2: HOW IS THE BIBLE ORGANIZED?

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Chart #2: How is the Bible Organized?

The Bible is God’s record of His will dispensed to people.

God has one will – that we relate to Him as adopted children through Jesus Christ as we live holy and blameless in love. Eph. 1:3-14.
God “dispensed” this will to people: (1) orally to the heads of households during a period that might be called a “Patriarchal dispensation,” (2) in writing to Israel through Moses and various prophets while everyone else still learned “by natural processes” during a period that might be called a “Mosaic dispensation,” and (3) personally though the life of Jesus Christ as recorded in the New Testament during our period, which might be called a “Christian dispensation.”
How is our current publication of the Bible then organized?

The Bible is a collection of two testaments, each of which is structured based on types of literature in each section.
The Bible permits us to “sail straight” through life – but only if we follow it as a guide by handling it appropriately. II Tim. 2:15, 3:16-17.

The Bible is one book recorded over time by inspired people in two “Testaments,” each of which is structured according to which type of literature a book fits rather than as part of a story line or chronology.
- The Old Testament is a collection of 39 books by about 30 authors living over a period of 1,400 years writing about more than 4,000 years of history in a united, harmonious continuous account. No other collection of books from any culture is like this Bible.
- The Old Testament is structured into four sections based on the type of literature it includes.
- The Law (Torah or Pentateuch) includes a narrative of God’s relationship with humans up to and including His Law to Israel through Moses as well as law codes that are “absolute” or apodictic “Thou shalts” or that are “casuistic” or case law on how to respond to particular cases. These books show how the laws given to Israel through Moses teach things that have always brought life when they are obeyed while living differently has always brought suffering. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
- History – sometimes called the “Former Prophets” – includes narrative of God’s relationship with people focused on Israel. These books show how obedience to God’s will as dispensed to Israel through Moses brought prosperity but that living differently brought calamity. Joshua, Judges, Ruth, I & II Samuel, I & II Kings, I & II Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther.
- Poetry includes books that use poetic forms of “thought rhyme” for a dramatic cycle of narrative and meditative poems (Job), musical prayers (Psalms), figurative pictures and teaching pictures (Proverbs), Wisdom meditations (Ecclesiastes) and love songs that many believe might also have figurative meanings (Song of Solomon).
- Prophecy – sometimes called the “Latter Prophets” or “Written Prophets” – includes God-inspired applications of Moses’ Law to particular situations to show how Israel was failing and how God would respond using the curses and blessings of Lev. 26 and Deut. 28-32 to discipline Israel. These are divided into two subsections.
- Major (“Larger”) Prophets that are longer writings. Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel.
- Minor (“Shorter”) Prophets – sometimes called “The Book of the Twelve” – that are shorter writings. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi.

This means that the Old Testament was not intended to be read “straight through” like a novel or a history book. I Chronicles starts again at Adam, Job goes back to Abraham’s time in the first quarter of Genesis for its hero, Isaiah wrote during the time of II Kings and II Chronicles, etc. We must apply each book appropriately!

The New Testament is a collection of 27 books written by between eight to ten men over a period of about 50 years in a continuous, harmonious account. No other human book is like this Bible.
- The New Testament is divided into four sections based on types of literature:
  - The Gospels are biographies of Jesus including narrative that show His activities fulfilling Old Testament Prophecies about God’s Messiah or Christ and speeches or “discourses” teaching what God wanted. Each of these is organized a little differently to emphasize different things about Jesus. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.
  - History after Jesus’ resurrection includes narrative of Jesus’ work through His church and speeches that teach after His resurrection up until Paul’s first imprisonment in Rome assembled and recorded by Luke. Acts.
  - Letters from inspired Apostles and Prophets include those from Paul to collectivities and to individuals, from a writer who may or may not be Paul, and from several writers who were not Paul.
    - Letters from Paul to collectivities include Romans, I & II Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, I & II Thessalonians.
    - Letters from Paul to individuals include I & II Timothy, Titus and Philemon.
    - Letter from someone who may be Paul includes the Letter to the Hebrews.
    - Letters from those other than Paul include James, I & II Peter, I, II & III John and Jude

The Prophecy or Apocalyptic Visions include illustrations of God’s teachings related through John to the church of Asia Minor about things that would shortly come to pass in their time using vivid pictures often built on illustrations found in Old Testament prophets. Revelation.

This New Testament was therefore also not intended to be read straight through as a novel or history book. Notice that Paul’s letters like I Thessalonians were written before Romans and almost all of Paul’s letters were written before Acts. Proper understanding and application of the books go hand in hand.

The story of the Bible.

Remember the basic story of the Bible:

Antedeluvian (“Pre-flood”) actions like Creation, Garden, Fall, Flood along with animal sacrifices, moral law, etc.
Postdeluvian (“after-flood”) actions like Babel,
Patriarchal activity like God’s promise to Abraham, Abraham’s faithful but imperfect life,
Israel’s Egyptian Bondage, Moses’ work, the Law,
Wilderness Wanderings due to faithless fears,
Conquest of Canaan due to fearless faith but imperfect obedience,
Judges or “Saviors” when there were several cycles of sin, suffering, sorrow and saviors,
United Kingdom of Saul, David and Solomon with imperfect rule,
Divided Kingdoms of Israel in the north under Jeroboam later taken to exile by Assyria and Judah in the south under Rehoboam later taken to exile by Babylon,
Judah alone,
Babylonian Captivity with God working among them,
Restoration of the Temple and Jerusalem as God had said,
Between the Testaments when God prepared for His Messiah,
Life of Jesus when He fulfilled prophecy and showed us how to live, taught us what to do and died to take away our sins,
Reign of Jesus now at God’s right hand and in our lives,
Eternity with God after the final resurrection. Eph. 1:3-14.

Notice the purpose of the Old Testament Laws for Israel.

God called His Law “The Ten Commandments” even when He meant all the agreements of Moses’ Law rather than merely the literal Ten Commandments. Ex. 34:28, Deut. 4:13.
God said that this Law was given only to the Jews and only from those of Moses’ time and afterward even though the “will” in it was for all people of all time. Deut. 5:1-3, Mat. 4:4, Ps. 147:19-20.
God said that this Law was for the purpose of to show what was “transgression” against God until the Messiah who was descended from Abraham would come. Rom. 3:20, Gal. 3:19, 16, 2:16.
People under this Law tried to blame their failures on their circumstances, but God kept showing that their faithless disobedience was the problem.
Judges or “Saviors” could rule, but disobedience to God brought renewed disorder.
Kings could rule, but disobedience to God brought renewed disaster.
New dynasties could rule, but disobedience to God brought renewed disaster.
Punishment of the rebellious segment left Judah alone, but their disobedience to God brought renewed disaster.
Punishment of the remainder brought sobriety for a time, but there was still and incomplete picture until Jesus came bringing fulfillment of God’s plans for faithful people.
Jesus was born into and lived under this Law, fulfilling it and taking it “out of the way” with His death. Gal. 4:4, Heb. 9:16-17, 10:9-10, Gal. 3:16-19 & 24-25, Eph. 2:13-16, Col. 2:14-16, Rom. 7:4.
Jesus’ Apostles and Prophets wrote His teachings through the Holy Spirit for our reading and learning – if we faithfully obey. Matt. 28:18-20, Jn. 14:25-26, 16:13-15, Eph. 3:3-5, I Cor. 2:12-13.
Jesus’ Apostles and Prophets had their teachings confirmed by miracles by the time the Gospel of Mark and The Letter to the Hebrews were written, but we must still faithfully obey. Mk. 16:16-20, Acts 1:8, I Cor. 12:31, 13:9-10, Heb. 2:1-4, Jn. 20:30-31, II Pet. 1:3, Gal. 1:6-8, II Tim. 3:16-17, I Cor. 4:6, James 1:25.

God’s will has always been for all people, and the Bible tells us “both halves” of the story.

Without the Old Testament, we would not understand who Jesus is, His importance or the law that He was under during His life.
Without the New Testament, the prophecies of the Old Testament would be unfulfilled and unable to be fulfilled in the time frame they promised.

Next chart: How do the Bible’s Testaments fit together?

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