New Testament Units

This overview of the New Testament is exciting because it provides an opportunity to seriously engage with the Biblical text. Students will gain an insight into the background, purpose and overall message of the four Gospels and Acts, introducing us to the person of Jesus and the foundation of the church.

For any person involved in ministry it is important to really know the Bible and the overall message of each book. Unless our ministry in grounded on the authority of Scripture, it will never have a life changing impact on the church.

An overview on the books of the New Testament creates an open door for further in-depth studies and gives us the confidence that we know the big picture in the Bible. It is only by taking God's message as revealed in Scripture seriously that we can grow in our faith and understanding.

This overview of the New Testament is exciting because it provides an opportunity to seriously engage with the Biblical text. Students will gain an insight into the background, purpose and overall message of each book. In tracing how the arguments are developed in the letters of the New Testament, students will come to grips with the core essentials of the faith.

For any person involved in ministry it is important to really know the Bible and the overall message of each book. Unless our ministry in grounded on the authority of Scripture, it will never have a life changing impact on the church.

An overview on the books of the New Testament creates an open door for further in-depth studies and gives us the confidence that we know the big picture in the Bible. It is only by taking God's message as revealed in Scripture seriously that we can grow in our faith and understanding.

In the Acts of the Apostle the story of the spread of the Gospel after Pentecost is being told. This unit shows how the Christian message spread throughout the Graeco-Roman world and the points at which they came into conflict with it. It provides a study of the Acts of the Apostles’ text, its structure, themes and context. It introduces a number of themes that are developed in later New Testament units.

For today’s Church it is important to understand some of the key principles of the message: that the Church is the result of the proclamation of the Gospel, but it is also the vehicle through which the Gospel is being proclaimed; the Gospel transcends all boundaries – language, culture and geography and that the primary Person behind the spread of the Gospel is the Holy Spirit.

It is in the Gospels we learn about Jesus’ life and ministry; his teaching, miracles and purpose for being incarnated. This unit will study the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke), their structure, context, interrelationship, and themes with particular attention to one synoptic gospel.

When studying the particular Synoptic Gospel, time will be spent on the background of the book, the structure and overview, the text in detail through exegesis and the major theological themes.

The content and message of John’s Gospel is unique. It is a theological, testimonial interpretation of Jesus’ words and acts in the form of a narrative with the major emphasis on the incarnation of the Son of God.

Who was John? For who was this gospel intended and what did this community look like? How does John employ literary protocol of his time to communicate this most important message about Jesus, the Son of God? The next important question is, how should we understand, apply and communicate this message to the modern day community of believers?

The book of Romans has been instrumental in revolutionising the church's theology at key points in history. The life of the old church father, Augustine, was radically changed by it. He later exerted a lasting influence on the theology of the West. Martin Luther led the Reformation on the basis of insights that he had gained from studying Romans. These insights led him away from his own efforts to try and become right in God's sight by obeying the law, and brought him to the place where he was able to experience salvation as a free gift of grace from God through the work of Christ for us. In more recent times the theologian Karl Barth's commentary on the book of Romans has been credited as starting a new theological programme that is still, at present, affecting our understanding of the gospel and the way we do theology.

What makes the book of Romans so special? In it Paul gives the most systematic account of the implications of Christ's death and resurrection for our salvation. Paul's radical commitment to the centrality of Christ, faith and grace, as the determining elements of salvation, needs to be heard again and again in the church, for it is only as the church fully embraces this message that her people are set free for joyful and grateful service to God in this world.

Of the 27 New Testament books, 21 are letters, thirteen of which are ascribed to the Apostle Paul. These documents, also known as the Pauline Epistles, are some of the oldest Christian documents available to us. Taking into consideration the valuable information we get from these letters not only for its insight into the early church but especially their theological content, it is unimaginable how much poorer the church would have been without them.

In this unit we are not only going to look at the background and general content of some of these letters, but will also endeavour to do in depth analysis (exegesis) of a selection of passages. In order to get a better understanding of Paul’s message to the church and his theology we will employ the best analytical tools available for examining the Pauline Epistles. Taking this unit you will be set on the road to research and study the rest of this very important part of God’s Word. In so doing, this course endeavours to prepare you for the years to come in ministry.