When Jesus walked the earth and taught His disciples, His message was direct, personal, and rooted in relationship with God — not religion. The early followers of Jesus, led by apostles like Peter, focused on the Gospel:
Jesus as the Son of God, salvation through faith in Him, and a call to follow Him with a surrendered heart.
How We God the New Testament
Early Christians did not create the New Testament through committees or councils. Rather, it came together because followers of Jesus recognized writings as trustworthy, authoritative, and consistent with the message that Jesus taught.
Written in Real History
The New Testament was written in the first century, in Koine Greek, which was everyday language across the Roman Empire. These writings circulated among churches, were copied, shared, taught, and used in worship from the earliest years of Christianity.
Eyewitness Testimony & Close Companions
Most New Testament were written by:
Eyewitnesses of Jesus, like Matthew, John, and Peter
Close companions of eyewitness, like Mark, Luke, James, and Jude
Apostolic leaders who encountered the risen Christ, like Paul
These writers either walked with Jesus or had direct access to those who did. This is one of the central points emphasized by scholars such as Wesley Huff: the New Testament rests on historical, eyewitness memory, not later myth-making.
Early Christians recognized certain marks in these writings:
Apostolic Connection: Did it come from an apostle or someone taught by an apostle?
Consistency: Did it align with what Jesus taught and with the Old Testament story of God’s redemption?
Widespread Use: Was it already accepted and used across many churches?
Spiritual Authority: Did it bear the qualities of inspired teaching that shaped the life of the Church.
Thousands of handwritten copies of manuscript survive, from small fragments to books, providing a detailed picture of how faithfully the text has been preserved over time. Scholars have traced New Testament manuscripts back to the early centuries of Christianity, with the earliest surviving fragments dating to the 2nd century.
The New Testament became Scripture because the early Church encountered the voiced of God in these writings.
“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales... but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.” — 2 Peter 1:16
The New Testament is divided into:
The Gospels — Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John: Four eyewitness accounts of Jesus's life and ministry.
The Book of Acts — The history of how Jesus’ followers began spreading the Gospel after His resurrection.
The Letters (Epistles) — Letters written by early Christian leaders (like Paul, Peter, James, and John) to churches and individuals, teaching them how to follow Jesus and live out their faith.
Revelation — A prophetic book full of imagery and visions about the end of this age and the ultimate victory of Jesus.
Together, both parts of the Bible tell one story:
The Old Testament shows God’s pursuit; the New Testament shows God’s fulfillment — Jesus.
