How the New Testament Came Together

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.

In the first few centuries, the number of Jesus’ followers grew but with this growth also came persecution from Jewish religious authorities and from the Roman Empire. The Jewish leaders did not want people believing that Jesus was the Messiah. The Roman Empire wanted everyone to be loyal to Caesar and wanted Jews to worship their gods.

In the early 4th century Constantine the Great was emperor over Rome. Before one of his battles, he reportedly had a vision of the Chi-Rho symbol (☧) — a sign used by early followers of Jesus to represent His name. After placing the symbol on the shields of his soldiers, Constantine won the battle and began believing that the God of Jesus had given him victory.

In 313 AD Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which gave religious freedom to everyone in the Roman Empire — including the followers of Jesus.

New Challenges

Political Entanglement: With Constantine offering protection and support to Jesus’ followers, the followers began to gain favor from political leaders — some were offered political influence or status and others compromised to fit into the system.

Rise of False Teachings: Even while persecution existed, false ideas about Jesus had already begun spreading. After the Edict of Milan, those ideas gained wider platforms — because people with personal agendas or blended beliefs now had room to influence large groups.

Examples:

• Some denied that Jesus was divine.

• Others tried to mix the Gospel with pagan or mystical traditions.

• Some promoted secret knowledge over the teachings of Jesus and His original followers.

The early followers of Jesus wanted to protect the gospel that had been handed down from the beginning — the message of Jesus that had already changed their lives.

To do this, spiritual leaders from different regions began to meet, pray, and discuss how to respond. These gatherings, later called councils, were formed to preserve the message that Jesus had entrusted to His first followers.

The Council of Carthage in 397 AD canonized or affirmed which writings were truly inspired and traced back to the apostles.

The Council of Carthage:

• Recognized 27 books, the same currently in the New Testament today

• Declared that only these writings should be read publicly in gatherings

• Goal was to keep the message of salvation through Jesus pure and unchanged

They used 3 key criteria:

• Apostolic Origin: Was it written by an apostle or someone close to them?

• Orthodox Teaching: Did it align with the truth already revealed in Jesus?

• Widespread Use: Was it being read and respected across the early Church?

The New Testament was originally written in Koine Greek, which was common, everyday language spoken across much of the Roman Empire at the time of Jesus and the early Church (1st century AD).

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.

These books weren’t chosen at random.

Most were written by eyewitnesses of Jesus or by those who were closely connected to them — like Peter, John, Paul, and Luke.

Their writings were trusted, widely shared, and recognized by early Christians as faithful to the life and teachings of Jesus.

“For we did not follow cleverly devised tales... but we were eyewitnesses of His majesty.”
— 2 Peter 1:16

Just like the Old Testament, the books of the New Testament were affirmed over time — not because of tradition, but because of truth, testimony, and trust.

Together, both parts of the Bible tell one story:

The Old Testament shows God’s pursuit; the New Testament shows God’s fulfillment — Jesus.

God made a way for us to be with Him again.