New Testament

The New Testament (Greek kaine diatheke, meaning new covenant or new testament) is the collection of twenty-seven books that together constitute the second portion of the Christian Bible, all composed in Greek in the first century A.D. The term derives from Jesus's words at the Last Supper — "This cup is the new covenant in my blood" (Luke 22:20; 1 Corinthians 11:25) — which deliberately echoes Jeremiah 31:31's prophecy of a new covenant that would supersede the Mosaic. The New Testament documents are organized into Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John), Acts, Epistles (Pauline and General), and Revelation.

The New Testament's central subject is Jesus Christ — his life, death, resurrection, and exaltation — and the community that gathered around his name. The Gospels narrate his ministry; Acts records the Spirit-empowered expansion of his church; the Epistles address specific communities and theological questions arising from his work; and Revelation unveils the consummation of his kingdom. The New Testament authors read the Hebrew Scriptures through the lens of Christ's fulfillment: what the Law and Prophets anticipated, the New Testament proclaims as accomplished and being realized.