The 27 books of the New Testament are divided into:
(1) The Books of the Law: It includes the four Gospels, which talk about the life of Christ and His teachings, which are the law of the New Testament.
(2) The Historical Book: It is the book of the Acts of the Apostles, which is the history of the Church at the beginning of the Apostolic Age.
(3) The Educational Epistles: These are the epistles of Paul the Apostle, which contains 14 books, the Catholic Epistles , that is, the university letters, which are 7, and they are from the apostles other than Paul, sent to the whole world. These books contain spiritual and behavioral teachings in the Christian life, not only concerning those to whom they were sent, but also the Christian Church throughout the ages.
(4) The Prophetic Book: It is the Book of Revelation, and it talks about the future of the Church and eternal life in heaven.
It is noted that the division is not just between these sections, as history is found not only in the Acts of the Apostles, but also in the Gospels and Epistles.
(1) What is the Gospel?
The word gospel is a Greek word, meaning: glad tidings or good news. The Evangelists described the life of Christ, each one from a specific angle, according to the needs of those they wrote to. The picture comes at the end integrated from their writings, explaining to us the life of Christ on earth, and includes His teachings and miracles.
(2) Differences between the Gospels:
– The Gospel of Matthew written for the Jews (Christ the King) completes the law, and the Gospel focuses on prophecies, and its symbol is a human face.
– The Gospel of Mark was written for the Romans (Christ conquered Satan), does miracles, and the Gospel focuses on work, and its symbol is the face of a lion.
– The Gospel of Luke was written for the Greeks (Christ is the friend of humanity) to save humanity. The Bible focuses on history and its symbol is the face of a bull.
-The Gospel of John was written for the Christian world (Christ the Word Incarnate) dwells in our midst. The Gospel focuses on theology and its symbol is the face of an eagle and was written between the years 95-100 AD, after Christianity began to spread. It was written for the Christian world, explaining the Incarnate Word who came among us, explaining His theology.
(3) Similarities between the Gospels:
(a) Preparing the Lord Christ for service, and choosing the twelve disciples.
(b) His service in Galilee and Judea.
(c) His Passion and Resurrection.
(4) Non-Canonical Gospels:
There are many gospels, other than the four gospels, some of which are correct historical references, such as the book called the gospel of Jacob. Some of them are gospels written by the heretics, i.e. those with heresy and those who diverted from the faith, and attributed them to the disciples, such as the Gospel of Thomas, and all of them are not divinely inspired and are not considered canonical.