The Proper Arrangement of the New Testament
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We have already mentioned that the order of the gospels is the same as presented in modern Bibles. The book of Acts follows next. Then we should come to a section that has been dislocated from its original position—the seven general epistles: James, I Peter, II Peter, I John, II John, III John and Jude.
The church in the east, in Greek-speaking regions, insisted that the General Epistles appear before Paul’s letters. The universal church in the west, headed by Rome, insisted that Paul’s letters come first, especially the book of Romans. They opposed anything that was labeled as Jewish or “Judaizing practices.” Thus, the objection of the Greek eastern church was overruled in favor of the west, and the general epistles were moved.
Here are some other reasons the general epistles belong before Paul’s letters: • They were intended for the general Church of God and were not addressed to any specific congregations as were Paul’s.
• They mainly contain general information.
• God always sent his servants to the Jews first (Rom. 1:16; 2:9-10). This included Paul.
• All of the authors of the general epistles preceded Paul in the order of time.
• General epistles do give some necessary background to better understand Paul’s letters.
Paul’s letters are supposed to follow the general letters as established in the original canonization and confirmed by the Greeks, who were to preserve the N.T. Scriptures. Paul’s letters generally contain stronger meat and more specific instructions. The pastoral epistles of Timothy, Titus and Philemon are even stronger. Hebrews, written by Paul, was originally rejected by the Catholics because it sounded “too Jewish.”
Now we summarize the order of the New Testament, containing 27 books in 4 major sections: Gospels and Acts: Matthew; Mark; Luke; John; Acts
General Epistles: James; I Peter; II Peter; I John; II John; III John; Jude
Letters to Specific Churches from Paul: Romans; I Corinthians; II Corinthians; Galatians; Ephesians; Philippians; Colossians; I Thessalonians; II Thessalonians
General Letter of Paul: Hebrews
Pastoral Letters of Paul: I Timothy; II Timothy; Titus; Philemon
Other Writings of John: Revelation
(Paul wrote the following books while in prison: Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians and Philemon.)
As stated before, when one adds the 22 books of the O.T. to the 27 books of the N.T., a total of 49 books results—representing absolute completion. Out of envy, the Jews of the second century altered the number of their books to 24 (as explained earlier) in order to erase this significance. But the true Scriptures remain intact even though the order of the O.T. has been rearranged primarily by the Roman Catholic Church, following the order of the corrupt Septuagint version. Then they simply rearranged the N.T., as well. The Church of God can maintain purity of doctrine since God has guaranteed that all the Scripture has been preserved. This is most foundational and vital for those who seek God’s truth!