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The Kingdom,The Power,and The GloryA SURVEY OF THE NEW TESTAMENTby Jean-Baptiste Sawadogoand Marcia A. MungerAN INDEPENDENT-STUDY TEXTBOOKDeveloped in Cooperation withthe ICI StaffInstructional Development Specialist:Marcia A. MungerIllustrator: Bill Stewart

Global University1211 South Glenstone AvenueSpringfield, Missouri 65804USAAddress of the local ICI office in your area:Global UniversitySpringfield, Missouri, USA 1982, 1993, Global UniversityAll Rights Reserved. First Edition, 1982Fourth Edition, PN 04.01.04ISBN 978-0-7617-1-5639-3Printed in the United States of America

Table of ContentsPageCourse Introduction .UNIT ONE:5JESUS—HIS LIFE ANDMINISTRYLesson1 The New Testament and Its World . 142 Jesus and the Gospels . 423 Matthew and Mark . 664 Luke and John . 88UNIT TWO:THE CHURCH—ITS GROWTH ANDDEVELOPMENT5 The Church Is Established . 1186 The Church Reaches Out . 1467 The Church Continues to Grow . 166UNIT THREE: THE CHURCH—ITSPROBLEMS AND ITS HOPE8 The Church Finds Solutions . 1909 The Church in Conflict and Anticipation . 21210 We Rely on the New Testament . 238GLOSSARY .ANSWERS TO SELF-TESTS .STUDENT REPORTS .ANSWER SHEETS .260268276287

T h e K i n g d o m , T h e P o w e r, a n d T h e G l o r yTHE ICI CHRISTIAN SERVICEPROGRAMI2COURSEThis is one of 18 courses (subjects) that make up theICI Christian Service Program. The symbol at the leftis a guide for order of study in the series, which isdivided into three units of six courses each. The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: A Survey of the New Testamentis Course 2 in Unit I. You will benefit by studying the courses inthe proper order.Study materials in the Christian Service Program have beenprepared in a self-teaching format especially for Christianworkers. These courses provide a student with Bible knowledgeand skills needed for practical Christian service. You may studythis course in order to receive credit toward a certificate, or forpersonal enrichment.UNIT4ATTENTIONPlease read the course introduction very carefully. It isimportant that you follow these instructions so you can achievethe goals of the course, and be prepared for the student reports.Address all correspondence concerning the course to your ICIinstructor at the address stamped on the copyright page near thefront of the study guide.

Course IntroductionCourse IntroductionLearn About God’s New Covenant With ManIn this course you will study the New Testament, the newagreement God made with man through Jesus Christ. The NewTestament tells how God saved us from eternal destruction. Ittells how we can be brought into His kingdom through Christand experience His power in our daily lives. And it describes theglorious return of our Savior and the wonderful destiny that isours in Him.The first unit gives an overview of all the books of the NewTestament and the time during which they were written. It thenpresents the books which tell about the earthly life and ministryof Jesus. You will study each of the four Gospel accounts of Hisunique message and His mighty miracles. You will learn, too,about the land where He lived and the men who wrote about Him.The second unit examines the books which describe thebeginning of the church and its expansion throughout the RomanEmpire. In this unit you will follow the apostles and the believersas they proclaimed the good news of salvation to Jews and Greeks,slaves and masters, honest seekers and skeptics. You will studythe letters which were written to the various congregations whichsprang up and learn about their joys and problems. You will seehow the church was formed and sustained by the power of God.The third unit presents the books which were written as thechurch continued to expand. In this unit you will learn how it facedpersecution by those who hated it and false teaching by those whodenied its Lord. You will consider the guidelines that were set downfor its leaders. You will study the glorious vision it has of the future.In this unit you will also discover how the New Testament has beenpassed on to us. You will learn the reasons why we can rely on itcompletely as we seek to know God and serve Him today.As you study all these things you will realize that the NewTestament is God’s message to you. The facts you learn will help5

6T h e K i n g d o m , T h e P o w e r, a n d T h e G l o r yyou understand its truths and teach them to others. God bless youas you study!The Time Between the TestamentsPerhaps you have already studied the Old Testament. If so,you will remember that its historical account closes with theJews rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem. But when the NewTestament opens, we find that Jerusalem is under the controlof the Romans. What had happened in the land of Palestineduring the time between the Old and the New Testaments, the“intertestamental” period?In 586 B.C. the last group of Jews was taken away fromJerusalem into captivity under the Babylonians. While theseJews were in captivity, the Persians conquered the Babylonians.The Persians allowed the Jews to go back to Jerusalem, and asmall number of them returned. This ended their seventy-yearperiod of exile. The Jews who returned to Jerusalem rebuilt thetemple and settled in the land. However, many Jews did notreturn to Palestine. Some remained in Babylon. The rest wereeventually scattered among the nations. In history, this has beencalled the diaspora, a term related to the word dispersion whichmeans “a spreading or scattering.”Next, the Persians were defeated by young Alexander theGreat, whose armies conquered vast territories including Syria,Palestine, and Egypt. Alexander’s political empire did not longsurvive his early death at the age of 33. The Greek culture heintroduced, though, had a lasting influence on Palestine and theentire ancient world.After Alexander died in 323 B.C., Palestine was controlled bya series of other foreign powers. Antiochus IV (175–164 B.C.),a ruler of the Seleucid Empire, tried to force the Jews to acceptthe Greek culture. He forbade their traditional worship anddesecrated their temple. In 167 B.C. the Jews revolted against hisevil decrees. A few years later they regained control of Jerusalemand cleansed the temple. Their war for independence continueduntil 142 B.C. This time is known as the Maccabean period,

Course Introductionnamed after Judas Maccabeas (the “hammerer”), the hard-hittingmilitary leader of the Jewish forces.The period of Jewish independence lasted from 142 B.C. until63 B.C., when Jerusalem was taken over by the Roman generalPompey. During this time, the Hasmonean rulers continued tostruggle against foreign domination. They also fought amongthemselves. The Hasmonean rulers were descendants of SimonMaccabeas, one of the brothers of Judas (Judas was killed in 161B.C.). In the meantime, the power of Rome, which was a majorforce in the area from about 200 B.C. onwards, continued togrow stronger. The last Hasmonean ruler was killed in 37 B.C.by Herod the Great, who was appointed by Rome as the ruler ofthe Jews. Herod was in power at the time Christ was born.As you begin your study of the New Testament, it will behelpful for you to keep these facts about the intertestamentalperiod in mind. The events that happened during this periodinfluenced the Jewish religion and shaped the world into whichJesus was born.Course DescriptionThe Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: A Survey of the NewTestament is a course of study that will help the Christian workergain an overall knowledge of the content of the New Testament. Itemphasizes the historical setting, characteristics, and teachings ofthe books of the New Testament. It will help the Christian workerunderstand the New Testament, gain confidence in its reliability,and become better equipped to share its truths with others.Course ObjectivesWhen you finish this course you should be able to:1. Describe the historical background, author, and message ofeach book of the New Testament.2. Identify important places associated with the background ofthe New Testament, the life of Jesus, and the expansion of theearly church.7

8T h e K i n g d o m , T h e P o w e r, a n d T h e G l o r y3. Explain why we can rely on the New Testament as thetrustworthy and accurate record of the life of Jesus and theteachings of the apostles.4. Accept the New Testament as God’s message to you andshare its truths more fully with others.TextbooksYou will use The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: ASurvey of the New Testament as both the textbook and studyguide for the course. Most of the Scriptures quoted in this courseare from the New International Version, 1978 edition. In a fewinstances we have quoted from the New American StandardVersion where indicated.Study TimeHow much time you actually need to study each lessondepends in part on your knowledge of the subject and thestrength of your study skills before you begin the course. Thetime you spend also depends on the extent to which you followdirections and develop skills necessary for independent study.Plan your study schedule so that you spend enough time toreach the objectives stated by the author of the course and yourpersonal objectives as well.Lesson Organization and Study PatternEach lesson includes: 1) lesson title, 2) opening statement,3) lesson outline, 4) lesson objectives, 5) learning activities, 6)key words, 7) lesson development including study questions, 8)self-test (at the end of the lesson development), 9) answers to thestudy questions. Answers to each self-test are at the back of yourtextbook before the unit student reports.The lesson outline and objectives will give you an overview ofthe subject, help you to focus your attention on the most importantpoints as you study, and tell you what you should learn.Most of the study questions in the lesson development can beanswered in spaces provided in this study guide. Longer answersshould be written in a notebook. As you write the answers in your

Course Introductionnotebook, be sure to record the number and title of the lesson. Thiswill help you in your review for the unit student report.Do not look ahead at the answers until you have given youranswer. If you give your own answers, you will rememberwhat you study much better. After you have answered the studyquestions, check your answers with those given at the end ofthe lesson. Then correct those you did not answer correctly. Theanswers are not given in the usual numerical order so that youwill not accidentally see the answer to the next question.These study questions are very important. They will help youto remember the main ideas presented in the lesson and to applythe principles you have learned.How to Answer QuestionsThere are different kinds of study questions and self-testquestions in this study guide. Below are samples of several typesand how to answer them. Specific instructions will be given forother types of questions that may occur.A MULTIPLE-CHOICE question or item asks you to choose ananswer from the ones that are given.1 The Bible has a total ofa) 100 books.b) 66 books.c) 27 books.The correct answer is b) 66 books. In your study guide, make acircle around b) as shown here:1 The Bible has a total of aa) 100 books.b) 66 books.c) 27 books.(For some multiple-choice items, more than one answer will becorrect. In that case, you would circle the letter in front of eachcorrect answer.)9

10T h e K i n g d o m , T h e P o w e r, a n d T h e G l o r yA TRUE-FALSE question or item asks you to choose which ofseveral statements are TRUE.Example2 Which statements below are TRUE?a The Bible has a total of 120 books.b The Bible is a message for believers today.c All of the Bible authors wrote in the Hebrew language.d The Holy Spirit inspired the writers of the Bible.Statements b and d are true. You would make a circle aroundthese two letters to show your choices, as you see above.A MATCHING question or item asks you to match things that gotogether, such as names with descriptions, or Bible books withtheir authorsExample3 Write the number for the leader’s name in front of each phrasethat describes something he did.1) Moses. a Received the Law at Mt. Sinai2) Joshua. b Led the Israelites across Jordan122c.1d.Marched around JerichoLived in Pharaoh’s courtPhrases a and d refer to Moses, and phrases b and c refer toJoshua. You would write 1 beside a and d, and 2 beside b and c,as you see above.Ways to Study This CourseIf you study this ICI course by yourself, all of your work canbe completed by mail. Although ICI has designed this course foryou to study on your own, you may also study it in a group orclass. If you do this, the instructor may give you added instructionsbesides those in the course. If so, be sure to follow his instructions.Possibly you are interested in using the course in a homeBible study group, in a class at church, or in a Bible school. Youwill find both the subject content and study methods excellent forthese purposes

Course IntroductionUnit Student ReportsIn the back of your study guide are located the unit studentreports and answer sheets. These are to be comple