The Untold Story of the New Testament Church

March 2011Newsletter

This month I want to tell you about a fun little book that gives us an opportunity to relive the New Testament’s story in a refreshing way. In The Untold Story of the New Testament Church, Frank Viola, “…has ‘straightened out’ the NT (New Testament) for us! The Bible we have today is fully inspired, yes. But the order of the NT epistles—well—a complete jumble. Instead of being arranged by date, they are arranged by size!” (p. 9, from the foreword)

So, this book tells the story of God’s second covenant (aka: the New Testament) according to the way God put His story together. After reading through (which can be done in one afternoon: it’s only 180 pages), you’ll walk away with more of a “ground-level” understanding of how the church—God’s Family—came to be. Narrative in style, the book reads almost like a novel. You’ll need to read it with your Bible at your side because the footnotes will have you flipping through all 27 NT books and exposing you to stories and characters that you may have never noticed before.

The author presents the giving of our second covenant as a play with five major “motions.”

1. The Godhead in Eternity Past

2. The Son is Sent to Earth

3. The Church is Born

4. The Son Returns to Earth

5. The Godhead in Eternity Future

The third motion is the largest and longest, as Viola unfolds the growth of the very same church body we are all a part of today. Following the book of Acts and Paul’s epistles, the author takes us through Jerusalem, Antioch, Galatia, the greater Grecian area, Ephesus, and finally Rome. Along the way, he “sharpens the focus” with historical tidbits that help us better understand the culture of the day.

If you’re looking for a fun book to read as you hibernate and wait out the last of this cold weather, I recommend checking this one out. It’s about $10 on Amazon.com. If you read it, let me know what you think!

At Your Side,

-bill