Themes of Each Book of the Bible
Old Testament
Book |
Theme |
---|---|
Genesis |
God creates, Satan corrupts, man falls, and Jehovah promises salvation |
Exodus |
Christ is the redemption, salvation, and supply of God's people, and also the means by which they worship and serve God, enabling them to be built together with God in Him, to meet with God, fellowship with each other, and become mutual dwelling places |
Leviticus |
Christ is everything for the communion, service, and life of those redeemed by God |
Numbers |
Christ is the meaning of life, testimony, and center for God's people, as well as the leader, way, and goal for their journey and battles |
Deuteronomy |
Christ is the guide and leader for God's people, enabling them to enter the heavenly realm and participate in His riches |
Joshua |
Israel occupies and possesses the good land as an inheritance to fulfill God's economy |
Judges |
Israel abandons God, is defeated by enemies, and gradually corrupts |
Ruth |
A complete sign illustrating how Gentile sinners, through Christ's redemption, are joined to Christ and brought into the divine inheritance along with God's chosen people Israel |
1 & 2 Samuel |
An illustration of the way to enjoy the good land given by God (1 Samuel: 31 chapters, 2 Samuel: 24 chapters) |
1 & 2 Kings |
God's administrative dealing with the corruption and destruction of the divine kingship on earth by the kings, and the tragic results of God's righteous judgment (1 Kings: 22 chapters, 2 Kings: 25 chapters) |
1 & 2 Chronicles |
The complete record of God's actions in human history, from Adam through Samuel to Israel's return from captivity, along with statements of important details regarding God's dealings with the kings of Judah (1 Chronicles: 29 chapters, 2 Chronicles: 36 chapters) |
Ezra |
Jehovah's salvation through Christ who became flesh, was crucified, resurrected, ascended, and will come again |
Nehemiah |
Rebuilding Jerusalem's wall, continuing the restoration of God's testimony among His chosen people to fulfill His economy |
Esther |
The God who chose Israel as His elect became a hidden God to them during their captivity among Gentile nations, secretly caring for them and openly saving them by acting in secret |
Job |
The purpose of God's dealings with His holy people |
Psalms |
The emotions, feelings, thoughts, and experiences of godly people who seek and contact God, expressed through praise, prayer, and joyful singing |
Proverbs |
Words of wisdom teaching people how to conduct themselves and establish their character in their human living |
Ecclesiastes |
Solomon's teaching showing that human life in the corrupted world is vanity and a chasing after wind |
Song of Songs |
The history of love in an excellent marriage, revealing the progressive experience of individual believers in loving communion with Christ |
Isaiah |
Jehovah's judgment against Israel and surrounding nations, and the resulting revival |
Jeremiah |
Christ becoming Jehovah's righteousness to God's chosen people in God's dealings with Israel and the nations, as their center and circumference |
Lamentations |
The expression of Jeremiah's sorrow and love for God's holy city and holy people |
Ezekiel |
God appearing to man in glory, judging His own people and the nations, and restoring His chosen people to build a dwelling place as a mutual habitation and His complete expression |
Daniel |
The destiny God has determined for Israel, that is, the content of the seventy weeks |
Hosea |
Jehovah is the salvation of adulterous and apostate Israel, accepting her back and restoring her |
Joel |
Jehovah's salvation through Christ who became flesh, was crucified, resurrected, ascended, and will come again |
Amos |
Jehovah's rebuke to Israel and the revival He gives to Israel |
Obadiah |
Jehovah's dealing with Esau and Jacob's victory for Jehovah's kingdom |
Jonah |
Jehovah's salvation extending even to Nineveh, a Gentile city |
Micah |
Jehovah's rebuke to Israel and the revival He gives to Israel |
Nahum |
Jehovah's judgment against Nineveh, the evil capital of Assyria |
Habakkuk |
God first executing righteous judgment on Israel through the Chaldeans, then executing righteous judgment on the Chaldeans through the nations |
Zephaniah |
Jehovah's judgment on Israel and the nations, and His salvation to the Gentiles and Israel |
Haggai |
Jehovah dealing with the returned captives to build His temple |
Zechariah |
The four stages of human governments' persecution of Israel and Christ's destruction of the persecutors, and His reign among Israel during the restoration |
Malachi |
Jehovah's dealing with the sons of Levi (the priests in Israel) and the sons of Jacob (the Israelites) |
New Testament
Book |
Theme |
---|---|
Matthew |
The gospel of the kingdom—proving that Jesus Christ is the King-Savior |
Mark |
The gospel of God—proving that Jesus Christ is the Servant-Savior |
Luke |
The gospel of forgiveness of sins—proving that Jesus Christ is the Man-Savior |
John |
The gospel of life—proving that Jesus Christ is the God-Savior who comes as life for God's increase |
Acts |
The resurrected Christ in ascension, by the Spirit, through the disciples, for the multiplication that produces the churches—the kingdom of God |
Romans |
The gospel of God—transforming sinners into sons of God, constituting the Body of Christ, manifested as local churches |
1 Corinthians |
Christ and the cross as the solution to all problems in the church |
2 Corinthians |
The ministry and ministers of the New Testament |
Galatians |
Christ replacing the law, in contrast to religion and tradition |
Ephesians |
The church—the mystery of Christ, the Body of Christ, as Christ's fullness, becoming the fullness of God |
Philippians |
The divine provision and the divine administration |
Colossians |
Christ—the all-inclusive One who is preeminent in all things, as the mystery and embodiment of God, as the Head and constituent of the church, and as the portion, life, constituent, hope, and reality of all positive things for the saints |
1 Thessalonians |
Encouragement and correction for a holy life for church life—serving the living God, living in holiness, and waiting for the Lord's coming |
2 Thessalonians |
Encouragement and correction for a holy life for church life |
1 Timothy |
God's economy for the church |
2 Timothy |
The preventive medicine for the church's decline |
Titus |
The maintaining of church order |
Philemon |
An illustration of the equality of believers' status in the new man |
Hebrews |
Christ's superiority over Judaism and all its elements, and His new covenant being better than the old |
James |
The perfection of Christian practice |
1 Peter |
Christ as the center of God's administration according to God's eternal economy |
2 Peter |
The divine supply for the Christian life |
1 John |
The fellowship of the divine life |
2 John |
Prohibition from participating in heresy |
3 John |
Encouragement to fellow workers in the truth |
Jude |
Contending for the faith |
Revelation |
Christ's urgent and stern encouragement to His degraded churches, His judgment on the world religiously, politically, and economically, and His coming with His overcomers to exercise His judgment and to bring in His kingdom for the accomplishment of God's eternal economy |