07/04/2026
YOUR DAILY FOOD
Today’s food is Matthew 22:29: Jesus answered and said to them, “You are in error, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God.”
KNOWING THE BIBLE — 2
It has been shown to us that:
1. Not all the 66 books that make up the Bible are for Christians. That is, as a Christian, you are not expected to read all the books of the Bible, especially the 39 books that make up the Old Testament, because the people in the Old Testament did not live according to the life of Christ.
2. No portion of the Old Testament contains “Jesus Christ.” That is, Jesus Christ had not yet come during the Old Testament era. There is no part of the Old Testament (the 39 books) that clearly shows us anything about Christ, unlike the accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Noah, etc.
Another thing to understand about the Bible is this: from the Bible we carry, 27 books were combined to form the New Testament (Matthew—Revelation). However, not all the 27 books in the New Testament are meant for Christians, because the New Testament did not begin in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. In these books, we see Jesus Christ physically as a man doing many things, but Jesus Himself made it clear that the New Testament had not yet begun while He was still living on earth in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Matthew 26:26–28, Mark 14:22–24, and Luke 22:17–20 show that Jesus explained that the New Testament would begin when His blood was shed. Before His blood could be shed, He had to be killed and die. During the time He was preaching, performing signs and wonders, gathering disciples, teaching about the kingdom of God, and revealing the only true God (John 17:3), He was still alive. He had not died, and His blood had not yet been shed, which means the New Testament had not yet begun. The covenant that existed during His earthly ministry was what is now called the Old Testament.
What we need to understand is this: Jesus told us in Matthew 26, Mark 14, and Luke 22 that for the New Testament to begin, His blood must be shed, meaning He must die. It is only then that one can begin to live according to His life. This means that treating the entire Matthew—Revelation as the New Testament is incorrect. We cannot fully base our Christian life on Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because:
a) In these four books, no church was established. Only the account in Matthew records Jesus saying, “I will build my church” (Matt. 16:18). He did not say, “This is the church I have built,” but “I will build,” indicating it was yet to be established.
b) In these four books, there were no Christians (those who live after Christ). The disciples were following Jesus but had not yet begun to live after Him.
c) There was no full operation of the Holy Spirit in these four books that precede the New Testament.
d) No one was able to perform miracles as Jesus did. The power to perform miracles and wonders was not yet in anyone else. Christ had not yet produced anyone to continue His works (Mark 9:17–18; Matt. 17:15–16).
e) Jesus did not demonstrate His power and authority over the whole world. His ministry was limited to a specific region. It was after His physical departure that all authority in heaven and on earth was given to Him (Matt. 28:18).
f) He did not commission anyone to continue His teaching globally until after His blood was shed. Although He sent out the twelve and the seventy to preach, this was not continued fully until after the coming of the Holy Spirit, when they began the mission properly (Acts 2:14, 42–47).
From this, we can understand that the New Testament is not fully represented by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, because these books mainly give an account of Jesus’ life on earth as a man. What truly defines us as Christians is not fully established in these four books.
Therefore, the New Testament can be understood as beginning from Acts to Revelation (23 books). If arranged accordingly, the Acts of the Apostles would be the first book of the New Testament, followed by the rest up to Revelation.
If you base your life entirely on the accounts in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, you are not yet living in the full reality of the New Testament. Rather, you are still relating to what belongs to the Old Testament context. As a result, you cannot fully be described as a Christian living by the Spirit of Christ (Rom. 8:9).
Let us continue tomorrow. Enjoy your meal. For any objections, call 09167540681.
