The Word of God

Anglicans believe that the Holy Scriptures, sometimes known as the Bible, to be the Word of God, and a written record of his Divine Revelation to Humans.

Anglicans believe in the sufficiency of the Scriptures, that is that all things necessary to salvation, can be found or derived from it.

Old Testament
Also known as the Hebrew Scriptures

The first part of the Bible is the so-called Old Testament. Because these Scriptures were originally used by followers of the Jewish faith in the Hebrew language they are sometimes known as the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Old Testament is organized as follows:

  • The Pentateuch, also known as the Torah or the Books of Moses
    • Genesis,
    • Exodus,
    • Leviticus,
    • Numbers, and
    • Deuteronomy.
  • The Historical Books
    • Joshua,
    • Judges,
    • Ruth,
    • First and Second Samuel,
    • First and Second Kings,
    • First and Second Chronicles,
    • Ezra,
    • Nehemiah, and
    • Esther.
  • The Wisdom Books
    • Job,
    • Psalms,
    • Proverbs,
    • Ecclesiastes, and
    • Song of Solomon.
  • The Major Prophets
    • Isaiah,
    • Jeremiah,
    • Lamentations of Jeremiah,
    • Ezekiel, and
    • Daniel.
  • The Twelve Minor Prophets
    • Hosea,
    • Joel,
    • Amos,
    • Obadiah,
    • Jonah,
    • Micah,
    • Nahum,
    • Habakkuk,
    • Zephaniah,
    • Haggai,
    • Zechariah, and
    • Malachi.

Anglican Bibles also contain several deuterocanonical books, sometimes known as the Apocrypha. Many Christian groups do not include these books in their Bibles as Jews do not include it in their own Bibles. The source of these books is a Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint, which was used by Greek-speaking Christians during the Apostolic age.

These books are:

  • The Third Book of Esdras, or 1 Esdras,
  • The Fourth Book of Esdras, 2 Esdras,
  • The Book of Tobias, or Tobit
  • The Book of Judith,
  • Additions to the Book of Esther,
  • The Book of Wisdom,
  • Ecclesiasticus, also known as Sirach, or the Book of Jesus the Son of Sirach,
  • Baruch
  • The Song of the Three (Children),
  • Susanna,
  • Bel and the Dragon,
  • Prayer of Manasses, and
  • The First and Second Books of the Maccabees.

Anglicans do not believe that any doctrines can come from these deuterocanonical books, and instead, they are included in our Bibles in order to give us examples of life and instruction of manners.

The New Testament

The New Testament is the second part of the Christian bible, consisting of 27 Books that were originally written in Koine Greek.

The Gospels

The Gospels, coming from the Old English Gōdspel, meaning Good News, are written accounts of the life and teachings of Jesus.

Gospel according to Matthew

Ascribed to St. Matthew, this Gospel is viewed as having been written by a Jewish Christian for a Jewish audience.

Gospel according to Mark

Ascribed to St. Mark, this Gospel is viewed as having been written for a general audience. It is also the shortest of the Gospels.

Gospel according to Luke

Ascribed to St. Luke, this Gospel is viewed as having been written by a Gentile Christian for a Gentile audience.

Gospel according to John

Ascribed to St. John the Evangelist, it is structured differently than the other three Gospels, and also includes stories of miracles and sayings of Jesus that are not found in the other three.

Acts of the Apostles

Ascribed to St. Luke, this is a narrative of the ministry and activity of the Apostles after Jesus' Ascension.

The Epistles

The Epistles are letters written by the Apostles

St. Paul's Epistles to the Churches

These are letters written by St. Paul to several Churches:

  • Epistle to the Romans,
  • First and Second Epistles to the Corinthians,
  • Epistle to the Galatians,
  • Epistle to the Ephesians,
  • Epistle to the Philippians,
  • Epistle to the Colossians, and the
  • First and Second Epistles to the Thessalonians.

St. Paul's Pastoral Epistles

These are letters written by St. Paul to specific persons:

  • First and Second Epistles to Timothy,
  • Epistle to Titus, and
  • Epistle to Philemon

Epistle to the Hebrews

This book, which was once attributed to St. Paul, is a letter written to a Jewish or Jewish-Christian audience, and attempts to exhort the readers to persevere in the face of persecution.

The General Epistles

The General, or Catholic, Epistles are a collection of Epistles written for a General audience:

  • Epistle of James,
  • First and Second Epistles of Peter,
  • First, Second and Third Epistles of John, and
  • Epistle of Jude.

Book of Revelation

The final book of the New Testament is Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse of John, is a work prophetical or apocalyptic literature.