Answer:

The books in our New Testament were not written by a single individual, or even by multiple authors as a collaborative work. The books were written by various authors at different times and places, and for different reasons. Eventually the books were "authenticated" by the church and distinguished from other writings that did not hold equal truth or significance. The authenticated books were compiled or combined in a unified collection, and ultimately they were considered a single work, i.e., the New Testament. At various times in history, the order in which these books were presented within the collection has differed slightly.

The oldest known list of New Testament books is called the Muratorian Canon. Many scholars believe this document was written in the second century AD. In this list, the Gospels are discussed first, then Acts, and then the epistles. The order appears to be based on the type of literature, rather than on the author. In other words, the four Gospels are listed first, then the Acts of the Apostles (a history of the early church), then the epistles, etc. Since Luke wrote both a Gospel and a history (Acts), his Gospel is grouped with the Gospels and his history is placed later.

We cannot say where or when this ordering of books first took place. We do know that each book of the New Testament originally circulated as an independent work and was later grouped with the others to form our New Testament. While the precise arrangement of books has not been universally agreed or consistent throughout history, we can see that the order in our New Testament today is very similar to that found in the Muratorian Canon.

Answered By: Reg