The New Testament Like You’ve Never Seen It with Frank Viola, Part 2 (Ep 355)

What if you could see the New Testament not just as history, but as a living story that’s still unfolding? In Part 2 of this conversation, Brian Del Turco continues with Frank Viola, bestselling author of The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. Building on Part 1, this episode dives even deeper into the context, relationships, and divine drama behind the letters of the apostles. You’ll gain a clearer view of how the early church moved with Christ—and how your own life fits into that same advancing Kingdom narrative today.

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See the full episode transcript below.

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EPISODE TRANSCRIPT

Hey there, my friend. Welcome to the podcast. This is Jesus Smart X. We're glad you're here. I'm Brian Del Turco. You're one of about 618 unique listeners in the last 28 days. Really glad you're tuning in.

This is episode 355. In episode 353, we kicked off a dynamic conversation with Frank Viola, prolific author and Christian leader, about his book The Untold Story of the New Testament Church. It’s a fresh lens on the early church—the book of Acts and the letters that followed, Romans, Galatians, Ephesians, and so on. If you missed part one, I recommend listening to it first, though part two flows nicely on its own.

Also, in episode 350, we explored Life in the Groove: Improvising with the Holy Spirit, looking at jazz and the parallels with walking in the Spirit. Today, in part two with Frank, we go even deeper. You’ll hear insights that could reframe how you read the New Testament, giving you context, storyline, and practical understanding for kingdom living today.

Before we dive in, I want to mention the Smart Edit newsletter. Go to jesussmart.com, sign up at the top of the homepage. It’s free, weekly, takes five minutes to read, and will help elevate your faith and influence your sphere.

Understanding the Untold Story

Without the story—the narrative of how it all fits together—we’re open to misapplying and misinterpreting Scripture. Specifically, the early church story is often misunderstood. We tend to read our own century into the New Testament, projecting our practices back onto the primitive church, which is a major mistake across denominations.

Some things stand out when the story is put together:

• The Christian life was lived very differently than most Christians today practice.
• The way assemblies (the Greek word ecclesiae) were planted and functioned was completely different than today’s churches.
• The way ministers and church planters were trained in the first century was radically different.

People might say they were “archaic,” but if you look at how Jesus trained the 12, there are timeless principles superior to modern ministerial training.

Hands-On Leadership Development

Could you give an example of that leadership development?

It was hands-on. The disciples lived with Jesus for three years—they observed Him interacting with His Father, saw Him handle problems, watched Him lead. Then He gave them...