At Access Theology we believe that he Bible is the Word of God: the self-revelation of God Himself in written form. The Bible is divided into two Testaments: the Old Testament and the New Testament.
In a biblical sense, a testament has a different meaning from what our modern minds understand it to be: a will of any individual that comes into effect after they have died. Biblically, a testament is a covenant: a life-and-death binding relationship based on a set of agreements or promises from a party in a higher position (here God) to another party in a lesser position (His people) who in turn pledges their faithfulness to the former one.
This means that the Bible is divided into two covenants: The Old Covenant and the New Covenant. Taken together, both Testaments (or Covenants) tell the meta-narrative of God creating the world and mankind, mankind sinning against God, and God redeeming mankind through the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus-Christ. Both Testaments also look forward to a glorious future where God will make all things new and will live and reign among His redeemed people on Earth for all of eternity.
Although it is in the New Testament that we read of the birth, the life, the ministry and the death and resurrection of Jesus-Christ, it is vital not to view the New Testament as the only relevant testament for Christians. The New Testament does not replace the Old Testament, it fulfills it.
It is in the Old Testament that we see God kick-starting His redemption plan for humanity right after the fall of man (Genesis 3). After Adam and Eve had sinned and fallen prey to the serpent’s temptation, God said to the serpent “...I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall bruise you on the head, and you shall bruise him on the heel” Genesis 3:15. This is interpreted as the promise of a future Messiah who will come to rescue humanity from sin.
After the fall, humanity proliferated and so did sin and violent behavior among them. God singled out Noah and his family who were righteous in His sight. In obedience to God’s instructions, Noah built an ark that would protect him, his family and a remnant of all animals when God would send the flood in judgement for mankind’s grievous departure from His ways. When the flood receded, Noah came out of the ark and God made a covenant with him and every living being promising that He would ever destroy the Earth by water. He also gave a rainbow as a sign of that covenant and commended Noah and his family to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 6-9).
Generations later, God called Abraham, made a covenant with him and founded the nation of Israel through him and his descendants, promising to give them a land (the Promise Land) and to bless the whole world through Israel (Genesis 12 & 15). Centuries later, God makes a covenant with the nation of Israel and gives them His Law, which described His holy standards and how they were to live and worship Him. God’s Law also introduced Israel with a sacrificial system of atonement, taking for granted that they would sin and would need atonement for their sins to have right standing with God (Exodus 20, Leviticus 1-5).
Several generations later, God established His kingdom in Israel and made a covenant with King David that He would secure His royal throne forever (2 Samuel 7).
Through His Old Testament prophets, God spoke of the coming of His messiah who would redeem Israel and the rest of the world from their sin (Isaiah 53). He also promised a New Covenant that would fulfill all past covenants of the Old Testament and would see the people of God fully restored unto Him in new life, forgiven of all their sins (Jeremiah 31).
The Old Testament ends on a cliffhanger with God having significantly advanced His redemption plan for humanity but not having quite fully fulfilled it yet.
And this is where the New Testament comes into play and opens with the birth of Jesus who is the Son of God and the promised Messiah of the Old Testament. Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit, born an Israelite, and a descendant of David through both Mary His mother and Joseph, His adopted father. Through His miraculous birth, sinless life and impactful ministry on earth, He consistently fulfilled promise upon promise of the Old Testament thereby testifying that He was the promised Messiah of God (2 Corinthians 1:10). When Jesus was crucified, He fulfilled God’s Law by bearing the sins of all mankind on Himself. He was raised from the dead in victory, having successfully atoned for our sins and made a way for us to be reconciled to God and have eternal life.
When we take the New Testament as a standalone and as the only relevant testament for Christians, in a way we dismiss God’s history and groundwork to redeem the world. We miss out on the beauty of God’s long-term plan A that He outworked via His history with Israel. And we also miss out on the richness of His covenants with His people and the hundreds of promises He made in the Old Testament that find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus-Christ, the Son of Man and the Son of God.
This is all too wonderful and (I hope) an encouragement to read the New Testament in its proper relationship with the Old Testament to fully appreciate the goodness, the wisdom, the grace and the power of God in fulfilling His eternal plan for the world through Jesus.