What is the relationship of the Old Testament to the New Testament Christian?

 

Putting the Bible under a microscope (careful study) should always result in finding ourselves under its microscope, as Scripture changes us more into Christ’s likeness. We engage in exegesis and theology in order to encounter God. We approach humbly and dependently and never with manipulation or force. Biblical interpretation should create servants, not kings.[1]

And as Peter said in 2 Peter 1:19: “And we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts,” Accordingly we can say that there is a great important relationship of the OT to the NT Christian and we can see that obviously in many ways, it is hard to mention them all, so I will mention only 1 of them with some focus.

1.     The Old Testament substantially influences our understanding of key biblical teachings.[2]

By the end of the Law (Genesis–Deuteronomy), the Bible has already described or alluded to all five of the major covenants that guide Scripture’s plot structure (Adamic-Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Davidic, and new). The rest of the Old Testament then builds on this portrait in detail. Accordingly, the Old Testament narrative builds anticipation for a better king, a blessed people, and a broader land. The Old Testament creates the problem and includes promises that the New Testament answers and fulfills. We need the Old Testament to fully understand God’s work in history.

Furthermore, some doctrines of Scripture are best understood only from the Old Testament. For example, is there a more worldview-shaping text than Genesis 1:1–2:3? Where else can we go other than the Old Testament to rightly understand sacred space and the temple? Is there a more explicit declaration of YHWH’s incomparability than Isaiah 40 or a more succinct expression of substitutionary atonement than Isaiah 53? Where should we go to know what Paul means by “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” (Eph. 5:19; Col. 3:16)? All of these are principally derived from our understanding of the Old Testament.

Finally, the New Testament worldview and teachings are built on the framework supplied in the Old Testament. In the New Testament, we find literally hundreds of Old Testament quotations, allusions, and echoes, none of which we will fully grasp apart from saturating ourselves in Jesus’ Bible.

However, one of the most important issues that we need to understand in this relation is how the OT relates to NT believers, involves both discontinuity (change) and continuity (No change). The NT says concerning the first covenant [Mosaic covenant, old covenant, first covenant], not the whole OT, that:[3]

 new covenant believers are “not under law but under grace” (Rom. 6:14)

 “you also were made to die to the Law through the body of Christ” (Rom. 7:4)

 “if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law” (Eph. 5:18)

 “the law was a tutor to lead us to Christ, … but now that faith has come, we are no longer under a tutor” (Gal. 3:24-25)

 “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore, keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery” (Gal. 5:1).

 though Paul is not under the law, he became as one under the law to win those under the law (1 Cor. 9:20).

 “there is a setting aside of a former commandment because of its weakness and uselessness, (for the Law made nothing perfect), and on the other hand there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God. … Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant” (Heb. 7:18-22)

 “When He said, “A new covenant,” He has made the first obsolete. But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear” (Heb. 8:13).

 

From texts such as these, there can be no doubt that there is a discontinuity between the old covenant teaching [Mosaic Covenant = Exodus 19-Deuteronomy 34 (excluding the narrative material] in the OT and the requirements of the NT. We are not members of the old covenant. We are not “under law.” We died to the law.

 

On the other hand, the NT also says that[4]

 all Scripture is God’s word (including the Mosaic Covenant - 2 Tim. 3:16) and is the product of holy men superintended by the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:19-20).

 all Scripture is profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work (including the Mosaic Covenant - 2 Tim. 3:16-17)

 whatever was written in earlier times was written for our instruction so that through

perseverance and the encouragement of the Scriptures, we might have hope (Rom. 15:4; 1 Cor.10:11)

 “It is written in the Law of Moses, “YOU SHALL NOT MUZZLE THE OX WHILE HE IS THRESHING.” God is not concerned about oxen, is He? Or is He speaking altogether for our sake? Yes, for our sake, it was written, because the plowman ought to plow in hope, and the thresher to thresh in hope of sharing the crops.” (1 Cor. 9:9-10 – a New Testament principle derived from a statement in the Mosaic Law)

 “not for [Abraham’s] sake only was it written that it was credited to him, but for our sake also, to whom it will be credited, as those who believe in Him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead, (Rom. 4:23-24)

 “Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law” (Rom. 3:31).

 

From texts such as these, there can be no doubt that there is continuity between the OT, even the Mosaic Covenant, and the NT. The NT views the Scriptures written prior to Christ not only as instructional material but as divinely intended for the NT believers, Jewish and Gentile, to whom the apostles were ministering.

All of Scripture is relevant to NT believers as instruction concerning God’s unchanging character, how to love God and others, and in illuminating the ministry and meaning of Christ’s life, death, and resurrection for us. NT believers are not members of the Mosaic Covenant; therefore, none of its stipulations or laws are covenantally binding upon us. NT believers are members of the New Covenant in which Yahweh writes his law on our hearts. Thus, all Yahweh’s laws are relevant to us. We must learn to identify the law’s universal principles and apply them to our lives.[5]

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[1] Jason S. DeRouchie, How to Understand and Apply the Old Testament: Twelve Steps from Exegesis to

Theology (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2017), p. 3.

Jason S. DeRouchie, Interpreting Scripture: A General Introduction, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/interpreting-scripture-a-general-introduction/, Last accessed 16^th January 2023.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Allan Brown, How the Old Testament Relates to the New Testament Christian, (N.P.), p. 2.

[4] Ibid.

[5] Ibid, p. 6.