The New Testament is the fulfillment of the Old

Understanding gospel foundation; from the Old to the New Testament

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The New Testament (NT) is the fulfillment of the old covenant within the Old Testament (OT). The triumph is through faith (Ephesians 2:8), which is belief in Jesus Christ as the Son of God who came to take away the sins of the world (1 John 3:5; John 1:29), so you can be raised to life again at Jesus' second coming and enter the Kingdom of God (John 6:40). The promise was given to Abraham (Galatians 3:16), who is the father of the faith; which is God's promise to be our God and for us to be His people, endowed with blessings (Genesis 17:7; Exodus 6:7). It was fulfilled through the work of Jesus Christ, His beloved Son; when he took upon Himself the judgment due mankind, by crucifixion upon the cross, thereby ending the legal decree against all mankind (1 Peter 2:24; Colossians 2:13-14). Having never sinned, death could not hold Him, for death is the maturity of sin (1 Peter 2:22); so He was able to raise to life, body and spirit, to ascend into heaven to be seated at the right hand of God as our mediator (Mark 16:19; Ephesians 1:20). 

The Law, of Moses, was given so the transgressions of man could be united together as sin, to hold them captive under the law, so the law could be our guardian until Christ came (Galatians 3:23-25). Knowledge of the law, the identification of man's sin against God and His legal decree (Romans 3:20; 7:7-9), made man guilty of transgression for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). The law made sin increase (Romans 5:20), giving it power because all sinned so now all are under judgment (Romans 2:12). The devil, Satan, led the people astray and darkened their understand and knowledge of God (2 Corinthians 11:3; Romans 1:21; Ephesians 4:18; John 8:44; 12:40); then he accused man before God, day and night (Revelation 12:10). Even though the law brought judgment, the judgment was placed upon Adam (Romans 5:16), who brought sin into the world (Romans 5:17). Jesus is the second Adam (1 Corinthians 15:47), the one to take the sins away from the world (1 Corinthians 15:45; Romans 5:16). ​Jesus was born of a woman under the law so that He could perform the works of the law (Galatians 4:4-5), to set men free of it (John 8:32). Once the law was given, man had to suffer the consequences of the judgement (Romans 2:12; 5:16), the wrath of God had to be poured out (Isaiah 53:7). Within the law, was the offer for a sinless lamb to be slain in place of the guilty (John 1:29); an offering of a scapegoat (Leviticus 16:6-16). Jesus was the scapegoat, the spotless Lamb to be slain (1 Peter 1:19). He accepted that wrath upon His own flesh (1 John 3:16; Matthew 27:50), by dying on the cross for our sins, for there was no sin in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Once Jesus died, He could not be held in death, so He had to be raised to life again (1 Corinthians 15:55-57); for we know, death is the result of sin maturing (James 1:15). He was thereby resurrected from the dead and raised to life, in body and spirit, by God (Romans 8:11). After remaining on earth for 40 days to confirm His resurrection, He then ascended into heaven (Acts 1:1-11), to be seated at the right hand of God to make intercession for the saints (Romans 8:34), the children of God, as the mediator of the new covenant (Hebrews 9:15), with Him serving as the King of kings and Lord of lords and the High Priest, of the order of Melchizedek (Hebrews 7:17). He has been gloried, so therefore He is no longer to be regarded in the flesh, nor shall we regard anyone in the flesh (2 Corinthians 5:16), but to see all things in the spirit, the invisible realm. We are to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-18).

In order to walk in the Spirit, having been raised to life in Christ (Romans 6:4-5), we need a firm understanding of the scriptures. The gospel teaches us to use the OT as our example (Romans 15:4), a physical witness, of how to walk in the invisible spiritual realm. It was given for our example. So when we know and use the OT it will help us fully appreciate the NT. God originally made Himself known and revealed His plan of redemption in the OT (Romans 3:2), so it will serve us well to understand both the NT and OT, for they are the same gospel. The more you read of both, the easier it is to draw the parallels between them. You will begin to identify Jesus in the OT, the more you read it.


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