by James C. Whitman
We encourage our four children to think carefully and ask clarifying questions. This morning my thirteen-year-old son Nathaniel asked me why the Bible ended; why it's no longer being written. That's a line of inquiry that deserves a thoughtful response, don't you agree? Before telling you what I told him, let me share a big idea that forms the background to my answer.
As my title indicates, we're starting a new series called, Reading the Bible for All Its Worth! My prayer is that each installment serves as a treasure hunt for you, a quest to uncover riches that lie just below the surface. This month I want to show you the substantial benefits of keeping the testaments connected. And give you some tips on how to do just that.
The Christian Bible has two major divisions described with the venerable word testament: the Old Testament and the New Testament. When I ask believers what the word means, few can tell me and even fewer can answer how they came to carry that designation. My purpose is not to criticize but to show that this disconnect in our thinking is an opportunity to know God more. Here is a brief overview of the relevant history.
Church father Jerome, famous for translating the entire Bible into what became the accepted Latin version known as The Vulgate (AD 405), coined “Old Testament” for the Jewish Scriptures and “New Testament” for the Christian Scriptures. Why did he make that choice? The process began when the Hebrew word for covenant (berith) was translated by the Greek word (diatheke) long before Jesus was born. That use continued with the apostolic writings. So far, so good, because the subtle range of meaning associated with covenant was able to retain its biblical, Hebraic context.
The problem came when Jerome made a choice to translate every Greek use of diatheke in his New Testament with the Latin term testamentum (even though he used multiple words to translate diatheke in his Old Testament). Keep in mind that all translation work involves an element of interpretation as a necessary part of the process. Unfortunately, Jerome's interpretive impact confined the word to a legal context (think, last will and testament) with a distinct connotation to the Greco-Roman world. And it severed the biblical ideas embedded in the concept of covenant from their Jewish roots, specifically as related to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob and His interaction with people.
Thankfully translators have since repaired this oversimplification in the text (for an obvious example, compare Luke 22:20 in the KJV and NKJV). However, there remains a misunderstanding that persists at the core level of how we describe the Word of God, which can even affect our view of who He is and what He is all about. For many Christians, there is a vague, unspoken and unintentional disconnect between the Testaments. Why? Because in the non-Jewish, legal way of thinking associated with the word testament, God seems to change. In other words, He acts one way in the old and another in the new. May it never be!
Over the years, we have helped many people experience increased intimacy with God by teaching them how to view the Holy Bible as a whole—as The Book of the Covenants, both old and new. Let me give you three benefits followed by some tips on how to be intentional as you read and hear.
THE FIRST BENEFIT of keeping the Testaments connected is that it helps you grasp the Bible as one continuous story—about the God of salvation and the salvation of God.
Paul helps us get into the mindset of the early church; all covenant history is anchored to a promise that God Almighty gave to Abraham (Gal 3:29, Gen 12:1-3). The heart of the Father, evidenced by the heart of His promise, is to bless—relentlessly—the work of His hands. Everything from that encounter with Abraham forward derives its meaning from the same divine commitment, including the new covenant foretold by Jeremiah and inaugurated with the blood of Jesus (Jer 31:31-34, Mat 26:28).
Jesus taught us that the object of our worship and prayer is "our Father" because he knew that the Holy Bible is the story of God. When the Father is the center of attention, and we understand it as one continuous story about Him, then the Spirit breathes new life into the creedal text, "For I the LORD do not change." We come to the stunning and humbling realization that God is being faithful to His Word, even if we are not.
THE NEXT BENEFIT of keeping the Testaments connected is that it helps you read the Bible from the left to the right.
Nothing supports faith quite like covenant history. From the beginning of the Book, we can watch the seed grow, bear fruit, and produce more seed. A seminal promise to Abraham emerges as covenant relationship with him, Sarah, and their progeny. From that emerges a covenant embracing Israel and their progeny. From that emerges a covenant embracing King David and his progeny. From that emerges the final covenant embracing Jesus and his progeny. What Abraham, Moses, David, and our Prophets understood was that what came before them was the LORD at work—fulfilling His original promise. For that reason, they eagerly looked forward to the coming of the Messiah.
Jesus, the Jewish Messiah and the world's rightful King, was able to live a Spirit-filled life of joyful obedience by drawing strength from his Father's covenant faithfulness witnessed to in His unchanging Word. We mature the same way. As we grow in confidence of God's help in the present because of His decisive actions in the past, His Spirit breathes new life into the creedal text, "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever."
ANOTHER BENEFIT of keeping the Testaments connected is that it helps you read the Bible from the right to the left.
Nothing informs our faith quite like covenant history. One activity I like to do with students in a seminar setting is open the Bible to the New Covenant as presented in Hebrews 8. I then ask them to list the items in the text for which they need a basic working knowledge of Jesus' Bible, our "Old Testament." A simple exercise with significant results. The inspired writers of the Christian Scriptures used Hebraic nouns and verbs to explain God the Father, and His Son, to Jews and non-Jews alike. Once you recognize this, you will see it from Matthew to Revelation.
We need to reject the prejudice that sets the Testaments in opposition to each other. Just as the Exodus is the grand archetype of biblical salvation by grace through faith, so both cross and resurrection offer a New Exodus in Jesus. All the redeemed of the LORD throughout the ages can proclaim the creedal text, "for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist."
Although old and new testament terminology can cause a disconnect, it's not going to change nor do I think it necessarily should. What we have is an educational opportunity, a chance to both define our terms and unpack the meanings. Here are two suggestions that can assist in renewing our minds while equipping us to help others to do the same.
First Suggestion: When you hear or say the word testament, think covenant; translate it back to the biblical ideas embedded in the concept of covenant.
Second Suggestion: When you hear or say the words old and new applied to testament (covenant), translate them to something like first and final, or original and renewed.
For years, I have encouraged Christians to think of the Holy Bible as the Book of the Covenants, Volumes 1 & 2. It's not a perfect solution, but it gets us closer to the actual covenant history (promise fulfillment) that the Word of God narrates and illustrates.
Now back to my son's question with which I opened this article. Here is the distilled version of our conversation. On the one hand, the Bible had to reach a point of completion—a time when no more writings were added—because new covenant salvation as evidenced by Messiah Jesus' death, resurrection, and Holy Spirit outpouring was the Father's ultimate goal. That being said, be mindful that we cannot wholly grasp the height, depth, and width of His promise to bless without taking the Book and the history as a whole.
On the other hand, we need to be fully aware that the story of God—as told in the Bible—continues to be written onto the pages of history by each believer and every believing community as they experience His salvation and respond with the obedience of faith. Today is our opportunity to prove the promise of the Father, just like the covenant faithful who have gone before us. Our apostle Paul says it this way, "you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts."
Read the next article in this series, Knowing the Heart of the Father.
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We recommend all of our students read and master this important work, Exploring Our Hebraic Heritage by Dr. Wilson.
Take me back to the library. Or if you prefer, back to the topic Hebraic Perspective.