by  Murray McLellan

The Need for a Biblical Blueprint

I once heard an audiotape message by William Sasser in which he told the following story to emphasize the need of a clear biblical hermeneutic.

Though this example obviously is extreme for the sake of humor, yet it truly does underline the need to read and understand the context of any passage and statement of Scripture. As I strive to be holy, am I allowed to eat pork or shrimp? May I wear clothing made of mixed threads of linen and wool? May I plant carrots and peas in the same garden plot? Since all of these things are forbidden in clear statements in the book of Leviticus (Lev. 11:7-8, 10-12; 19:19), what do we tell someone who sees us enjoy a tasty ham sandwich? Our consciences will be clear only when we understand the relationship between the Old and New Testaments, and the progressive nature of the Scriptures. [Please note: I will use the terms ‘testament’ and ‘covenant’ interchangeably in this article, as they are two translations of the same Greek word d?a????(diathe kes).]

Progressive Revelation

The Bible is not a compilation of proof texts; it is an organic whole. The Scriptures contain the unfolding of redemptive history – centered in Jesus Christ (Heb. 1:1-3). What better theme could there be!

We properly understand individual parts of the story only when we read them within their correct context. Each part sits against the background of what has gone before and prepares the way for what comes afterward. Only from the vantage point of the story’s conclusion can the reader observe the way in which the divine author has directed every part so that each contributes collectively to the end.

The Bible tells one main story; the unity of that story is perceived only from the standpoint of the story’s conclusion or goal – Jesus Christ! He and the glorious New Covenant that he established through his blood is the fulfillment of it all (Matt. 5:17-18).

We need to see how each detail fits into the overall scheme of God’s plan as he discloses it. In the Bible, the revelation of the Christ unfolds progressively. The nature of progressive revelation requires that the earliest part of that revelation is incomplete. Thus, we need to grasp the partial and elementary nature of the Old Testament revelation.

In Genesis 3:15, we have the first promise of the seed to come. The Scriptures then progressively unfold more details regarding this promised seed – this deliverer. In Genesis 22, we learn that the deliverer would be a substitute, provided in the mount known as Moriah. As we continue through the Scriptures, we discover the need for blood sacrifice. By the time we reach Isaiah 53, the description of the deliverer and his atoning sacrifice has become more explicit. We continue from the age of promise and the time of anticipation in the law and the prophets until that preliminary era reaches its revelatory climax with the prophet John. "For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John" (Matt. 11:13).

A voice came crying in the wilderness; the forerunner proclaimed that the promised kingdom was dawning. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). The light of the world had dawned. A new day was unfolding – a day that would fulfill all that had been foreshadowed by the law and the prophets. We are not surprised to read that the prophets prophesied, but we also must note that the law, too, prophesied until John. There was a prophetic aspect to the law. Jesus Christ, in his incarnation and accomplishment of what had been promised for his people, brought the law and the prophets to their goal. He fulfilled what they foretold, foreshadowed, and anticipated.

The Relationship between the Old and New Testaments

Holiness under the Old Covenant and holiness under the New Covenant are distinct from each other in the same way that redemption in the Old Covenant and redemption in the New Covenant are. In order to avoid misunderstandings, let me explain the word redemption in its various contextual settings. The Old Covenant people of God were a redeemed people. The New Covenant people of God are a redeemed people. Does it mean the same thing? Are they redeemed in the same way? (Please note: I am not referring to "believers" in the Old and New Covenant eras, I am referring to the nature of the two covenants and their members.) There is a huge difference. The first pictured and foreshadowed the second, which is the true or ultimate redemption.

The Old redemption was physical and temporary.

The New redemption is spiritual and eternal.

The Old Covenant people had a redeemer – Moses. He was a faithful mediator who stood in the gap. The New Covenant people have a Redeemer – Jesus Christ. He is a better mediator. Moses, the old mediator, made the people of Israel drink the bitterness of their sin and idolatry (Ex. 32:20). Our New Covenant mediator, Jesus, drank the bitter cup of his people’s iniquity himself, that they might drink a cup of blessing. Jesus is a superior mediator.

The Old Covenant people were a freed people (i.e. from physical bondage). The same is true for the New Covenant people of God. However, the citizens of the holy nation of the New Covenant are freed, not from the bondage of physical slavery, but from spiritual bondage.

The typological relationship between Old Covenant/New Covenant events is true also of objects under each covenant. The Old Covenant had a temple. The New also has a temple – one made of living stones, which is Christ’s body, with Jesus himself having become the chief cornerstone. That old temple had a veil that warned, "Keep out or die!" In the new, the veil is Christ’s flesh, through which we may boldly draw near into the presence of God, on the basis of Christ’s all-sufficient sacrifice (Heb. 10:19-20).

You probably can think of many more physical/spiritual connections between the two covenants, such as the examples listed in the table to the right.

OLD COVENANT	NEW COVENANT
Were God’s people physically	Are God’s spiritual people
A covenant people (most unbelievers)	A covenant people (all believers)
The promises were physical and temporary	The promises are spiritual and eternal (better!)
Had a Sabbath where the people ceased from their labors one day a week	Has a Sabbath who is Christ, and thus, we have ceased from our labors and found our rest in Christ and his finished work!
Had a Passover lamb	Has a better Passover Lamb!
Were a holy people (separated in a physical sense – i.e. no bacon; stay away from those Gentiles!)	Are a holy people (separated in a spiritual sense – i.e. may eat all things, may live in the world, but not live as if we are of the world)

When we talk about holiness in the Old and holiness in the New, there is a definite relationship. In fact, 1 Peter 1:16, the New Covenant command to be holy, is a direct quote from Leviticus 19:2 (See also Lev. 11:44, 45; 20:7). However, the question we want to consider is if the particulars that define holiness are the same in both contexts. "But as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, because it is written, ‘Be holy for I am holy’" (1 Peter 1:15-16).

As we examine the command in both contexts, the first point to consider is that God did indeed command his people in both covenants to be holy. Is the same reason given in both covenants? We see it is – because God is holy. Now, does the fact that Peter quotes Leviticus mean that I must go back to Leviticus and read all those lists of commands to learn how to be holy now? Do I go back to the Mosaic Law to discover how I am to live my daily life?

This is an important question to consider. Too often, I have heard Sunday School lessons or Bible teachers make a statement and then list verses with no real regard for their context – not even their covenantal context. How often have you been exhorted to be obedient by a lesson that teaches "do and be blessed"? Have you ever wondered how good you have to be, or how much you have to do in order to be blessed? Is it not perfection? Or is God satisfied with sincere effort; you will be blessed if you give it your best shot? Christ alone can provide the required righteousness for blessing. In him, we are blessed, and so we "do" – out of love. This is an entirely different motivation.

A New Motivation

Under the Old Covenant, the Mosaic Law provided a motivation for obedience – externally. The Old Testament Jew was obligated to obey from without; he was under the threat of punishment - do or die.¹ In the New Covenant, God’s people are motivated internally because the law is written on the heart. We are motivated by our love of Christ. We do not have the Ten Commandments written on our heart; we have the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5). In the New Testament era, Christ sets a higher principle, love, grounded on the fact of his death, not on the threat of our death. The New Covenant guarantees that all the members of its community will have clean hearts that love God and obey him because of that love.

I believe that Jesus is referring to this passage in Ezekiel when he states in John 3:5, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God." We know from John 3:10 that Jesus told Nicodemus that a teacher of Israel ought to know the truths of which he was speaking. The source of truth and knowledge of God upon which Israel’s teachers relied was the Hebrew Scripture – what we call the Old Testament Scriptures. Something in Nicodemus’ Holy Word should be the reference point for Jesus’ words in verse 5. In our passage in Ezekiel, there is a clear reference to both water and the Spirit. In the New Covenant kingdom, a sinner is both cleansed (justified) and given a new heart (for sanctification) [see also 2 Thess. 2:13-14 and Titus 3:3-7]. Since God has caused the believer to be born from above, he or she is spiritually alive with a new heart. A Christian is an incurable God-lover! He is someone whom God has called out of the darkness of unbelief and self-centeredness into the light of knowing God and living for him.

The New Covenant believer understands that he has rebelled against the God of heaven and earth and thus, he deserves God’s unending wrath. This is why God’s grace is so overwhelming to him. The New Covenant member recognizes that when he sins, he sins against God. Sin is not simply about breaking a rule in God’s book. Rather, it is a personal offense against God himself, and this is why a believer’s own sin grieves him so much.²

In the Old Covenant era, there were holy places, holy people (i.e. priests), and holy times. These things were set aside from common, everyday use and consecrated solely for use in serving God. In the New Covenant era, everything is to be holy (used for serving God), for all his people are holy (set apart). Thus, every place that we are in becomes the holy place of God’s presence. We are all holy priests. Every day is a holy moment to be used for God’s glory. When we gather in a meeting room, it is not the sanctuary or a holy building; we are!

In the New Covenant, all the commandments are tied to Christ. Wives, submit to your husbands … as to the Lord. Husbands, love your wives … just as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for her. Children, obey your parents … in the Lord. Servants, suffer under your masters … as to Christ. Give … as Christ became poor and gave himself – oh, what an indescribable gift! Forgive … as Christ forgave you. Be kind to one another and walk in love … as Christ also has loved us. Truly, our love of Christ is the issue, the wellspring from which all else in our lives flows. The New Testament Scriptures do not call us to moral behavior divorced from Christ. They do not simply say, "Do this," or "Do not do that." Grace, not moralism, motivates the believer.

To be continued