The New Testament Usage
of the Old Testament
How the early Christians used the Old
Testament is a rich and important
topic for us today. What we now call the "Old Testament" was the "only
testament" of the early church, and it was their definitive source of
teaching
about God. How they used the Old Testament provides us with a pattern
for
how we ought to view and use it today. It also provides us with
powerful
insights into God's "big picture" and fundamental Christian concepts
that
are more fully developed in the New Testament.
The Object of the Old
Testament
In Luke 24:44-47, we see that Jesus taught the apostles all that the
Old Testament taught about himself and the age he was ushering in-- the
age of his kingdom. Indeed, Jesus and his kingdom are the object and
culmination
of the Old Testament. Some passages that illustrate this are John 5:39,
Acts 7:2-53, Acts 13:16-41, Romans 15:4, 1 Corinthians 10:6, 2 Timothy
3:15, 1 Peter 1:10-11, 2 Peter 1:19-21.
Different Ways the
Early Christians Used the Old Testament
The New Testament contains more than 300 citations from the Old
Testament,
with hundreds more allusions and references. There are three primary
ways
in which the early Christians used the Old Testament.
- Predictions and statements about the Christ
(Anointed One)
- The existence, universality and mission of the
church
- Approved or ethical behavior
Interestingly, some
features of the Old Testament were either ignored or
regarded as irrelevant for the church age. These may be viewed as
belonging
to covenants superseded by Christianity:
- National civil, military and organizational
matters (kings, prophets,
judges,
tribes, etc.)
- Spiritual ordinances (ceremonial law,
circumcision, etc.)
Assignment
Galatians
citations
Handout-
List
of OT/NT references