We might all agree that God inspired the Old Testament, but is it authoritative for the Church? Isn’t the Old Testament written “for the Jews” and not for the Church? The Old Testament is foundational for understanding the New. In fact, Jesus uses the Old Testament extensively in the Gospels. For Jesus, the Old Testament was authoritative because it “testified concerning him” (John 5:39). Jesus used the Hebrew Bible to “validate His mission, His words, and His actions.” From the very beginning of His ministry, Jesus announced that the “Kingdom of God is at hand” (Mark 1:14). This is based on the idea from Daniel 2:44, 7:14, 18, 27 that God was going to establish His kingdom in Jerusalem at some point in the future. In Luke 4:18ff, Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah (61:1ff) and claims that His ministry is fulfilling the text of Scripture. Many passages make it clear that the Old Testament is fulfilled in the ministry of Christ (Matthew 1:22, 2:17, 2:23).
Likewise, Paul cannot be understood without a foundational knowledge of the Old Testament. In 2 Timothy 3:16-17 he makes it clear that the Old Testament is inspired by God and is “useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (NIV). For Paul then, the Old Testament is foundational for doing ministry. Paul also makes more use of the Old Testament than any other writer, quoting the Old Testament 90 times in his letters.
Reflect on the above in this week’s devotional forum by answering the following questions:
- How is a proper understanding of the Old Testament helpful for the believer today?
- Give an example from Scripture of the above question that is not from the devotional.
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