The New Testament is the capstone of God’s revelation to man. Without it the story of redemption is incomplete. Everything set forth in the Old Testament in prophetic predictions, promises, types, and shadows comes to majestic fullness and fruition in Christ, the gospel, the church, and the New Testament as they display in radiant splendor God’s “eternal purpose which He accomplished in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Ephesians 3:11).
In the Old Testament, “it was symbolic for the present time in which both gifts and sacrifices are offered which cannot make him who performed the service perfect in regard to the conscience—concerned only with foods and drinks, various washings, and fleshly ordinances imposed until the time of reformation” (Hebrews 9:9–10).
The Old Testament worthies, as faithful as they were to God and the law un der which they lived, “did not receive the promise, God having provided some thing better for us, that they should not be made perfect apart from us” (Hebrews 11:39–40).
In the New Testament, we have the record of the birth, life, death, burial, resurrection, ascension, coronation, reign, and promised second coming of Christ. In the New Testament, we have the gospel plan of salvation clearly set forth. In the New Testament, we have the account of the be ginning of the church and the record of its early growth.
In the New Testament, we have instructions as to what the church is to be and how it is function until the end of the ages. In the New Testament, we have how we are to worship the Lord. In the New Testament, we have the doctrine of Christ, the doctrine of His inspired apostles, and the complete revelation of what we are to teach, believe, and practice religiously until the end of time. In the New Testament, we have divine instructions—both positive and negative—as to how we are to live as Christians. In the New Testament, we have in beautiful apocalyptic language the ultimate victory that the faithful people of God will experience. In short, in the New Testament, we have “the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3).
