The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Mentor's Guide, MG09

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T H E O L D T E S T A M E N T W I T N E S S T O C H R I S T A N D H I S K I N G D O M

6. How can it be said that the OT is the ineffective former revelation of God’s salvation, of which the NT is the consummated latter of that same salvation in Jesus? 7. In what sense does the NT make available for all people what was particularized to Israel in the OT? Explain. 8. How does the motif of promise and fulfillment affirm how the entire Bible can be understood as God making his promise for salvation which is fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth? Explain. 9. What are the central texts which affirm how the OT’s theme and subject is the person of Messiah fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ? How is this theme developed and laid out in the OT?

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The Promise Given

Segment 2: The Ancient Hope of a Saving Seed

Rev. Dr. Don L. Davis

The major motif that links all biblical revelation in Scripture is the promise and fulfillment motif. This theme affirms the unity of Scripture; God intends to reveal himself and redeem his people through the seed, the one promised to Abraham and his descendants. This seed is fulfilled in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The seminal text in Scripture outlining the promise is the protoevangelium , the first telling of the Gospel in Genesis 3.15. Here God promises the certainty of hostility between the serpent and the woman and their respective “seeds,” the bruising of the heel of the woman’s seed, and the crushing of the serpents head by the seed. In the NT, Jesus of Nazareth is revealed to be this divine seed commissioned to destroy the devil’s work and to redeem humankind to God. Yahweh’s covenant promise with Abraham serves as progressive continuation of God’s divine promise for a Savior. In his covenant with Abraham, God promised to supply him a “seed” who would bring redemption and restoration to Abraham’s descendants and all the nations of the earth. In the NT, Jesus of Nazareth is declared to be the seed of Abraham, the restorer and redeemer of creation and the world.

Summary of Segment 2