The Old Testament Witness to Christ and His Kingdom, Student Workbook, SW09

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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

Jesus of Nazareth Is the Fulfillment of the OT Precepts, Types, and Forecasts

Christ at once sums up in himself the perfection of the Old Testament precepts, the substance of the Old Testament shadows and types, and the fulfillment of Old Testament forecasts. Those truths about him which bud forth in the Old Testament come into full bloom in the New Testament; the flashlight of prophetic truth turns into the floodlight of divine revelation. The Old Testament foreshadows find their fulfillment in the New Testament in several ways: (1) The moral precepts of the Old Testament become fulfilled or perfected in the life and teachings of Christ. (2) The ceremonial and typical truths were only shadows of the true substance to be found in Christ. (3) The Messianic prophecies foretold in the Old Testament were finally fulfilled in the history of the New Testament. In each of these relationships it can be seen that the Testaments are inseparably connected. The New is not only supplementary to the Old but it is the necessary complement to it. As the book of Hebrews puts it, “God had foreseen something better for us, that apart from us they [Old Testament believers] should not be made perfect” (Heb. 11.40). For what was contained in the Old Testament is fully explained only in the New Testament.

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~ Norman Geisler. To Understand the Bible Look for Jesus . Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock Publishers, 2002. p. 68.

A. Through the promise, the one true God reveals his intention for his universe to his own people (it is personal revelation).

1. He discloses himself in the revelation; the promise concentrates first and foremost on the nature of who God is.

2. He provides us with the ability to know what he is revealing.