“The Promises … Yes in Him” (2 Cor 1:20) Yahweh’s promises (old and new) are vital for Christians. If we fail to trustingly embrace OT promises, we will lose three-fourths of the life-giving words of truth that our trustworthy God has given us. Yet we must appropriate them through Christ. “This Will Turn Out for […]

“Heirs according to Promise” (Gal 3:29) Paul claims, “All the promises of God find their Yes in [Jesus]” (2 Cor 1:20), but is he referring only to NT promises or OT promises as well? After citing a list of OT promises later in the epistle (6:16–18), he urges the Corinthians to pursue holiness “since we […]

“Your Promise Gives Me Life” (Ps 119:50) To promise is to assure that one will do a particular thing or that a certain thing will happen. God’s promises of blessing and curse play a key role in helping believers grow in sanctification (2 Pet 1:4) and suffer with hope (Ps 119:50). Promises are one of […]

“He Shall Bruise Your Head”(Gen 3:15) While Exodus–Deuteronomy details Israel’s calling as a holy nation (Exod 19:5–6), Genesis clarifies the global context of that calling and the hope of a royal Deliverer. Accordingly, it describes the initial two KINGDOM stages: Kickoff and Rebellion (creation, fall, flood) and Instrument of Blessing (the patriarchs). It also details […]

“And Beginning with Moses” (Luke 24:27) “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself” (Luke 24:27). The only Bible Jesus had was what we call the OT, and he believed that his Scriptures bore witness about him (John 5:39) and that everything they […]

“The Time is Fulfilled” (Mark 1:15) God’s Kingdom Program1 The kingdom that Christ proclaimed and fulfilled (Luke 4:43; Acts 1:3) relates to God’s reign over God’s people in God’s land for God’s glory. God reigns, saves, and satisfies through covenant for his glory in Christ. This theme stands at the core of God’s purposes from […]

“God’s Mystery, which is Christ” (Col 2:2) While the Old Testament prophets appear to have understood most of what they declared, God did not allow the majority of those in the old covenant to understand the prophets’ words (e.g., Isa 6:9–10). And as a judgment, the people’s blindness continued into the days of Christ (Matt […]

“You Will Understand This” (Jer 30:24) Our last post noted that the New Testament authors recognize that the Old Testament is Christian Scripture and that the Old Testament authors themselves knew full understanding of their words would come only in the messianic era. This post shows that the Old Testament itself affirms these views. The […]

“Serving Not Themselves” (1 Pet 1:12) According to the New Testament authors, the Old Testament authors knew that they were speaking and writing for new-covenant believers, and they also had some level of conscious awareness about who the Christ would be and when he would rise. With Christ’s coming, anticipation gives rise to fulfillment, and […]

“For Our Instruction” (Rom 15:4) Is Christ really part of the Old Testament? Should I as a believer in the twenty-first century claim Old Testament promises as mine? Does the Mosaic law still matter today for followers of Jesus? Is the Old Testament Christian Scripture, and if so, how should we approach it? This blog […]