Day 40: The Unity of Scripture, One Story, One Savior

Scripture
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Matthew 5:17 ESV

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.” Luke 24:27 ESV

Confessional Summary
The Westminster Confession of Faith teaches that although the manner of God’s administration of His covenant changed across time, the substance of that covenant remained one and the same. “This covenant was differently administered in the time of the law, and in the time of the gospel… There are not therefore two covenants of grace, differing in substance, but one and the same, under various dispensations” (WCF 7.5–6).

The Belgic Confession explains the place of the ceremonial elements of the law now that Christ has come. “The ceremonies and symbols of the law ceased at the coming of Christ, and all the shadows are accomplished… Yet the truth and substance of them remain with us in Jesus Christ, in whom they have their completion” (Belgic Confession, Article 25).

The Second Helvetic Confession likewise affirms the perfect harmony of the Testaments. “The Old Testament is not contrary to the New, but they agree in all things. For in the Old Testament the New is promised and prefigured, and in the New Testament the Old is revealed and explained” (Second Helvetic Confession, Chapter 13).

The Reformers read the Bible as one story with one Author. They refused to split God in two, as if the Old Testament revealed a harsher deity and the New a kinder one. They insisted that the grace of God is not a late invention. It is present from the beginning and unfolds by promise until it arrives in fulfillment.

Reflection
In Matthew 5:17, Jesus is correcting a common instinct of treating the Old Testament as a rough draft that the New Testament fixes. Many imagine that the New Testament corrects or replaces the Old. Yet Jesus chooses the word “fulfill.” The difference is that which exists between seed and ripe harvest. He did not arrive to discard the Law or the Prophets. He came to embody the very reality toward which they pointed. The Old Testament stands as the sure foundation that finds its completion in Him.

Luke 24:27 reveals the true manner of reading Holy Scripture. On the road to Emmaus the resurrected Jesus instructed two disciples. He did not merely select a handful of obviously messianic texts. The evangelist records that He began with Moses and continued through all the Prophets, showing in every part of Scripture the things concerning Himself.

The Old Testament is therefore far more than a record of ancient Israel or a storehouse of moral instruction. It consists of shadows that receive their substance in Christ. The exodus from Egypt foreshadows our deliverance from the bondage of sin. The tabernacle and temple anticipate the dwelling of God among His people in the person of Jesus and the Holy Spirit. But restraint matters. Not every detail is a secret code. We are looking for covenant promises, recurring types, and fulfilled prophecies, not free-association.

If the Old Testament appears to us as nothing more than rules or distant history, we have failed to perceive the central figure whom Jesus declares to be present throughout its pages.

Application
When you open an Old Testament passage in the coming days, pause to consider how it discloses the character of God or carries forward His redemptive promises. Then ask how our Lord Jesus brings that passage to its appointed end.

Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank You for being the center of Your Word. Forgive me for treating the Old Testament like optional reading when it is the very book You claimed as Your own. Give me wisdom to see how every promise You made to Your people finds its fulfillment in You. Help me to trust the unity of Your word and speak to me today through it. Amen.