The Old Testament, New Testament and God

1. The OldTestament, the NewTestament andGod – 15th
October 2016
“There are differentkindsof working,but in all of them andin everyone it isthe same Godat work”(
1 Corinthians12:6).
Many have inquiredasto whyGod isdepicteddifferentlyinthe Oldand inthe New testaments Onthe
surface,God inthe OldTestamentappearstobe radicallydifferentthaninthe New Testament.Inthe
OldTestament,He appearspowerful,holy,punishing, angry,andjealous.Inthe New,inthe formof
Jesus,He appearskind,loving,meek,andforgiving.How dowe reconcile the powerful Deitythat
orderedthe destructionof countlesscitieswiththe kneelingJesuswho evendefended anadulterous
womanbeingstonedtodeath?
At the veryheartof thisquestionliesafundamental misunderstandingof whatboththe Oldand New
Testamentsreveal aboutthe nature of God.Anotherwayof expressingthissame basicthoughtiswhen
people say,“The Godof the OldTestamentisa God of wrathwhile the Godof the New Testamentisa
God of love.”The factthat the Bible isGod’sprogressive revelationof Himself tousthroughhistorical
eventsandthroughHisrelationshipwithpeople throughouthistorymightcontribute tomisconceptions
aboutwhat God islike inthe OldTestamentascomparedto the New Testament.However,whenone
readsboth the Oldand the NewTestaments,itbecomesevidentthatGodisnot differentfromone
testamenttoanotherandthat God’s wrathand His love are revealedinbothtestaments.We must
knowthat God isthe same then, nowand foreveraswe can learnfrom 1 Corinthians12:6, “There are
differentkinds ofworking,but in all of them and ineveryone it isthe same Godat work”.
For example,throughoutthe OldTestament,Godisdeclaredtobe a “compassionate andgraciousGod,
slowto anger,aboundinginlove andfaithfulness,” We can learnthisfrom Joel 2:13 “Rend your heart
and notyour garments. Return to the LORD your God,forhe isgraciousand compassionate,slowto
anger andaboundinginlove, andhe relents from sendingcalamity”. We can alsolearnsimilar
teachingsfromthe OldTestamentwhenwe read Numbers14:18; Deuteronomy4:31; Nehemiah9:17;
Psalm 86:5, 15; 108:4; 145:8; Yetin the New Testament,God’sloving-kindnessandmercyare
manifestedevenmore fully whenwe learnthe factthat“Godso lovedthe worldthat he gave his one
and onlySon,that whoever believes in himshall not perishbut have eternal life” (John3:16).
Throughoutthe OldTestament,we alsosee GoddealingwithIsrael the same wayalovingfatherdeals
witha child.WhentheywillfullysinnedagainstHimandbegantoworshipidols,Godpunishedthem.
Yet,we can learnthateach time He woulddeliverthemonce theyhadrepentedof theiridolatry.Thisis
much the same wayGod dealswithChristiansinthe New Testament.Forexample we canreadfrom
Hebrews 12:6 “…becausethe Lord disciplinesthe one he loves,and he chastenseveryone he accepts as
hisson”.
In a similarway,throughoutthe OldTestamentwe see God’sjudgmentandwrathpouredouton sin.
Likewise,inthe NewTestamentwe see thatthe wrathof God isstill “beingrevealedfromheaven
againstall the godlessnessandwickednessof menwhosuppressthe truthbytheirwickedness” We can
readthis in Romans1:18, “The wrath ofGod isbeing revealed fromheaven againstall the godlessness
and wickednessof people,who suppressthe truth by their wickedness”.So,clearly,Godisno different
inthe OldTestamentthanHe is inthe New Testament.GodbyHis verynature is immutable
(unchanging).While we mightsee one aspectof Hisnature revealedincertainpassagesof Scripture
more than otheraspects,God Himself doesnotchange.

2. As we readand studythe Bible,itbecomesclearthatGod isthe same inthe Oldand New Testaments.
Eventhoughthe Bible is66 individualbookswrittenontwo(orpossiblythree) continents,inthree
differentlanguages,overaperiodof approximately1500 yearsby more than 40 authors…it remains
one unifiedbookfrombeginningtoendwithoutcontradiction.Initwe see how a loving,merciful,and
justGod dealswithsinful meninall kindsof situations.
Truly,the Bible isGod’slove lettertomankind.God’slove forHiscreation,especiallyformankind,is
evidentall throughScripture.Throughoutthe Bible we seeGodlovinglyandmercifullycallingpeople
intoa special relationshipwithHimself,notbecause theydeserve it,butbecause He isa graciousand
merciful God,slowtoangerand abundantinloving-kindnessandtruth.Yetwe alsosee a holyand
righteousGodwhois the Judge of all those whodisobeyHis teachings andrefuse toworshipHim,
turninginsteadtoworshipgodsof theirowncreation.We can read in Romans 1:22-23, “Althoughthey
claimedto be wise, they became fools 23
andexchanged the gloryof the immortal Godfor images
made to looklike a mortal humanbeingand birdsand animalsandreptiles”.
Because of God’s righteousandholycharacter,all sin—past,present,andfuture—mustbe judged.Yet
God inHis infinite love hasprovidedapaymentforsinanda wayof reconciliationsothatsinful mancan
escape Hiswrath.We see thiswonderful truthin 1 John4:10: “Thisis love:not that we loved God,but
that he loved us andsent his Sonas an atoningsacrificefor our sins...” Inthe OldTestament,God
providedasacrificial systemwherebyatonementcouldbe made forsin.However,thissacrificialsystem
was onlytemporaryandmerelylookedforwardtothe comingof JesusChristwhowoulddie onthe
cross to make a complete substitutionaryatonementforsin.
The Saviorwho waspromisedinthe OldTestamentisfullyrevealedinthe New Testament.Only
envisionedinthe OldTestament,the ultimate expressionof God’slove,the sendingof HisSonJesus
Christ,isrevealedinall itsgloryinthe New Testament.Boththe Oldandthe New Testamentswere
given“tomake us wise untosalvation” aswe learnfrom 2 Timothy3:15, “…andhowfrom infancyyou
have knownthe Holy Scriptures,whichare ableto make youwise for salvationthroughfaithinChrist
Jesus”.Whenwe studythe Testamentsclosely,itisevidentthatGod“doesnotchange like shifting
shadows”as statedin James 1:17, “Every goodand perfect gift is fromabove, comingdownfrom the
Father of the heavenlylights,who does notchange like shiftingshadows”.