“God,
who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the
fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His
Son…” (Heb. 1:1-2). God has spoken, revealed Himself to mankind,
on two distinct occasions, the context not implying two singular
speakings but rather two time periods of speaking with distinct
methodologies and purposes. “In these last days” since the coming
of Christ (implied) -- the writer of Hebrews has now stepped past the
cross into the end times, the church age – God has spoken again,
and this time He has “spoken to us.” Today, “us” is still
“us”. The writer views history, as it relates to divine
revelation, as two time periods, “in time past” and “in these
last days.”
The
Old Testament is God’s self-disclosure; it is God telling man about
Himself: The main character is God, the setting is God’s covenant
with His chosen people and the speaker is God. It is the revelation
of God revealed through man, history and Israel – who He is, His
attitudes, attributes, likes, dislikes, what He tolerates, His
powers, what He does and how He responds to the human condition –
within the legal parameters of the covenant He makes with Israel.
The Old Testament reveals to mankind God’s character and nature,
His desire for relationship and holiness, and His judgment against
sin, within the context of His covenant people, Israel, and His Law.
The
New Testament is God speaking forth the revelation of His Son. The
prophets spoke as mere mouthpieces, but when the Son spoke it was God
Himself speaking, and in a sense it is God being revealed By His Son
in and through the Son’s life, the Son’s message, the Son’s
redemptive work and the Son’s return to establish His (i.e.,
God’s) eternal Kingdom. The New Testament reveals to mankind God’s
redemptive plan established before the foundations of the world with
the foreordained sacrifice of the Son of His love, that we, the “us”
of Hebrews 1:2, might be partakers of salvation and know eternal
fellowship with God through His covenant of Grace – His
indescribable grace.
It is therefore contextually
correct to interpret Hebrews 1:1 and 2 as directly referencing the
Old Testament and New Testament respectively. The foundation of each
covenant is a book, and in each book it is God speaking. The primary
reason there are two books is to define these two uniquely different
covenants, which are people and time specific. Embedded in the Old
Testament historical narratives is a wealth of rich insight into the
character and nature of God, providing valuable principles and
lessons for living the Christ-life. The Law teaches us about the
character of the Lawgiver. The wisdom of Proverbs provides practical
moral and spiritual guidance, God’s ageless wisdom to live by, and
the Worship Books provide revelation of a relational God, inspiring
models of how to communicate with and worship God. This is not the
substance of doctrine but rather tools, crib notes, for being a
delight to our loving Father. The “new and better covenant” has
new and better commandments to regulate the Christian life on the
road to eternity with God. All New Testament doctrine must be based
on New Testament writings – one wouldn’t use a California Roadmap
to travel Missouri – new wineskins require new wine. Any
theological precepts or principles drawn from the Old Testament must
be filtered through the cross, the new covenant teachings, which will
either accept them, modify them, or reject them.
“FOR YOU ARE NOT UNDER LAW BUT UNDER GRACE”
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