Living Waters Wednesday Teaching C. Holoman-3 October 1, 2008

Continuing from the Book of Hebrews..

Hebrews 2:5 For it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking.

Hebrews 2:6 It has been testified somewhere, "What is man that thou art mindful of him, or the son of man, that thou carest for him? 7 Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels, thou hast crowned him with glory and honor, 8 putting everything in subjection under his feet.".. From Psalms 8:4-6 Greek LXX

Ps 8:5 Thou didst make him for a little while lower than the angels,.. Greek LXX as quoted in Hebrew 2:8 Ps 8:5 Yet thou hast made him little less than God,.. Quoted from Hebrew text which was the source for the Greek LXX.

Psalm 8:4 what is man that thou art mindful of him, and the son of man that thou dost care for him? 5 Yet thou hast made him little less than God, and dost crown him with glory and honor. 6 Thou hast given him dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet,

NOTE: That although only Ps 8:4-6 is quoted in Hebrews 2:6-7; the whole of Ps 8 is brought into the Hebrews picture. (could read) Thus the Old Testament passage is foundational to understand the New Testament reasoning and conclusion in Hebrews 2:8-9.

My book project… Dealing with the resistance when New Testament material is perceived as irrelevant Old Testament material. The basic question is: How should we relate the Old Testament to the New Testament

My problem During the life of Jesus, the ‘Acts church’ and the time period when the core of our New Testament books were being written, the feasts of Passover, Pentecost, Booths and others were observed at their maximum historical intensity.

Let me say that again: The feasts of Passover, Pentecost, Booths and perhaps others were more intensely celebrated in New Testament times than Old Testament times. And evidence points to the early church being genuinely involved. They belong as much to New Testament times as to the Old Testament times.

My problem Yet when I present the ministry of these feasts, I encounter feelings that the feast are ‘Jewish-another religion’ as opposed to New Testament, hence a dimension of biblical Christianity.

My problem The basic question is: How should we relate the Old Testament to the New Testament? It is not that I don’t know the answer, It is that I still struggle with overcoming the resistance to the answer.

Sharing a try

The way in which the Old Testament is absorbed in the New is the logical end of a process initiated by the Old Testament itself, and that its teaching is to some extent repeated in this final reinterpretation.”

“For the first Christians the Old Testament was not the official writings of a religion; it was holy scripture; Therefore the only possibility is to ask whether the Old Testament begins to speak with a new voice in the light of Christ’s revelation. Down to the present day the Churches in their Confessions have put the Old Testament on the same level as the New as a book which contains a God-given revelation; no differences is made between either the inspirational source of the Testaments or their character of being the absolute doctrinal standard.”

In view of the way in which the Old Testament and New Testament saving events interpret one another, the process is perfectly consistent. It is simple fact that Christian faith can express itself, and indeed elucidate itself, in material drawn from the Old Testament as well as from the New….It is as if Christ himself were entering in the Old Testament events, expanding their meaning, and extending their reference.

But it is equally true the Old Testament saving events provided an understanding of the saving event of Christ’s coming. Each Testament legitimates the other. The Old Testament is to be understood in the light of Christ, and we need the Old Testament to understand Christ.

I suppose it is enough to say the Christianity has never cut itself off from the Old Testament. Attempts to do so have not succeeded in dimming the illumination which Old Testament concepts bring to our understanding of Christ. Moreover, these concepts are unconsciously preserved in our Christian confessions of faith and theology.

The Old Testament may still be heard in our hymns, our church services, and not least in the New Testament itself. In this respect the Old Testament heritage in present-day theology is probably much greater than people are aware. But the strongest resistance to any idea of abandoning the Old Testament comes from the New Testament itself.

Acts 20:27 for I (Paul) did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. …. 32 And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. All this before there was any text we could call the New Testament.

Planned End Oct 1, 2008

Hebrews 2:8 putting everything in subjection under his feet." Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. As it is, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. 9 But we see Jesus, who for a little while was made lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for every one.