As we look into this; one of the questions I like to get settled before we begin is this. Have you settled you own mind around the fact that the Bible, a stand alone book id literally God infallible word? Today, It’s not just the Old testament or, just the New Testament that is God’s infallible word but, it’s complete book and only that book. We can add nothing nor can we take away anything from that fact. Is that fact settled in you heart?

There are people that can write great teachings, say great things but, it all must be within the premise that it all centers on the fact that it’s based on what is said in these 66 books that make up God’s word. Do you realize that even the letters and writings in the New Testament are founded in the Old Testament? Even the fact that there is a New Testament is pictured in the Old Testament.

There are people and religions that only use either, the Old or the New Testament but, without even realizing it that is an impossible task. If you teach either part in its entirety you have no choice but to recognize both. They are one, revealing who God is in two different aspects. Look at this verse: ( Hebrews 10:7 ) Then said, I, Lo, I come ( in the volume of the book it is written of me, ) to do thy will, O God. Guess what? That verse is a quote from the Old Testament. ( Psalms 40: 7 ) Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me.

I guess I’ll have to go back to my former question; do you truly desire to know all of God or, are you satisfied with just a part of him?

Let’s look at you from a spiritual perspective. Whether we admit it or not if you do not know Jesus Christ as your savior, if you haven’t been born again, you are, at this present time living under the Old Testament economy. That is, in the sense you are guilty under that law. The law of the Old Testament. Even you, if you have any credibility of honesty will have to admit that fact. Why do I say that? It’s because, even you will have to admit that the law shows you guilt on your part. AS you read the simple Ten Commandments you can see that you have fallen short on, if you are like most other people, most of them. They show you that you have sinned.

The word of God is ( the volume of a book ) that is written of him. That is both, the Old and New Testament. If you have been born again, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ then that very act make you part of the New Testament. That is, who you now are. The New Testament was in the Old Testament, just as the Old Testament is in the New Testament.

There were people that understood that God would send a perfect lamb to be sacrificed for their sins all the way back through the Old Testament. To put it another way; The Old Testament saints looked forward to the day that Jesus Christ would be sacrificed and we, the believers of this day look back to the day he was sacrificed. The death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ marks that day when that transition happened.

Let’s look at a picture of this and a believer of this in the Old Testament. ( Genesis 22 :1-2 ) And it came to pass after these things, that God did tempt Abraham, and said unto him, Abraham, and he said, Behold, here am I. ( 2 ) And he said, Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thy lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains which I will tell thee of.

You can read this whole account but, we see here where Abraham did go as far as drawing the knife back to kill his son but, God stayed his hand. In this picture, here’s what we see. As Abraham was taking his son up to that mountain; that’s a type of the believers in the Old Testament looking forward to the day that Jesus would be crucified, as he and Isaac was coming back down that mountain; that’s a type of, we the believers of today looking back to what happened on Calvary.

Abraham knew what God had promised him, he knew that even if he killed Isaac, God would have to raise him from the dead to keep that promise. That’s faith. In the mind of God, Abraham did kill his son. It’s the faithful mindset that God desires, and that in each born again believer.

Now as we try to draw a comparison yet, a difference between the two parts of scripture; we must decide what we want to most in our own selves. The whole Old Testament is all about God choosing a people and those people following his will. The Nation of Israel is a picture of who we are in our flesh. Let’s look at two verses of scripture; one in the Old Testament and one in the New Testament. ( 1 Samuel 15:22 ) And Samuel said, hath the Lord as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying the voice of the Lord? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams. ( Galatians 3:24 ) Wherefore the law was our school master to bring us unto Christ, that we might be Justified by faith.

So, the Old testament paints a picture of how the flesh of man reacts to the law of God, it always fails. God’s desire is for all men to see that fact. In reality, what we see in ( 1 Samuel ) is what God still desires in the New Testament. When God looks at you, just as he looked at the Nation of Israel he sees failure as it relates to sacrifice, we fail to measure up in our flesh. He’s saying that being obedient to him is better than all the sacrifice we can offer.

Let’s say we actually could keep the ten commandments. Sacrifice all that we desire in our flesh but, we never do one thing God asked us to do beyond the fact that we look at ourselves as perfect, we sacrificed but we were not obedient.

Let’s use Jonah as an example. I don’t suppose that we can prove this but, let’s say that Jonah did all the sacrifices that God commanded him to do. As far as the law and his ability to cover all that God commanded him to do, he done it all. However, God spoke to Jonah and asked him to go to Nineveh. Jonah refused. How much good was all the sacrifice he made if he wasn’t willing to hear God’s voice and do the will of God. WE can read this account in the book of Jonah.

The New Testament reveals to whom it is that actually makes the sacrifice. That person is God the Father and always has been. All the law ever done or existed for was to show us that we could not sacrifice as we should. In the Old Testament, didn’t Israel have to believe by faith that God excepted the blood of the lamb that was slain for their sins of that year? By faith they had to trust what God told them to do. In the New Testament don’t we have to trust by faith that Jesus was that perfect sacrifice?

In the Old Testament God spoke and it was up to his people to listen and be obedient. In the New Testament the Holy Spirit speaks to the heart of individual people and It’s our responsibility to hear that voice and be obedient. In the Old Testament, God used a man such as Moses to speak to his people, they were to hear that man and yield to the will of God, they didn’t. Now, although we have men to instruct us, that’s not all God desires for us to hear. His spirit, the same spirit that the man speaking has to guide him, also desire to speak to our hearts. His desire is for each of us to yield to that same spirit. We are not to just hear what that man says but, on our own learn to follow his will for ourselves.

There is no end to what can be said about the Old and New Testament. The book of Hebrews gives us a glimpse into what I’m trying to say. If we read that book we see a term such as this very often ( a better way ). I’ll just use this one verse to make the point; ( Hebrews 8:6 ) But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. This is just one of the verses you can find in Hebrews that shows us a better way.

The book of Hebrews is written to Jewish believers. They were leaving to old way and now having to except the new way.

I’m going to make a spiritual point here and we’ll move on to something else. All through the Bible God is showing us two entities. The first is always the flesh that is weak and fails, the second is always to spirit man and how God desires to lead that aspect of our lives. In this I always use the picture of Adam and Eve and there first three sons. We see in Genesis where there first born was Cain, he’s a type of the flesh, our flesh. Then we see a man called Abel . Typically we can say he is a type of the nation of Israel and how they allowed their flesh to destroy their ability to follow the will of God as he sought to lead them by his spirit. Then we see another son that is born to Adam and Eve, This son is Seth. He is the spirit man of this picture. If you choose to study this out you will notice that this man is the man wee see, his seed, that God uses all through journey to Jesus Christ.

We see the same picture in the New Testament. We, as individuals are weak through our flesh. Our first birthday is that of the flesh. Our second birthday is the day we are born again and, that new birth is the part of us that God desires to use for his glory. That spirit just happens to be placed in a frail sinful body. It becomes our responsibility to allow that spirit to speak through our lips of clay.

We see in the Old Testament that God chose the nation Of Israel as his body of flesh, so to speak. That nation was not willing to allow God to speak through them. They refused to yield to the will of God. We must remember that the Nation of Israel was made up of individuals that had to make a choice. However, as a nation they did not seek to do the will of God. Now in the New Testament we see a different body, we call it the Church. It also is made up of individuals, each of which has to decide for themselves to yield to that same spirit.

One main difference in the administration of that spirit is that, in the Old Testament a man spoke what God desired for a nation to do and they had to hear that man. In the New Testament that spirit abides in every born again believer. Where we might have a pastor to speak to a Church, each person has an opportunity to hear for themselves and act as God leads that particular individual.

There’s no end to what we can study. However I want to give you something to think about. We see a picture here as well. The nation of Israel was born first, a type of the flesh and an unwillingness of that flesh to yield to God’s spirit. Then, we see the Church, being born second. We can take scripture and prove that the nation of Israel is, one day going to inherit this earth. The body of Christ ( the Church ) will have a city far above this earth ( the city of gold ) Jesu Christ will be our husband, we will be his bride. The Bible says that this earth will be his footstool. You can read all you choose to into that and, study through scripture and learn but the fact we see here is that again, just as the last born in the Old Testament was the man that the spirit of God used and not the first will also play out in eternity.

We will continue as we continue to study.