December 31, 2018
THE GOD OF THE OLD IS THE GOD OF THE NEW
As the Old Testament closes with the writings of the prophet Malachi, the Lord reminded the descendants of Jacob of His immutability. People today often wonder at this. How can the God that judged the world with a devastating deluge be the same God who so loved the world that He sent His only begotten to save it?
The immutability of God is better understood when we see the Bible as a progressive revelation of God. Page by page, as we read from Genesis to Revelation, we learn more about God. Finally, the fullest revelation of God is seen in Jesus. As the author of Hebrews wrote, “Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the prophets. And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son… The Son radiates God’s own glory and expresses the very character of God” (Heb. 1:1-3). As Jesus told His disciples, “Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father” (John 14:9).
The new covenant of grace, which was introduced in the New Testament, is not evidence of any change in the God who gave Moses the Law. On the contrary, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Law and the prophets. God gave the law to reveal His holiness and our sinfulness that we might repent. God gave us Jesus to pay for our sins that we might believe in Him and be saved.
God’s immutability is better understood when we read the Bible from back to front, rather than front to back. Indeed, God and His Word are only rightly understood by reading through the lens of Jesus. For Jesus is the “image of the invisible God” (Col. 1:15). He is the Word made flesh (John 1:14). Jesus Christ is “the same yesterday and today and forever” (Heb.13:8).