When the Old Testament Became Christian: A Puritan Perspective
The relationship between the Old and New Testaments has been a subject of profound theological reflection for centuries. For the Puritans, the continuity and fulfillment of the Old Testament in Christ was not only a matter of doctrinal importance but also a cornerstone of their faith and worship. They viewed the Old Testament as fully part of the Christian canon, understanding that the promises, types, shadows, and prophecies within the Old Testament find their true meaning and fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. This article explores how the Puritans viewed the transformation of the Old Testament into a Christian book, how they understood Christ’s fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, and the impact of this perspective on their theological thought and pastoral ministry.
The Old Testament as a Christian Book: A Puritan Foundation
To the Puritans, the Old Testament was not a book merely for Jews or for a distant era. Rather, it was an essential part of the Christian faith. For them, the Scriptures were a unified whole, culminating in the person of Jesus Christ. They saw the Old Testament as a rich repository of types, shadows, and prophecies that pointed directly to Christ, and thus, they understood the Old Testament through the lens of Christian revelation.
Thomas Watson, in his Body of Divinity, famously wrote that the Old Testament “was written for our instruction,” pointing out that the Old Testament Scriptures were not confined to a particular ethnic or historical context but were foundational for all believers. The Puritans, like their Reformed forebears, emphasized that the Old Testament could not be severed from the New Testament; rather, the two were integrally connected in the story of God’s redemptive work. They believed that the Old Testament had always been designed to lead the faithful toward Christ, and it was in the fullness of time that Christ came to fulfill what had been promised.
John Owen, one of the Puritans’ most influential theologians, articulated this view with clarity in his works. Owen saw the Old Testament as a preparation for Christ’s coming, stating that the entire economy of Israel, with its laws, sacrifices, and prophecies, served as a “pedagogue” (a tutor or guide) to lead people to Christ. In his monumental work The Hebrews, Owen argued that all of the Old Testament was “fulfilled in Christ,” both in terms of the ceremonial law (which pointed forward to Christ’s perfect sacrifice) and the moral law (which Christ fully embodied in His perfect obedience). Owen emphasized that the Old Testament’s sacrifices, priesthood, and temple were “shadows” that ultimately found their substance in Christ.
Christ, the Fulfillment of the Law and Prophets
For the Puritans, the idea that Christ fulfilled the Old Testament was foundational to their understanding of Scripture. They did not view the Old Testament as a mere historical record of ancient Israel; rather, they saw it as the stage upon which Christ’s redemptive work would be revealed. The Puritans were particularly concerned with understanding how Christ fulfilled the prophecies and promises made to Israel, and they recognized that His coming was the fulfillment of God’s covenantal promises.
One of the key doctrines that the Puritans emphasized was that of Christ as the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets. In his famous sermon The Glory of Christ, John Owen expounded on Christ’s fulfillment of the Old Testament by demonstrating that the whole of the Old Testament was a prophetic witness to Christ’s person and work. Owen wrote, “The whole of the Old Testament is a prophecy of the coming Christ… Everything in the Old Testament points forward to Him, and He fulfills all the promises made to the fathers.”
The Puritans saw Jesus Christ not as an afterthought or a revision of God’s plan but as the culmination of God’s redemptive purpose. In fact, the Puritans believed that the Old Testament, rather than being irrelevant to the Christian faith, was foundational to understanding Christ’s life and work. Richard Baxter, another important Puritan pastor, taught that Christ’s coming did not mark a break with the Old Testament but its fulfillment. Baxter argued that the Old Testament pointed forward to Christ’s “mediatorial kingdom,” which was inaugurated in His earthly ministry and would be consummated at His second coming.
Types, Shadows, and Prophecies: The Old Testament as Christ-Centered
One of the most distinctive features of Puritan theology was its Christocentric interpretation of Scripture. The Puritans believed that the entire Old Testament was designed to point forward to Christ. This Christ-centered hermeneutic allowed the Puritans to view the Old Testament as fully relevant to the Christian life and faith. Every detail of the Old Testament, from the types and shadows of the sacrificial system to the prophetic writings, was seen as revealing Christ in some way.
The Puritans’ understanding of Old Testament types is perhaps best illustrated through their view of the sacrifices and rituals found in the Mosaic Law. In his work The Works of Thomas Watson, Watson explained that the Old Testament sacrificial system was not merely a series of ceremonies for the Israelites but a divine prefiguration of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. He wrote, “The sacrifices of the Old Testament were but shadows of the sacrifice of Christ… The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sin, but Christ, the Lamb of God, came to fulfill what the sacrifices pointed to.” The Puritans believed that Christ was the ultimate Sacrifice, the true Lamb of God, whose death on the cross fulfilled the shadows of the Old Testament sacrifices once and for all.
Similarly, Puritan theologians saw the figures of the Old Testament—whether kings, prophets, or priests—as types of Christ. David, for example, was viewed as a type of Christ the King, ruling over His people, while the high priests served as types of Christ’s eternal priesthood. In the Puritan imagination, the entire history of Israel was a picture of God’s redemptive plan, with each element finding its fulfillment in Christ. Christ was not only the fulfillment of specific prophecies but also the culmination of the broader narrative of Israel’s history.
John Owen, in his Commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews, emphasized that Christ fulfilled the types of the Old Testament in a way that surpassed the original. The sacrifices, the priesthood, the temple—all of these were meant to serve as “shadows” that would be fully realized in Christ. Owen argued that the New Covenant inaugurated by Christ was a superior covenant because it brought about the reality that the Old Testament only hinted at. The Old Testament, with its laws and rituals, was never meant to save, but to point to Christ, the Savior who would bring the fullness of redemption.
The Continuity of the Old Testament and the Christian Faith
The Puritans also believed in the essential continuity between the Old and New Testaments. This belief was rooted in their understanding of God’s unchanging nature and the continuity of His covenantal promises. The Puritans rejected the notion that the Old Testament had been superseded or abandoned with the coming of Christ. Instead, they believed that the Old Testament had been fulfilled in Christ, but it remained an essential part of the Christian faith.
This continuity between the Old and New Testaments had profound implications for how the Puritans viewed the Christian life. They saw themselves as part of the same covenantal people as the Israelites, grafted into the promises made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob through their faith in Christ. As Owen wrote in The Death of Death in the Death of Christ, “Christ is the fulfillment of all God’s promises to Israel, and the blessings promised to them are ours in Him.”
Richard Sibbes, another Puritan theologian, elaborated on this point in his writings. Sibbes emphasized that the promises of the Old Testament were not nullified by Christ’s coming but rather were fulfilled in a richer and fuller way. The Old Testament, according to Sibbes, provided the foundation upon which the New Testament revelations rested. The Puritans believed that understanding the Old Testament was vital for understanding the fullness of God’s redemptive plan in Christ.
The Old Testament and Christian Worship
For the Puritans, the fulfillment of the Old Testament in Christ also had profound implications for Christian worship. The Puritans believed that the whole of the Old Testament worship system was fulfilled in Christ’s once-for-all sacrifice. The Puritans were insistent that the central focus of Christian worship was the person and work of Christ. Just as the Old Testament pointed forward to Christ, so Christian worship was a continual remembrance of what Christ had done for His people.
The Puritans rejected the idea of continuing Old Testament rituals or sacrifices in Christian worship. They understood that the ceremonial laws had been fulfilled in Christ, and now believers were to worship God in spirit and truth, with Christ as the central focus. As John Owen stated, “Christ’s sacrifice has made all other sacrifices unnecessary, and now the worship of God is to be offered in Christ alone.”
Conclusion: The Old Testament as Christian Scripture
The Puritans saw the Old Testament as an integral part of Christian Scripture. They believed that the Old Testament was not just the history of a people but the story of God’s redemptive plan, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. The Old Testament pointed forward to Christ in prophecies, types, and shadows, and Christ’s coming brought that fulfillment. For the Puritans, understanding the Old Testament was crucial to understanding the person and work of Christ, and it was essential for living out the Christian faith. The Old Testament, in their view, was not a separate, disconnected part of the Bible but a deeply Christian book, revealing the glory of God and the plan of redemption that reaches its fulfillment in Christ.
