Why is the Bible called the 《Old and New Testaments》?
By: Tin-chee Lo (盧天賜)
「約」是神與人交往的媒介. 神學家以「約的關係 (covenant relationship)」一詞來表達。「舊約」和「新約」不僅是指聖經的兩大部份，乃是實實在在地說聖經兩大部份的內容都是指神向人所立的約。所以和合本聖經的正統書名是《新舊約全書》，以強調兩部份聖經的內容都是上帝與人所立的「約」。
簡言之，舊約和新約之間的一個重要區別是：舊約強調上帝對人類的要求是遵守律法，而新約則突顯了耶穌基督已經滿足了這個要求。這個「滿足」就是指祂的救贖行為，即他為我們背負了罪惡，成為我們的代罪羔羊。因此，我們可以這樣說，「舊約是關於上帝要求人去做的 (使人知道自己無能)，而新約是關於耶穌為我們所做的 (使人知道只靠恩典)」。因為所「做」的內容沒有改變，區別是「誰做」。所以我們可以說，兩約是連續的，而非廢此留彼。奧古斯丁說，「舊的就是新的隱藏，新的就是舊的顯露。」這句話更顯出兩者的連續和相關性。
(來8:13) 「既說新約。就以前約為舊了。但那漸舊漸衰的、就必快歸無有了。」
希伯來書作者提出了「快歸無有」的定義，目的是說明從耶利米宣告新約的那一刻起，第一個約就已經死了。舊約的「漸舊漸衰」表明新約尚未完成，而是處于一個「已然, 未然」的狀態。但隨著舊約下生活的罪和死亡的舊秩序 (old order) 漸漸消失，它在上帝子民的經歷中變得越來越真實。 「漸」字強調啓示的漸進性。 「衰」字強調：耶穌既為我們做了，我們便不用再做了，我們這一方的工作衰敗了, 也徒然了。
然而耶穌的 「做」與我們的「不做」如何連結起來呢？ 研究這個「連結」就在教會歷史中發展了很多重要的教義，如：「雙重歸算論 (doctrine of double imputation)」， 「唯獨因信稱義 (justification by faith alone)」， 「唯獨恩典 (sola gratia)」等都是說明耶穌的「話語 (Word)」和「工作 (work)」與信徒的「相信 (faith)」的密切關係。
Why is the Bible called the 《Old and New Testaments》?
“Covenant” is the medium or bridge for communication between God and man. Theologians express it by the term “covenantal relationship”. “Old Testament” and “New Testament” not only are the two major parts of the Bible, but also two modes of contents concerning the relationship between God and man.
Therefore, the orthodox title of the Chinese Union Bible is <The Old and New Testaments> to emphasize that the contents of both parts of the Bible are two modes of the “covenants” established between God and man.
In a word, the important difference between the Old Testament and the New Testament is that the Old Testament emphasizes God’s requirement for humans to obey the law, while the New Testament highlights that Jesus Christ has satisfied this requirement.
This “satisfaction” refers to Christ’s act of redemption, that is, He became our scapegoat and bore our sins. Therefore, we can say, “The Old Testament is about what God asked people to do (making people aware of their own inability), while the New Testament is about what Jesus has done for us (making people aware of the necessity of God’s grace).”
Because the content of the “doing” has not changed, the distinction becomes the question of “who does it.” Therefore, we can say that the two covenants are seamlessly continuous, rather than abolishing one and adopting the other. Augustine said, “The Old is the New concealed, the New is the Old revealed.” This quotation further shows the continuity between the two.
Hebrews 8:13 says, “By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. (NIV)
The author advances a definition of “obsolete” in order to say that the first covenant was as good as dead from the moment Jeremiah announced the new, implying that the new covenant has already began at Jeremiah’s time but it has not yet been fully consummated. Though it is not here in all of its fullness, it is becoming ever more real in the experience of God’s people as the old order of sin and death that characterized life under the old covenant continues to pass away. The new covenant is in the state of Already-but-Not-Yet even in the old covenant time.
But how does Jesus’ “DO” connect with our “NOT-DO”? Studying this connection has led to the development of many important doctrines throughout church history. Such as doctrines of
- double imputation,
- justification by faith alone, and
- grace alone (sola gratia), etc.
All these illustrate the close relationship between Jesus’s Word and Work, and believers’ Faith.
