Many people wonder why the Bible is divided into two parts — the Old Testament and the New Testament. It’s a good question, because understanding this division helps us see how God’s plan of salvation unfolds like a great story — one that begins with promise and finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.
When we speak of the Old Testament, we’re talking about the writings that came before the birth of Jesus. These books tell the story of God’s covenant with Israel: how He created the world, called Abraham, gave the Law through Moses, sent prophets, and prepared His people for the coming of the Messiah. The word “testament” itself means “covenant” — an agreement or sacred bond. So the Old Testament is about God’s first covenant with His people, founded on the Law and the promise of a Savior yet to come.
The New Testament begins with the birth of that Savior — Jesus Christ — and reveals the fulfillment of everything the Old Testament pointed toward. It contains the Gospels, which tell of Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection; the Acts of the Apostles, showing how the early Church spread the Good News; the Letters (Epistles), offering teaching and encouragement to believers; and finally, the Book of Revelation, which speaks of God’s final victory over sin and death. In Jesus, God makes a new covenant — not written on stone, but on human hearts, through His grace and Spirit.
When we read the Bible as a whole, we see that the two Testaments are not separate stories, but one continuous story of salvation. The Old Testament prepares the way; the New Testament fulfills it. As St. Augustine beautifully said, “The New Testament is hidden in the Old, and the Old is revealed in the New.” Together, they show how God’s love has been working through history to bring us back to Himself.
For our spiritual lives, this means we can’t truly understand the New Testament without the Old, nor the Old without the New. The Law and the Prophets point to Christ, and Christ gives them their deepest meaning. Every page — from Genesis to Revelation — tells us something about the heart of God who desires to save His people and make all things new.
May we approach both Testaments with wonder and gratitude, seeing in them the one story of God’s unchanging love — a love that began before time and is fulfilled in Christ.
— Fr. John Matthew, for Christian Way
