That the Old Testament could not be understood without the New is not even consistently held by proponents of this refrain. In all fairness, many who repeat this saying actually produce quality exegesis in Old Testament texts without ever reading the New Testament back into their texts. So why then the assertion? It is not really about the Old Testament in general, but only about certain parts—particularly, about the prophecies concerning the future of Israel. An illustration of this can be seen in the esteemed Old Testament professor, E. J. Young. Much of his exegesis of Old Testament texts reflects a forward-reading approach. 

I remember with amusement my weekday morning routine as a child. Since the school bus arrived at 7:40 am, I would have to be dressed and at the kitchen table by 7:25 am for breakfast. Ugh. It was like going to the dentist . . . every morning! However, there was one redeeming aspect inherent in the routine—the cereal box. The box was so captivating that I and my siblings would usually quarrel over whose turn it was to take possession of it as we ate our breakfasts.

What was the allure? Sometimes the box served as a convenient wall to shield against the glares of those same siblings. But often it was the games and riddles printed on the backs of those boxes. I especially liked the word puzzles that required decrypting. The challenge was to crack the riddle without the help of the key, which was usually found at the bottom of the bag of cereal inside the box. Although I found the games far more stimulating than my classes at school, I cannot say that my record as a wannabe codebreaker was that inspiring.

The concept of coded language is not limited to children’s riddles printed on the back of breakfast cereal boxes. It is often assumed in the reading of Scripture itself—particularly of the Old Testament. For example, a surprising number of Christians approach the Old Testament as if it is partly—if not mostly—unintelligible apart from a decoder key. While readers may try to guess at its real meaning, that meaning cannot be confidently known apart from the decryption provided by the New Testament. This assumption is expressed by the popular refrain, “You can’t rightly understand the Old Testament without the New and you can’t rightly understand the New Testament without the Old. The Bible is one cohesive story.” For some, the saying even functions as a shibboleth for a high view of Scripture.

But does this refrain truly advance a deep reverence for God’s word? A careful examination of the wording reveals reasons to be cautious.

What the Statement Gets Right

To evaluate the statement, let us consider its three assertions—two of which unquestionably affirm a high view of Scripture.

1.  We can begin with the final assertion of the saying: “The Bible is one cohesive story.” Indeed, from beginning to end, the sixty-six books of Scripture—written by at least forty men of differing times, backgrounds, and cultures—provide a unified witness to the character of God, the nature and consequences of sin, the means of salvation, the exclusivity of the Savior, and the glory of God. As John MacArthur states, “It is one book. It has one plan of grace, recorded from initiation, through execution, to consummation. From predestination to glorification, the Bible is the story of God redeeming his chosen people for the praise of his glory.”[1] This cohesiveness is due to the fact that the Scriptures ultimately originate in God (2 Tim 3:16), and because of this, as Charles Hodges asserts, “it follows that Scripture cannot contradict Scripture.”[2]

At the same time, the “cohesive” nature of the Bible’s contents should not be understood as though both Testaments, each of their books, or every chapter repeats the very same knowledge about God, sin, salvation, the Savior, or glory from beginning to end. On the contrary, each text of Scripture makes its own unique contribution to this unified storyline. Each pericope has its own role to play. There is a beautiful diversity in Scripture, ranging from its variations in literary types to its variations in revelatory focus to its variations in the styles of its human writers to its variations in the way its portions respond to the needs of the original recipients.

Therefore, we must reject the notion that the propositions of Scripture are true only if they are abundantly repeated. The truthfulness of a divine revelation is neither enhanced nor diminished based on the number of times it is restated. Even if God reveals something just once it is enough to be believed and obeyed. Furthermore, we must resist the impulse to flatten out Scripture’s contents to make it nicely into a prefabricated form. Certain portions of Scripture will emphasize truths found nowhere else. Such peculiarities are not contradictions; nor do they betray a weakness.

2. We can wholeheartedly affirm another portion of this refrain: “you can’t rightly understand the New Testament without the Old.” God not only revealed His knowledge through dozens of human writers, He did so over a vast period stretching from Moses (who wrote the Pentateuch between 1445 and 1405 bc) to the Apostle John (who wrote Revelation around ad 96). God unfolded His truth progressively (Heb 1:1-2), meaning that He began with basic truths and furnished them with detail and development over time.[3]

But the amplification and development provided in later portions in no way create disagreement with the earlier ones. Neither does progress imply that a mutation in meaning has occurred. Analogous to the construction of a house, progressive revelation begins with the foundation and expands upward, but no part of the ongoing construction changes the essence of the original foundation. Concrete piles remain concrete; they do not morph into iron—even after the windows, shingles, and siding has been added!

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