What Does Hebrews 8 Tell Us About the Differences Between the Old & New Testaments?

Have you ever wondered why there are two testaments in the Bible?  I had someone ask me that recently. That was timely because in my reading in chapter 39 of the Life-Study of Hebrews I got reminded that there are four differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament.  

In just one paragraph on page 439 Witness Lee presents a concise comparison of them: 

In the Old Testament age there was the covering of sins, which was a figure of the forgiveness of sins.  In the old testament age there was the law of letters, which was a figure of the law of life in the new testament age.  In the old testament age God was God to His people and His people were a people to Him according to the written law.  That was a symbol that today in the new testament age God is God to us and we are a people to Him according to the law of life. Moreover, in the old testament age the priests taught the people to know according to the law of letters.  That was a shadow of the inward ability to know God in life according to the law of life (Lee, Witness. Life-Study of Hebrews. Anaheim: Living Stream Ministry, 1975, Print).

   He also said that the Old Testament is a picture of the New Testament.  God gave the law through Moses to preserve His chosen people like Galatians says until Christ came.  Surely after thousands of years of history even the Israelites should have realized we can’t keep this law!  He shares here that our problem really isn’t the outward law of God as much as the inward problem of sin within us that makes us totally unable to keep God's law.  And this is what Romans 7 is all about.  

   God knew this, and that’s why He came as the Lamb of God (John 1:29) to finally take away the sin of the world.  Through the ministry of Witness Lee I have come to see that even that’s not enough. God’s goal wasn’t just that Christ would become an offering  for sin, but that His divine life would come into man's spirit. 

    And through Christ’s death on the cross, He became the life-giving Spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45B) so that He could get into man and regenerate him.  In the Bible we see this happening right after the Lord’s resurrection and ascension to the Father in John 20:22.  It’s almost like He couldn’t wait to come back and breathe into His disciples so that He could impart His Spirit into theirs (I love this verse in Romans 8:16).

   What I wasn't so aware of until I heard this ministry was that the life of God within me also has what Paul calls in Romans 8:2 the law of the Spirit of life.   And by this inward  law, I could finally know God in an inward way! He’s no longer far off, He’s right inside of me. My husband and I are so thankful for the ministry of Witness Lee that made these truths come alive for us!

You can  also listen to live excerpts from these messages on Hebrews on The Life-Study of the Bible with Witness Lee.  You will enjoy listening to both  the excerpts  from these spoken messages and the helpful and enlightening commentary of the radio hosts.

Other Posts on the Life-Study of Hebrews You Can Check Out:

Why is the Background of the Book of Hebrews Important?
What Does God's Speaking Shows us In Hebrews 1:1-2?
What Does Hebrews 2:10 Say About Christ?
How Does the Lord Sanctify Us In Hebrews 2:11?
The High Priest in Hebrews 2:17 Makes Me Think of the Poem Footprints
Why is the Sabbath Rest Mentioned in Hebrews 4:9?
Why Unbelief in Hebrews 3:12 is the Biggest Offense to God
How Do We Come Forward in Hebrews 4:16?
What Hebrews 6:1 Says About Christian Maturity
What Does Hebrews 8 Tell Us About the Differences Between the Old & New Testaments?
What Does It Mean to Gain our Soul in Hebrews 10:39?
Have You Seen God's Silence in Hebrews 11?
How Do You Run the Christian Race in Hebrews 12?
What is the Birthright About in Hebrews 12:16?
From the Life-Study of Hebrews - What is the Central Concept of the Bible?
What's the Focus of the Book of Hebrews?