John Fonville:

In his famous statement, “The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed,” Saint Augustine expressed the priority of the New Testament over the Old Testament- the New Testament explains the Old Testament.

My seminary denied this key hermeneutical principle. For example, it is claimed that to make “the New Testament the final authority on the Old Testament denies the perspicuity (“clarity”) of the Old Testament as a perfect revelation in itself.”

This is an incredible (not in the good sense) statement that simply fails to properly recognize the nature of the progressive unfolding story (revelation) of the Old Testament. The Old Testament itself witnesses to the fact that it is a story that doesn’t stand on its own-that it is incomplete and begs for fulfillment. Old Testament scholar, Graeme Goldsworthy (not loved by my seminary), observes that it is impossible from the Old Testament alone to understand the full meaning of God’s acts and promises that it records.

Jesus says that He gives the Old Testament its meaning. Thus, Jesus Himself affirms that we need the Old Testament to understand what He says about Himself. And Jesus drives us back to the Old Testament to read and understand it through “Christian eyes.” He teaches us that the Old Testament leads us to Him (John 5:39, 46).

Thus, Goldsworthy notes that in seeking to understand the Scriptures, we do not start at Genesis 1 and work our way forward until we discover where the story is leading. Instead, we start with Christ-the gospel-and He directs us to read and understand the Old Testament in light of the gospel.

The gospel interprets the Old Testament by showing us its meaning and goal. The Old Testament increases our understanding of the gospel by showing us what Christ fulfills for us.

Perhaps Saint Augustine was right after all?