Denying the Hebraic foundations of our faith is one of the most destructive elements of modern hermeneutics. The New Testament authors are so steeped in the language of their forefathers that we need to presuppose the entire Old Testament corpus as the context of their declarations. There are no New Testament texts that act independent of the Hebrew Scriptures. Indeed, to begin in the New Testament is a short way of saying we are continuing in God’s great story.
The divisions we make are by and large superficial when they fail to see the inherent continuity of God’s work in creation and his people. Therefore, to understand John is also to say we understand John’s Hebrew world.
The deficiency in our reading stems from isolating Scriptures from one another and distancing ourselves from the very root of our faith. Paul’s world is constantly playing the old world of Abraham as background music to his literature. We would do well to grasp this reality and cultivate understanding of the world that shaped the Pentecost-led church and still shapes all of life.
Brother, this is excellent. This goes right along with another profound article I just read, here. https://northamanglican.com/brothers-we-are-not-marcionites/