Third, the doctrine concerning Christ was also taught under the old testament.
Third, the doctrine concerning Christ was also taught under the old testament.
§ 125. (III) “The doctrine concerning Christ and His benefits was also taught under the old testament and was revealed in the books of the prophets. In fact, the Levitical ceremonies handed down by Moses were types and figures of the person and office of Christ. Therefore the old testament is the very doctrine of the Gospel according as it was covered by shadows and types.”
We respond. Earlier we showed that not everything that was taught to the children of Israel in the time of the Old Testament and contained in the books of the Old Testament pertains to the definition and nature of the old testament as this is used by Scripture. Rather, the points of difference that are assigned in Scripture itself between the old and new testaments must be respected. The doctrine concerning Christ and His benefits was known also in the Old Testament. (From where else would they have salvation?) But it does not yet follow from this that it pertains to the nature and definition of the old testament. In fact, it became known to them through the revelation and announcement of God. Hence Augustine writes very beautifully (commentary on Psalm 90): “Moses was not only a minister of the old testament but also a prophet of the new.” Contra Faust. (bk. 15, ch. 4): “The old testament is a prophecy of the new.”
Dr. Chemnitz (Loci, part 3, p. 237)3 responds in this way: Christ is the end of the Law (Rom. 10:4). The Law is the pedagogue unto Christ (Gal. 3:24). The end does not pertain to the actual substance of that thing whose end is that the end be revealed. Therefore certain things that pertain to the Gospel or to the new testament were also handed down to Moses, but in such a way that the chief and principal ministry of Moses is and continues to be connected to the Law. But the Law itself is not rightly followed unless at the same time it shows that Christ is the end of the Law. He says that the Levitical ceremonies must be considered in two ways: (1) As carnal and exterior observances or pedagogical works by which the members of that assembly were being preserved in a sort of external and carnal cleanliness. In this respect they pertain to the Law. (2) The ceremonies are considered as messages about sin, the wrath of God, and the punishments for sins. In this respect they also pertain to the Law. Yet since Christ is the end of the Law, the Levitical ceremonies can also be considered as types of Christ; and, in this respect, they pertain to the Gospel. That is the argument of Dr. Chemnitz, the sense of which we interpret in such a way that a distinction is made between the Levitical ceremonies considered in and of themselves and their spiritual end, which consists of foreshadowing and signifying Christ.