The Bible and Christ — The Unity of the two Testaments

The Bible, in Christian belief, is composed of two Testaments, bound in unity as being both concerned with Christ, how his advent was prefigured and prepared, how he fulfilled the divine plan of salvation. The religious history of the world, in the Christian view, develops in three stages: the economy of preparation, leading to Christ; the center of time, when the Son becomes man and redeems humanity; the sacramentary economy, perpetuating Christ\u27s salvation in the Church. The historical preparation of Christ can be traced back to three biblical figures, Adam, Abraham, David, as the Gospel genealogies indicate. By presenting the Law as «custodian» until the advent of Christ, Paul showed both its function and its provisional character. The prefigurement of Christ and of the Church took different forms, attested in the Bible, and it is possible to bring out the Christward significance of Israel\u27s religious experience. The historical and spiritual experience of Israel has contributed to the fashioning of Jesus\u27 personality, of his aspirations, and of his deepest religious attitudes. In him the tv/o Testaments meet, and the old dispensation elapsed, replaced by the definitive economy of grace and salvation