Frameworks for Understanding the Scriptures

There are five common ways of relating together the Old and New Testaments:

1. Reformed Covenant Theology: The N.C. is an administration of the Old (infant baptism)
2. Dispensationalism: History is divided into seven dispensations. The O.C. is now abrogated (or suspended) (beleivers’ baptism)
3. New-Covenant Theology (beleivers’ baptism): The relationship between the O.C. and the N.C. is not flat, but typological. (beleivers’ baptism) The movement is
   • promise → fulfullment
   • shadow → reality
   • type → antitype
   • flesh → spirit
   • external written code → Jesus Christ (indwelling)
4. No coherent framework: free to apply texts with no regard to historical epoch (most untrained evangelicals/charismatics)
5. Modern-critical: no relationship between the Old and the New is necessary

Example

• Scofield Dispensationalism
  • Chart

Comparisons

• Comparison between the three systems
• Signs of the Covenants

Updated 2009-10-12 (build:16) by Andrew Fountain