Institutes 2.11.4 — THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TESTAMENTS.

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**THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE TWO TESTAMENTS.**

Another distinction between the Old and New Testaments is in the types, the former exhibiting only the image of truth, while the reality was absent, the shadow instead of the substance, the latter exhibiting both the full truth and the entire body. Mention is usually made of this, whenever the New Testament is contrasted with the Old, The French is,“et ˆ icelle se doivent reduire quasi tous les passages, auxquels le viel Testament est opposé au Nouveau par comparaison.”—And to this ought in a manner to be referred all the passages in which the Old Testament is, by way of camparison, opposed to the New. Here we may see in what respect the legal is compared with the evangelical covenant, the ministry of Christ with that of Moses. If the comparison referred to the substance of the promises, there would be a great repugnance between the two covenants; but since the nature of the case leads to a different view, we must follow it in order to discover the truth. Let us, therefore bring forward the covenant which God once ratified as eternal and unending. Its completion, whereby it is fixed and ratified, is Christ. Till such completion takes place, the Lord, by Moses, prescribes ceremonies which are, as it were formal symbols of confirmation. The point brought under discussion was, Whether or not the ceremonies ordained in the Law behaved to give way to Christ. Although these were merely accidents of the covenant, or at least additions and appendages, and, as they are commonly called, accessories, yet because they were the means of administering it, the name of covenant is applied to them, just as is done in the case of other sacraments. “Qualiter et aliis Sacramentis dari solet.” French, “comme l’Escriture a coustume d’attribuer aux sacremens le nom des choses qu’ils representent;”—just as Scripture is wont to give sacraments the names of the things which they represent.

Source

• source-manifest/institutes — Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, tr. Beveridge 1845 (PD)
• evidence_grade: D_doctrinal_textbook