A common misconception is that God changed between the Old and New Testaments, but a careful reading of the Bible reveals that a single God of justice and mercy exists throughout all of Sacred Scripture.
Many people think that the God that is depicted as violent and angry in the Old Testament is different from the merciful and loving God of the New Testament, but God is always one and the same.
God does not change but He reveals Himself to mankind gradually throughout Sacred Scripture, relating to different people, with different levels of understanding, in different situations, and at different times.
Both the Old and New Testaments show that God is merciful and just at the same time, but his justice and mercy are emphasized differently depending on what mankind needs at the time and must be viewed through different lenses.
Beginning with Adam and Eve, God generously offers covenants throughout the Old Testament, vowing to love and care for his people if they remain faithful to Him, and promising severe consequences if they do not.
Although God demonstrates his love and faithfulness, man frequently disobeys God, even turning to other gods, which results in severe, but just punishments. But God remains patient and merciful, offering forgiveness to those who return to Him.
Only after establishing right and wrong and their fair consequences, God enters his Creation and demonstrates his mercy most clearly in the person of Jesus Christ, beginning a new phase of God’s plan and establishing an Everlasting Covenant.
The New Testament God of Jesus is revealed to be not only gentle and kind, but Christ also speaks forcefully about judgement and condemnation as much, if not more, than God in the Old Testament.
As an all-knowing, all-powerful, and benevolent Father, God does not stop showing his justice and his mercy so that people can continue to learn and to grow in their spiritual life, while growing closer to Him.
The God of the Old Testament is the God of the New Testament:
God establishes justice first to show his mercy:
From his fullness we have all received, grace in place of grace, because while the law was given through Moses, grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God. The only Son, God, who is at the Father’s side, has revealed Him.
John 1: 16-18
God does not change but man does:
God acts differently in different circumstances:
God cannot be put in a box:
“In many and various ways God spoke of old to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days He has spoken to us by a Son.” Christ, the Son of God made man, is the Father’s one, perfect and unsurpassable Word. In Him He has said everything; there will be no other Word than this one. St. John of the Cross, among others, commented strikingly on Hebrews 1:1-2:
Catechism of the Catholic Church 65
In giving us his Son, his only Word (for he possesses no other), He spoke everything to us at once in this sole Word – and he has no more to say. . . because what He spoke before to the prophets in parts, He has now spoken all at once by giving us the All Who is His Son. Any person questioning God or desiring some vision or revelation would be guilty not only of foolish behaviour but also of offending Him, by not fixing his eyes entirely upon Christ and by living with the desire for some other novelty.
The Old Testament reveals God through a veil:
God’s wrath is his passion to restore harmony:
Jesus speaks of a “new commandment”. But what is new about it? In the Old Testament, God had already given the commandment of love; but this commandment has become new now because Jesus makes a very important addition to it: “As I have loved you, that you also love one another”. What is new is precisely this “loving as Jesus loved”. All our loving is preceded by his love and refers to this love, it fits into this love and is achieved precisely through this love. The Old Testament did not present any model of love; it only formulated the precept of love. Instead, Jesus gave Himself to us as a model and source of love a boundless, universal love that could transform all negative circumstances and all obstacles into opportunities to progress in love.
Pope Benedict XVI, Homily, 2 May 2010
Jesus introduces a radical version of love:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
God uses ordinary people:
Share this page with friends and family to start a conversation about your faith.
Don’t miss a post. Learn more about the Catholic Church and strengthen your Catholic faith.
Find more Fiercely Catholic video issues here.
Subscribe here.
