Why is understanding Genesis necessary for understanding the New Testament and the gospel of grace?
Genesis supplies the foundational background for the New Testament and the gospel of grace. The events and covenants recorded there, especially God’s covenant with Abraham and its renewal to Isaac, are fundamental to understanding Scripture. Without understanding Genesis, a person will never understand even the gospel of grace.
Les explains that the Genesis material is so fundamental that it undergirds understanding of even the New Testament. He says he spent much time in Genesis because, as he has always said, if people do not understand Genesis, they will never understand even the gospel of grace. In the unit, he traces this to God's covenant with Abraham, now repeated to Isaac, the true son of promise. God tells Isaac not to go down to Egypt but to dwell in the land, promising to be with him, bless him, give the countries to his seed, and perform the oath sworn to Abraham. Canaan is called the land of promise because everything connected with it was based on God's promises, and in Abraham's seed all nations would be blessed. These covenant truths form the necessary backdrop for the New Testament and the gospel of grace.