[Forest Keeper]

Matthew 23 contains Christ’s admonition to His disciples to continue under the Law of Moses. In every edition of the Bible in my home and office, just like yours, there is a page between Malachi and Matthew that says, “NEW TESTAMENT.” But this page does not change the doctrine from OT to NT. John the Baptist was an Old Testament prophet in the spirit and power of Elias (Elijah). Christ, in His earthly ministry is the Prophet like unto Moses, the dispenser of the OT Law.

OK, but the Gospels do teach the NT, right? Jesus preached the New Covenant. Maybe I'm not understanding where your point leads.

[John Leland 1789]

The New Covenant is made with Israel and Judah (Hebrews 8:8ff; Jeremiah ch. 31; etc.) The New Covenant includes the land promises made to Abraham as well as the re-establishment of the Davidic Kingdom. It is not made with the Church, Christ's Body. The New Covenant is not the Body of Christ. The Body of Christ is not the subject of the New Covenant.

The Body of Christ, however, benefits from the spiritual blessings of the New Covenant by way of regeneration and acceptance with God (reconciliation), adoption and sonship, by virtue of that same shed Blood. This is the special connotation of “NEW TESTAMENT.”

The Body of Christ is not a subject of revelation in the Gospels, but a subject of special revelation in the Epistles of Paul.

It is correct to draw spiritual application from any place in the Scriptures, including the Gospels. But as revelation is progressive through the Scriptures, it is important not to appropriate doctrines from a previous dispensation that are peculiar to God's dealing with Israel as a nation.

Spiritual applications from the Beatitudes (Matthew chs. 5 through 7) are not only acceptable, but should not be avoided. Where specific instruction in those chapters appears to be inconsistent with the Pauline Epistles, however, one should be very careful of a dispensational change in order and instruction.

The spiritual principles of the Beatitutdes, binding on the members of the Body of Christ, are re-enunciated in the Epistles. It is not difficult to recognize them.