One of the great men “of old” was Moses who received Yahweh’s law directly, a tremendous revelation and powerful witness of God’s reality. However, great as Moses was, the Savior fulfilled Moses’s law and gave a higher law to believers.
The Messiah’s atonement, or “the gift of [God’s] Son” is what is “fulfilled… by faith.” We must actively accept that gift. Therefore, it is through our faith that the gift’s promise is fulfilled. The atonement is “the more excellent way,” but only if we have the faith to accept it and follow the Savior’s way.