NEW COVENANT
The new covenant was made between Israel and God just like the old, however, the new covenant is a better covenant than the old. While the Old Covenant was established between God and the people of Israel and mediated by Moses, the New Covenant was ratified through Jesus’s death on the cross. The New Covenant has better promises and is available to all who will believe in Jesus. Because there are so many great things to learn and understand about the New Covenant this post is a little longer than others. So, let’s take a look at some of the details and specifics of the New Covenant.
Scripture
A number of passages speak of or relate to the New Covenant. We will cover several of them in the following discussion. But the foundational passage is Jeremiah 31:31 34:
“Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
The Participants in the Covenant
This covenant is made between God and Israel, and it receives further confirmation in other passages including Isaiah 55:3; 59:2 1; 61:8-9; Jeremiah 32:40; Ezekiel l6:60; 34:25-3l; 37:26-28; and Romans l l:26-27.
The Provisions of the Covenant
There are nine clear and distinct provisions in the New Covenant.
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First:
it is an unconditional covenant involving God and all of Israel – North, and South. (Jer. 3 l: 31). Thus, it includes the entire Jewish nation: the descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It should be noted that it is not made with the Church.
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Second:
it is clearly distinct from the Mosaic Covenant (Jer. 31:32). It is ultimately to replace the Mosaic Covenant that was now considered broken.
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Third:
it promises the restoration of Israel (Jer. 31:33; Is. 59:21). The key aspect of this entire covenant is the blessing of salvation, which included Israel’s national rebirth.
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Fourth:
the restoration of Israel is to be universal among all Jews (Jer. 31:34a; Is.61:9). The national salvation is to extend to every individual Jewish person, and it is to be true through succeeding generations from the time that the initial rebirth of Israel occurs. Thus, during the Kingdom, the unregenerate people will all be Gentiles; in the entire period of the Kingdom, there will be no unsaved Jews.
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Fifth:
there is provision for the forgiveness of sin. (Jer. 31:34b). The New Covenant will do the very thing that the Mosaic Covenant was unable to do. The Mosaic Covenant was able only to cover the sins of Israel, but the New Covenant will take them away. This is a huge pare and effect to the blessing of salvation.
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Sixth:
there is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit (Jer. 31:33; Ezek. 36:27a). The reason Israel failed to keep the Law under the Mosaic Covenant was that the people lacked the power to comply with the righteous standards of God. The Mosaic Law did not provide the indwelling of the Holy Spirit; that was not its purpose. But the New Covenant will do just that, and every Jew will be enabled to do the righteous work of God. This is a blessing resulting from the blessing of salvation.
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Seventh:
Israel will be flooded with material blessings (Is. 61:8; Jer. 32:41; Ezek. 34:25-27). The Mosaic Law did provide conditional material blessings – for obedience, but for the most part, Israel was in disobedience because of her failure to keep the Law. However, such failure will not exist under the New Covenant. Along with Israel’s regeneration and empowerment to keep the Law, material blessings will be given by the Lord.
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Eighth:
the temple will be rebuilt (Ezek. 37:26-28). The Mosaic Covenant provided for the building of the Tabernacle. The Davidic Covenant provided for the building of the First Temple by Solomon. The New Covenant will provide for the building of the Messianic or Millennial Temple. This Temple will be a continual reminder to Israel of all that God has done.
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Ninth:
just as the Mosaic Covenant contained the Law of Moses, the New Covenant contains the Law of Christ (Rom. 8:2; Gal. 6:2) Like the Law of Moses, the Law of Christ contains many individual commandments that are applicable to the New Testament believer. These commandments were given either by Jesus directly or by the apostles. They are NOT the same as the Law of Moses a simple comparison of the details proves that. Here are four points of clarification that help demonstrate the differences –
- Many commandments are the same as those of the Law of Moses. For example, nine of the Ten Commandments are also in the Law of Christ.
- However, many are different from the Law of Moses. For example, there is no Sabbath law now (Rom. 14:5; Col. 2:16) and no dietary code (Mk. 7:19; Rom. 14:20}.
- Some commandments in the Law of Moses are intensified by the Law of the Messiah. For example, the Law of Moses said: love your neighbor as yourself (Lev. l9: l8); this made man the standard. The Law of Christ says: love one another; even as I have loved you ( l5:12); this makes Jesus the standard and He loved man enough to die for him.
- The Law of Christ provides a new motivation. This is at the heart of the differences. For example, the Law of Moses was based on the conditional Mosaic Covenant and so the motivation was: Do, in order to be blessed. The Law of the Messiah is based on the unconditional New Covenant and so the motivation is: You have been blessed, therefore, do. The reason there is so much confusion over the relationship of the Law of Moses and the Law of Christ is that many commandments are similar to those found in the Mosaic Law, and many have concluded that certain sections of the Law have therefore been retained. It has already been shown that this cannot be the case, and the explanation for the sameness of the commandments is to be found elsewhere. In the simplest terms under the Law of Moses “you had to obey”. Under the Law of Christ, “you get to” obey.
Law of Moses Ended with Christ
The Law of Moses ended when Christ came. This can be better understood once we realize there are a number of codes in the Bible, such as the Edenic Code, Adamic Code, Noahic Code, Mosaic Code, New Code, and Kingdom Code. A new code may contain some of the same commandments of the previous code, but this does not mean that the previous code is still in effect. While certain of the commandments of the Adamic Code were also found in the Edenic Code, it did not mean that the Edenic Code was still partially in force; it ceased to function with the Fall of Man. The same is true when we compare the Law of Christ with the Law of Moses. There are many similar commandments. The Law of Moses has been made obsolete and we are now under the Law of Christ – the New Covenant. Which has many different commandments. For example, under the Law of Moses, we would not be permitted to eat pork, but under the New Covenant, we may. There are many similar commandments, but they are nonetheless in two separate systems. If we do not kill or steal today, it is not because of the Law of Moses but because of the Law of Christ – the Law of Love. On the other hand, if someone steals, he is not guilty of breaking the Law of Moses, but of breaking the Law of Christ. The present obligation to obey the New Covenant is due to the present outworking of the New Covenant.
The Importance of the Covenant
The importance of the New Covenant is that it amplifies the Blessing aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant, especially in relationship to salvation. It finally shows how the blessings of the Jewish covenants extend to the Gentiles. It is important to understand that the New Covenant is not simply the Old Covenant with Jesus tacked on to it! There is a change for the better under the New Covenant. (Hebrews 7:22)
The Relationship of the Church to the New Covenant
The relationship of the church to the new covenant has long been a point of considerable theological discussion. It is important to realize that the church is not in any way referred to or mentioned in Jeremiah 31. It is clear the original context of the New Covenant was given to Israel not the Church. This is why Paul referred to the church as a mystery!
While the New Covenant is between God and Israel the Church does have an important part to play. Jesus said He would build the church based on the revelation that He is the Christ. (Mt. 16:18) Jesus is the Head of the Church and believers are the body. (Col. 1:18)
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Mission of Church
Jesus gave very clear instructions as to the mission of the church; 1) to preach the Gospel to all peoples (Mk. 16:15) and 2) to make disciples of those who believe. (Mt. 28:19) The Church is to do the work that Jesus did and even great works while He was on the earth. (John 14:12) The Church is to be the light and salt rescuing as many people from the kingdom of darkness and to bring them into the Kingdom of Light (God) not by the Law of Moses, but by the Gospel of the New Covenant.
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The Church is Not Israel
A believer does not become a (spiritual) Jew when he accepts Christ. The Gentile does, however, gain access to the righteousness of God, which is by faith in Abraham’s promised Seed, Jesus! Gentiles are now fellow heirs and partakers with Israel. We are “grafted in” and are “the seed of Abraham by faith.” Israel is not the church, and the church is not Israel.
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Neither Male nor Female
Look at Galatians 3:28-29 which says,
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise”
Did you lose your gender when you got saved? No, but it illustrates my point. Paul is not saying you cease to be a man or a woman, or a Jew, or a Gentile when you get saved! He is saying that none of that has any bearing on your position IN CHRIST. Salvation is no less available to a man than a woman, or to a Gentile than a Jew.
This fact had been hidden in redemptive history but was now made known to the church. Given its mysterious nature, as well as their own ethnic bias, it is not surprising that the early church struggled with this issue.
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Blessing of Abraham
Gentiles NOW have access to share in all the benefits and blessings that were intended for the Jewish people. Through Christ we are able to have a personal relationship with the God of Israel, having our sins forgiven, and having God’s own Spirit indwelling our hearts! This is all possible through the New Covenant, which will ultimately be completely fulfilled in the Jewish people at the second coming of Jesus when they, as a nation accept Him as their Messiah/King.
Look at what Galatians 3:13-14 says,
“Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree”), 14 that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.”
As a believer under the terms of the New Covenant the “blessing of Abraham comes on you”. The NLT puts it this way, “God has blessed the Gentiles with the same blessing he promised to Abraham,”.
There are some that try to limit the promise to only the “spiritual blessings”, but that is not what it says. There are two parts to the blessing 1) spiritual and 2) natural. Most do well with believing and receiving the blessing in regard to the promise for spiritual things but struggle with receiving the blessing of Abraham upon their life in the natural realm/life in this world. They try and push it off only into the Millenium.
The relationship of the Church to the New Covenant is clearly explained in two passages. The first is Ephesians 2: 1 l – 16:
Therefore, remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh—who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands— 12 that at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For He Himself is our peace, who has made both one, and has broken down the middle wall of separation, 15 having abolished in His flesh the enmity, that is, the law of commandments contained in ordinances, so as to create in Himself one new man from the two, thus making peace, 16 and that He might reconcile them both to God in one body through the cross, thereby putting to death the enmity.
The second passage is Ephesians 3:5 6:
“which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets: 6 that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel,
The point of these passages is that God made three unconditional covenants with Israel: The Abrahamic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant, and the New Covenant. All of God’s blessings, both physical and spiritual, are mediated through these covenants.
However, there is also the conditional Mosaic Covenant. This was the middle wall of partition. Essentially, it kept the Gentiles from enjoying the blessings of the unconditional covenants. For a Gentile to begin receiving the blessings of the unconditional covenants, he had to totally submit to the Mosaic Law, undergo circumcision, take upon himself the obligations of the Law, and, for all practical purposes, live as a son of Abraham. Gentiles, as Gentiles, did not have access to the blessings of the Jewish covenants; hence, they were strangers from the commonwealth of Israel. However, when Jesus died on the cross as the “Lamb of God”, the Mosaic Law, the middle wall of partition, was broken down. Now by faith Gentiles, as Gentiles, can enter into the provisions of the unconditional covenants. That is why Gentiles today are partakers of God’s promises but not “takers over.”
The Status of the Covenant
The New Covenant itself is an unconditional covenant and therefore eternally in effect. In relationship to the Church, the New Covenant is the basis for this age of Grace which will end when the church is taken before the second coming of Jesus. Unlike the Mosaic covenant, the new covenant of Jesus Christ is intended for all mankind—regardless of race. In the Great Commission, Jesus sent His apostles into the entire world to tell the story of the cross (Luke 24:46-47; Matt. 28:18-20). The gospel call extends to every man and woman today!