A New Covenant
Paul quotes God, “Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people”. (Hebrews 8: 9,10)
This is the proclaiming of a new covenant in which we recognize eight realities all Christians should understand.
When Jesus offered up his body on the cross and poured out his blood so that we might be forgiven of our sins, he was inaugurating and establishing the New Covenant. Luke writes, “And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” (Luke 22:19,20)
The Old or Mosaic Covenant was an unprecedented blessing for the people of Israel. It provided them with laws to govern their behavior. It promised them spiritual and material and even military blessings if they obeyed that law and remained true to the covenant.
God even instituted in that covenant the office of high priest so that the people would have someone to offer sacrifices on their behalf and represent them in the presence of God. That old covenant provided a sacrificial system in which the blood of bulls and goats at least temporarily enabled them to remain in fellowship with God. The Old Covenant under Moses was filled with grace, mercy, long suffering, and love.
But the Old or Mosaic Covenant had three fundamental flaws.
First, although there was a high priest who would regularly offer an animal sacrifice for their sins, such sacrifices could never fully and finally secure their forgiveness.
Paul explains, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.” (Hebrews 10:4)
Second, the law of the Old Covenant that came through Moses was unable to supply the power that people needed to fulfill and obey it. There was nothing in the law itself that could empower the people to obey it. The Law of Moses told the people of Israel what they should and should not do but it was never capable of supplying them with the internal energy or the spiritual power to obey.
Third, the Old or Mosaic Covenant was temporary. God never intended for the Old Covenant to last forever. He never intended for it to be the final revelation of his will for mankind. Again, Paul is clear, “In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decay and wax old is ready to vanish away.” (Hebrews 8:13)
The New Covenant is just one more proof or demonstration that the high priesthood of Jesus is superior to the high priesthood of Aaron and his descendants. The priestly “ministry” of Jesus is better than that of Aaron because the “covenant” he established and now mediates is better than that which came through Moses. Paul writes, “But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.” (Hebrews 8:6,7)
New Covenant is made and established for both Jew and Gentiles. The good news as Paul proclaimed, “Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:6)
Jeremiah prophesied of the blessings of the New Covenant, the blessings that Christians in the Church receive and enjoy: forgiveness of sins, the empowering ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the knowledge of God inscribed on our hearts. He wrote, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the Lord: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (Jeremiah 31:31-33)
Anyone who believes in Jesus Christ is now the “seed” of Abraham and thus an heir according to the promise. In other words, the Church of Jesus Christ is the true Israel of God. Paul makes it clear, “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ. … 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.” (Galatians 3:16 – 28,29)
All ethnic Jews who believe in Jesus are members of the New Covenant. But so too are ethnic Gentiles who believe in Jesus. The blood in your veins no longer matters for anything. The only thing that matters is the faith in your heart: if you trust in Jesus, whether you are male or female, Jew or Gentile, you are the seed of Abraham, the true Israel of God, and thus members of the New Covenant.
With the New Covenant comes the promise of an internal power. Paul teaches what God said, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” (Hebrews 8:10)
People during the time of the old covenant could obviously memorize the law of God, and many did. But this in itself didn’t come with a promise of power to obey what the law commanded.
When Paul speaks about God himself writing the law on our hearts he means that our obedience will flow from a transformation that has occurred within us, by virtue of a power that God has himself provided. This means that every member of the New Covenant has been regenerated and has had the law of God placed on their minds and written on their hearts.
God says, “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:26,27)
In the new covenant, the will of God is inscribed on our heart, internally, experientially, in the sense that whatever God requires of us in terms of our obedience he provides for us in terms of the Spirit’s internal, enabling power.
With the New Covenant comes the promise of a personal relationship. Paul records, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:” (Hebrews 8:10)
God isn’t just God. He’s not just there. He’s not simply the omnipotent, infinitely kind and gracious Supreme Being who created all things and upholds all things. What we rejoice in isn’t simply that God exists. Rather, He is our God and we belong to Him.
With the New Covenant comes the promise of an intimate knowledge.
Paul adds, “And they shall not teach every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.” (Hebrews 8:11)
Under the New Covenant we encounter an entirely different situation than the Jews of the Old Covenant. Every member of the New Covenant is a believer. Every member of the New Covenant has been born again.
With the New Covenant comes the promise of final forgiveness of sins. Paul explains that God said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)
The forgiveness of sins was not a new idea when Jeremiah recorded his prophecy. The people of Israel were quite familiar with the concept that God graciously wipes us clean of the guilt of our sins and refuses ever again to bring them up or to use them against us.
The psalm of David, when Nathan came unto him after he had gone in to Bathsheba: David cried, “Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightiest be justified when thou speak’, and be clear when thou judges. … 10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:1-4 – 10)
Under the old covenant forgiveness was never final and forever. One had to return year after year after year on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16) so that the high priest could continually slaughter an animal and place the blood of the sacrifice on the altar in the Holy of Holies. For an OT believer, it was wonderful to experience forgiveness for sins previously committed. But each person knew that with future sins there was a need for another, future sacrifice. The blood of bulls and goats could never perfectly purge their consciences.
But in the new covenant, established by the shedding of Christ’s blood, our sins are altogether and forever forgiven: past, present, future. Mindful, we must stay within the safety of obedience to His Word. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sow, that shall he also reap.” (Galatians 6:7)
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