The New Covenant

Through Jeremiah and Ezekiel God promised an entirely new system to the covenant at Sinai, also known as the Law. 

The Law was not given to produce righteousness - that was always through faith, just like Abraham and all those who believed God demonstrated - but to turn Israel into a nation set apart to the worship of God, to demonstrate Him, His purpose and His goodness to the world around them. (Exodus 19:5,6.)

Israel failed miserably at demonstrating God to the world around them - the people generally seemed incapable of doing much apart from adopting the customs and religious practices of the nations around them, something God had forbidden them to do. 

From time to time a king would take a stand for righteousness but its effect often did not pass on to the next generation. Sometimes it did not even survive in his generation.

In Jeremiah 31 (TAB):

31 “Behold the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel (the northern kingdom which had already been dispersed and whose people did not maintain their ethnicity) and with the house of Judah.

32 “Not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was their husband, says the Lord

33 “But this shall be the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel (no longer a narrowly defined recipient; but by calling it “with the house of Israel,” God was saying this new covenant is no longer confined to one particular ethnic group, because of the dispersion and assimilation of the ten Northern tribes who are actually still a part of the original family), After those days, says the Lord, I will put My law within them, and on their hearts will I write it; and I will be their God and they will be My people.

34 “And they shall no more teach each man his neighbour and each man his brother, saying, Know the Lord; for they shall all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the Lord; for I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember their sins no more.”

In Jeremiah 32:

39 “And I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of themselves and of their children after them.”

Then Ezekiel also takes up the call, in chapter 11:

19 “And I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh

20 “That they may walk in My statutes and keep My ordinances and do them. And they shall be My people, and I will be their God.”

There the problem is stated - it's the heart of man which is sick, hardened, actually, and this heart will be replaced with a soft heart that will go God’s way. It's not for His sake, because God is not affected by what we do - it is only for our sakes that He does this.

This new covenant has input from God, with no conditions or input required from man. That makes it a one-way, unconditional covenant from or with God, of Relationship.

The New Covenant Was Ratified at the Last Supper

In Luke 22 we read:

"And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves..." "v17

"And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood..."" v20  (ESV)

The writer of Hebrews explains in chapter 8 that Jesus is the mediator of this new covenant and quotes verses 33 and 34 from Jeremiah 31.

Then the writer of Hebrews confirms in 10:12-17 that this new covenant has now taken place, that it is complete and has been done for us.

12 “Whereas this One (Christ), after He offered a single sacrifice for our sins sat down at the right hand of God

14 “For by a single sacrifice He has forever completely cleansed those who are set apart to God (holy).

15 “And also the Holy Spirit adds His testimony to us. For having said,

16 “This is the agreement that I will set up after those days, says the Lord: I will imprint My laws upon their hearts and I will inscribe them on their minds.

17 “He then goes on to say, And their sins and their lawlessness I will remember no more.”

In purpose or aim, then, it is identical to the Old Covenant, but it is extended from just Israel to now include all the people on the Earth.

15 “[Christ, the Messiah] is therefore the Mediator of an entirely new agreement so that those who are offered it may receive the fulfillment of the promised, everlasting inheritance, since a death has taken place which rescues them from the transgressions committed under the old agreement.” Hebrews 9

John, in introducing Jesus to us, put it like this:

“But to as many as received Him He gave the authority to become the children of God.” John 1:12 

Paul put it like this:

“But the Scripture pictures all mankind as shut up by sin, so that what was promised through faith in Jesus Christ might be given to all those who believe.” Galatians 3:22

And in Ephesians 2:

13 “But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once so far away, through the blood of Christ have been brought near

14 “...He has broken down the hostile dividing wall between us…

15 “By abolishing in His own flesh the enmity caused by the Law with its decrees and ordinances

18 “For it is through Him we both now have access by one Spirit to the Father

22 “In Him you also are being built up with the rest to form a fixed dwelling place of God, in the Spirit.

There it is, the same part of the Old Covenant transacted in an entirely new way in the New Covenant.

The Israelites were invited to come near to where God was so that they could hear His voice, so that they could get used to being instructed in this way, in His ways. Instead, they rejected the close, personal relationship and stood back a long way.

Now, in the New Covenant, we form a fixed dwelling place for God within us.

How does that come to be?

Is it just for us, for our enjoyment?

The New Covenant Was Inaugurated on the Day of Pentecost

> Baptism in Holy Spirit <

What was the aim of the Old Covenant? 

“And you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests, a holy nation.” Exodus 19:6

That's not a kingdom with priests, but a kingdom of priests, people who connect others to God. The word ‘holy’ means ‘set apart to God.’ the Israelites were to declare and demonstrate His goodness to the peoples round about them.

Had Moses done his part during their wanderings outside the Promised Land, had Moses spoken to the rock as he was asked to do, to bring forth water, the people would have known that a simple, spoken command could change their situation.

Instead of joining in with their neighbors at planting time to burn their infant children alive to ensure a good harvest, they could have said, “No, we speak to the rain and it comes.”

But there's more.

What do priests do? They minister healing and restoration and recovery and deliverance to people. That's in the New Covenant, too.

1. Jesus said, “If anyone believes in Me, the things (or the works) I do he will do also.” John 14:12

In other words we can do anything that Jesus did as Son of Man, as a human being. That is why He came in our form, to show us our capabilities and potential. He didn't show the limitations of what we could do, but the possibilities.

“And even greater works well he do because I go to the Father (and send Holy Spirit).”

2) In Matthew 28 and the Great Commission Jesus told us to go into all the world and make disciples, but this has almost universally been treated as a command to win souls. They are not the same.

Believers and followers are not automatically disciples. It took Jesus some time to “make” His disciples but when He sent out the twelve and then the seventy they found to their surprise that they really could do the same things He did.

He summed it up like this, in Luke 6:40:

“A disciple... when He is fully trained, will be like his teacher.” 

Who is your teacher, who are you like?

3) Paul, who received his training directly from Jesus, spoke a number of times about a “mystery kept hidden through the ages which has now been revealed to us by God.” 

In 1 Corinthians 2:8, without revealing what the mystery is, he goes on to say:

“None of the rulers of this present age recognised this, for if they had they would never have crucified the Lord of glory.”

In other words, something happened that gave us tremendous leverage over the “spirit forces of wickedness in the heavenly sphere,” as Paul also described them (the enemy) in Ephesians 6. 

This is what he revealed.

Firstly: “... that through the church (the body of believers, also known as the body of Christ) the many sided wisdom of God might now be made known to the angelic rulers and authorities in the heavenly sphere.” Ephesians 3:10

Secondly: “The mystery... now revealed to His saints...which is, Christ in you, the expectation of glory.” Colossians 1:27

When believers realise that the same, miracle-working Jesus lives inside them they can expect to see the glory of God revealed as they do the same sort of things that He did.

No longer do we pray to an external, far distant God. Instead we say, calling the things that are not, as though they are.

That's why His death and resurrection were such a threat to the forces of wickedness - instead of dealing with just one person with authority they now have to deal with a whole army, the church.

We know that numbers produce a greater change than solo effort from when Jesus sent out the seventy. They had such a multiplied effect going out in pairs doing what Jesus would do that the enemy leader flashed down like lightning from Heaven where he had been accusing the brethren, to whip his lieutenants back into shape. (Luke 10:17-20)

That didn't happen when He sent out just the twelve.

Thirdly: Paul opened up the mystery from God in Ephesians 4.

8 “When He ascended on high He took captivity captive and He gave gifts to men (mankind)

10 “... that He might fill all things.”

“He took captivity captive” means that there is no reason why someone should remain locked up in addiction, sickness, pain, poverty, loss, relationship breakdowns or whatever. All fall under the “All authority in Heaven and on Earth” command that He passed on to us.

“That He might fill all things” is another figure of speech meaning: “There is now then no lack in any area - we have everything we need to perform as God expects.”

11 “And His gifts were varied: some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and (some) teachers.”

Traditionally it has been thought that these are leadership positions just given to a few. In truth, if we look carefully and ask the right questions we will find that these gifts are spread right throughout the body, throughout any church, any group that worships Jesus. 

He has a reason for doing it like this.

12 “His intention was the full equipping of the saints (those who are saved, part of the body of Christ, members of His church) that they should do the work of the ministry toward building up Christ's body ( the church).”

That is so much like God’s original intention for Israel in Exodus 19 - He hasn’t changed His plan or purpose, He has just changed the method.

“The work of the ministry” does not mean doing things like greeting people or putting out the chairs, singing on stage or praying for people. Doing “the work of the ministry” means to do what Jesus would do, to do the same sort of things that He did in the same sort of way. He showed that this was possible when He trained, first the twelve, then the seventy, and sent them out with spectacular results.

He also showed that for ordinary people to minister in His name (which simply means like He did, like He would do if He was doing it) you don’t even need to be filled with Holy Spirit!

Jesus started it off, first with the twelve, then with the seventy. Did He really just do this for effect at the time, to prepare the way for His foray into the places where He sent his newly-trained ministers?

Paul was taught directly by Jesus about how the church was meant to function - was this just a pipe dream, or is this something that was meant to be pushed through in every generation since the resurrection?

Has anyone even tried to do it, or any church or denomination? In 2000 years, it would seem that if it had been attempted it had never passed from one generation to the next.

Just imagine what would happen to the world if every church member, every believer, every follower realised that they could minister like Jesus. Yet that was His stated intention - the church, His body, anyone who was believing in Him, was meant to be replicating Him in every way. That thought, that concept, that plan was so terrifying in its initial implementation that, had they realised it was on the cards, the enemy would have never had Jesus crucified!

Terms and Conditions Attached to The New Covenant

There are none. 

It is just like the one-way, unconditional covenant with Abraham.

How Does One Enter Into and Come Under The New Covenant

Just like the Abrahamic Covenant, where you had to be born into a particular family to be joined to the covenant, so the New Covenant also requires membership in a particular family.

It doesn’t matter what our physical family line is, we need to be born again into the family of God. 

According to John’s Gospel, just like our natural birth where we had no say over whether or not we would be born or even conceived, so it is with being born again by God.

12 “But to as many as received Him He gave the authority to become the children of God

13 “Who owe their birth not to a human blood relationship, not to any physical desire, nor to the will of another person, but to God.” John 1

Here are some of the ways that we enter into this family and become a beneficiary of the New Covenant through being “born again.”

“All whom My Father has given Me will come to me; and whoever comes to Me I will most certainly not cast out.” John 6:37

“Whoever calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:13

“For it is by grace (a free gift of God, just like the blessings for Abraham)) that you are saved through faith (believing what God has said, just like Abaham). And this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; Not because of works, lest anyone should boast.” Ephesians 2:8,9

“You have been born again by the living and lasting word of God.” 1 Peter 1:23

“Every one who believes that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, is a born-again child of God.” 1John 5:1

“Anyone who confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he abides in God.” 1John 4:15 This is matched by, and is a corollary for 1 John 5:4,5:

“For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world, and this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith. Who is it that is victorious over the world but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

Compared To The Old Covenant 

From Exodus 19:4-6 we can see that God’s stated purpose with Israel was that they would be a nation dedicated to Him, to teaching others and bringing them into relationship with Him.

Because they rejected that close relationship with their Father (Isaiah 63:16) they probably would not be able to bring others in, even if they had managed to keep the rest of the covenant.

The core of the Old Covenant was relationship with God; the blessing inherent in that covenant was performance-based. This was a covenant that the recipient had to “keep” or perform according to certain requirements

The New Covenant is most definitely not performance-based. There are no temporal punishments or penalties from God based on our performance or lack of it.

Ephesians 1:3 puts it like this: "Praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with very spiritual blessing in the Heavenly realm."  TAB

There is an eternal reward system, called our “inheritance,” which is based on how we perform in this lifetime, but that does not affect our salvation in any way. Paul explains this clearly in 1 Corinthians 3:9-15

9 “For we are fellow workers with God…

10 “According to the grace of God I laid a foundation…

11 “...which is Jesus Christ

12 “But if anyone builds upon the foundation, whether it be with gold, silver, precious stones,

wood, hay, straw,

13 “the works of each will become plainly known; for the day (of judgment) will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire…

14 “If the work which any person has built on this foundation survives, he will get his reward

15 “But if any person’s work is burned up, he will suffer the loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as (having passed) through fire.” TAB

The New Covenant supersedes and replaces the Old.

Compared To The Abrahamic Covenant

The Abrahamic Covenant sits beside the New Covenant - both are eternal and share the same unconditional features based on God’s promises, not on the recipient’s performance or lack thereof.

The key component for both is faith, believing what God says or has said.

God must be able to recognise faith in us better than we can, or better than outside observers can. Immediately after Genesis 15:6: “And Abraham believed God and this was credited to him as righteousness,” this same Abraham asked God for a sign that His promise would come to pass. God gave it to him.

Then in Genesis 17:17, after God explained to Abraham that his aged wife would have the son of promise, he fell on his face (an act of honour or worship towards God) and laughed and said in his heart words which questioned the possibility that either of them could produce a child at their age.

Then, as usual, he came up with his suggestion, his solution to what faith could not see, and voiced it to God.

“O that Ishmael might live before you!” Genesis 17:18. There was no recrimination for this, nor did he lose his righteousness for this or any of the other mistakes that he subsequently made.

This matches righteousness in the New Covenant, as an act of God, a free gift from Him, in response to what we believe in our heart.

“Therefore (inheriting) the promise is the outcome of faith, in order that it might be given as an act of grace (a free gift rather than a reward for work done).” Romans 4:16

Compared to The Rest of God’s Promises

In the New Covenant we are told:

“For the Son of God, Christ Jesus, was not Yes and No, but in Him it is always Yes.

“As many as are the promises of God, they all have their Yes (fulfillment, approval or confirmation) in Him. (Jesus).” 2 Corinthians 19, 20

This allows us to take any appropriate promise or truth from anywhere in Scripture and apply it to ourselves or someone else. 

It could be a one-way, unconditional promise such as in Isaiah 43:2: “When you pass through the waters I will be with you.”

Or it could be a two way, conditional promise such as Psalm 91: “A thousand may fall at your side, and ten thousand at your right hand,” which is based around and follows on from speaking about God’s goodness to others. In verse 2 we read: “I will say of the Lord…” which is followed by verse 3 which says, “For then He will…”

The Final Word

From Hebrews 8

6 “But as it now is He (Jesus) has acquired a ministry which is as much superior as the covenant of which He is the mediator is superior, because it rests upon more important promises."

What is important about those promises? They are not conditional, they are not based on our performance.

The writer of Hebrews then quotes the New Covenant promises from Jeremiah 31 and says:

13 “When God speaks of a new covenant He makes the first one obsolete. And what is obsolete is to be dispensed with altogether.”

What is to be dispensed with altogether? Not just the Old Covenant, but the conditional, works-based system that it was founded on.