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The Bible Teaching Commentary on Genesis: The Book of Foundations
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Redemption Through The Scriptures: The Purpose for Redemption
The New Covenant
Paul J. Bucknell
Purpose | Curtain | Closer | Two Covenants | Mosaic Covenant |
Belonging | Change of Covenants | New Covenant | Fellowship | Questions
God’s Purpose for His People
God has higher goals in sending Jesus to die for us than we normally think. This incomplete perspective greatly weakens our trust of His involvement in our lives. Learning these two major purposes, on the other hand, will certainly help you rethink your Christian lives!
The New Covenant
The actual term ‘new covenant’ is used seven times in the New Testament. This is perhaps most commonly remembered during the time of holy communion, “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood” (Lu 22:20; 1 Co 11:25). This signifies the Christ’s death as the blood being poured out as being the means by which God’s people can enter into God’s presence. Calling this an upgrade from the Old Covenant is a great understatement. Jesus is the “mediator of a better covenant” (He 8:6). So let’s highlight some of the differences between the Old and New Covenants. Refer to the passage from Jeremiah above as needed as it is quoted in Hebrews 8:8-12.
A better place of ministry (Heb 8:1-5)
Jesus ministers in the heavens, the true tabernacle, at the right hand of the Majesty while the Old Covenant had all its interface down on earth. The tabernacle was just a pattern after what Moses saw in heaven. It was not the authentic one (Heb 8:1-5).
Part of this book, Redemption Through the Scriptures, is on the web (see below), but the completed book with all the other teaching materials including: the full study guide and available videos, audios, and powerpoints are included in the Discipleship 3rd level library along with other third level BFF publications. These resources enable you to not only grow in Christ, be like Christ but also to have Christ's plan lived out through your life! Or check out the book!
A better form of ministry (Heb 8:6-7)
The better covenant requires a better executor. “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises. 7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second” (Heb 8:6-7).
The ‘He’ in verse 6 refers to Jesus, the mediator of the New Covenant as against Moses of the Old Covenant. The new covenant is better because it is enacted on better promises. For instance, it promises eternal life not merely a good earthly life. This New Covenant is still in full operation and is summarized in the term ‘gospel’ or salvation.
A deeper spiritual ministry (Heb 8:9-10)
“Not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they did not continue in my covenant, and I did not care for them, says the Lord. 10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Hebrews 8:9-10).
In
verse 9 it says that “They did not continue in my covenant.” He contrasts this
with God putting ‘My laws into their minds” and “write them upon their hearts.”
This points to a huge difference between the two covenants. Under the Old
Covenant the people were largely shaped by the community laws. Just like today
laws do not change hearts but when consequences are present, they can shape
one’s choices.
In the New Covenant, however, there is a genuine spiritual work on the heart of the believers. The issue is not if you belong to a religious organization but believe. Again, we see a huge advance on the intimacy that is possible under the New Covenant. So God’s laws are something that the believers desire and want (if they indeed are genuinely regenerated by the Spirit of God).
A closer fellowship (Heb 8:9-10)
In the Old Covenant the Israelites were mobilized by dangling a carrot before them, though they quickly lost vision of these blessings, along with some serious warnings. If God’s Law helped them, then they would obey. In the New Covenant, however, because God’s Word is in their hearts motivating them, they will seek to serve Him. This inward desire leads to a deeper more intimate relationship between God and His people. “I will be their God, and they shall be My people” (Hebrews 8:10). Much more needs to be said here but it will need to wait.
A wider and deeper fellowship (Heb 8:11)
“They shall not teach everyone his fellow citizen, and everyone his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them” (Heb 8:11).
Everyone part of God’s community really know God. This personal
relationship is the foundation for the New Covenant. The Old Covenant simply
did not provide for this heart change and so they had to be motivated from
outward circumstances rather than from the heart. This does not mean God’s
Spirit did not at times work in hearts this way in the Old Testament. We see
God’s Spirit “comes upon” individuals (Jud 3:10; 1 Chr 12:18) which is quite
different from the Lord dwelling our hearts through His Spirit.
“And Peter said to them, “Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God shall call to Himself” (Acts 2:38-39).
The fellowship is extended wider not only in the sense that all of God’s people, from younger to older, will equally “receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” but also as many as the “Lord shall call to Himself.” We will later discover that this reach of the gospel and the Spirit goes far beyond the one Israeli family into all the world.
A fuller ministry (Heb 8:12)
True peace and reconciliation come when we know that our sins are fully forgiven. “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Heb 8:12). The Old Covenant was not like this. It was greatly dependent upon year to year sacrifices as well as many other fulfilled commandments. Furthermore, we learn that the sacrifices of the Old Testament never really provided forgiveness but just enabled God to temporarily overlook them.
“But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; 12 and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. 13 For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Heb 9:11-14).
Conclusion
If we follow the Book of Hebrews, we discover that Christ Jesus and the New Covenant far excelled the Old Covenant given through Moses. Jesus Christ became the true and full sacrifice needed to provide forgiveness. His resurrection offers unhindered intercession (1 Tim 2:5-6). Because of this, God’s people in the New Testament era are brought far closer to Him than in the Old.
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Scriptures typically quoted from the New American Standard Bible unless noted:
(C) Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1988