What exactly IS the New Covenant God offers to man?

What exactly IS the New Covenant God offers to man?


Meaning of the word covenant
The English word covenant means

"a written agreement or promise . . . between two or more parties, especially for the performance of some action" (Webster's Ninth New Collegiate Dictionary).

"Covenant" expresses the fundamental meaning of both the Old Testament Hebrew word "berit" and the New Testament Greek word "diatheke."

"The covenant . . . is an act of grace on God's part for reconciling man to himself, but man's response should not be overlooked" (Smith's Bible Dictionary, article "covenant").

Covenants and God's plan

God created man with the potential to have a relationship with Him (Genesis 1:26-27). Therefore, He has initiated many agreements with man--some conditional, some unconditional. Since God wants us to obey Him, many of these covenants stress the necessity of obedience as a condition to receiving what He promises.
The first scriptural mention of "covenant" is found in Genesis 6:18. God promises to spare Noah and his family from the impending worldwide deluge. This "covenant" was primarily an act of God's grace (Genesis 6:8). But Noah's responsiveness to God was also a significant factor (Genesis 6:9).
God established another covenant with Noah after the Flood, promising to never again destroy the earth with water (Genesis 9:11-17). This covenant was unilateral and fundamentally unconditional. It was simply an expression of God's grace.

Some claim God's covenant with Abraham mentioned in Genesis 15:18 is the main covenant He made with Abraham. But this account is more like an oath that He would fulfill what He promised. Genesis 17 describes the formal institution of the covenant. Here God spells out the terms and conditions of this historic pact. God's promises are conditioned upon Abraham's obedience (Genesis 17:1, 26:3-5). This covenant was also extended to Isaac and his descendants (Genesis 17:9, 24:60, 27:28-29, 28:10-14). Circumcision was the "sign" or physical brand of identification of the human participants (Genesis 17:11). Genesis 22:16-18 describes the "seed" promise which Paul refers to in Galatians 3:16. Again, although fundamentally based on God's grace, the context clearly ties God's offer to Abraham's obedience. God delivered Israel from Egypt due to His prior covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (Exodus 2:23-25, Exodus 6:2-8). God then makes a covenant with Israel (through Moses as mediator) (Exodus 19:1-8). Israel glibly accepts the offer, not realizing they don't have the nature to fulfill God's requirements (Exodus 19:8, Deuteronomy 5:28-29). The terms and conditions of this covenant are spelled out in the remainder of the book of Exodus and reiterated in Deuteronomy. Exodus 31 expounds yet another covenant to emphasize the monumental importance of the Sabbath as an identifying sign of God's people. Some erroneously claim the Sabbath is a sign of the old covenant, which the text simply does not say. A "new covenant" Jeremiah 31:31-34 prophesies about a new covenant. The book of Hebrews provides the main New Testament commentary on this new covenant. Why is it called new? The New Testament uses two different Greek words for "new": Neos means new in contrast to old. Kainos means "new" in the sense of "unique". Hebrews 12:24, which identifies Jesus Christ as the mediator of the new covenant, is the only scripture where neos is used in reference to the new covenant. Every other passage uses kainos. So the "new covenant" is unique. How is the new covenant unique and better than the old? Hebrews 8:6 tells us the new covenant is better than the old because it contains better promises. Promises which were never before offered and thus unique to the new covenant. Hebrews 8 enumerates three such promises. Change of Nature -- Internalization of the Law Of God Israel didn't have the heart or nature to obey God (Deuteronomy 5:29). The old covenant contained no provision for internal motivation to obey God (Hebrews 8:7-8, Romans 8:3). In the new covenant God promises to put His laws into the mind and write them on the heart (Hebrews 8:10). What does this mean? David wrote, "I delight to do Your will, O my God, and Your law is in my heart" (Psalm 40:8). Delighting in God's law is not a normal human response (Romans 8:7). The new covenant promises the power to obey God. How? Through the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:1-4, 9), a unique feature of the new covenant. The fundamental basis of the new covenant is simply the conversion process. Writing God's laws in the mind and on the heart poetically describes how God, through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit, helps us internalize His laws. But conversion does not put the brain on automatic pilot. Nor is it like a sudden brain transplant. It is a daily process (2 Corinthians 4:16) of renewing the mind (Romans 12:2). Christ is being "formed in you" (Galatians 4:19) as "God works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose" (Philippians 2:13, NIV). This change of nature results in an intimate relationship with God (Hebrews 8:10). Forgiveness of Sins Forgiveness of sins, also necessary for a relationship with God (Isaiah 59:1-2), is another unique benefit of the new covenant (Hebrews 8:12). The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away sins (Hebrews 10:4. Therefore, forgiveness of sins was unique to the new covenant. The Passover wine represents the new covenant in Christ's blood, which was shed for the remission of sins (Matthew 26:27-28). The old covenant was made at Sinai when Israel accepted its terms. The new covenant is made at baptism when we accept Christ's sacrifice and commit ourselves completely to God and His will. Eternal Inheritance Eternal inheritance is a third unique and better promise offered in the new covenant (Hebrews 9:11-15). Eternal life is more than a chronological event and change of composition. Most importantly, it is a never ending relationship with God (John 17:3). What meaning would eternal life have apart from God? We are heirs of God through Christ (Galatians 4:6-7, Romans 8:16-19). The change of composition is only a means to that end. And the chronological aspect of eternity simply "goes with the territory." Future fulfillment The main fulfillment of Jeremiah's prophecy will occur when the new covenant is made with the house of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31, Hebrews 8:10). After He returns to set up the kingdom of God, Christ will establish the new covenant with all Israel and ultimately all mankind. So Malachi 3:1 calls the returning Christ the "messenger of the covenant." Under His rule, the Law will be taught from Jerusalem (Isaiah 2:3). This shows the Law remains an integral part of the new covenant. Ezekiel 11:17-20 prophesies that God will give them a new heart and new spirit to motivate them to obedience. Mercy and forgiveness of sin will be extended to all (Isaiah 59:20-21). As result, Israel will enjoy an intimate relationship with God (Hosea 2:16, 19-20, 23). What is OBSOLETE? Some wrongly assume that all Old Testament laws are obsolete unless repeated in the New Testament. The New Testament is a record of members living by the terms of the new covenant. But nowhere does the Bible say all new covenant laws are recorded in the New Testament. Rather, the laws of the new covenant are written in the minds and hearts of God's people. The new covenant renders the old covenant obsolete. The old covenant is not the same as the Ten Commandments. A covenant is an agreement; commandments are laws or terms of the agreement. The Ten Commandments are the words [terms, Jewish Publication Society translation] of the covenant not the covenant itself (Exodus 34:27-28). The covenant or agreement became obsolete, not the laws within it. The word "obsolete" (Greek: palaioo) means "things worn out by time and use" (Vine's Dictionary of Biblical Words). Hebrews 10:9-18 shows Christ's sacrifice made animal sacrifices obsolete. But the old covenant was not suddenly discarded or forbidden in the New Testament Church. It simply faded into disuse as people became aware of the superiority of the new covenant and came under it. But the law of God will never become obsolete (Matthew 5:18). Summary of new covenant features (present and future) The new covenant is really quite simple. God wants us to have a relationship with Him. Obeying His laws is fundamental to that relationship. The way God has communicated His laws has varied, but the laws remain the same. He related His laws verbally to the patriarchs (see Genesis 26:5 where God said Abraham obeyed his voice). To Israel, God wrote them on stones and in the book of the law. In the new covenant, He writes them in the mind and on the heart. The new covenant provides the motivation to obey His laws, extends forgiveness when we don't, and results in an intimate relationship with God for all eternity. We all look forward to the time when we will fully experience the benefits of the new covenant as eternal spirit members of God's family.

Written by:  Larry Walker

Additional Bible Study Materials

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What TWO things make it IMPOSSIBLE for God to Lie?

Has anyone ever SEEN God?

What is the CENTRAL THEME of the Bible?

Why doesn't God reveal himself MORE to man?

The New Covenant: Does It Abolish God's Law?

From the publisher of The Good News magazine.


Introduction

"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds" (Hebrews 10:16, New Revised Standard Version).

Does the New Covenant negate God's law and do away with any need to obey the Ten Commandments and other laws of God?

The belief that it does has long been a popular teaching in traditional Christianity. We'll thoroughly examine this question in this booklet.

Even more important, we'll address the real purpose of God's biblical covenants—more than one—and their vital role in the Creator's overall plan for mankind. It's highly important that we understand their true meaning.

How many people even know that the structure of the Bible is organized around a series of divine covenants—what we might call contracts or agreements—that reveal and describe the relationship God would like to have with every human being?

These covenants reveal God's promises. They also define the conditions that every person must meet to receive the blessings of those promises. God's covenants are the foundation of His divine plan to properly shape the way all people should think and behave.

God has a specific goal in mind. The final result of His plan is a divine family of sons and daughters who have developed the same righteous character that was evident in Jesus Christ when He was with mankind as a human being.

That character can be created only through an interactive process that takes place between each individual and God. It is a very personal process.

Why freedom of choice?

To make it possible for us to build that divine, holy and righteous character, God gives us freedom of choice. By giving us the liberty to make choices, He allows us to learn by our own experiences that we, with our limited abilities, cannot foresee all of the hurtful consequences that wrong choices produce. Only by relying on God's guidance will we learn how to avoid making bad choices.

Making wrong choices began with our very first human parents, Adam and Eve. They had to choose between two critical options.

They could allow God to fully guide their thinking and their way of life, or they could experiment and try to discern the best way to live by their own experiences.

They chose to learn by personal experience instead of fully putting their trust in God's instruction, guidance and help. All of mankind has followed that same path, reaping the same sad results.

God's covenants reveal His plan to reverse that dangerous pattern of harmful choices. In these covenants, He promises His divine help and blessing to those who turn to Him with their whole heart for the guidance and help they need.

Some of the blessings He gives for accepting His guidance and help are spiritual, offering us eternal benefits. Others are physical, designed to bless us in this temporary, physical life.

Why was the promise of a new heart so necessary?

God's latest and most important covenant revealed in the Bible is centered on His promise—His unwavering commitment—to create a new heart in those who unconditionally turn to Him for help.

Why is divine intervention essential in receiving that change of heart? It's really very simple. We were created incomplete!

God indeed made human beings with an amazing ability to think creatively—with an intellectual capability that far exceeds the creativity of any other physical creature. The unique talent He has given to us to design and produce what we imagine is patterned after His own astounding creative capacity (Genesis 1:27).

But there remains a missing dimension in our thinking, a dimension that needs to be added so we can properly control our thoughts and the actions they produce. The Bible reveals that God is committed to creating in us that additional ability.

He promises to give us the knowledge, understanding and the power to rightly manage how we think, feel and behave—if we choose, willingly and sincerely, to give Him our full cooperation. We desperately need that added ability! The sad record of human history shows that we cannot consistently make right choices or maintain right attitudes without God's divine help.

Instead, each of us naturally weaves his own web of thoughts and patterns of behavior into a conflicting mixture of good and evil. Not everything we think and do is wrong. But neither is it always right. Like Adam and Eve, we reap the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.

Whether our life will be only physical and temporary or will last forever depends on whether we allow our Creator to actively change our hearts and minds.

As He told the people of ancient Israel: "I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice" (Deuteronomy 30:19-20, emphasis added throughout).

From the beginning God has wanted all human beings to walk the path that leads to eternal life. Yet only one person has ever heeded His voice completely and walked that path perfectly—Jesus Christ!

All the rest of us have fallen short (Romans 3:23).

At His crucifixion, Jesus, through His death, implemented the New Covenant. This is why, on the evening before He was crucified, Jesus "took the cup after supper, saying, "This cup is [figuratively speaking] the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you'" (Luke 22 :20).

In that new covenant God gathers together all of the carefully planned details of His plan of salvation. To benefit from that wonderful plan, it is essential that we correctly understand the meaning and purpose of the New Covenant that Christ implemented. Far too many people still misapply or distort what the Bible actually says about that New Covenant. Let's now unravel those distortions.


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