Out of his great love, God reaches out to sinful, rebellious humanity with commitments and promises and agreements, called covenants.
To be clear, God initiates all these covenants. Let’s learn about them together.
I.. Introduction: Summary Tables
Definitions are included here.
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Introduction: Summary Table |
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| 1 | Long definition | Out of his great love for his highest creation, people, God unilaterally reaches out to them and initiates an unalterable legal agreement, in which he stipulates the terms that reveal how he relates to people, and they to him. |
| 2 | Short definition | A covenant is an unalterable legal agreement, in which God stipulates the terms that reveal how he relates to people, and they to him. |
| 3 | Summary | The main points are that he takes the initiative and spells out the terms of the agreement. because our strutting and demanding fail to understand that he is the one in charge of his creation. He imposes the agreement on his highest creation, humankind. he wants a relationship with us. But there is a Creator-creature gap, which cannot be bridged by human effort and ingenuity. Since he is so far above us, he must instruct us on how we approach him and get to know him. |
| 4 | Suzerain Vassal Covenant | The sovereign or suzerain (God), out of his bounty and grace, spells out the conditions that his subjects or vassals are obligated to fulfill. This type is conditional or obligatory. If the vassals break the covenant, they can expect judgment and rejection. The covenant can even be made obsolete. This is also called the obligatory covenant. The Sinai or Mosaic covenant is an example |
| 5 | Royal Grant | The sovereign (God) unconditionally grants a blessing to his subjects (people). This covenant depends on the sovereign as benefactor, not on the people’s faithfulness. If some people break it, the covenant still stands, never becoming obsolete. It is called an unconditional or a promissory covenant. The Davidic covenant is an example. |
II. Seven Covenants and Their Types
God made at least seven covenants. Here they are and the types they are.
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Seven Covenants and Their Types |
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| 1 | Covenant of Redemption | The Triunity—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit—agreed that they would reach down to humanity and redeem it. It was a rescue mission. This agreement is also a covenant |
| 2 | Covenant with Adam | This was a Suzerain-Vassal covenant. Humankind was a subject of his sovereign lord, who granted humankind life and blessings, if the vassal (subject or Adam) showed absolute loyalty and obedience to the Lord of heaven and earth (the suzerain or sovereign). It is a covenant of life, for God promises life for humanity. But Adam broke the covenant, so people were made sinners. |
| 3 | Covenant with Noah | It is the Royal Grant. The grant was unilateral and lasted forever and applied to his descendants. God would keep this covenant with humanity, even if people disobeyed. God would not wipe them out ever again by the flood. |
| 4 | Covenant with Abraham | Scholars divide the covenant with Abraham into two parts.
The first part was a Royal Grant, an unconditional promise to possess Canaan (Gen. 15:7). It was to belong to Abraham and his descendants forever, but under the Lord’s ownership. Some may object that it was not unconditional. If the people broke the Sinai covenant, then the land would vomit them out (Lev. 18:22; 20:22). And it did when the northern and southern kingdoms violated this covenant (2 Kings 17-18; 2 Chron. 36:15-23). However, the Abrahamic covenants, particularly the first one, are different from the Sinai covenant. The second part was a Suzerain-Vassal Covenant. Abraham and his descendants were to be totally dedicated, loyal, and obedient to their sovereign Lord (Gen. 17). |
| 5 | Sinai or Mosaic Covenant | It is the Suzerain-Vassal Covenant; it is conditional. God is the suzerain or sovereign, and Israel is the vassal or subject. It was made with Israel. God had redeemed them from bondage to Egypt, and he initiated the covenant with them (Exod. 19-24). If Israel breaks it, then God judges them. They broke it. It was made obsolete by the New Covenant. (Mosaic means Moses.) |
| 6 | Covenant with David | It is a Royal Grant. God promises that a descendant would forever sit on David’s throne. |
| 7 | New Covenant | The New Covenant does not fit the two types perfectly, though a Royal Grant to the descendants of Adam (all humanity) is close. In the New Covenant, some elements are unprecedented. It is unconditional because God will maintain it. It will never be obsolete. |
III. Covenant of Redemption
A. Scripture
There is no doubt that the plan of redemption was decided from the distant past; some theologians say from eternity past. It was an eternal decree.
Ephesians 1:4 says that God chose us in Christ before the creation of the world. (A remarkable and profound statement!) The result was that “in him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance of the riches of his grace which he lavished on us (vv. 7-8).
Ephesians 3:11 teaches us that through the church God revealed his manifold wisdom to the heavenly rulers and authorities according to his eternal purpose that he accomplished in Christ Jesus the Lord.
Second Timothy 1:9-10 says that he called us to live a holy life, not because of anything we have done but because of his purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time; it has been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus.
B. Fulfillment
Here are the three persons of the Trinity and their roles in redemption.
1. Father
In John 17: 2, 6 The Father agreed to give to the Son a people he would redeem for his own. The Father revealed to the Son those whom the Father had given him.
2. Son
He agreed that he would come to earth and live as a man and under Mosaic law (Gal. 4:4; Heb. 2:14-18). He was tempted in every way that we humans were, but without sin (Matt. 4:1-11; Luke 4:1-13; Heb. 4:15). He was commissioned to become perfectly obedient to all the commands of the Father (Heb. 10:7-9), even to the point of death on a cross (Phil. 2:8). He promised the Father that everyone whom the father gave to the Son would not be lost (John 17:12).
3. Holy Spirit
He agreed to obey the will of the Father and empower the Son to fulfill the ministry laid out before the Son (Matt. 3:16; Luke 4:1, 14, 18; John 3:34). Redemption is eternal (Heb. 9:12), and the eternal Spirit (Heb. 9:14) applies the benefits of Christ’s redemption to the hearts of believers (John 14:16-17, 26; Acts 1:8; 2:17-18, 33).
IV. Covenant with Adam
A. Ratification
This means officially approving, sanctioning, and confirming the agreement. It is not clear in humankind’s case, but it seems to be ratified when God made the garden and placed humankind in it and then issued the terms of the agreement. The ratification is his creation and placement of Humankind in his creation.
B. Fulfillment
This covenant has multiple fulfillments as it moves down the corridor of time.
1. Life
God still gives life, so even though humankind broke the covenant, God still fulfills his side of the agreement, from Genesis to Revelation. Humankind is still alive.
2. Sacrifice
When humankind broke the covenant, God clothed humankind (man and woman) with animal skins. This foreshadows the animals sacrifices in Leviticus, which in turns foreshadows the sacrifice of Christ on the cross (Heb. 8-9).
3. Woman crushing Satan and producing the Messiah
Genesis 3:15 speaks of woman’s seed or offspring bruising or crushing the head of the serpent, and the ultimate fulfillment came through Christ, her greatest offspring, when he defeated Satan on the cross (Col. 2:14; Heb. 2:14; 1 John 3:8).
4. Christ reverses Adam’s disobedience
Christ perfectly obeyed God’s will (John 6:38; Rom. 5:18-19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15), which reversed the curse and consequences of Adam’s fall (Rom. 5:15-19).
V. Covenant with Noah
A. Ratification
And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making with you, a covenant for all generations to come. I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be a sign of the covenant between me and earth. Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life” (Gen. 9:12-15).
So the ratification was the rainbow.
B. Fulfillment
God himself and his Son’s Second Coming fulfills it. Humanity does not have to do anything, because God made it unconditionally, and he will fulfill it to the end of this age—and even during the age after the Second Coming—also known as the kingdom of God on a refurbished and cleansed earth. Whenever clouds and rain come, God will not allow floods to destroy the whole earth.
VI. Covenants with Abraham
A. Ratifications
The first part was by Abraham’s faith (v. 6) and then his faith was confirmed by his cutting up animals and laying them out in two parallel rows (Gen. 15:9-11, 17-18). A flaming torch and smoking firepot passed between the dismembered animal parts. This was the presence of God ratifying the covenant.
The second part was confirmed by circumcision (Gen. 17:11-14). The Abrahamic covenant in both parts together was repeated to Abraham (Gen. 22:17-18), Isaac (Gen. 26:3-5), Jacob (Gen. 28:13-15), and to Moses (Exod. 6:2-4); it was celebrated by the psalmist (Ps. 105:7-11) and the exiles who had returned (Neh. 9:7-8).
B. Fulfillment
It is the clearest teaching of Scripture that New Covenant fulfills all OT covenants through Christ, which he initiated at the Lord’s Supper and ratified at his death and resurrection. He fulfills even the two-part covenant given to Abraham. Specifically, Paul says that in Abraham’s “seed” all the nations will be blessed. Who is the “seed”? Christ alone is the seed (singular) of Abraham (Gal. 3:15-18), and salvation goes through him and only him. Now the church inherits the whole world by salvation through Christ (Rom. 4:13). Now through him the whole world is being blessed as his gospel is spread.
The sign of the second covenant was circumcision. Today, believers are not circumcised except in their hearts (Rom. 2:25-29; 1 Cor. 7:19). So this sign of the covenant and therefore the second part of the covenant is obsolete. The nation of Israel rejected the Messiah, about four decades before the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem in A.D. 70. That rejection, however, opened the door to Gentiles to receive salvation offered through the Messiah (Gal. 3:15-18).
Christ is the fulfillment of the “seed” (singular) or the descendant promised to Abraham the believer that the whole world would be blessed through his “seed.” Now he is the only way of salvation through faith in him. We can be like Abraham the believer, but our faith is now directed towards and put wholly in Christ. This is Paul’s main emphasis throughout his writings, particularly in Romans 9-11 and Galatians 3-4.
Now the church inherits the world (Rom. 4:13), while the Jews can inherit Israel. They are on two parallel tracks globally, but salvation is through Christ alone.
VII. Sinai Covenant
A. Brief intro.
It begins in Exodus 19, and the Ten Commandments were delivered in Exodus 20. Is it a covenant of grace and law or law and what exactly? This covenant we study is called the Sinai Covenant or the Sinaitic Covenant or the Covenant with Israel or the Mosaic Covenant (Mosaic = “of Moses”).
This act of reaching out to a human is God’s loving grace. Humans do not dictate the terms, but God sets them out. So in that sense it is a covenant of grace. Any time God reaches his hand out to help an individual or a people, that is his grace.
B. Ratification
This happened in point no. 4. Moses read the book of the Covenant to the Israelites, they vowed to keep it, and then he sprinkled blood on them. The covenant with Israel was a blood covenant (Exod. 24:6-8).
C. Fulfillment
Jesus Christ fulfilled the law. It is paid in full. He obeyed God’s will perfectly (Rom. 5:18-19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). He died the death of a curse (Gal. 3:10-13), and so his death removed the curse from us (Gal. 3:13-14). This is part of the Great Exchange.
The New Covenant is also a blood covenant, which he instituted in the Lord’s Supper: “… after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This is the cup is the new covenant of blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25).
Jesus Introduces the New Covenant and the Communion Supper
VIII. Covenant with David
A. Ratification
God himself ratified the covenant. The covenant was promised to David after his anointing—or the details of the covenant were not revealed to the boy David or to the old prophet Samuel, but one could say that God ratified it during the anointing (1 Sam. 17:12-13). Or at least it was launched then. In any case, recall that Psalm. 89:34-35 says that God will not violate or break his covenant, so David’s throne will endure before God.
B. Fulfillment
Jesus fulfilled and is fulfilling and always shall fulfill the Davidic covenant, for he is the righteous ruler for whom Israel had been looking or should have been looking.
Luke 1:32 says that Gabriel himself announced that the Lord God will give the Messiah Jesus the throne of David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; “his kingdom will never end.” Matthew 1:1 and Romans 1:3 says that Jesus was the son of David. John 18:33-37 says that in a dialogue with Pilate Jesus affirmed that his kingdom is not of this world, so his fulfillment of David’s covenant would take place in heaven—for now. In Acts 13:22-23, 34 Paul preached that Jesus fulfilled the Davidic covenant. Paul also says that Jesus will hand over his kingdom to his Father when he has destroyed all dominion, authority and power (1 Cor. 15:24-25). Jesus is called THE KING OF KINGS (Rev. 19:16).
IX. New Covenant
A. The New Covenant makes Sinai Covenant obsolete
It is unconditional.
Let’s look at the terms in this passage from Hebrews 8:7-13 and key verses in chapters 9-10)
6 But in fact the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, since the new covenant is established on better promises.
7 For if there had been nothing wrong with that first covenant, no place would have been sought for another. 8 But God found fault with the people and said:
“The days are coming, declares the Lord,
when I will make a new covenant
with the people of Israel
and with the people of Judah.
9 It will not be like the covenant
I made with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
to lead them out of Egypt,
because they did not remain faithful to my covenant,
and I turned away from them,
declares the Lord.
10 This is the covenant I will establish with the people of Israel
after that time, declares the Lord.
I will put my laws in their minds
and write them on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.
11 No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest.
12 For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”
13 By calling this covenant “new,” he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and outdated will soon disappear. (Heb. 8:6-13, quoting Jer. 31:31-34)
B.. Explanation
1.. The old covenant was flawed.
It needed to be replaced.
2.. Localized new covenant?
He was about to establish the new covenant with Israel and Judea, but they officially rejected their Messiah, King Jesus, and this rejection opened the door of salvation through Jesus to the Gentiles, all non-Jews throughout the entire planet.
3.. Official rejection
Beyond those above verses, the official Jewish rejection of the Messiah four decades before the temple was destroyed by the Romans in A.D. 70, Christ has become the fulfillment of the “seed” (singular) or the descendant promised to Abraham the believer. Now the whole world would be blessed through his “seed.” He is the only way of salvation through faith in him. We can be like Abraham the believer, but our faith is now directed towards and put wholly in Christ. This is Paul’s main emphasis throughout his writing, particularly in Romans 9-11 and Gal. 3-4.
4.. Plan for new covenant
Because the Jews continually spurned the of Sinai covenant, God disregarded them and planned a new covenant (Heb. 8:9).
5.. The law in their hearts
God was going to instill the law in their minds and inscribe them on the hearts of the people. The new covenant was going to be inward, not outward. Though the verses don’t say it, only the Holy Spirit can do this (Rom. 8; Gal. 5:13-26).
6.. God is gracious.
The best news is that God will be gracious to our unrighteousness (literally “unrighteousnesses,” plural), and he will no longer remember our sins.
7.. Sinai covenant is now obsolete.
Hebrews 8:13 is perfectly clear. The old covenant of Moses (the Sinai covenant) is old, obsolete and ready to disappear.
8.. Christ went into the heavenly tabernacle by his perfect sacrifice (Heb. 9:6-10).
This speaks of his being an eternal high priest who no longer needs to offer yearly sacrifices for us, because he did this once and for all. Through his blood he offers eternal redemption (9:11-14). One of the results of eternally applied sacrifice (9:14) is that we no longer have to do dead works that lead to death (i.e. rituals) to have our consciences cleansed. Now his blood sprinkled on our consciences (Heb. 10:22).
9.. Christ is therefore the mediator of the new and better covenant (9:15).
We are now set free from the sins committed under the first covenant. We Gentiles did not commit sins under the first covenant, but we can still have freedom from our own sins through his blood ransom.
10.. His redemption completes us.
Since we have been cleansed by sacrificial blood, we can be complete and whole in our soul and spirit, as we are being made holy (10:14). So when God saves us through Christ, he instantly sends his Spirit into our hearts, an act that sets us apart, and then we are in the process of catching up with the Spirit in our lives and our initial consecration to him.
11.. Summing up (so far)
God offered us his very best to establish and ratify the New Covenant: His Son Jesus Christ. Now we can have permanent forgiveness of sins without more sacrifices from him or dead rituals from us. And now we can have an eternal relationship with the Father.
12.. What is our obligation?
It is to believe on his Son Jesus Christ, not to achieve the New Covenant, but to receive it. Heb. 6:12 says believers through faith and patience inherit the promises. That is, what we need is faith to enter the New Covenant and patience to wait for our ultimate inheritance when he returns (Heb. 9:28).
C. Ratification
It is in the blood of Jesus Christ. At the Last Supper he said this is the cup of the new covenant in his blood (Luke 22:20), which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28; cf. 1 Cor. 11:25). And Heb. 9:17-18 says a covenant is not ratified without blood. In the Old it was the blood of animals; in the New, it is the blood of God’s precious Son through the death on the cross. It was the cross that ratified the New Covenant.
D. Fulfillment
Jesus Christ fulfilled the law. It is paid in full. He obeyed God’s will perfectly (Rom. 5:18-19; 2 Cor. 5:21; Heb. 4:15). He died the death of a curse (Gal. 3:10-13), and so his death removed the curse from us (Gal. 3:13-14). As noted, the New Covenant is also a blood covenant, which he instituted in the Last Supper: “… after the supper he took the cup saying, ‘This is the cup is the new covenant of blood, which is poured out for you’” (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25).
Jesus Introduces the New Covenant and the Communion Supper
Second Corinthians 3 is emphatic about Christ fulfilling the Sinai Covenant. We are a letter from Christ, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God. This is better than the covenant written on tablets of stone (v. 3; cf. Exod. 31:18; 34:1-4). We live in the Spirit; people under the Sinai Covenant lived under the law. “The letter kills, but the Spirit gives life” (v. 6). Moses’s glory was transitory and faded, while the ministry of the Spirit is much more glorious and ever-increasing (v. 8). Moses put a veil over his face (Exod. 34:29-35), but the glory of the New Covenant is everlasting (vv. 8-11). The veil covers the minds and hearts of Jews during Paul’s days, and it is only lifted in Christ (v. 15). We have unveiled faces and are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit (v. 18).
X.. Sinai and New Covenants: Tables of Differences and Similarities
A.. Various aspects
It shows the differences between the Old and New Covenant, though there are similarities. It draws the comparisons from the New Covenant’s point of view, looking back on the Old, in a fuller perspective.
| Categories | Old Covenant | New Covenant |
| Duration | Temporal | Everlasting |
| Conditional | Yes | No |
| Grace and Faith | Yes | Yes |
| Moral Law | Yes | Yes |
| Written | In stone | On hearts and minds |
| Ratified | By blood of animals | By the blood of Christ |
| Number of Sacrifices | Countless numbers | One sacrifice forever |
| Mediator | Moses | Jesus |
| Holy Spirit | No permanent indwelling | Permanent indwelling |
| Being Born Again | No | Yes |
| Life in the Spirit | Intermittent or minimal or not at all | Permanent and powerful |
| Approach to God | Through Aaron the high priest and his successors | Through Christ our High Priest |
| Celebrated | By sacrifices (looking forward) | By communion (looking back to the cross) |
| Fulfilled and Replaced | Yes | Never |
| Adapted and much expanded from Geisler, p. 1393 | ||
B. Explanation
The New Covenant is superior and better than the Old, as the epistle of Hebrews teaches. The main point is that life in the Spirit is the whole project and new way that God grants to people in the New Covenant (Luke 24:49; John 20:22; entire book of Acts; Rom. 8; Gal. 5). People of the Old Covenant did not have life in the Spirit, in the same way, both extensive and intensive, as do people of the New.
What does it mean that both covenants have grace and faith and moral law? Do New Covenant believers have to obey the moral law? The New Covenant is based mainly on two things. First, God extends his grace to us. (He also did this to the ancient people of God in the Old.) Second, grace reaching us is the only way we can have saving faith in Jesus Christ, which places us in the New Covenant. Faith is the opposite of law keeping (Rom. 4). Law keeping, including rituals and ceremonies and kosher food laws, are essential in the Old.
So the huge difference between the two covenants is that in the New Covenant, believers walk in the Spirit, who enables them to fulfill the law by God’s love (Rom. 8; 13:8-10; Gal. 5:13-18, 22-23). Walking in the Spirit transcends law keeping.
C.. Moral law
What about moral law, which is not the foundation of the New Covenant? Christ is. However, moral law appears everywhere in the New Covenant Scriptures. When believers get confused or need more detailed guidance, then moral law teaches them. In contrast, in the Old Sinai Covenant, the people promised to obey the law (Exod. 24). It was conditioned on their law keeping.
D. Summary
It works out like this:
1.. Sinai Covenant
God’s part: grace
Humankind’s part: faith in God and law keeping
Result: Righteousness through grace, faith, and the law
2.. New Covenant
God’s part: grace
Humankind’s part: faith in Christ and living in the Spirit
Result: Righteousness through grace, faith, and the Spirit
3.. Bottom line
John wrote: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ” (John 1:17).
So the emphasis in the Sinai covenant tilts more towards law keeping than resting in God’s grace in the New (Phil. 3:4-11). Renewalists believe that they have the Spirit to enable them to live in the New Covenant. We need to develop our close relationship with the Father and Christ, through the power of the Spirit.
XI. One Decisive Difference
A. Brief intro.
Let’s explore the differences more thoroughly. First and foremost, this difference is what Jesus established and the New Testament authors laid out in the Scriptures. It’s really very simple.
Read this table from the bottom up, from the foundation.
B. Table of the one big difference
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One Decisive Difference between Sinai and New Covenants |
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| Covenants | Sinai | New |
| People’s Response to Grace | Faith | Faith |
| God’s Gift and Calling | Grace | Grace |
| Foundation | Law | Christ |
C. Explanation
The Sinai Covenant and the New Covenant have grace and faith in common. God calls and woos people by his grace, and people respond by exercising their faith. No, their faith does not flow out of their own inner strength and will power, but God gives grace and the power of the word to trigger and spark saving faith. Abraham, who lived before the Sinai Covenant, and David, who lived within the Sinai Covenant, and the true prophets and many others, were all saved by grace through faith. They had a salvific relationship with God by his grace and their faith in him. Unknown to these OT saints (except for their revelations or hints in their writings), their faith was actually in the pre-incarnate Son of God (Ps. 110:1-2; Matt. 22:41-46 // Mark 12:35-37 // Luke 20:41-44).
However, the decisive difference is the foundation between the Sinai and New Covenants: Law v. Christ. Here are just a few Scriptures that spell out the superiority of grace and faith built on Christ instead of the mixture of law and grace and faith in the Sinai covenant. John 1:17: “For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
D. Table of important Scriptures
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Scriptures |
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| Sinai Covenant Scriptures | New Covenant Scriptures |
| Moses and people are at foot of Mt. Sinai and the Sinai Covenant begins:
20 The Lord descended to the top of Mount Sinai and called Moses to the top of the mountain. So Moses went up 21 and the Lord said to him, “Go down and warn the people so they do not force their way through to see the Lord and many of them perish. 22 Even the priests, who approach the Lord, must consecrate themselves, or the Lord will break out against them.” (Exod. 19:20-22) |
Jesus established New Covenant by his sacrificial death and his blood:
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me.” 20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you (Luke 22:19-20) |
| Ten Commandments are imposed, so law is built into the fabric of Sinai Covenant:
2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. |
Paul writes that he was a blameless law keeper, but he gave up his own righteousness based on law for Christ’s righteousness based on faith:
As for righteousness based on the law, faultless. 7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. (Phil. 3:6-9) |
| Many other commandments are given, and people affirm they can keep them. The covenant was established by blood:
6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he splashed against the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, “We will do everything the Lord has said; we will obey.” 8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, “This is the blood of the covenant that the Lord has made with you in accordance with all these words.” (Exod. 24:6-8) |
The author of Hebrews says that the OT prophesied the New Covenant, and the New Covenant made the Old Sinai Covenant obsolete:
Hebrews 8:6-13, quoted above |
E.. What is retained or not
Moral law has been God’s gift to humanity long before Moses lived, who is a late-comer in human history, if you think about it. In the Sinai Covenant, however, moral law becomes much clearer and focused than it was before the Sinai Covenant was initiated.
1.. Four C’s omitted
Transitioning from Sinai to the New, what is left behind are the four C’s:
a.. Calendar observances
b.. Culinary or kosher food laws
c.. Circumcision
d.. Ceremonial laws (e.g. sacrifices).
2.. Explanation
Food (sharing a meal) and the other C’s potentially separated Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians in the earliest Christian community, while, in contrast, moral law is for everyone, for all times. Therefore, all Christians keep moral law, in case they get confused about life, while the other four C’s are obsolete.
F.. General guidelines
1.. Liberty, not legalism
However, if converted or saved or redeemed Jews (and converted Gentiles who reach out to unconverted Jews) today voluntarily wish to keep some of the four C’s (no animal sacrifices! Read Hebrews!), not out of a covenant command, then they may do so because they intend to witness to unconverted Jews–who have missed their true Messiah. Keeping some of the four C’s no longer separates Jew from Gentile in the New Covenant, but only to witness to Jews outside of the New. Therefore, for this narrow purpose, freely keeping some of the four C’s is not unlawful by New Covenant standards.
2.. Warning about a movement
However, human nature in some people tends to extremes. So the Hebrew Roots Movement must be careful and moderate and discerning! They must not turn permitted practices to commanded practices. They must not become extreme and apostatize into a half-baked, distorted “Sinai” covenant, which has been made obsolete.
As for Jesus and Paul going into the synagogue regularly, for example, they entered there to preach the gospel. Neither one was under command (in Num. 15:32-36 a man was stoned to death for breaking the Sabbath). Jesus made the Sabbath for man, not man for the Sabbath. In other words, humankind stands on top of the Sabbath; the Sabbath does not hang like a sword over the head of humankind.
3..Grace and faith
In any case, New Covenant righteousness is offered by grace and received by faith on the basis of Christ. Old Sinai righteousness is offered by grace and received by faith but was built on the law. So the everlasting New is superior to the obsolete Old.
4.. So are there two tracks of salvation?
Unconverted and unsaved Jews are collectively still “in Abraham,” while non-Jews who convert to Judaism are now “in Moses” or “within the law.” By adoption they are also “in Abraham.” By contrast, converted and saved Jews and converted and saved Gentiles are “in Christ.” Being in Abraham or in the law is insufficient for eternal salvation. However, being in Christ, God’s Son, whom God introduced to humanity about two thousand years ago, is now the only way to God and eternal salvation for Jews and Gentiles–for everyone who puts his faith in the Son.
XII. Reflections on the Seven Covenants
A. Caution about critics
Let’s not listen to the over-thinkers (I did not say “thinkers”) throughout social media who tells us that Christ’s sacrificial death on the cross is old-fashioned, too bloody, and irrelevant. They must believe that he died an unfortunate martyr’s death, the death of a good man, but nothing more. It is as if they leave him up on the cross and ignore his words at the Last Supper, on the night before he was crucified. This attitude is arrogant and presumptuous.
B. His sacrificial death is essential.
I for one will never leave Jesus on the cross and claim he died a mere martyr, a wise teacher. He himself said that his death would take away our sins through his blood. He was taking over and fulfilling the Old Sinai Covenant, and he was the once and for all sacrifice for all times and all people, if they repent of their sins and receive saving faith through the Spirit-filled proclamation of the gospel. Then the Spirit fills them, so their salvation is sealed and they can live for him.
Now let’s review.
C. Covenant of redemption
This covenant was voluntarily entered into, between the three persons of the Triunity (Trinity). This shows how much each loved us the people. We were their highest creation; however, we sunk the lowest and needed the deepest and farthest redemption.
It has been well said that if you were the only one in all of the earth, God would have still sent his Son to rescue you and redeem you. He would have voluntarily sacrificed his life, so that his blood would cleanse your conscience (Heb. 10:22). That’s how much he loved you—just as you are, no matter what you have done!
Humankind used to have fellowship with God as the preincarnate Christ walked through the garden with his highest creation (humankind) all the way back in Genesis. By virtue of your connection to Humankind—by your being a human—you too were called to have that level of relationship with God. God created you to have intimate fellowship and a personal relationship with him. You are made in his image.
However, because of your sin nature, which you got naturally through humankind, again by virtue of your being a human, that fellowship was broken. Now you were wandering around, lost and dazed and confused. You are on drugs; you are addicted to TV and social media; you are in dysfunctional relationships; you are a workaholic. Even your thoughts turn against you, saying awful and negative things to you. Satan attacks your mind, as well. Such is life without God.
D. Covenant with Adam
Now, however, your fellowship and relationship can be restored through Christ who fulfilled the terms and intentions of the Covenant of Nature, the Adamic Covenant. His sacrificial death on the cross offers atonement (blotting out and wiping away) for your sins. You have been reconciled to God, not him to you, for he never moved! The way back to the garden, so to speak, is open—the garden of intimate relationship with God through your redeemer, Jesus Christ. God is patient and kind. He does not want to destroy earth or anyone’s life.
However, he is the God of Ultimate Justice. He cannot by his nature allow degradation and injustice and violence and sin to go on forever without judgment and recompense. To deny God’s justice-wrath-judgment is simply misguided on humanity’s part.
However, please realize that God is pleading with humankind and calling him to be reconciled to him. He wants a personal relationship with people, through surrendering to his Son Jesus Christ. He is so patient and kind that he is willing to wait for all people to hear his message of love, so they will receive his Son Jesus Christ through the power of the Spirit.
E. Covenant with Noah
The earliest humans at this time were no better than mammals, preying on each other. It was the world of predators attacking the prey mammals. The humans had degraded so much that violence filled their societies. We know who the victims are of violence: women and children.
I believe God rescued them from the violence of men by taking the women and children from an evil place into a safer environment. I also believe that children are welcomed into God’s presence. What about the adult women? I will leave them in the hands of our loving Father. Abraham asked his angelic visitors: “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Gen. 18:25). The answer is yes.
The covenant with Noah provides us with security. God himself will never judge the earth with flood waters. We can be assured of this promise. Next. he expects us to care for the planet, as we carry on Noah’s commission. He had to replant and grow livestock. It looks like he succeeded. What about us? Will we be the caretakers of the natural world?
We will have to wait for Christ to fulfill this covenant, to bring clarity and finality to it. He will renew all of creation at his Second Coming, so says Revelation 21-22.
F. Covenant with Abraham
Let’s explore the salvational aspect more deeply. The Hebrew Bible is full of prophecies about the Messiah. As Peter proclaimed before the Jewish Sanhedrin (high court and council), now salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ, Yeshua ha-Meshiach (Acts 4:12). I for one will never abandon him and his bold stance and statement.
Jews today need their Messiah. Please don’t accept the theology of the two-track covenants: one salvation for Jews through the covenants with Abraham and Moses, and the other one for Gentiles (and a few “wayward” Messianic Jews) through Jesus Christ. Two tracks of history is not the same as one covenant through Christ. No, Jesus is the only way of salvation for everyone on the planet, Jew and Gentile.
God’s whole plan for humanity is to break down the dividing wall between this small band of Jews and the rest of the seven billion people on the planet (cf. Eph. 2:14). This was important in Paul’s day because for him Israel was a major player in the first-century Roman Empire.
Now for us today, the Church must reach out to everyone, including Jews, and keep an eye on any anti-Semitism that rears its ugly head. We can support the Jewish state of Israel and still call for the salvation of the Jews everywhere through their true Messiah. In fact, the best way to support Israel is to issue this call of salvation.
G. Sinai Covenant
It is difficult to sort out what scholars and theologians believe about the Sinai covenant. Some say it was a covenant of grace and play down the law keeping. Other say it was a covenant of law keeping and play down God’s grace. However, this chapter has shown (I hope) that it was a mixture of law and grace because God chose Israel by his grace and required them to keep the law. In contrast, The New Covenant offers the permanent indwelling of the Spirit, so they can grow in holiness and righteous living. There is no mixture of grace and law keeping to be righteous.
Renewalists believe that they have the Spirit (or the Spirit has them) to enable them to live in the New Covenant. We need to develop our close relationship with the Father and Christ, through the power of the Spirit.
But moral law has never disappeared. It is God’s gift to humanity long before Moses existed. It is imported into the New Covenant and eliminates confusion in our daily living. But we don’t keep it in order to join the covenant or to be saved for the first time. We keep moral law because keeping it is our duty as kingdom citizens.
H. Covenant with David
Jesus sits on the throne of David now and will remain there forever, whatever happens to the sun and earth. David will never co-rule on this throne, as if David and Jesus would sit side by side. In heaven David will announce that the KING OF KINGS is the best and most qualified king to sit there, infinitely better than he is (or so I poetically imagine this to happen).
Before the end, however, Jesus sits on the throne of David in heaven and is watching out for Israel. We would do well not to spit on this nation. No, we don’t have to agree with every little thing that every Israeli politician does or says, but the fact of this nation’s existence means we should respect its right to thrive as a Jewish state.
And the best way to support this nation is to preach their true Messiah to them. Never believe that because the land grant is unconditional, they do not need their Messiah. He is the fulfillment of the Davidic covenant in the way of salvation—he transcends this covenant through the gospel. Everyone is saved the same way: through Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12).
I. New Covenant
You can know God better by considering these Scriptural truths and personal realities.
The main and deep truth is that for Christ, establishing the New Covenant was a covenant of works. He did the work to live a sinless life. He worked to lay down his life on the cross, where he shed his blood for the forgiveness of sins. His death is the ultimate expression of works.
For us, therefore, the New Covenant is the covenant of grace. Now all we do is receive it by grace through faith. We don’t work to achieve it, but we receive it by faith and then rest in his eternal covenant.
So here are some benefits of living in the New Covenant.
1. The Spirit
First, now the Spirit lives in us and puts in our minds and inscribes into our hearts moral law, which the New Covenant Scriptures is full of (Heb. 8:10).
2. New birth in Christ
In Christ and only in him, now we can be born again or experience new birth or regeneration (John 3:7-8; Tit. 3:5).
3. Freedom
The New Covenant enables us through the Spirit to be free from the law of sin and death (Rom. 8:2). We no longer have to be beat down by our old sins and habits and addictions (Rom. 6:14-18). He sets us free.
4. Law written on hearts
God and people now have a special relationship. “I shall be their God” (Heb. 8:10). We have a special knowledge of God now.
5. Forgiveness through Christ
God promises the forgiveness of sins (Matt. 26:28). He will remember our sins no more, no longer, not at all (Heb. 8:12).
6.. Eternal inheritance
Now we have an eternal inheritance (Heb. 9:15, 28). We have a blessed life in Christ, down here on earth, but we have an eternal, heavenly home waiting for us. Christ’s sacrificial death opened it up to us.
7.. New family
All the promises of God in the OT belong to us. We gentiles are included in the flow of salvation, from Genesis to Malachi and from Matthew to Revelation.
J. Summary
For these wonderful reasons, let’s not listen to the over-thinkers on social media who tell us that Christ’s blood sacrifice on the cross is primitive and irrelevant to the world today. I for one will never leave Christ on the cross and in the tomb and claim that his death is just an unfortunate martyrdom of a wise teacher.
No. (Other martyrs can fill out that task). That’s arrogant and presumptuous to think that way. His sacrificial, bloody (emphasis added and necessary) death on the cross is the only way to salvation through the New Covenant, which he himself instituted. I for one let him teach me; I don’t teach him.
REFERENCES AND SOURCES
For further discussion and more Scripture references and sources, please click on Covenants.
Dr. Jim's Essential Bible Teaching 