The New Covenant in the Old and New Testaments

TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction....1 Definition and Nature of a Covenant ..2 Reason and Need for a Covenant.........3 Four Prior Main Covenants......4 The Noahic Covenant..........5 The Abrahamic Covenant........6 The Mosaic Covenant..........7 The Davidic Covenant.9 The New Covenant.......10 Two Main Promises of the New Covenant....11 The Joy in Jeremiah 32:40-4113 Conclusion....14 Bibliography.....16

1 Introduction The Lord has declared, "My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose" Isaiah 46:10). Because of God's glory and grace, He has purposed to redeem fallen humanity. Through the fall of man in sin, and the loss of God's blessings, joy, and presence, man's relationship has become dependent upon gracious covenant promises of God to bring about redemption. Both the Old and New Testaments are built around the concept of covenants and the theme of redemption is threaded throughout its entirety. This theme of redemption at last comes to a climax in the New Covenant. Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more (Jeremiah 31:31-34).

This covenant is the epitome of unmerited grace, it is inaugurated by the sinless Savior Jesus Christ and bestowed upon unworthy, yet repentant people. God has designed, created, ordained, and sustained this covenant for the purposes of His own glory and the good of His elect. The work of this covenant is unconditional and completely based upon the sovereign grace and mercy of God. It is indeed a covenant of grace, which brings about salvation and restoration. The new covenant ushers in peace and joy to all who believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

2 I will explain the definition and nature of the New Covenant, the reason and need for it and also the different covenants through the Old Testament and a deeper look into the attributes of the New Covenant found in both the Old and New Testaments. Definition and Nature of a Covenant Easton defines the word covenant as "a contract or agreement between two parties." 1 In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word for covenant "berith" ( ) comes from the root word to

cut. This concept is an illustration that is pictured in Abraham's vision in Genesis chapter 15 where God made a covenant with him to give a promised land. The Lord had Abraham prepare livestock by cutting them in half and then showed him a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passing between the pieces (15:17). Wiersbe explains, "It was God alone (v. 17) who went between the pieces; the covenant was all of grace and depended solely upon the Lord. Like Adam (2:21), Abraham was in a deep sleep and could do nothing to help God. When we are helpless God is able to do great things for us."2 Covenants may contain different characteristics. God fashioned His covenants with the same design as the treaties/covenants in the Ancient Near East. The two basic types of covenants in the ANE were the Royal Grant covenant and the Suzerain/Vassal covenant. Beal writes, "While neither theophany nor covenant is unique to the Bible within its ancient Near Eastern context, the combination of theophanic lawgiving and divine suzerain-vassal treaty as

1 2

M. G. Easton, Eastons Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893).

Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbes Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993). Ge 15.

3 portrayed in Scripture is exceptional."3 The royal grant covenant was a promise by a king to a faithful servant. This covenant was unconditional and wholly based upon the king to fulfill. In contrast, the Suzerain/Vassal covenant involved a king placing a demand upon a servant and then incorporating conditions upon him that must be met in order for the king to fulfill the covenant. "This was a suzerain-vassal covenant in which the master (suzerain) promised to protect and bless the subjects (vassals) as long as they obeyed and submitted to him. This contrasted with the royal grant unconditional covenant, such as the one in which God categorically promised to make Abraham into a worldwide blessing (Genesis 12; 15)."4 The biblical covenants are the same as the Royal Grant and Suzerain/Vassal covenant because several are conditional and some are unconditional. The main difference in the form of the new covenant (as we will see below) is that it is life changing. It internally alters the individual's heart enabling him/her to be obedient to the demands of the covenant maker. This is seen in the repeated "I will" statements of the new covenant passages such as Jeremiah 32:40, "I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me." I will discuss this passage more in-depth later. Reason and Need for a Covenant The big question that the Bible answers is, "How can a sinful human being be in a right relationship with a holy and righteous God?" As I mentioned in my introduction, the need for the covenant is based upon the fall of man in sinful depravity, and the loss of God's blessings and presence. Restoring a right relationship with God had become man's biggest problem. This
Matthew S. Beal, "Ten Commandments", The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012). Kendell H. Easley, Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2002). 22.
4 3

4 relationship has become desperately dependent upon the gracious covenant promises of God to restore and redeem. Scripture repeatedly assures the reader that man is helplessly and sinfully depraved. Mark writes about man's sin and its origin, "For it is from within, out of a person's heart, that evil thoughts come--sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly" (7:21-22). Jeremiah also saw this desperate need because he was well aware of the condition of the human heart and the chaos and calamity it causes but also the judgment it brings upon itself, "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?" Concerning Jeremiah, LaSor writes, "Perhaps Jeremiah's greatest theological contribution was his insight into the human heart Jeremiah observes that the human heart center of intellectual and moral decision is the deceitful and corrupt (17:9) Not superficial solution not even Josiah's sweeping reforms will remedy the flagrant idolatry and open corruption. Only a New Covenant a binding relationship between a sovereign God and Israel his people will do". Only a new covenant relationship, lacking the duty of sinful man, wholly contingent upon God to perform and fulfill, will do. God must intervene to do for man what man could never do for himself.

Four Prior Main Covenants God chose to intervene through covenants with His people. Five main covenants are seen in the Old Testament. Each of them is an example of God, in His love, bestowing His sovereign grace and mercy upon man.

5 The Noahic Covenant The first major covenant is found in Genesis chapter 9. This covenant is called the Noahic/Creational covenant. God created all things in the beginning. This, of course, included human beings, which He created in His image. Every individual is an image bearer of God. When God finished creating He blessed them and instructed them to, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth" (Genesis 1:28). God's intention is that we delight and relish in His blessings and glorify Him in praise, adoration, and thankfulness. Unfortunately, Adam and Eve fell into sin, became separated from God, and the world became increasingly wicked. Genesis 6 explains, "The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually" (vs. 5). Therefore, God chose to send a universal flood to destroy the wickedness on the earth. God used Noah and saved him and his family through this flood. When the floodwaters had subsided, God chose to make a covenant with Noah. The Lord said, "I establish my covenant with you, that never again shall all flesh be cut off by the waters of the flood, and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth.(Genesis 9:11). God also gave a sign as a reminded of His covenant, "This is the sign of the covenant I have set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and the earth" (Genesis 9:11-13). This covenant type was a Royal Grant. It is an unconditional covenant and the entire burden of fulfilling this covenant promise is shouldered by God. God promised to never flood

6 the earth again however, this was not enough to restore the broken sinful relationship of humanity. God would continue on with His redemptive story. The Abrahamic Covenant The second major covenant was a covenant that God made with Abraham in Genesis chapter 12. This is known as the Abrahamic Covenant. The sin of man again increases after the flood and in Genesis 11 God confuses the languages of all people forcing them to disperse. "Therefore its name was called Babel, because there the Lord confused the language of all the earth. And from there the Lord dispersed them over the face of all the earth" (11:9). God then elects one man out of this dispersion to make His own nation with the purpose of blessing them and all of humanity. God chose Abraham to be a great nation, to give him a promised land, and to bless all peoples of the earth through him. The Lord told him, "Go from your country and your kindred and your fathers house to the land that I will show you. I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:1-2). The "I will" statements of this passage exhibit God's sovereign hand working out the details of redemption. As Karlburg describes, "The restoration of fellowship between God and man is exclusively the Lord's accomplishment. In response, Abram declares his "Amen" to God's commitment and promise."5

Karlberg, Mark W. "Justification in redemptive history." Westminster Theological Journal 43, no. 2 (March 1, 1981): 213-246. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed May 3, 2013). 219.

7 This covenant is interesting because it begins as a conditional Suzerain/Vassal type covenant but ultimately changes to a Royal Grant type. It began with God's condition to Abraham, "Go from your country and your kindred and your fathers house to the land that I will show you" (vs. 1). Abraham had to meet this condition by packing up his family and belongings and following God's lead. Another condition was introduced in 17:1 when the Lord said, "I am God Almighty; walk before me, and be blameless, that I may make my covenant between me and you, and may multiply you greatly." If Abraham failed to carry out these conditions then the blessings would not have been fulfilled by God. This becomes an unconditional Royal Grant when God gives the last condition to Abraham to offer his son Isaac as a sacrifice. As Abraham begins to carry out this command in chapter 22, the Lord intervenes and transforms this covenant to a Royal Grant. "By myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice (vss. 16-18). This covenant begins to build up the promises that shape redemptive history for the New Covenant. As Chou explains it, "The Abrahamic covenant guarantees promises for Abrahams offspring to be a great nation, live in the promised land, pave the way for the Messiah, and bring about blessing."6 Through this covenant, God brought to life His nation Israel for which He used to bring about the Messiah Jesus Christ. God's covenant with Abraham is an everlasting Royal Grant which will not be broken. However, this covenant did not alone restore man's relationship with God but, is only one part of God's redemptive history.
Abner Chou, "New Covenant", The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012).
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8 The Mosaic Covenant The third major covenant God established is the Mosaic Covenant in Exodus chapter 19. God establish His people through Abraham and now He gives Moses instructions about how to live as His covenant people. God told Moses that He would give His law to Israel and that if they keep these laws than they will be His chosen people and His treasured possession among all peoples. In verses 5 and 6 He declares, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel." This covenant is another example of the suzerain/vassal covenant in that it is conditional upon the Israelites keeping and obeying the revealed law of God. If they obey, they will be a kingdom of priests and be an example to other nations by reflecting God and His glory. If they obey, they will be blessed but if they disobey, they will be punished. Israel eventually did disobey God and was punished repeatedly. This covenant too was part of God redemptive plan to bring about fulfilling redemption. However, Chou summarizes, "The Mosaic covenant mediated the fulfillment of those blessings in terms of covenant obedience and disobedience. Rather than teaching salvation based upon works, it taught Israel and the world about Gods holiness and His purposes."7

Abner Chou, "New Covenant", The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012).

9 The Davidic Covenant The fourth covenant is the Davidic Covenant found in 2 Samuel chapter 7. God establishes a Royal Grant like covenant with the house of David. This is an unconditional covenant. The Lord proclaimed to King David, "The Lord will make you a house. When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever" (vss. 11-16). This Davidic covenant was eternal and unconditional in that God promises King David that his family will rule on the throne forever and this includes ultimately the Messiah Jesus Christ who is also a descendant son of King David and He reigns eternally. This covenant is unconditional; however, there are conditions for each king to keep with God individually. If they will honor and obey God, He would bless them and their nation, however if that individual king disobeys God, He will punish them. It is noteworthy that no king successfully followed and obeyed God perfectly. Even the greatest of these kings were still ultimately failures. Eventually this brought about the exile of the Northern and Southern Kingdoms and their punishments as they went into captivity. At times it appeared that God's covenant was finished but God promised an eternal reign of the Davidic throne. This, as with all the prior covenants was a part of redemptive history and ushered in the next covenant the best covenant.

10 The New Covenant All of the prior covenants are connected to one another and are also connected to the fifth covenant. God chose to establish a fifth covenant, which is known as the New Covenant. The New Covenant ties together both the Old and the New Testament. Fensham details, "The relationship between the two Testaments is firmly rooted in the relationship between God and His people as it is expressed by the covenant."8 The New Covenant was inaugurated by Jesus Christ as Carpenter explains, "Christ died to initiate the new covenantthe covenant that frees us from bondage to the law of God, or the old covenant.9 Jeremiah 31:31-34 is the most popular O.T description of this covenant: Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.

This covenant is a Royal Grant. It is an unconditional promise by God to carry out the blessings of this covenant and there are no conditions set on His people to fulfill. Notice that this passage is laced, as are the others, with "I will" statements.

Fensham, Frank Charles. "The covenant as giving expression to the relationship between Old and New Testament." Tyndale Bulletin 22, (January 1, 1971): 82-94. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed May 3, 2013). 94. Eugene E. Carpenter and Philip W. Comfort, Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000). 340.
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11 Two Main Promises of the New Covenant God promises two things in this covenant that Israel, and all people, are desperate for; to forgive their sins and to write his laws on their hearts. This fulfills the promise in the Abrahamic covenant to bless "all the families of the earth" (Genesis 12:2). Luke confirms this truth in the New Testament as Grudem identifies, "the coming of John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ was the beginning of God's working to fulfill the ancient covenant promises to Abraham (to perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant, the oath which he swore to our father Abraham," Luke 1:72:73).10 First, according to Jeremiah 31, God promises to forgive their past sins, "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. The animal sacrifices of the Old Covenant had not removed the wrath of God against the sins of the people, "For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (Hebrews 10:4); however, Jesus Christ would accomplish this. Jesus Christ, through His death, burial, and resurrection, was a perfect and sinless sacrifice. He satisfied the fierce and holy wrath of God against all repentant believers. The New Covenant, simply put, is the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Isaiah chapter 53 gives details of Christ Jesus' suffering at Calvary hundreds of years before it was fulfilled. "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed" (vss. 3;5). Isaiah asserts that this plan of redemption is alone God's own 'doing'. He explains further, "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief Out of
Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: an Introduction to Biblical Doctrine . Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1994. 521.
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12 the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied" (vss. 10-11). Christ's sacrifice was the only sufficient sacrifice that would satisfy God's wrath against mankind and it was His plan alone that would be fulfilled. The Apostles agreed in Acts 4, "truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place." Second, God promises to write His laws on their hearts. "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people." To put it simply, God would perform a heart transplant or changing of the heart. Achtemeier clarifies, "The uniqueness of this covenant lies not in its content but in its formit will be given internally. The covenant will become part of the nature of each individual, so that obedience is guaranteed (v. 34). Thus, it is unbreakable, and its eternality is assured (vv. 35-37; cf. Jer. 32:36-44)."11 This heart change will supply the resource and enable God's people to follow and obey Him. In the past, they had not had the resource to do the work of God as they would now. This resource is the power of the Holy Spirit as Paul explained, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" (Romans 15:13). Peter explained that Christians have God's "divine power" and "precious and very great promise" (2 Peter 1:3). This is how God carried out writing the Law on the hearts of His people. It required a heart change. The prophet Ezekiel spoke quite in-depth about this heart change. In Ezekiel 11:19-20, the prophet writes, "And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I
Paul J. Achtemeier, Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature, Harpers Bible Dictionary, 1st ed. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985). 192.
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13 will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them." This passage is marked again by "I will" statements. God is doing the heart transplant as Ezekiel describes it. God promises to "remove the heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh." All verbs point to God alone. Jamieson puts it, "Man cannot make himself a new heart unless God gives it (Php 2:12, 13)."12 Ezekiel also alludes to this same topic in 36:26-27, "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." This heart change is a powerful promise of the New Covenant given by God and desperately needed by man. The Joy in Jeremiah 32:40-41 Finally, another powerful passage of the New Covenant is found in Jeremiah 32:40-41. Personally, this competes as my favorite passage in the entire Bible. This passage explodes with reason to rejoice in God's covenantal work and peace in the believer's life. The Lord declares, "I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me. I will rejoice in doing them good with all my heart and all my soul." This passage also is laced with "I wills" implying that all of this is controlled perfectly by Almighty God.

Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). Eze 36:26.

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14 God begins His declaration in Jeremiah 32:40-41 by stating, I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them." It is absolutely astonishing that God has taken it upon Himself that, after all the sinful failures of mankind, He would make a covenant and will not stop doing His people good. This is especially significant since it is repeated twice in this small passage. It also echoes Paul in Romans 8:28, "And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." One knows that we are to be faithful and to do good but that God is relentless in doing us good and delighting in us overwhelms with awe and joy. Secondly, the Lord declares, "And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me." This can be understood as "I will make them want to fear and respect me so much that"13 God will accomplish His purpose by putting the desire to fear/respect Him in the hearts of His people. This is what has been lacking throughout the biblical history. He promised to do this so that "they may not turn away from me." God's people cannot turn away nor fall away from Him. Eternal security of His people is ensured by His complete and finished work. God will keep His people secure because, through His covenant, He has purchased them with His blood (1 Corinthians 7:23). Lastly, He reminds all that He does this with all of His "heart and soul." He rejoices in our rejoicings. Conclusion The covenants were a critical way in which God worked in the lives of His people. The Scriptures are built around the concept of covenants and laced with the theme of redemption. Sinful man has always been desperate for God's promises ever since their fall into sin, which
13

Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006). Je 32:40.

15 caused the loss of God's presence and blessings. Each covenant built upon each other finally culminating to a climax in the New Covenant. Again, this covenant is the epitome of unmerited grace, it is brought about by the sinless Savior Jesus Christ and bestowed upon unworthy, yet repentant people. The promises of this new covenant are threaded through the Abrahamic and the Davidic covenant promising a blessing to all peoples and a Messiah to bring restoration and redemption. The new covenant brings peace and joy to all who believe in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

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BIBLIOGRAPHY

Abner Chou, "New Covenant", The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012). Biblical Studies Press, The NET Bible First Edition Notes (Biblical Studies Press, 2006). Je 32:40. Eugene E. Carpenter and Philip W. Comfort, Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words: 200 Greek and 200 Hebrew Words Defined and Explained (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 2000). 340. Fensham, Frank Charles. "The covenant as giving expression to the relationship between Old and New Testament." Tyndale Bulletin 22, (January 1, 1971): 82-94. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed May 3, 2013). 94. Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology: an Introduction to Biblical Doctrine. Grand Rapids, Mich.: Zondervan, 1994. 521. Karlberg, Mark W. "Justification in redemptive history." Westminster Theological Journal 43, no. 2 (March 1, 1981): 213-246. ATLA Religion Database with ATLASerials, EBSCOhost (accessed May 3, 2013). 219. Kendell H. Easley, Holman QuickSource Guide to Understanding the Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2002). 22. M. G. Easton, Eastons Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893). Matthew S. Beal, "Ten Commandments", The Lexham Bible Dictionary, ed. John D. Barry and Lazarus Wentz (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2012). Paul J. Achtemeier, Harper & Row and Society of Biblical Literature, Harpers Bible Dictionary, 1st ed. (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985). 192. Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997). Eze 36:26. Warren W. Wiersbe, Wiersbes Expository Outlines on the Old Testament (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1993). Ge 15.