The Truly New Covenant

“The New is in the Old concealed; the Old is in the New revealed.” That is how I was taught to think about the Old and New Testaments (or covenants) as a young child growing up in a Baptist Church. There is much wisdom in that saying. The New Testament is not a complete departure from the Old Testament. However, it is still a New Testament. Over the years, I have heard several Bible teachers say that the New Testament is simply a new administration of the Old Testament. The difference of the Testaments (or covenants) is not a difference of kind. It is merely a difference of expression. Hebrews 8 ought to lay that argument to rest.

Actually, all of Hebrews ought to lay that argument to rest. The book of Hebrews is written to remind its readers not to backslide into sin. Apparently, those to whom the letters of Hebrews was written were struggling with obedience, much like their Israelite forefathers. The letter is meant to remind the Hebrews that they need to be faithful to God because they have become part of a much better covenant than their ancestors. The point of Hebrews is that the New Covenant is not like the Old. It has far better advantages and blessings and thus there is no excuse for the disobedience that marked the Old Covenant.

Hebrews 8 is one of the places where this argument is made most clearly. Verses 8-12 highlight how the New Covenant is indeed new. Quoting from Jeremiah 31, these verses show how the New Covenant surpasses the Old. Verses 8-12 say this: “‘The time is coming,’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers 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. This is the covenant I will make with the house 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. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.’”

These verses highlight several advantages of the New Covenant. One, the Law of God is now on the hearts and minds of those who follow. Through the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit, we have the Law internally as well as externally. Two, we have a deep relationship with God. In the coming chapters of Hebrews, the author of Hebrews is going to show that the message of the Old Covenant was “Danger. Stay away!” Under the Old Covenant, God could not be approached except under the most limited of circumstances. Under the New Testament all the people of God may know Him in an intimate way. Three, the priest/laity distinction of the Old Covenant is eradicated. All now have the privilege to minister for the Lord.

The New Covenant is new. I am glad to be part of all of its blessings and provisions.