Category: Thoughts

Is the Old Covenant Really Over?

The Old Testament and the New Covenant   Part 3

The apostle Paul compares the old and new covenants in II Corinthians chapter 3.

“God made us ministers of a New Covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.  But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stone, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how shall the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more filled with glory?  For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.  For indeed that which had glory, in this case has no glory on account of the glory that surpasses it.  For if that which is coming to an end was with glory, much more that which remains is filled with glory” (II Corinthians 3:6-11).

This is a long passage with a lot of back and forth between the two covenants.  To help us process what Paul is saying, I have listed which covenant he is referring to next to each phrase that describes it.  Read this passage again paying attention to what is said about each covenant.

“God made us ministers of a New Covenant, not of the letter (Old Covenant), but of the Spirit (New Covenant); for the letter (Old Covenant) kills, but the Spirit (New Covenant) gives life.  But if the ministry of death (Old Covenant), in letters engraved on stone (Old Covenant), came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how shall the ministry of the Spirit (New Covenant) fail to be even more filled with glory?  For if the ministry of condemnation (Old Covenant) has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness (New Covenant) abound in glory.  For indeed that which had glory (Old Covenant), in this case has no glory on account of the glory (New Covenant) that surpasses it.  For if that which is coming to an end (Old Covenant) was with glory, much more that which remains (New Covenant) is filled with glory” (II Corinthians 3:6-11).

Look at the words that describe the two covenants.  The Old Covenant is a ministry of the letter, the Law, of death, of condemnation; and has come to an end.  The New Covenant is a ministry of the Spirit, of righteousness, of surpassing glory, of life; and is ongoing.  Please notice this comparison, “coming to an end” vs “that which remains”.  “That which remains” is the new covenant.  The old covenant has come to an end.

But doesn’t the old covenant, known as the Law, play some role in the believer’s spiritual life?  Doesn’t God’s grace give us what we need to follow the Law?  Don’t we still have some connection to the Law?  Questions the apostle Paul will answer for us next time.

The End of the Old Covenant

The Old Testament and the New Covenant   Part 2

Taking off from yesterday, remember that the Old Testament is largely a description of the old covenant.  From Exodus chapter 19 to the end of the Old Testament (technically until the death of Jesus), the Jews lived under the old covenant arrangement.

The book of Hebrews in the New Testament paints a clear picture of the contrast between the two covenants; the old and the new.  Over several chapters, the author unpacks the idea that the new covenant brought to us by Jesus is better than the old because …

Jesus brings a better hope (Hebrews 6:19-7:19),

Jesus is a better priest (Hebrews 7:21-8:2),

Jesus is the mediator of a better covenant (Hebrews 8:4-13),

Jesus is a better sacrifice (Hebrews 9:11-28),

Jesus is a better offering for sin (Hebrews 10:1-16), and

Jesus’ new covenant is built on better promises (Hebrews chapter 11).

The author summarizes the fate of the old covenant in this way, “But now Jesus 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.  For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion sought for a second.  For finding fault with them God says, ‘Behold days are coming when I will effect a new covenant’ … When God said, ‘A new covenant,’ He has made the first obsolete.  But whatever is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to disappear.”  (Hebrews 8:6-8,13).

“God made the first covenant [the old covenant] obsolete.”  What do you think about this concluding thought?  What do you think about the finality of the old covenant being declared obsolete?  Not only is the new covenant superior to the old (from the list above), but the old has actually gone away.

I like the paraphrase of The Message Bible for verse 13, “By coming up with a new plan, a new covenant between God and His people, God put the old plan on the shelf.  And there it stays, gathering dust.”  That is quite a visual of the end of the old covenant.

Do you agree with that conclusion?  How does this make you feel about the old covenant?  How does this make you feel about the Old Testament?  Before you go too far down this road, let’s come back tomorrow and look at a comparison of the two covenants from the apostle Paul.

The Old Testament and the New Covenant Part 1

Introduction

In thinking about the Old Testament, let’s start with the word “testament”.  A testament is an arrangement.  Someone’s “last will and testament” describes the “arrangement” they desire for their affairs after they die.  Similarly, the Old Testament is describing the old arrangement between God and man.  This old arrangement was in place from Exodus chapter 19 until the death of Christ on the cross.  This old arrangement is called the Old Covenant or The Law.

Jumping to the New Testament, we see the unfolding of a new arrangement between God and man.  This new arrangement, called the New Covenant, went into effect with the death and resurrection of Jesus.  The torn veil in the holy of holies in the temple at the hour of Christ’s death signified the end of the old covenant and the start of the new.  Jesus told us ahead of time that the new covenant would be initiated by His death.  “And in the same way He took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood’ “ (Luke 22:20).

In the age of now, believers live under the provisions and promises of the new covenant.  A few of these are the promise of a new birth, a new identity, a new heart, a new Spirit, a new purity, a new nature, a new self, a new power, and a new freedom.  We receive all of this new by believing the gospel message of Jesus Christ.  “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life” (John 5:24).

We passed from death to life when we believed, accepted, put our faith in, the gospel message of Jesus.  And what is the gospel message of Jesus?  In its shortest form, it is believing that Jesus died in our place for our sins.

So with all this new going on, what happened to the old covenant?  Did the new covenant replace the old?  Is any part of the old covenant still in effect for us as new covenant believers?  Has the old covenant gone away, come to an end?

In this series, we will explore the role of the Old Testament in our new covenant experience.  Do we just cast it aside, useless in our new covenant world?  Do we seek to obey its laws and precepts?  Or do we land somewhere in-between?  Or is there even an in-between?  We will make a start next time by looking at what happened to the old covenant when Jesus and the new covenant appeared on the scene.

The Completeness of the New Covenant

The questions below are a helpful way for me to reflect on the completeness of the finished work of Jesus on the cross on our behalf.

Think of these five questions on kind of a sliding scale with “not at all” on the left side of the scale and “completely” on the right side.  Where are we on this line?

________________________

Not at all                                         Completely

Question 1:  Under the new covenant, how much am I forgiven?

Am I partly forgiven?  Am I forgiven of all my sins up to my salvation, up to my decision to believe the gospel?  Are there sins that I am responsible for after that?  Am I only forgiven of the sins I remember to confess?

or

Am I completely forgiven of ALL my sins; past, present, and future?  The new covenant answer is YES, I am completely forgiven.  (Colossians 2:13-14)

 

Question 2:  Under the new covenant, how much of the Law am I under?

Do I need the moral law but not the ceremonial law?  Am I under the some of the Old Testament Law, but not the sacrifice system?  Am I under the ten commandments?

or

Am I completely set free from ALL of the Old Testament Law?  The new covenant answer is YES, I am completely free from the Law.  (Romans 7:1-6)

 

Question 3:  Under the new covenant, how much of my old self died with Christ?

Is my old self kind of dead?  Is my old self positionally dead?  Is my old self partly dead?  Which part of my old self died with Christ?

or

Was my old self completely crucified with Christ?  The new covenant answer is YES, my old self was completely crucified with Christ.  (Romans 6:6-7)

 

Question 4:  Under the new covenant, how acceptable am I to God?

Sometimes acceptable?  Mostly a disappointment?  Depends on my actions?  Maybe God doesn’t even see me?

or

Am I completely accepted and deeply loved by God at all times?  The New Covenant answer is YES, I am completely accepted and deeply loved by God.  (I John 3:1)

 

Question 5:  Under the new covenant, how close am I to God?

Kind of close?  Am I getting closer?  Not close at all?  Depends on the day?  Maybe 6 out of 10?  Depends on my behavior?  Do I alternate between getting closer to God and falling further behind?

or

Am I completely inseparable from Jesus and the Father?  The new covenant answer is YES, your union with Christ is unbreakable.  (John 14:20, I Corinthians 6:17, Colossians 3:3, Hebrews 13:5)

Jesus said, “It is finished”.  The cross worked and accomplished all that Jesus promised to us.

(Adapted from a message by Andrew Farley)

Seeing with Clear Eyes

Understanding the Red Letters   Bonus

I have written previously about the challenge of interpreting the Sermon on the Mount in this series about the red letters.  To be clear, the message of Matthew chapters 5 through 7 is not a set of guidelines for living the Christian life.  But neither do we just cast it aside as an old covenant message for an old covenant people.  It appears to me to be an intertwined mix of three threads in Jesus’ teaching to His Jewish audience.  Jesus is preaching old covenant Law, Jesus is preaching Law 2.0 (an updated version of the Law), and last, Jesus is giving us a glimpse of life under the new covenant.

A passage that I didn’t cover previously because I really didn’t know what to make of it is Matthew 6:22-23.  Could these words of Jesus be a glimpse of the coming new covenant?  “The eye is the lamp of the body; so then if your eye is clear, your whole body will be full of light.  But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness.  If then the light that is in you is darkness, how great is the darkness!” (Matthew 6:22-23)

Think of it this way.  The eye … the eye is how we perceive the world around us.  Jesus came preaching, “Repent and believe the gospel.”  Repent, as we know is “changing one’s mind.”  Another way to say it is “changing one’s perception.”  We perceive with the eye.  Jesus spoke often about truly “seeing” the gospel.

… is the lamp … the lamp illuminates what we see with our eye … of the body … the body is our earthly experience.  What we perceive with our eyes will illuminate our earthly experience.

If your eye is clear … if your perception is seeing correctly, … your whole body will be full of light … the light is the kingdom of God inside you.  This is a preview of what is coming in the new covenant; the light of the kingdom of God will shine in us.  It will shine in us who repent (change our perception to see clearly) and believe the gospel of Jesus Christ.

If your eye is bad … if you are not perceiving and receiving God’s offer of salvation … your whole body will be full of darkness … you will experience the total darkness that comes with being a lost person, outside of the kingdom of God.  Or said another way … If then the light that is in you is darkness … Wait a minute, how can the light in us be darkness?

Jesus said to the Pharisees, even as they were not believing in Him, “The kingdom of God is within you” (Luke 17:21).  How could Jesus say that?  Because the kingdom of God was available to the Pharisees just as it is to all men.  But they refused to believe, they denied the kingdom available to them.  That is how the light in us can be darkness.  We reject the light when we reject the gospel message of Jesus Christ.

When the light goes out because of one’s unbelief, … how great is the darkness! … the darkness is great because it is literally the difference between life and death.  The light is life.  The darkness is death.  The darkness is spiritual death.  And the darkness is total.  There is no partial darkness for the lost.

In the gospel of John, Jesus speaks often about light and darkness signifying saved to eternal life and those who are lost.  And this passage, a bit obscure in Matthew chapter 6, is a preview of the salvation offer that is being announced by Jesus throughout the gospels, “Repent and believe the gospel.”  If you have believed the gospel message of Jesus Christ, your eye is clear and you are full of light.  Shine on, my friends.