Old Covenant or New Covenant - Old Adam or Last Adam?
Wow - this really is an amazingly long thread. Disputes regarding Old/New Covenant issues have been continuous since before the Jerusalem Council.
For me it boils down to this:
- Who Jesus is
- What He came to do
- What that actually accomplished, and
- Who those who put their faith and trust in Him are in Him.
Unless you're operating within that paradigm (the paradigm of focusing on Christ, His Work, and who we are in Him - to which the entirety of the Scriptures point), there is just endless religious squabbling.
After the Cross, these are God's instructions (Torah) to mankind:
1 John 3:23-24
23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
And Jeremiah 31 is clear:
31 “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, 32 not like the covenant [how can it be 'not like the covenant' and be the same 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 [identifies the covenant referred to as the Laws given through Moses at Sinai], my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. 33 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law [already stated as being 'not the same' as the Laws given at Sinai, and specified in 1 John 3:23 above] within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 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. [check out vs 24 in 1 John 3 above] For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”
Echoes of this in 2 Corinthians 5:17-19:
17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.
And for the 'the New Covenant is only for the house of Israel' bit, check this out:
Ephesians 3:1-6
For this reason I, Paul, a prisoner for Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles— 2 assuming that you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace that was given to me for you, 3 how the mystery was made known to me by revelation, as I have written briefly. 4 When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, 5 which was not made known to the sons of men in other generations as it has now been revealed to his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. 6 This mystery is that the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel.
After the Work of Christ, we see this regarding the Old Covenant in comparison with the New Covenant:
2 Corinthians 3
Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, as some do, letters of recommendation to you, or from you? 2 You yourselves are our letter of recommendation, written on our hearts, to be known and read by all. 3 And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
4 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. 5 Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, 6 who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses' face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory.10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.
12 Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, 13 not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. 14 But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. 15 Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts.16 But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. 17 Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18 And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
And this:
Hebrews 7:18-19
18 For on the one hand, a former commandment is set aside because of its weakness and uselessness19 (for the law made nothing perfect); but on the other hand, a better hope is introduced, through which we draw near to God.
Chapters 7-10 are devastating to the Law-keeping position; those chapters detail the weakness and uselessness of the Law in comparison to the New Covenant in Christ and also the superior High Priesthood of Christ.
Not only that, but it's made clear that with the New High Priesthood of Christ, there is in fact a change of the Law (not a change 'in' the Law).
An entire New Covenant had to be put in place, as Christ Jesus was made High Priest by an oath from God, and Christ is not of the Tribe of Levi, but of the Tribe of Judah.
What does that mean? Jesus cannot legally administer the Old Covenant.
Those who put themselves under the Old Covenant have NO representation in the Heavenly Tabernacle.
Those who preach Law-keeping preach that sacrifices will resume in the Millennium. Really? There will be no priesthood to administer that - Jesus is a Priest Forever by the power of an indestructible life (
Heb. 7:16), and He's of the Tribe of Judah, which cannot legally administer the Old Covenant, and there are no sacrifices in the New Covenant save sacrifices of Praise \o/! Not only that, but Christ Jesus was the final, once for all sacrifice:
Hebrews 10:8-10
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Nope, the New Covenant is His thing, and there are no sacrifices in the New Covenant, because
Hebrews 10:1-14
For since the law has but a shadow of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near. 2 Otherwise, would they not have ceased to be offered, since the worshipers, having once been cleansed, would no longer have any consciousness of sins? 3 But in these sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. [Remember that in Jer 31 God says He will remember our sins no more, and in 2 Cor 5:19 God says that in Christ, He was reconciling man to Himself, not counting our trespasses against us] 4 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.
5 Consequently, when Christ came into the world, he said,
“Sacrifices and offerings you have not desired,
but a body have you prepared for me;
6 in burnt offerings and sin offerings
you have taken no pleasure.
7 Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will, O God,
as it is written of me in the scroll of the book.’”
8 When he said above, “You have neither desired nor taken pleasure in sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sin offerings” (these are offered according to the law), 9 then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. 10 And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Jesus sat down when His Work was done; something that priests in the Temple were never permitted to do - their work was never done - there were always more sins that needed to be dealt with.
When one is in Christ, however, this happens:
Colossians 1:13-14
13 He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
And this:
Ephesians 2:4-9
4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Again, when one understands the Gospel,
- Who Jesus is
- What He came to do
- What that actually accomplished, and
- Who those who believe are in Him
. . . issues of Law and Grace, Old Covenant and New Covenant, Forgiveness, Righteousness, Works, Fruit, Once Saved Always Saved . . . they all fall right into place!
And the gratitude and love for Him wells up - not because we're commanded to, but because He first loved us. We are His, and we are as He is in this world (walk as Jesus walked - in love):
1 John 4:7-19
7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.
12 No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son as Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him.
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world.
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
And for those of you who are all-fired up for the Law and fulfilling it's demands by efforts of the flesh, this is what the New Covenant Scriptures say to you:
Romans 13:8-10
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
And the
really cool thing? Even love is not a work, but a fruit of the Spirit that He produces in and through us:
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
And to bear the Fruit of the Spirit we must be led by Him, and if we are led by the Spirit -
Galatians 5:18
18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
It really is as simple as that
.
Grace and peace to you,
-JGIG