4th Semester / Week 5
As we’ve seen, Covenant Theology is a system that attempted to place its followers back under the Mosaic Old Covenant Law (minus the civil and ceremonial aspects of the Law). But is that primarily where Christians should turn for direction? Let’s allow Scripture to speak for itself, and for now we’ll answer this question from just one book of the Bible.
It should be obvious that the book of Hebrews wasn’t written to a town named Hebrew, unlike many of the books of the New Testament. It could’ve instead been named the book written to Jews, because the word “Hebrew” is used interchangeably with the word “Jew” and essentially means the same thing. This book was written between 60-67 AD and embodies one of the strongest defenses of the supremacy of Christ’s work and builds chapter by chapter to show to the Jews (the ones who were given the Old Covenant who were struggling with whether they should still cling to it or not) that they should set aside their old and obsolete agreement with God and instead move to the greater and “more glorious” agreement, the New Covenant.
We’ll start with Hebrews 7:12,
“For the priesthood being changed, of necessity there is also A CHANGE OF THE LAW.”
After that statement we then see in verse 22,
“Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.”
Chapter 8 is the critical chapter which begins with these important words,
“Now this is the main point of the things we are saying…”
Chapter 8 is also significant for containing the longest quotation from the Old Testament (from Jeremiah 31), and the interpretation of that prophecy is one of the main points of Hebrews. Therefore, the following is the fundamental essence of this book:
“Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us A FAR BETTER COVENANT with God, based on BETTER PROMISES. If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant TO REPLACE IT. But when God found fault with the people, He said:
‘The day is coming, says the Lord,
when I will make a NEW COVENANT
with the people of ISRAEL and Judah.
This covenant WILL NOT BE LIKE THE ONE I MADE with their ancestors
when I took them by the hand
and led them out of the land of Egypt.
They did not remain faithful to my covenant,
so I turned my back on them, says the Lord.
BUT THIS IS THE NEW COVENANT I WILL MAKE WITH THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL on that day, says the Lord:
I WILL put my laws in their minds,
and I WILL write them on their hearts.
I Will be their God,
and they will be my people. And they will not need to teach their neighbors,
nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’
For everyone, from the least to the greatest,
will know me already.
And I WILL FORGIVE their wickedness,
and I WILL never again remember their sins.’
When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means HE HAS MADE THE FIRST ONE OBSOLETE. It is NOW OUT OF DATE and will soon DISAPPEAR,” (Hebrews 8:6-13).
Those are the critical words from chapter 8. It specifically said that the prior covenant given to Moses after he led his people out of Egypt has been made “OBSOLETE.” The very definition of obsolete is “not in use any more, having been replaced by something newer and better.” That is precisely what Jesus has done.
Looking more at that passage, we’ve already learned who “Israel” really is, and this New Covenant has been made with those of us who are a part of the Israel of God (and we’re only connected to that name through being connected to Jesus, the representative King of Israel). The New Covenant was offered to “the Jew first, then Gentiles.” Any natural born Jews that have rejected the New Covenant of King Jesus Christ have been “cut off” from the Israel of God (see the olive tree of Romans 11, which, as we’ve already seen, is in continuity with the Mosaic Old Covenant that also “cut off” from Israel anyone who broke the Covenant).
We as Christians (believing Jews and Gentiles) are now His only people, and as stated in that passage, those of us who are attached to the Israel of God already know Him, “from the least to the greatest” of us. This passage clearly isn’t talking about everyone on the planet, because, again, the context in this passage is the covenant that God would make specifically with the people of Israel and Judah. Therefore, it should be obvious to us that those of us who are “the called out ones” (Ekklesia=Church) that we don’t need to be taught “you should know the Lord.” The prophecy then closes with the Good News that we have been “forgiven,” and God will “never again remember” our sins.
To again quote the last verse of the chapter: “HE HAS MADE THE FIRST ONE OBSOLETE. It is NOW OUT OF DATE and will soon disappear.” By looking back at history we see that 70 AD was the precise date that it “disappeared,” just a few short years after the book of Hebrews was written. The reason why the Old agreement is obsolete is because it has been replaced by a higher standard, and God Himself uses His Spirit to teach it to us (we’ve been regenerated with His Holy Spirit and we’re taught through the process of sanctification). We also have the Law of Christ which is all that Jesus has taught us, because Jesus is THE Prophet, Priest, and King of His people. This is the very reason why He told us to “keep MY Commands.” With that phrase Jesus is putting our focus on Himself rather than Moses. Jesus has let us know that our primary focus is no longer the “obsolete” commands given to Moses (although it can still be edifying and reveal aspects of God’s character to look back at the terms of that “obsolete” agreement).
As mentioned, God is the One who does the New Covenant work in His people with His Holy Spirit. That prophecy was God telling us “I will,” rather than us having to figure out how to please our Father in Heaven. He told us, “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God… I will forgive… I will never again remember their sins.” This is “Good News” and is so much better than the terms of the old agreement (that inferior Old Covenant was a conditional covenant stating “if you will… then I will”).
Furthermore, because God leads and guides His people with His Holy Spirit in our new agreement with Him, we should realize and rejoice that this is better in every way than trying to decipher and attempt to obey a list of rules and regulations. We instead now have a new desire deep down inside of us. The motivator of the Old Covenant was fear of God and contained a list of “do’s and don’ts,” but the New Covenant motivator is love which is a much more powerful motivator, and in this new agreement it’s not merely “do this and live,” but rather it’s “live and do.” How much gloriously better! By starting with our “faith” and regeneration (new life through the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit), God then empowers us with the ability to “do” the things we should do as well as the ability to “do not do” the things we shouldn’t do.
This is all “Good News,” but in case we aren’t completely certain that all of these things have been fulfilled, that the New Covenant has truly already begun while the Old has been made “obsolete,” that the New agreement isn’t just made with national physical Israel based on DNA, and that Christians can claim this new agreement as our own, we’ll examine more passages next week to prove our “Good News.”
“Helping People See Jesus and Exploring All That He Has Fulfilled” 