Q: Can you explain
in a nutshell what the new covenant is according to the Bible? Please keep
it as simple as possible. _________________________
A: There is
nothing really deep or complicated about the new covenant if we don't get
"carried away with various and strange teachings," by going "beyond
the things that are written." (Eph.
4:14; 1 Cor. 4:6; Gal.
1:8-9, 11; Heb. 13:9)
First of all we need to understand what a covenant is as presented in the Bible.
According to the online WordReference.com English Dictionary a covenant
is “an agreement between God and his people in which God makes certain promises
and requires certain behavior from them in return.”
Similarly, Insight on the Scriptures
describes a covenant as “an agreement between two or more persons to do or
refrain from doing some act; a compact; a contract. . . In effect, any
promise made by Jehovah is a covenant; it is certain to be carried out; it
can be relied on with confidence for its fulfillment. (Heb 6:18) A covenant is
in force as long as the terms of it are operative and the obligation to perform
rests on one or both parties. The results or the blessings brought about by the
covenant may continue, even forever.” —it-1
p. 520 Covenant.
Please note that a covenant is not the same as a dedication, terms the
Society often uses interchangeably, thus adding to the confusion of their
explanations of scriptural covenants.
Here follows a simple scriptural explanation:
Because of his great respect for man (who
is created in God's image), God deals with people by means of covenants, whereby
he promises to do things for them if they in turn keep certain obligations to
him. Thus the Bible speaks of various covenants that God made with individuals,
groups of people, or his entire nation. It is a serious sin to break a covenant. —Gen. 1:26,27; 6:18; 9:8-15; 15:18; Ex. 24:7,8;
Lev. 26:14-17; 1 Sam. 13:13,14; Neh. 13:29;
Heb. 12:2. Adam was in a covenant with God, often called the
covenant of life.According to
the terms of the covenant Adam’s continued life and blessings depended on his
obedience to God, expressed in the command not to eat from the “tree of the
knowledge of good and bad.”
(Gen. 2:16-17; Deut. 11:26-28; 12:28) When Adam knowingly and
willfully ate from the tree he broke the covenant and came under its penalty,
forfeiting his relationship with his heavenly Father and the right to continued
life, not only for himself but also for all his yet unborn future descendants.
They, that is, all of us, have inherited the consequences of his disobedience
and are born sinners. (Gen. 3:6; Rom. 5:12)
Jehovah purposed to restore this covenant at some future time with "those who
had not sinned after the likeness of the transgression by Adam." (Rom.
5:14) Therefore he
foretold that he would produce a "seed" or savior (this promise is often referred to as
the Edenic covenant) who would provide to God, on behalf of mankind, the basis "for forgiveness of
sins" by means of "the blood of the covenant." The hope of being
reconciled to God at some future time was held out to all people. —Gen. 3:15;
Ps. 22:27; Matt. 26:28; Luke 2:11; Rom. 5:8-10.
God made a covenant with faithful Abraham for the purpose of
establishing a nation through whom the Seed would come, and from among whom he
would choose faithful others to be close associates of the promised Seed (figuratively
spoken of as a bride), a feature of the promise which he kept hidden until his
appointed time of fulfilling it. —Gen. 17:9-14;
22:18; Ex. 19:5-6; Matt. 11:11; Gal. 3:16, 28-29; Rev. 7:4-8; 14:1-3; 19:7-8; 21:2.
Upon delivering them out of Egypt Jehovah made a covenant with
the nation of Israel, Abraham's offspring, at Mount Sinai; with Moses as the
mediator. This Law Covenant was "a shadow of the things to come," and not
the actual reality that would set mankind free from sin and death. It would
produce the Seed and prepare God's people for the new and better covenant,
serving as a "tutor leading to Christ." —Jer.
31:31-34; Col. 2:17; Heb. 9:24; 10:1; Gal. 3:24-25.
The Law Covenant mediated by Moses was destined to go out of
existence with the inauguration of the new covenant. At the very start Jehovah
had purposed to replace the Law covenant with a new and better covenant once the
former had served its purpose. Since the Jews were God's people on the basis of
the Law covenant, they needed to be brought
into the new covenant in order to continue to enjoy a relationship with God.
(Deut. 4:7-8,33,34; 28:9-10; Psalms 147:19-20) Besides the Jews, people of the nations
(all of Adam's descendants) would now be able to become party to the
new covenant by accepting the terms and its mediator. Whereas the old covenant was made
between God and the nation of Israel, this new covenant would include all
mankind. —Mal.
2:10; Acts 4:12;
13:48; 28:28; Rom. 3:29; 10:12-13; Eph. 2:11-18; Heb. 8:6-13.
Jesus, as the promised Seed, is the mediator of the New
Covenant, which he validated "by virtue of [his] blood." (Matt.
26:28; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; Heb. 9:22)It is Christ's blood that
makes forgiveness of sins possible, which in turn enables mankind―born in sin―to be reconciled to
their heavenly Father as his sons and daughters and be brought into the new covenant, just as in
the case of Adam before his disobedience. (Matt. 6:9, 26, 32; 23:9; Luke
3:38; John 14:23,24; 2 Cor. 6:17,18; Gal. 3:26) The new covenant is "an everlasting covenant," that is,
there is no need to ever replace it, for "the Christ was offered once for all
time to bear the sins of many." (Heb. 9:28; 13:20) The new covenant is the very reality and
fulfillment of God's promise as foretold after the rebellion in the Garden of
Eden. It fully accomplishes God's purpose to "gather all things together again in the Christ, the things in
the heavens and the things on the earth," and "to break up the works of the
Devil." (John 3:16-17; Eph. 1:9-10; 1 John 3:8) The benefits of
"the blood of the covenant" are applied to an individual upon his baptism; his sins are forgiven and
he comes under the terms of the new covenant, and is now "declared righteous for
life," as long as he remains faithful, just as Adam should have been. —Matt. 28:19;
Acts 2:38; 22:16; Rom.
5:18-19; Heb. 3:14; 9:13-15; Rev. 2:10; 3:5; 7:14.
The perfect man Adam did not need a mediator between himself and
God. Neither did Jesus need someone to represent him before
Jehovah. (Matt. 17:5; Heb. 9:24) Until we can say, as Jesus could, "I always do
the things pleasing to [God]," we are in constant need of forgiveness of sins
and in need of Jesus as mediator, representing us before God and pleading on
our behalf, as Moses the mediator did on behalf of God's people at that time. (John
8:29; 14:6; Exodus 24:2,3; 32:11; Deut. 9:19,20; Rom. 8:34; 1 Tim. 2:5-6; Heb. 7:25; 1 John 1:8-10; 2:1-2)
The
thousand year reign of Jesus Christ, with his associate kings and priests, will
be "for the curing of the nations," restoring mankind to the vibrant health
and perfection that Adam enjoyed before his rebellion. (Rev. 7:16,17; 20:6;
21:3,4; 22:1,2) Therefore, at the end of the thousand years restored mankind
will no longer have any need of a mediator to represent them before God, or
intercede for them. At that
time "[Christ]
hands over the kingdom to his God and Father, when he has brought to nothing all
government and all authority and power. For he must rule as king until [God] has
put all enemies under his feet. As the last enemy, death is to be brought to
nothing. . . But when all things will have been subjected to him, then the Son
himself will also subject himself to the One who subjected all things to him,
that God may be all things to everyone." —1
Cor. 15:24-28.
In a nutshell:
• Adam
was in a covenant with God, which covenant he broke by his rebellion. He brought
sin and death upon himself and all his yet unborn offspring. God quickly held
out the hope of reconciling mankind again to himself at his appointed time in the future by means of a
promised Seed. He would restore the covenant that ceased to exist upon Adam’s
disobedience.
• God
made a covenant with Abraham in order to produce the promised Seed by means of
Abraham’s offspring.
• At
Mount Sinai God made the Law covenant with Abraham’s offspring, the nation of Israel,
with Moses as the mediator. This covenant laid the foundation of the future new
and better (and eternal) covenant. It prepared God’s people for the new covenant
and served as a tutor leading to Christ, the promised seed. The old Law covenant
would be abolished and become obsolete once it had served its purpose. (Heb.
8:7-13)
• Jesus
is the mediator of the new covenant, which he inaugurated with his own blood,
the “blood of the covenant.” (Heb. 9:15) It makes possible the forgiveness of sins for all
obedient mankind. (1 Cor. 15:22; 1 John 2:1,2) It is the means by which we are reconciled to God, and
restores the covenant that Adam broke. (Rom. 5:8-11, 19) The new covenant
includes all of God's people, who become his sons and daughters, and He their
Father. (Deut. 29:10-13; 2 Cor. 6:17,18; Luke 3:38)
• It took almost a thousand
years for Adam's perfect physical body to succumb to the effects of sin. (Gen.
5:5) It will take just as long for God's obedient people to regain that
perfection. At the end of the thousand years redeemed mankind will no longer be
in need of a mediator, for all will enjoy the same acceptable standing before
God as Adam had before his rebellion. They will no longer be subject to
inherited sin. Jehovah will have brought about his original purpose when he
created man, blessed him and put him in the Garden of Eden.
The rest of what the Scriptures say about the different covenants, including the
new covenant, are simply details which in no way contradict or conflict
with the clearly stated simple truths: "All
Scripture is inspired of God and beneficial for teaching, for reproving, for
setting things straight, for disciplining in righteousness, that the man of God
may be fully competent, completely equipped for every good work." —2
Timothy 3:16-17.
For further information on
the Greek word for "covenant" in
connection with Luke 22:29
according to the New World Translation
click
here!