Turning the page…
Turning the page…
Glory · Jesus Christ
The old covenant was written on stone, conditional on obedience, and broken by its people. The promised new covenant is written on hearts by the Spirit, sealed with the blood of Christ, and founded on the forgiveness of sins that God remembers no more. Its promises are better because its Mediator is better: not a book to keep, but a Savior who keeps us.
https://glorystudy.com/questions/how-is-the-new-covenant-different-from-the-old-one · Scripture quoted from the World English Bible
Jeremiah 31:27-34
As you read: The Old Testament promise God makes to Israel: a covenant not like the one made at Sinai.
27Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of animal.
28It shall happen that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, says Yahweh.
29In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children’s teeth are set on edge.
30But everyone shall die for his own iniquity: every man who eats the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
31Behold, the days come, says Yahweh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
32not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh.
33But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people:
34and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
Hebrews 8
As you read: Hebrews quotes Jeremiah at length and argues the new covenant is better than the old.
1Now in the things which we are saying, the main point is this. We have such a high priest, who sat down on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens,
2a servant of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, not man.
3For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this high priest also have something to offer.
4For if he were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law;
5who serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things, even as Moses was warned by God when he was about to make the tabernacle, for he said, “See, you shall make everything according to the pattern that was shown to you on the mountain.”
6But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.
7For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
8For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days come”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord.
10“For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
11They will not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest.
12For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.”
13In that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
Hebrews 9:15-28
As you read: Why a death was needed to inaugurate the new covenant, and how Christ fulfills every shadow.
15For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
16For where a last will and testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made it.
17For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is never in force while he who made it lives.
18Therefore even the first covenant has not been dedicated without blood.
19For when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people,
20saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”
21Moreover he sprinkled the tabernacle and all the vessels of the ministry in the same way with the blood.
22According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.
23It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
24For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;
25nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own,
26or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.
27Inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once, and after this, judgment,
28so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.
Luke 22:14-20
As you read: Jesus takes the cup and calls it 'the new covenant in my blood.'
14When the hour had come, he sat down with the twelve apostles.
15He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer,
16for I tell you, I will no longer by any means eat of it until it is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
17He received a cup, and when he had given thanks, he said, “Take this, and share it among yourselves,
18for I tell you, I will not drink at all again from the fruit of the vine, until the Kingdom of God comes.”
19He took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and gave to them, saying, “This is my body which is given for you. Do this in memory of me.”
20Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
Moses read the book of the covenant and sprinkled the people with blood, saying, 'Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has made with you,' and the people answered, 'All that Yahweh has spoken will we do, and be obedient.' But Jeremiah records God's verdict over that history: 'my covenant they broke.' Paul calls that ministry one 'written engraved on stones,' the letter that kills because flesh cannot keep it. The old covenant showed what God requires; it did not give the power to do it.
“He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken will we do, and be obedient.” Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant, which Yahweh has made with you concerning all these words.””Exodus 24:7-8
“not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband to them, says Yahweh.”Jeremiah 31:32
“who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant; not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. But if the service of death, written engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the children of Israel could not look steadfastly on the face of Moses for the glory of his face; which was passing away:”2 Corinthians 3:6-7
“being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.”2 Corinthians 3:3
Jeremiah's new covenant is inward: 'I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.' Everyone will know the Lord, 'from their least to their greatest,' because the knowledge will no longer depend on teachers alone. Hebrews quotes these very verses as the shape of the covenant Christ inaugurated: a people whose God is with them, written from the inside out.
“But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says Yahweh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people: and they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yahweh; for they shall all know me, from their least to their greatest, says Yahweh: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.”Jeremiah 31:33-34
““For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be their God, and they will be my people. They will not teach every man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their greatest. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.””Hebrews 8:10-12
“being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.”2 Corinthians 3:3
Christ is 'the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law,' and His ministry is more excellent than the Levitical one. The old sacrifices purified copies of heavenly things, but the heavenly things themselves needed better sacrifices, which Christ offered once, 'to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.' Where the high priest entered year by year with blood not his own, Christ entered once into heaven itself, 'now to appear in the presence of God for us.'
“But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better promises has been given as law.”Hebrews 8:6
“It was necessary therefore that the copies of the things in the heavens should be cleansed with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest enters into the holy place year by year with blood not his own, or else he must have suffered often since the foundation of the world. But now once at the end of the ages, he has been revealed to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”Hebrews 9:23-26
“For Christ hasn’t entered into holy places made with hands, which are representations of the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us;”Hebrews 9:24
“so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, without sin, to those who are eagerly waiting for him for salvation.”Hebrews 9:28
At the Supper Jesus took the cup and said, 'This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you,' and Paul repeats the words by the Lord's own authority. Hebrews explains the necessity: 'a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant,' for the law warns that 'apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.' The old covenant was sealed with the blood of animals; the new is sealed with the blood of the Son, and so its forgiveness is final: 'there is no more offering for sin.'
“Likewise, he took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.”Luke 22:20
“In the same way he also took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.””1 Corinthians 11:25
“For this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.”Hebrews 9:15
“According to the law, nearly everything is cleansed with blood, and apart from shedding of blood there is no remission.”Hebrews 9:22
““I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.” Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”Hebrews 10:17-18
Because the covenant is inward, Paul says we are letters of Christ, 'written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God,' being transformed 'from glory to glory' into His image. Because the veil is torn, we have 'boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus,' drawing near with a true heart. And because God says 'I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more,' we are no longer defined by our record but by His mercy. The new covenant is not a better list of rules; it is a new heart, a new standing, and a new certainty.
“being revealed that you are a letter of Christ, served by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tablets of stone, but in tablets that are hearts of flesh.”2 Corinthians 3:3
“But we all, with unveiled face seeing the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are transformed into the same image from glory to glory, even as from the Lord, the Spirit.”2 Corinthians 3:18
“Having therefore, brothers, boldness to enter into the holy place by the blood of Jesus, by the way which he dedicated for us, a new and living way, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh; and having a great priest over God’s house, let’s draw near with a true heart in fullness of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and having our body washed with pure water,”Hebrews 10:19-22
““This is the covenant that I will make with them: ‘After those days,’ says the Lord, ‘I will put my laws on their heart, I will also write them on their mind;’” then he says, “I will remember their sins and their iniquities no more.””Hebrews 10:16-17
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.””Hebrews 8:12