God’s Eternal Plan—Christ and the New Covenant

 The next important milestone in God dealing with the problem of sin was the establishment of the New Covenant. We have seen how that God initiated this Covenant with Abraham and his “seed”—which is Christ. We also saw the conditions and the promises that were a part of this Covenant. However, up until the time of the advent of Jesus Christ, these promises were unfulfilled, because they required the blood atonement of His sacrificial work. Abraham never experienced any of the promised blessings of that Covenant, because, first of all, he died; and he died without ever owning anything but a grave in the Promised Land. Abraham, as well as all of the Old Testament saints “died in faith, not having received the promises.” However, God still accounted them righteous because of their faith in what He would accomplish; and they “were persuaded of them (the promises), and embraced them (the promises).” Indeed, although there are many who would argue this point, Old Testament believers will never experience the full extent of what these blessings and promises hold—“God having provided some better thing for us (the Church), that they without us (Old Testament saints) should not be made perfect.” Those believers will be “just men made perfect”; whereas those in the “church of the firstborn,” the body of Christ, are new creatures in Christ.

Heb 11:8 By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went.
9 By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise:
10 For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.
11 Through faith also Sara herself received strength to conceive seed, and was delivered of a child when she was past age, because she judged him faithful who had promised.
12 Therefore sprang there even of one, and him as good as dead, so many as the stars of the sky in multitude, and as the sand which is by the sea shore innumerable.
13 These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.

Heb 11:39 And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise:
40 God having provided some better thing for us, that they without us should not be made perfect.

Heb 12:22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Considering what was previously said, let us more fully examine the teaching regarding the New Testament or New Covenant. Both the terms for testament and covenant are of the same Greek word diaqhvkh; however, they can carry two different, yet connected meanings. The inspired translators of the King James Bible properly gave us the sense of what this word means by the ways in which it was used, both as testament and as covenant.

Diaqhvkh; translated as (1) testament, or (2) covenant.

1. a disposition, arrangement, of any sort, which one wishes to be valid, the last disposition which one makes of his earthly possessions after his death, a testament or will

2. a compact, a covenant, a testament [1]

Today, we primarily think of a testament in the terms of a last will and testament—a pre-death document that a person prepares for the disposing of their earthly goods after death. This document assigns to the legal heirs of such a person, whatsoever goods that he or she possesses while still living, along with any other wishes or stipulations of the will maker. However, this testament has no legal validity while the person yet lives, but only takes effect upon their death. Likewise, diaqhvkh has much the same meaning when it is translated as testament in the Bible. However, in what sense may we view the New Testament of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ in this way? First we realize, that God is the possessor of all things—He “created all things, and for” His “pleasure they are and were created.” We humans do not own anything; we are but the stewards of all that God possesses; and we will give an account of how we used our earthly goods—whether for His glory or not.  Now, to Jesus, God’s Son, “the Father had given all things into his hands.” Before His death, He was the “heir” of all that the Father had created, and it was His to do with as He pleased. However, in the New Testament, He chose to make all those whom the Father had given Him, “joint heirs” in His new kingdom and creation—that future paradise in which He and they would reign together. Nevertheless, just as with an earthly will, this testament had no effect while Jesus lived. Up until the time of His death, Jesus, as an Israelite, lived under the Old Testament, under the Law of Moses. Most of what we consider as the New Testament Gospels, actually recorded events that took place under the Mosaic Covenant. However, after the cross, His blood sacrifice and death both paid “for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament” of those who would be “joint heirs” with Him, and brought into force the bequeavements, terms, and conditions of His New Testament—by which His “heirs” would receive all the blessings of their “eternal inheritance.”

Rev 4:11 Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.

Matt 25:14 For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.

John 13:3 Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

Matt 21:37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son.
38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance.

Rom 8:17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

1 Cor 3:21 Therefore let no man glory in men. For all things are yours;
22 Whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present, or things to come; all are yours;
23 And ye are Christ's; and Christ is God's.

1 Cor 11:23 For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread:
24 And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me.
25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Now a covenant, as we think of the term, is an agreement between two or more parties that legally binds them to the terms and conditions of that agreement. The conditions do not require the death of either of the parties to become effectual, but are between living individuals; and they are binding either until the terms of the covenant have been fulfilled, until the death of either party, or in some cases, pass down to their successors perpetually. In like manner, the “new covenant” that God instituted with “Abraham and his seed” was made between the Living God and Abraham, who was yet alive, and his “seed, which is Christ,” which “seed” was alive in him. Its conditions included all that God would do for His chosen “seed,” and only required that “Abraham and his seed” believe in God and what God promised to do for them. Abraham “believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness”—fulfilling the covenants demands. Likewise, those who are “of the faith of Abraham” are brought into this covenant also. Much more importantly, his “seed, which is Christ,” the “seed” or posterity which was alive in Abraham, is the true “author and finisher of our faith.” It has always been the faith of the Son of God—who believes all that the Father has ever promised—that has forever sealed this covenant; and He gives His faith as a gift to those whom God would save, also bringing them into this covenant. That chosen seed “who by him (Jesus) do believe in God,” become a part of the everlasting covenant between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and are made partakers of God’s eternal promises.

Gal 3:15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Gen 15:6 And he believed in the LORD; and he counted it to him for righteousness.

Rom 4:13 For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made of none effect:
15 Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is, there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace; to the end the promise might be sure to all the seed; not to that only which is of the law, but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham; who is the father of us all,
17 (As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were.
18 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
19 And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara's womb:
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God;
21 And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.
23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

1 Pet 1:21 Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.

Eph8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

1 Pet 2:9 But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Although we have tried to point out the differences between the translations of the Greek word diaqhvkh, either as the “New Testament,” or the “New Covenant”, in a strictly Biblical sense, we are merely looking at the same thing from different perspectives. Indeed, they cannot be separated scripturally, because the “covenant” would be ineffectual without the “death of the testator”; and the “testament” would have no value or purpose without the “covenant” promises that God attached to it. The resolve of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is seen in the promises, conditions, and fulfillment of both translations; and together they give us a deeper meaning of the truth of what God has been working to accomplish for His “seed.”

Matt 26:28 For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

1 Cor 11:25 After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.

Heb 10:28 He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?

Heb 12:24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.
16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Let us also examine why it is called a New Testament or New Covenant. In what sense is it called New, and what are the implications of it being called New? First, it is called New in relation to the Old Covenant, or Old Testament that God made with Israel, through Moses, upon Mount Sinai. It was New in that it was established after that first Covenant, even though it preceded that Covenant by over four-hundred years when God dealt with Abraham. However, as we have seen, although it contained many promises, it did not become a reality until Christ’s work of redemption fulfilled it. The Old Testament was clearly established and became a reality when “Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.” The blood of an innocent animal sacrifice sealed that covenant between God and Israel, but the New Covenant would have to await the true sacrifice of “the lamb of God.”

Gal 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.
15 Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth, or addeth thereto.
16 Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.
17 And this I say, that the covenant, that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect.

Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
12 For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.

Exo 24:1 And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
2 And Moses alone shall come near the LORD: but they shall not come nigh; neither shall the people go up with him.
3 And Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the words which the LORD hath said will we do.
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an altar under the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.
7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.
8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Heb 9:17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.
18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.
19 For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and of goats, with water, and scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book, and all the people,
20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.
21 Moreover he sprinkled with blood both the tabernacle, and all the vessels of the ministry.
22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.

However, we must not think of it as new, as of something that did not previously exist. We have already seen that this Covenant had its roots in God’s relationship with Abraham. However, even then it was not something new, because its fulfillment was alluded to in the Garden account, when God said to the serpent “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” Moreover, it was not even new then, because this covenant had it’s beginning in eternity. The Holy Trinity made a covenant between themselves—that the Father would sovereignly purpose and choose to redeem an untold number of the, as yet uncreated, human race; that the Son would come to die for those whom the Father chose to redeem, and provide for them a robe of righteousness; and the Holy Spirit would create faith in those that are to be redeemed, and make them new creatures in Christ. This is called “the everlasting covenant,” because it existed before time, and will forever be unbroken or disannulled. Again, it was only new in terms of when it was fulfilled and in relationship to the Old, which had already been in effect, but was ready “to vanish away.”

Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.

Heb 13:20 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
21 Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

1 Pet 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:
20 Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,

Heb 8:13 In that he saith, A new covenant, he hath made the first old. Now that which decayeth and waxeth old is ready to vanish away.

The name new is also indicative of being God’s covenant under which He will “make all things new.”  There will be a “new heavens and a new earth”; those in Christ are “a new creature”; we are a “new man” in Christ compared to the “old man” in Adam; we have a new relationship with God, being the “sons of God”; we live under the new conditions of a new covenant, in which there are new commandments. Thus, every aspect of what God has and will do through the “seed of Abraham”—which is Christ—will be absolutely new and separate from the old world, old man, and old covenant.

Rev 21:5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

2 Pet 3:13 Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness.

2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

Eph 4:22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.

Matt 9:14 Then came to him the disciples of John, saying, Why do we and the Pharisees fast oft, but thy disciples fast not?
15 And Jesus said unto them, Can the children of the bridechamber mourn, as long as the bridegroom is with them? but the days will come, when the bridegroom shall be taken from them, and then shall they fast.
16 No man putteth a piece of new cloth unto an old garment, for that which is put in to fill it up taketh from the garment, and the rent is made worse.
17 Neither do men put new wine into old bottles: else the bottles break, and the wine runneth out, and the bottles perish: but they put new wine into new bottles, and both are preserved.

1 John 3:2 Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.

John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

What may we now summarize is the superiority of the benefits and blessings of the New Testament—NT—compared to that of the Old Testament—OT:

1. Christ, both as the Testator and Mediator of the NT, was better than Moses, through whom God gave and mediated the OT. Christ is the Son of God; Moses was a servant of God.

Heb 3:1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
2 Who was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in all his house.
3 For this man was counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as he who hath builded the house hath more honour than the house.
4 For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is God.
5 And Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after;
6 But Christ as a son over his own house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.

2. The NT is superior to the OT because of the parties who made the oaths of promise. The people of Israel entered into the covenant of the OT by promising to obey its conditions, and God in turn promised to bless them. The blessings of the OT were contingent upon their obedience to its precepts and laws, and in the end, they failed to keep their oath. The Triune God was the only party who obligated Himself and made any promises to keep in the NT. Thus, we can be assured that the NT will not fail, because it is “impossible for God to lie” or fail.

Exo 19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

Heb 6:13 For when God made promise to Abraham, because he could swear by no greater, he sware by himself,
14 Saying, Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee.
15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.
16 For men verily swear by the greater: and an oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife.
17 Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
18 That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
19 Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;

3. The NT is a better covenant because it has a better High Priest to carry out its duties. Under the OT, men, who themselves were sinners and subject to death, were appointed to offer up gifts and sacrifices for the people of Israel. Under the NT, we have a High Priest who is “holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens”; one that hath “an unchangeable priesthood” because “he ever liveth,” and “is consecrated for evermore.”

Heb 7:22 By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament.
23 And they truly were many priests, because they were not suffered to continue by reason of death:
24 But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.
25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.
26 For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;
27 Who needeth not daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifice, first for his own sins, and then for the people's: for this he did once, when he offered up himself.
28 For the law maketh men high priests which have infirmity; but the word of the oath, which was since the law, maketh the Son, who is consecrated for evermore.

4. The NT is a better covenant, because instead of requiring obedience to God’s law, it produces obedience to God’s law. The people of Israel had to maintain a fleshly obedience to all that God had commanded; those under the NT, who are indwelt by the Spirit of Christ, are taught, enabled, and motivated from within their hearts by His Spirit. Israel could not maintain their covenant relationship with God because of their disobedience; NT saints are kept in union with God by the indwelling Spirit of God.

Heb 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second.
8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:

5. The NT is a better covenant because it opened the way to God. Under the OT, the High Priest was permitted to enter into the Holy of Holies only once a year, on the Day of Atonement; and the common people were never allowed to even come near this sacred place. However, Christ entered into Heaven itself, forever to stand in the very presence of God; thus opening the way for His people to have direct and continuous access to the Father.

Heb 9:6 Now when these things were thus ordained, the priests went always into the first tabernacle, accomplishing the service of God.
7 But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people:
8 The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing:
9 Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience;
10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.
11 But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building;
12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us.

Matt 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost.
51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent;

Heb 9:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
20 By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.

6. The New Covenant is superior because it was established by a better sacrifice:

1. The blood of innocent animals could never take away sin, they only covered the sins of Israel until the advent of “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

2. The blood of sacrificial animals only provided a ceremonial cleansing of the transgressors. The blood of Christ cleanses the conscience of the sinner, removes his guilt, and frees him from undue remorse.

3. The sacrifices of the OT were only shadows and types of the Real Sacrifice to come. They provided no real satisfaction, either to the people or to God.

4. The OT blood sacrifices were offered on a daily basis, and could never have ceased to be offered. The crucifixion of Christ “offered one sacrifice for sins for ever,” and “perfected for ever them that are sanctified.”

5. Under the OT, the people were required to provide their own sacrifices to be offered up by the priests. In the NT God provided the Lamb, and was Himself the Lamb.

Heb 9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Heb 10:1 For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
3 But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
5 Wherefore when he cometh into the world, he saith, Sacrifice and offering thou wouldest not, but a body hast thou prepared me:
6 In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
10 By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11 And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins:
12 But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God;
13 From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool.
14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;
17 And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
18 Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.

John 1:29 The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

Gen 22:8 And Abraham said, My son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering: so they went both of them together.

2 Cor 5:19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

7. The Old Covenant was based upon fleshy obedience and adherence to the laws and sacrifices that were the conditions of its blessings. Man kept the laws, the ceremonies, the Sabbaths; man provided the sacrifices; man offered the sacrifices; and God gave the promised blessings. The New Covenant is based upon Grace—God purposed it; Christ fulfilled all the requirements; Christ Himself was the sacrifice; the Holy Spirit irresistibly draws sinners to Christ and indwells them; and God has, and will fulfill all of the promised blessings that are to come. Man’s only requirement to enter into the Covenant is to believe what God has done, through the faith that God provides.

Deut 4:23 Take heed unto yourselves, lest ye forget the covenant of the LORD your God, which he made with you, and make you a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, which the LORD thy God hath forbidden thee.
24 For the LORD thy God is a consuming fire, even a jealous God.
25 When thou shalt beget children, and children's children, and ye shall have remained long in the land, and shall corrupt yourselves, and make a graven image, or the likeness of any thing, and shall do evil in the sight of the LORD thy God, to provoke him to anger:
26 I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed.

Gal 4:21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law?
22 For it is written, that Abraham had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
23 But he who was of the bondwoman was born after the flesh; but he of the freewoman was by promise.
24 Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar.
25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her children.
26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all.
27 For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she which hath an husband.
28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are the children of promise.

Heb 12:18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest,
19 And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard intreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more:
20 (For they could not endure that which was commanded, And if so much as a beast touch the mountain, it shall be stoned, or thrust through with a dart:
21 And so terrible was the sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly fear and quake:)
22 But ye are come unto mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels,
23 To the general assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
24 And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that of Abel.
25 See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.
8 And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed.
9 So then they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham.
10 For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.
12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them.
13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.

Rom 2:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:

8. The promises of the OT were mainly for time, were of the earth, and pertained only to the people of Israel—they dwelt in the Promised Land; they received the blessings of protection and victory over their enemies; and they received the blessings of material abundance. However, these blessings only lasted for as long as they were obedient. The blessings of the New Covenant are for all eternity; they are for all peoples, nations, and tongues; they are for a New Heaven and a New Earth; and because God alone obligated Himself to fulfill the New Covenant’s demands, these blessings will never be rescinded.

Heb 9:15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

Rev 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands;
10 And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

Rev 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
2 And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
3 And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
5 And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.

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