Living in the New Covenant: Freedom and Grace

The question of whether we are living in the new covenant is a foundational one for our understanding of God's plan for humanity. The Holy Bible makes it wonderfully clear that, yes, we are indeed living under the new covenant, and it brings with it incredible blessings and a deeper relationship with our Creator through Jesus Christ. 🙏

The Old Covenant and Its Purpose

To truly appreciate the new covenant, it's helpful to first understand the old. The old covenant was established at Mount Sinai with the children of Israel. It was a covenant that involved a system of laws written on stone tablets and a worldly sanctuary with a specific priesthood and services. The book of Hebrews helps us understand its nature:

"Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary." - Hebrews 9:1

This earthly sanctuary and its services, including the shedding of animal blood for sins, were designed to be a "figure for the time then present," pointing forward to something greater that was to come. These rituals could not "make the worshiper perfect in conscience." They were "imposed on them until the time of reformation."

• Hebrews 9:9-10

The Coming of the New Covenant in Christ

The Bible reveals that God always intended to make a new covenant, one that would transform hearts and bring humanity into a closer relationship with Him. The prophet Jeremiah foretold this:

"Behold, the days come, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: 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, says the Lord. 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, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people." - Hebrews 8:8-10 (quoting Jeremiah 31:31-33

This new covenant is centered entirely on Jesus Christ, who is its Mediator. His death on the cross brought about the redemption of transgressions and opened a "new and living way" for us to approach God directly.

"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." - Hebrews 9:15

At the moment Christ yielded up His life, a profound change occurred. The veil in the temple, which separated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place, was "rent in two from top to bottom by the power of God the Father." This act symbolized the demolition of the old covenant system and the opening of this "new and living way."

• Hebrews 10:20

Characteristics of the New Covenant

Under the new covenant, we have boldness to enter into God's presence through the blood of Jesus. We are no longer limited by the earthly tabernacle or a human high priest who could only enter the Most Holy Place once a year.

"But you are come to mount Sion, and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, 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, And to Jesus the mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel." - Hebrews 12:22-24

The ministration of this new covenant is one of spirit and righteousness, far exceeding the glory of the old ministration, which Paul refers to as the "ministration of death" or "condemnation" because it highlighted sin without fully providing the means of inward transformation.

"Who also has made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter kills, but the spirit gives life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraved in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious?" - 2 Corinthians 3:6-8

The glorious truth is that under the new covenant, God's law, the Ten Commandments, is not abolished but is written by His Spirit upon the "fleshly tables of the heart." This is a transformation from within, enabling true obedience out of love for God.

"For as much as you are manifestly declared to be the letter of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart." - 2 Corinthians 3:3

Living in the New Covenant

What does it mean for us to live in the new covenant today? It means:

• Access to God through Christ: We can draw near to God with confidence, knowing that Jesus is our High Priest and Mediator in the heavenly sanctuary. His blood purges our conscience from "dead works" so we can serve the living God.

  "But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands... 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." - Hebrews 9:11-12

• Transformation of the Heart: The Spirit works within us to align our desires with God's perfect law. This is a life of serving "in newness of spirit and not in the oldness of the letter."

  "Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that from now on we should not serve sin." - Romans 6:6

• Eternal Inheritance: Through faith in Jesus, we receive the promise of eternal life and an inheritance that cannot fade.

  "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 on the hope set before us: Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters into that within the veil." - Hebrews 6:18-19

Let us rejoice in this wonderful truth! We are not under a covenant of bondage, but of freedom and grace, where God Himself works in our hearts, leading us to a life that truly honors Him. May we daily seek to live out the beautiful realities of this new covenant, allowing the Spirit to guide us in all truth and righteousness. ❤️📖✨