The Covenants – C.R. Nichol and R.L. Whiteside

C.R. Nichol and R.L. Whiteside

Covenant Defined

A covenant is an agreement or contract between two or more parties. From Exodus 19:5-8 we learn that Jehovah through Moses outlined to the people his demands, and promised that if they would meet these demands they would be his “own possession from among all people”; and “All the people answered together and said, All that Jehovah hath spoken will we do.” This is plainly a covenant, a contract, between Jehovah and the people; but the people at that time did not know the specific things which Jehovah would require of them—they knew only that he expected them to obey his voice and keep his covenant. The details of the covenant were made known to them.

Two Covenants

We speak of the “Two Covenants” by way of contrast, for there were others. The two great covenants, sometimes called “testaments,” were the outgrowth of two promises made to Abraham in Genesis 12:1-3, the first of which reads as follows: “And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and be thou a blessing and I will bless them that bless thee, and him that curseth thee will I curse.”

First Covenant. The first covenant was based on the foregoing promise, and related to the fleshly descendant of Abraham, and contained the seed of all God’s dealings with them.

To fulfill this promise, to make a great nation of them, and bless them in the highest degree, it was necessary: (1) To give Abraham a numerous posterity—“I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heavens, and as the sand which is upon the seashore” (Gen. 22:17). (2) To keep them separate. To this end God gave them the covenant of circumcision (Gen. 17) and prohibited intermarriages with other nations. (3) For them to have a country in which to live, and develop as a nation; hence, God gave them the land of Canaan (Gen. 17:8). (4) For them to have laws or a government. No nation can develop and prosper without laws. Anarchy is a curse. In the law of Moses their need for a government was supplied. (5) To cultivate and regulate their religious life. Without the elevating influences of a pure and holy religion a nation will degenerate till it becomes a curse to itself and the world. In all true religion there is worship to elevate the thoughts, cultivate the heart, and keep alive a religious sentiment. For these reasons provisions were made in the law of Moses for worship and religious exercises. All these laws and regulations, both secular and religious, were given at Mount Sinai, through Moses, and constitute what we call the First Covenant.

Covenant Made

From Mount Sinai the Ten Commandments were delivered (Ex. 20:1-17). To Moses Jehovah delivered many additional commands and ordinances. See Exodus, chapters 21-23. “And Moses came and told the people all the words of Jehovah, and all the ordinances.” To all of which the people replied, “All the words which Jehovah hath spoken we will do, and be obedient” (Ex. 24:7). Then Moses “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, saying, This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded to you-ward” (Heb. 9:19; Ex. 24:7, 8). Thus the covenant was ratified and sealed. This covenant Paul calls the “first covenant” (Heb. 8:7; 9:1, 18).

The Second Promise to Abraham

We have abundant evidence that Jehovah never intended that this first covenant should be final. In fact during its existence the way was being prepared for the second. There were types and prophecies looking forward to better things. These better things, the better covenant of which Paul speaks (Heb. 8:6), had its foundation in the second promise to Abraham: “In thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 12:3).

To fulfill this promise it was necessary: (1) That Christ should come of the seed of Abraham. That Christ did come of the seed of Abraham is settled by Paul: “He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16). We could not have known that Christ was of the seed of Abraham, had Abraham’s seed lost their identity by mixing with other people. Circumcision was a powerful factor in keeping Abraham’s seed distinct. So far as we know this is the only way in which circumcision is related to the new covenant. Paul indicates this use of circumcision: “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while he was in uncircumcision; that he might be the father of all them that believe” (Rom. 4:11). (2) That they should have a spiritual home full of piety, reverence, and love for God and man. The church with its hallowed influences and soul-satisfying worship meets these demands. It is God’s house, God’s family (Eph. 3:15; I Tim. 3:15). (3) Laws and governments are needed. “It is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.” The highest and purest possible conduct is needed to lead us to the highest degree of usefulness and development. We find this in the gospel, “the law of the Spirit of life,” “the perfect law of liberty.” To be a law unto ourselves is rebellion and anarchy. Jesus as king administers the affairs of his kingdom. Children of God are its citizens. Jesus will reign in this kingdom, as now constituted, till he, after the resurrection, delivers up the kingdom to God the Father (1 Cor. 15:21-24).

The First Covenant Taken Away

The first covenant had to be abrogated before the second could be established. Two covenants, both designed to control the entire religious and moral life of the same people, and differing in their requirements, could not be in force at the same time. “He taketh away the first that he may establish the second” (Heb. 10:9). In Romans 7:1-6 Paul teaches the same fact. He presents the marriage relation as an illustration— the woman is bound to the husband while he lives; if the husband dies she is free to marry another. Paul is not in this passage seeking to teach a lesson on marriage, but is using a well-known principle of the marriage relation to teach us a lesson on our relation to the law of Moses and to Christ. The argument is, That so long as the legal relations between the law of Moses and the Jew remained they could not be joined to another. “Wherefore, my brethren, ye also were made dead to the law through the body of Christ; that ye should be joined to another, even to him who was raised from the dead” (Rom. 7:4).

We “were made dead to the law through the body of Christ when, through the death of his body on the cross, the law ended” (Col. 2:14). It is worthy of note here that the joining of Christ came after he was raised from the dead.

“But now we have been discharged from the law, having died to that wherein we were held; so that we serve in newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter” (Rom. 7:6). That Paul’s use of the term law here, includes the ten commandments is clear from the fact that in the next verse he quotes one of the ten commandments—“Thou shalt not covet”—as part of the law to which he refers. No one should be alarmed at the statement that the Ten Commandments have been taken away, and conclude that the whole moral law is gone; for every command and principle of the Ten Commandments, excepting the Sabbath law, was brought over and incorporated in the New Covenant, as is shown in the following:

The Ten Commandments

1. Thou shalt have no other Gods before me. (Ex. 20:4).

2. Thou shalt not make unto thee a graven image. (Ex. 20:4).

3. Thou shalt not take the name of Jehovah thy God in vain. (Ex. 20:7).

4. Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy. (Ex. 20:8).

5. Honor thy father and thy mother. (Ex. 20:12).

6. Thou shalt not kill. (Ex. 20:13).

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Ex. 20:14).

8. Thou shalt not steal. (Ex. 20:15).

9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor. (Ex. 20:16).

10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house, . . . wife . servants, . . . nor anything that is thy neighbors. (Ex. 20:17).

Nine of the Ten Commandments

1. There is no God but one. (1 Cor. 4:8). Keep yourself from idols. (1 John 5:21).

2. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man. (Rom. 1:23).

3. Law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and unruly, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane. (I Tim. 1:8-11).

4. *

5. Honor thy father and mother. (Eph. 6:2).

6. Thou shalt not kill. (Rom. 13:9).

7. Thou shalt not commit adultery. (Rom. 13:9).

8. Thou shalt not steal. (Rom. 13:9).

9. Put away all falsehood, speak ye the truth. (Eph. 4:25).

10. 10. Thou shalt not covet. (Rom. 13:9).

*There is not a command in the New Testament to keep the sabbath.

Ministers of the New Covenant

In 2 Cor. 3:6 Paul declares that God made them, the apostles, ministers of the New Covenant; and in the remaining part of the chapter he contrasts the Old and New covenants, and shows the superiority of the New over the Old at every point, and speaks of the Old as “that which passeth away,” and of the New as “that which remaineth.”

New Covenant

In Hebrews 8:7 Paul speaks of a first covenant and a second covenant, and then quotes,

Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that 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 that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt (Heb. 8:8-13).

This language identifies the old covenant with the law of Moses, the covenant entered into at Sinai. This covenant was in force in the days of Jeremiah, and yet the Lord says through him, long after Sinai, “Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant”—not have made, but “will make.” This can refer to no covenant made before that time, as the better covenant, of which Christ is mediator (Heb. 8:6). Both Jeremiah and Paul declared it to be a new covenant, and too, that it was to be unlike the old covenant.

Change in Priesthood—Change in Law

Under the patriarchal dispensation the head of the family was the priest, but when, amongst the Jews, the nation instead of the family became the governmental and religious unit, it became necessary to change the priesthood. The national superseded the family religion and a new order of priests which could officiate for the whole nation became necessary. New laws, new regulations, to meet national needs, therefore, became necessary. The law of Moses, now called the Old Covenant, came in to supply the national needs. It was meant for only one nation—the Hebrews. Malachi says, “Remember ye the law of Moses my servant, which I commanded unto him in Horeb, for all Israel even statutes and ordinances” (Mal. 4:4). Paul says the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God (Rom. 3:2). Even the Sabbath was given to the Jews only; “And thou shalt remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God brought thee out thence by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm: therefore Jehovah thy God commandeth thee to keep the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15).

But when the world-wide religion superseded the national, and when simple congregational worship was to take the place of the tabernacle and temple worship, a new priesthood became necessary. Jesus Christ is now the high priest (Heb. 9:11), and God’s children are all priests (1 Pet. 2:5). Hence a new covenant became necessary; “for the priesthood being changed, there is made of necessity a change also of the law” (Heb. 7:12). If Christ “were on earth, he would not be a priest at all, seeing there are those who offer the gifts according to the law” (Heb. 8:4); for the priests under the law were of the tribe of Levi, and “it is evident that our Lord hath sprung out of Judah; as to which tribe Moses spake nothing concerning priests” (Heb. 7:14). Jesus being perfect could not have been a priest under the law; “for the law appointeth men high priests, having infirmity” (Heb. 7:28). Under the law they were made priests without an oath (Heb. 7:21), “but the word of the oath, which was after the law, appointeth a Son, perfected forevermore” (Heb. 7:28).

Law Our Schoolmaster

When God’s law through Moses served its purpose, it expired by divine limitation. The law was our schoolmaster—tutor—to bring us to Christ (Gal. 3:24). The world needed to be taught that God is, that he alone is the rightful ruler in the affairs of men, and that sin bringeth ruin upon us, and too, the world needed to be trained in the elements of worship. Men needed to be lifted above the carnal things of sense and sight to a higher spiritual plane, where they might appreciate and take hold of the eternal things of faith. “But now that faith is come, ye are no longer under a tutor,” or schoolmaster (Gal. 3:25).

Separating Wall Abolished

The new covenant, the gospel of Christ, is intended for all nations, for all people. “Make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19), “preach the gospel to the whole creation” (Mark 16:16), said Jesus. God’s people were to be gathered into one fold (John 10:16), called into one body (Col. 3:15). The oneness of God’s people, set forth in so many passages, and enjoined so repeatedly and earnestly in the divine record, could never be attained so long as the law of Moses with its exclusiveness stood as a middle wall of partition, effectually separating Jew and Gentile. “But now in Christ Jesus ye that once were far off are made nigh in the blood of Christ” (Eph. 2:13); for by the shed blood of Christ the barrier was removed, the wall of separation was abolished. The cause of the enmity being removed, both Jew and Gentile can worship together in peace; “for he is our peace, who made both one, and break down the middle wall of partition, of commandments contained in ordinances; that he might create in himself of the two one new man, so making peace” (Eph. 2:14, 15). When Christ “broke down the middle wall of partition,” the law that kept the Jew and Gentile separated, he abolished the cause of enmity, “even the law,” that he might create in himself of the two (Jew and Gentile) one new man, (new body or church). Both Jew and Gentile were to be reconciled in one body. He thus slew the enmity, or cause of enmity, which Paul declares to have been the “law of commandments contained in ordinances.”

Nailed to the Cross

The law was against us, contrary to us. Paul ends all reason for dispute, both as to the fact and the time of its ending: “Having blotted out the bond written in ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us: and he hath taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross” (Col. 2:14). Thus the cross ended the yoke which even the Jews could not bear (Acts 15:10), and made possible the opening of the “new and living way,” dedicated for us by the blood of Christ (Heb. 10:19, 20).

When Did the New Covenant Become Operative?

Christ said, “Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I came not to destroy, but to fulfill. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass away from the law, till all things be accomplished” (Matt. 5:17-18). While the law was in force one might as well have tried to abolish heaven and earth as to destroy the binding force of the law, but Christ clearly affirmed that the law would pass away when it was fulfilled. Immediately after he was raised from the dead, he said, “These are my words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must needs be fulfilled, which are written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms, concerning me” (Luke 24:44). Touching this very matter Paul says, “And when they had fulfilled all things that were written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a tomb” (Acts 13:29). While on the cross Jesus said, “It is finished” (John 19:30). The law was fulfilled; and that it ceased to be of force is attested by Paul when he said it was nailed to the cross (Col. 2:14).

Not Under the Law. That the old covenant has ended is evident again from the statement of Paul: “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it speaketh to him that are under the law” (Rom. 3:19). Hear him again, “Shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?” (Rom. 3:15).

Covenant and testament are the same. A man must make his testament, during his life. When he dies his testament is probated, executors appointed, or if he has named his executors, they must qualify, and then the estate is administered in keeping with the will— testament. Paul recognized these facts and said, “For where a testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him that made it. For a testament is of force when there hath been death: for it doth never avail while he that made it liveth” (Heb. 9:16, 17.) This is declaring that the new covenant could not be of force before the death of Jesus.

The apostles having been fully informed of the will by the Master himself, and having been fully qualified by the power of the Holy Spirit, began their work of administering that will on the first Pentecost after the resurrection of Christ (Acts 2).

Covenants Contrasted

The Old

• The First. (Heb. 10:9).

• Old taken away. (Heb. 10:0).

• Faulty. (Heb. 8:7).

• Moses mediator. (Ex. 20:19).

• Glorious. (II Cor. 8:9-10).

• Figure of true. (Heb. 9:24)

• of animals. (Heb. 9:18-20).

• Carnal ordinances. (Heb. 9:10).

• Purify flesh. (Heb. 9:13).

• Continuous sacrifices. (Heb. 10: 14).

• Abraham’s seed. (Gen. 17:1-14).

• Natural birth. (Gen. 17:1-14).

• Infants. (Gen. 17:1-14).

• No clear conscience. (Heb. 9:8-9).

• Temporal inheritance. (Ps. 105: 11).

• Ministration of condemnation. (2 Cor. 3:9).

• Passed away. (2 Cor. 3:11).

• Bondwoman. (Gal. 4:30, 31).

• Priest with infirmity. (Heb. 7:28).

• Priests had sins. (Heb. 7:27).

• Priest without oath. (Heb. 7:21).

• Priest by carnal commandment. (Heb. 7:16).

• Priest, tribe of Levi. (Heb. 7:11).

• Priests die. (Heb. 7:23).

• Sins remembered. (Heb. 10:1-4).

• Written in stone. (2 Cor. 3).

The New

• The second. (Heb. 10:9).

• The New established. (Heb. 10:9).

• Better, Perfect. (Heb. 8:6; Jas. 1:25).

• Christ mediator. (Heb. 12:24).

• Exceeds in glory. (2 Cor. 3: 10-11).

• The true. (Heb. 8:1, 2).

• Blood of Christ. (Heb. 9:12).

• Spiritual sacrifices. (1 Pet. 2:5).

• Purify soul. (1 Pet. 1:22).

• Christ offered once only. (Heb. 10).

• All nations. (Eph. 2:11-16).

• Spiritual birth. (John 3:1-5).

• All know the Lord. (Heb. 10: 1-4).

• Makes perfect. (Heb. 7:18, 19).

• Eternal inheritance. (1 Pet. 1:4).

• Ministration of Righteousness. (2 Cor. 3:9).

• Remains. (2 Cor. 3:11).

• Free woman. (Gal. 4:30-31).

• Priest perfect. (Heb. 7:27).

• Priest Sinless. (Heb. 7:26).

• Priest by oath. (Heb. 7:21).

• Priest by endless life. (Heb. 7: 16).

• Priest, tribe of Judah. (Heb. 7:14).

• Priest continues ever. (Heb. 7: 24).

• Sins remembered no more. (Heb. 10:1-4).

• Written in the heart. (Heb. 8:10).