The New Covenant Personified

"Jesus Christ is "the new law, and the new covenant" personified."  - Justin Martyr, early Christian apologist and philosopher (105-165 A.D.)

Have you ever made a promise you couldn't keep? Or perhaps, more importantly, have you ever felt that, despite your best intentions, you just couldn't measure up to a set of expectations or rules? 

The history of God's relationship with mankind under the Old Covenant reveals a similar pattern. God was faithful, but the people, not so much. They repeatedly broke their end of the agreement. 

The Law, written on stone tablets, revealed their sin but could not provide a permanent solution or the power to obey. In time, the idea of a "new covenant" was prophesied in the Old Testament. 

It was regarded as a promise of a new kind of relationship between God and His people; not one based solely on external laws, but on internal change. Let's find out more about this.

The prophet Jeremiah foretold a day when God would do something radically new, something better, in Jeremiah 31:31-34. The main distinction was where this change is located: in the heart.

The New Covenant, unlike the old one based on human promises, is centered on God's fulfillment through Jesus Christ. It provides lasting forgiveness through Christ's sacrifice and a heart transformation through the Holy Spirit.

We can read about the fulfillment of this enduring promise in Jesus Christ as the mediator in: 

• Luke 2:20 - The "blood" represents His sacrificial death on the cross, which atones, or makes amends for sin, thus enabling this relationship.
• Hebrews 8:6 - The Book of Hebrews makes it clear that this new covenant is "superior" to the old because it is founded on "better promises" and addresses conclusively with sin.

Now, you might ask, "How does this affect me, and what is the end result of all of this?" The New Covenant takes us from a law-based, or legal system to a relationship of, or bond with faith and grace. For instance:

• Life Lived Under the Spirit and in Grace - We are ministers of a "new covenant—not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). No longer do we rely on our own power to obey the law, but on that of the Holy Spirit to live a transformed life.
• Blotting Out Our Sin - Under this covenant, God declares, "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 8:12). This total absolution is the cornerstone of our peace with God.
• An Intimate Union - The final assurance is intimacy: "I will be their God, and they will be my people" (Jeremiah 31:33). We are brought into a personal, direct relationship with God through Jesus.

Questions for Spiritual Growth:

• How does the concept of God writing His law on your heart change your perspective on obedience?
• From your personal perspective, what does the New Covenant, based on "better promises" than the old one, mean to you?
• How should the release from sin offered under this covenant  influence your daily life and peace of mind with God?

To conclude, the New Covenant is a gift of grace, to start afresh with a changed heart through faith in Jesus Christ.

Prayer: "Dear God, thank You for the precious blood of Jesus that was shed to seal this new and better promise. I am so grateful that my sins are forgiven by way of it, and I am granted eternal life and peace with You. Amen."

Grace be unto you,

Lamai