The fulfilment of God's purposes of salvation expressed in the covenants of the OT, mediated by Jesus Christ and sealed in his blood. It is a covenant of grace, the benefits of which include forgiveness, a renewed relationship with God and, through the Holy Spirit, an inward transformation that enables obedience to its demands and so ensures that it will not again be broken. Jeremiah 31:31 The “new” covenant is contrasted with the covenant made at Sinai which is sometimes referred to as the “old” or “first” covenant.
Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.
The new covenant fulfils the OT covenants
God's covenant with Noah
God's covenant with Abraham
Luke 1:72–73; Acts 3:25–26; Galatians 3:14–16
God's covenant at Sinai
Ezekiel 16:60, Ezekiel 16:62, Ezekiel 20:37
God's covenant with David
Isaiah 55:3; Ezekiel 34:24–26, Ezekiel 37:25–26; Luke 1:69
Jesus Christ, the mediator of the new covenant
The new covenant fulfilled in the Messiah
Malachi 3:1 See also Isaiah 42:6, Isaiah 49:8
“Behold, I will send My messenger, who will prepare the way before Me. Then the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to His temple — the Messenger of the covenant, in whom you delight — see, He is coming,” says the LORD of Hosts.
The new covenant effected through Jesus Christ's death
Hebrews 9:15 See also Hebrews 9:16–17
Therefore Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, now that He has died to redeem them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
The new covenant sealed in Jesus Christ's blood
Luke 22:20 parallels Matthew 26:28, Mark 14:24 See also Exodus 24:8 Blood was an important element in sealing the Sinaitic covenant; John 6:54; 1 Corinthians 10:16, 1 Corinthians 11:25; Hebrews 10:29
In the same way, after supper He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you.
The ministry of the Holy Spirit
2 Corinthians 3:6, 2 Corinthians 3:18 See also Isaiah 59:21; Ezekiel 36:26–27; Romans 8:2–4; 2 Corinthians 3:8
And He has qualified us as ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into His image with intensifying glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
The superior blessings of the new covenant
God's grace and mercy
Hebrews 12:24 The blood of Abel cried out to God for justice and retribution; the blood of Jesus Christ, shed to seal the new covenant, cries out for mercy and forgiveness.
to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
A complete forgiveness
Hebrews 8:12 See also Jeremiah 31:34; Romans 11:27; Hebrews 10:17
For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”
Release from the law's condemnation
2 Corinthians 3:9; Galatians 3:13–14
An inward enabling to obey God's laws
Jeremiah 31:32–33 The old covenant was broken because its demands were not met. Under the new covenant the requirements of obedience are not abolished, but in writing his laws on human hearts, God gives the ability to meet the covenant demands. See also Jeremiah 32:38–40; Ezekiel 11:19–20; 2 Corinthians 3:3; Hebrews 8:9–10, Hebrews 9:14, Hebrews 10:16
It will not be like the covenant I made with their fathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt— a covenant they broke, though I was a husband to them,” declares the LORD. “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the LORD. I will put My law in their minds and inscribe it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they will be My people.
A new knowledge of God
Hebrews 8:11 See also Jeremiah 31:34; 2 Corinthians 3:15–16
No longer will each one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest.
A renewed relationship with God
Ezekiel 37:26–27 “peace” refers to spiritual and material well-being; real peace is possible only for those in a right relationship with God. The formula “I will be their God, and they will be my people” is associated also with the Abrahamic and especially the Sinaitic covenants. See also Jeremiah 24:7, Jeremiah 31:1; Ezekiel 34:30–31; Hosea 2:19–23
And I will make a covenant of peace with them; it will be an everlasting covenant. I will establish them and multiply them, and I will set My sanctuary among them forever. My dwelling place will be with them; I will be their God, and they will be My people.
A superior priesthood
Hebrews 8:6 See also Hebrews 7:22, Hebrews 9:24–25
Now, however, Jesus has received a much more excellent ministry, just as the covenant He mediates is better and is founded on better promises.
A superior sacrifice
Hebrews 9:14 See also Hebrews 9:20–23, Hebrews 9:26–28, Hebrews 10:4, Hebrews 10:8–14
how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself unblemished to God, purify our consciences from works of death, so that we may serve the living God!
A lasting covenant
Isaiah 61:8; 2 Corinthians 3:11 See also Jeremiah 50:5; Hebrews 8:7, Hebrews 8:13, Hebrews 13:20
For I, the LORD, love justice; I hate robbery and iniquity; in My faithfulness I will give them their recompense and make an everlasting covenant with them.
For if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which endures!
Related themes
Dictionary of Bible Themes © 1999 Martin Manser, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0, via Bible Aquifer. Formatted for this site, with Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.