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These two phases of human history correspond respectively to the two covenants, the Old Covenant (or testament) and the New Covenant (or testament). The Hebrew word for covenant/testament is beriyth (ברית), literally, a treaty, alliance or agreement. Since these “agreements” are not made by two equal parties, but are made by God at His own instigation on Man’s behalf, translators have always felt the need to distinguish the Old and New “beriyoth” from person-to-person or state-to-state agreements. But one of the main points of the beriyth is indeed that God has chosen to bind Himself to fulfill all that He has promised – for our benefit, not for His. That is to say, if God has said it once, it is true and it will stand, but for the sake of our encouragement and perseverance, He has undertaken to give us assurances above and beyond anything we could ever deserve or ask for by formally “ratifying” His Word (cf. Heb.6:16-20).
A covenant/testament/beriyth is, therefore, first and foremost a promise from God, and it is for this reason that we find the word beriyth closely associated in the New Testament with the concept of “promise” (epangelia: ἐπαγγελία; cf. especially Eph.2:12: “the covenants of the promise”). Now the Greek word for covenant/testament is not epangelia but diatheke (διαθήκη), and this is the word that literally translates the Hebrew beriyth. But as the usage of diatheke in the New Testament makes clear, a “covenant” is still essentially an agreement, that is, a solemn, formalized promise or collection of promises which God has obligated Himself to fulfill (cf. Lk.1:72; Acts 3:25; Rom.11:26-27; 2Cor.3:14; Gal.3:17; Eph.2:12; Heb.7:22). The best way to understand the idea of the covenant/testament/beriyth, therefore, is in terms of God’s ultimate promise to mankind. For the Old Covenant (really a series of promises, to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, etc.; cf. Acts 13:23; 13:32-33; 26:6; Rom.4:13; 9:4; Gal.3:16; 3:29; 4:28; Eph.3:6; 2Tim.1:1; Heb.4:1; 6:12; 9:15; 10:36; 11:38-39; 1Jn.2:25) was first and foremost the promise of salvation (and all that it would entail), while the New Covenant is essentially the fulfillment of that promise (through Christ’s incarnation, sacrifice and resurrection).<!– — –> The Old Covenant is thus a looking forward through the shadows to the New Covenant, the reality of Christ and the fulfillment of all God’s promises for salvation and eternal life through Him (1Cor.11:25; 2Cor.1:19-20; 3:6; Heb.9:15):
And we are proclaiming this good news to you, the promise made to our fathers now become a reality. For this promise God has fulfilled for us, His children, by raising Jesus from the dead.
For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcision for the sake of God’s truth, that is, to confirm the promises (i.e., covenants) made to their ancestors – and also so that the gentiles might glorify God for His mercy (i.e., in providing salvation through Jesus).
This cup is the new covenant [ratified] by My blood which is shed on your behalf.
From mankind’s point of view, hope is always the central idea behind the promises of God solemnized in covenant form. That God has promised, sworn, and obligated Himself to provide for our salvation (Old Covenant perspective), and that Christ has accomplished and fully ratified all the promises of the Old Testament through His blood (New Covenant perspective), is indescribably encouraging news, good news, that empowers and strengthens our hope that one day we shall indeed be with Him.
For men are accustomed to take oaths on the authority of something greater than they are, and there is absolutely no doubt about the fact that an oath is taken for the purpose of confirmation. Just so God, out of a desire to make it abundantly clear to us, the heirs of His promise [after the pattern of Abraham’s faith], that His will in this matter [of salvation and its resultant blessings] is unchangeable, guaranteed it with an oath (Gen.22:16-17), so that through two unchangeable matters wherein it is impossible for God to prove false (i.e., His Word and His oath), we who have escaped [the wrath to come] and taken hold of this hope offered to us might have a strong basis for encouragement. And this hope [truly] is what “anchors” our lives, so to speak: it is certain; it is solid; it penetrates beyond the [heavenly] veil into the [holy of holies] where our vanguard, Jesus, has entered on our behalf, having become a high priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek.
Hope then, in the biblical sense, is much different from the way the word is often used in contemporary English. Hope in the biblical sense is not an uncertainty for which we wish, but rather a certainty we cannot yet see. Secular Greek usage reflects this same idea, for the word elpis (ἐλπίς), refers to a likelihood about future events, a definite expectation, whether good or bad. In the New Testament, hope is always good, a confident anticipation about what is going to come, and, specifically, the sure and certain knowledge, belief and conviction of our salvation, resurrection, gathering together with Jesus Christ, and glorious eternity with Him. We do not see it yet, but we know for certain that through Christ’s victory and our faith in Him it is only a matter of time before we actually experience the things we hope for:
For it is in this hope [of the resurrection of our bodies] that we have been saved. Now a hope that is visible is not [really] a hope. For why should someone wait expectantly for what his eyes can see? But we have set our hope on what cannot be seen, and so are patiently awaiting its fulfillment.
It is faith, moreover, that substantiates what we hope for. [Faith] provides proof of things unseen.
The Old Covenant looked forward to the coming of the promised Messiah, to the redemption of all mankind through His work (Rom.11:27). With the advent of Jesus Christ and His work on the cross now an accomplished fact, the New Covenant that God has made with all mankind includes not only forgiveness, but innumerable blessings besides, prominent among which is the gift of the Holy Spirit (Jn.7:39; cf. Is.59:21). Now that Christ has been resurrected, ascended to heaven and sits at the Father’s right hand, we who believe in Him have received the gift of the Holy Spirit and spiritual gifts as well, an unfulfilled promise from the Old Covenant perspective, but, like the coming of Christ in the flesh, a reality under the New Covenant (compare Is.44:3 and Joel 2:28 with Acts 2:14-21; Rom.12:5-8; 1Cor.12:1-11; Eph.4:7-13).
Jesus Christ is thus the key to the two phases of history with their two concomitant covenants. He is the unique Prophet (Deut.18:17-19), the eternal Priest (Ps.110:4) and the promised King (Is.9:6-7). He is the fulfillment of all the Old Testament promises (Rom.15:8; cf. Acts 3:24-26), of the Old Covenant (2Cor.3:14; Heb.7:22), and of the Law (Rom.10:4; Heb.7:12). He is the One who has delivered us from the bondage of the Old Covenant and brought us into the freedom of the New Covenant (Gal.4:24f.). He it is who has mediated for us a better covenant than was in force before, a covenant built on better promises (Heb.8:6; 12:24; cf. Eph.2:12; Heb.9:15-16).
But the fact is that the ministry which [Jesus] has received is a more excellent one to the same degree that the [New] Covenant of which He is the mediator is better [than the Old]. For this [New Covenant] has been instituted on the basis of better promises. For if that first [covenant] had been perfect, an occasion for the second would not have been sought. Indeed, in finding fault with [those under the first covenant, God] says,
Behold, the days are coming", says the Lord, “when I shall ratify a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah – not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not remain [faithful to] My covenant, and so I in turn disregarded them.” says the Lord. “For” says the Lord, “this is the covenant which I shall make with the house of Israel after these days: I shall put my precepts in their minds and write them upon their hearts, and I shall be their God, and they shall be My people. They shall not teach each one his fellow and each one his brother, saying ‘Know the Lord!’, because all shall know Me, from the least to the greatest of them. For I shall have mercy upon their unrighteous deeds and shall remember their sins no more.”
[Jeremiah 31:31-34]
In mentioning a “New [Covenant]”, He has rendered the Old one obsolete. And that which is obsolete and antiquated is close to disappearing.
Not that every promise from the Old Testament has already been fulfilled in every aspect and detail (Heb.11:39-40). Indeed, even now under the New Covenant we still await the return of our Lord and our gathering together with Him in resurrection. But all God’s promises have in fact been completely fulfilled in principle through our Lord Jesus Christ’s victory over sin at the cross, a victory that resulted in our redemption from sin and thus cleared the way for all the coming blessings of eternity. Therefore the actual fulfillment of all the promises to Israel and to us, our resurrection, eternal life, our reward and eternity with God in the new heavens and new earth are a reality by which we are separated only by a short span of time (and one for which we wait with eager anticipation: 2Pet.3:10-13).
Summary points and follow-on topics
Summary points:
- God’s promises are always certain, but not seeing fit to make us just take His promises on only His word alone, God saw fit to formally commit himself to fulfilling His promises by unbreakable covenant/testament.
- The Hebrew word for testament/covenant is beriyth (ברית)
- The Greek word for testament/covenant is diatheke (διαθήκη), although since what we are talking about in these cases specifically are promises of God (rather than, say, agreements between two persons or nations), the Greek word for “promise” (epangelia: ἐπαγγελία) is also used.
- Human promises are flaky and uncertain at best, which is why the concept of more formally binding covenants/testaments exists to begin with. Compare business contracts. Covenants are promises that have been ratified and turned into a binding agreement.
- The Old Covenant was really a series of promises (to Adam and Eve, Noah, Abraham, etc.), each of which amounted to a promise of salvation.
- The New Covenant is essentially the fulfillment of that promise (through Christ’s incarnation, sacrifice and resurrection).
- The Old Covenant is thus a looking forward through the shadows to the New Covenant.
- With the advent of Jesus Christ and His work on the cross now an accomplished fact, the New Covenant that God has made with all mankind includes not only forgiveness, but innumerable blessings besides, prominent among which is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and the spiritual gifts He gives us.
- Jesus Christ is the One who has delivered us from the bondage of the Old Covenant and brought us into the freedom of the New Covenant. He it is who has mediated for us a better covenant than was in force before, a covenant built on better promises.
- While some Old Testament promises await final completion, the cross completely fulfilled all of God’s promises in principle.
- Therefore the actual fulfillment of all the promises to Israel and to us—our resurrection, eternal life, and our reward and eternity with God in the new heavens and new earth—are already a certain reality.
Follow-on topics:
- It is useful to think in legal terms when we consider these matters. Binding contracts are stronger than promises with nothing but words behind them. And truly, there is no stronger way to ratify a binding contract than with the blood of the Prince of the Universe.
- Putting aside for a moment the gratitude we ought to feel for what God has done for us (and all other motivation along those lines—which we ought to have, to be clear, but bear with me for a moment), well strictly from a self-interested point of view, it should be clear that the trade we make here is very much worth it. All we have to do is follow Jesus Christ, and in return, God does everything else. He also paid the price Himself to ratify the contract, at a cost we cannot properly comprehend. Literally, all we have to do is not say no.
- Us refusing to take part in this contract is thus just as insane as a businessman who turns down the contract of a lifetime with all gain and no loss. All the more so because while businessmen can get scammed or cheated, God cannot and will not renege on His promises, and because the gain we get from this contract is eternal, meaning the gain is essentially infinite. But even by examining this imperfect analogy, we should be able to understand how foolish it is to reject such clearly beneficial terms. Self-interest tells us we ought to take this deal without hesitation.