The New Covenant is central to God's plan to redeem His people and restore creation through His promises to Israel, yet it is often misunderstood. It has inspired much discussion and debate among scholars, theologians, and believers alike. Are we currently living in the New Covenant? Did it begin with the shedding of Jesus’ blood, or is it still awaiting fulfillment in the future?
To fully understand the New Covenant, we must understand its roots in earlier covenants, its elements, and its fulfillment through the lens of the first-century apostolic perspective. Through it, we can gain insight into how Jesus and His apostles might have understood the New Covenant.
This article argues that the New Covenant has, in fact, not been fulfilled and briefly explains how its elements are yet future and will be fulfilled at the return of Jesus and the establishment of the renewed Davidic throne.
What Is A Covenant?
To proceed with a clear understanding, it is helpful to define our terms. What is a covenant? Let’s begin with its biblical and Hebrew roots. The Hebrew word for covenant is בְּרִית (berith), as referenced in Strong’s Concordance (#1285). This word is used extensively throughout Scripture, appearing in contexts such as treaties, alliances, and pledges. The KJV translates berith as "covenant" 264 times, along with terms like "league," "confederacy," and "agreement."
Outline of Biblical Usage
In Scripture, berith encompasses a wide range of relational agreements, both between humans and between God and humanity:
- Between Men:
- Treaties, alliances, and leagues (e.g., agreements between nations or tribes).
- Alliances of friendship or marriage (e.g., the covenant between David and Jonathan in 1 Samuel 18:3).
- Between God and Man:
- Alliances of friendship initiated by God.
- Covenants that include divine ordinances, often accompanied by signs or pledges (e.g., the rainbow in God's covenant with Noah in Genesis 9:12-13).
The concept of berith also involves specific actions:
- Covenant Making: The formal initiation of a covenant, often marked by rituals or sacrifices (e.g., Genesis 15:9-18).
- Covenant Keeping: Faithful adherence to the covenant's terms and obligations.
- Covenant Violation: The breaking of covenantal commitments, often resulting in consequences or judgment (e.g., Deuteronomy 31:16-18).
Unlike a modern contract, which is typically transactional and temporary, berith conveys the idea of an enduring relationship and pledge. Biblical covenants often involve solemn commitments, which reflect the unchanging faithfulness of God. They are not merely legal agreements but sacred and permanent bonds.
I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your descendants after you.
Genesis 17:7
The Nature of the New Covenant
Jeremiah 31 introduces the concept of a new covenant that is internal rather than external. God declares:
Behold, days are coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers... I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people
Jeremiah 31:31-33
This promise highlights one of the significant elements of the new covenant—a relational transformation where the law is internalized, and the people are united with God in a deep and personal way. Ezekiel affirms this idea, adding a new spirit:
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. Moreover, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you
Ezekiel 36:25-26
This covenant promises complete renewal, which will allow the people, chosen to bring forth salvation and restoration to all creation, to follow God without turning from Him in order for God to accomplish this promise to the world. Before understanding what the New Covenant promises is, it’s vital to clarify what it does not change or replace.
What the New Covenant Is Not
While the New Covenant brings significant changes, it is important to note what it does not promise:
- It Does Not Replace the Old Covenant: The New Covenant fulfills the Old Covenant without negating it. It builds upon the foundation of the Torah. A key difference being that the laws of Yahweh will be written in the hearts rather than on tablets of stone.
- It Does Not Replace Israel: Contrary to the teachings of replacement theology (more on that later), the New Covenant is made explicitly with the house of Israel and Judah. Thus, the new covenant cannot be fulfilled without Israel’s involvement in the salvation to come.
- It Is Not Exclusionary: The New Covenant retains promises of land, reconciliation, and restoration of all things, showing God’s ongoing faithfulness to His people.
The Gospel Story and the New Covenant
Biblical theology is best understood as a story; a narrative of God’s redemptive plan in history. The New Covenant is the culmination of this narrative, where God fulfills His promises to Israel and brings blessings to the nations (the entire world). The New Covenant builds upon earlier covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David, each of which plays a role in God’s initial Genesis 3:15 promise of the restoration of all things.
So the Lord God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, “Cursed are you above all livestock and all wild animals! You will crawl on your belly and you will eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
Genesis 3:14-15 NIV
The Abrahamic Covenant
From the beginning, humanity’s disobedience disrupted the world. Genesis shows a perfect world corrupted by sin, causing turmoil, yet God chooses Abram1 from the nations to be the starting point of His redemptive plan.
Now the LORD said to Abram, “Go forth from your country, and from your relatives and from your father’s house, to the land which I will show you; And I will make you a great nation, and I will bless you, and make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, and the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed.”
Genesis 12:1-3
On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To your descendants I have given this land, from the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates: the Kenite and the Kenizzite and the Kadmonite and the Hittite and the Perizzite and the Rephaim and the Amorite and the Canaanite and the Girgashite and the Jebusite.”
Genesis 15:18-21
Through Abram, God creates a family, which grows into the nation of Israel. With this nation, God establishes the Mosaic Covenant, setting the stage for the New Covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant
The Mosaic Covenant, given to Israel at Mount Sinai, God gave His laws on tablets of stone, and the Israelites agreed to follow His ways. This covenant included blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience (Deuteronomy 28). They were to be a light to the nations, showing the world what it means to live in harmony with Yahweh as their God.
“Now it shall be, if you diligently obey the LORD your God, being careful to do all His commandments which I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the LORD your God:
Deuteronomy 28: 1-2
However, the people’s disobedience led to covenant curses. Over generations, these curses escalated, culminating in exile. Assyria conquered the northern kingdom of Israel, and Babylon, under Nebuchadnezzar, took the southern kingdom of Judah. These events fulfilled the warnings in Deuteronomy 28 and 31, where God described the consequences of breaking His covenant.
The LORD will bring a nation against you from afar, from the end of the earth, as the eagle swoops down, a nation whose language you shall not understand, a nation of fierce countenance who will have no respect for the old, nor show favor to the young.
Deuteronomy 28:49-50
The LORD said to Moses, “Behold, you are about to lie down with your fathers; and this people will arise and play the harlot with the strange gods of the land, into the midst of which they are going, and will forsake Me and break My covenant which I have made with them. Then My anger will be kindled against them in that day, and I will forsake them and hide My face from them, and they will be consumed, and many evils and troubles will come upon them; so that they will say in that day, ‘Is it not because our God is not among us that these evils have come upon us?’ But I will surely hide My face in that day because of all the evil which they will do, for they will turn to other gods.
Deuteronomy 31:16-18
During this time of exile, prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel reminded Israel of what God promised to them as a nation. They warned of judgment but also pointed to a future restoration. In Deuteronomy 30:1-8, Moses foresaw a time when Israel would repent, and God would restore them:
- God promised to bring Israel back from exile.
- He would circumcise their hearts, enabling them to love and obey Him fully.
- The blessings of the covenant would be restored, and the curses would fall on Israel’s enemies.
So it shall be when all of these things have come upon you, the blessing and the curse which I have set before you, and you call them to mind in all nations where the LORD your God has banished you, and you return to the LORD your God and obey Him with all your heart and soul according to all that I command you today, you and your sons, then the LORD your God will restore you from captivity, and have compassion on you, and will gather you again from all the peoples where the LORD your God has scattered you. If your outcasts are at the ends of the earth, from there the LORD your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you back. The LORD your God will bring you into the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it; and He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers. Moreover the LORD your God will circumcise your heart and the heart of your descendants, to love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul, so that you may live. The LORD your God will inflict all these curses on your enemies and on those who hate you, who persecuted you. And you shall again obey the LORD, and observe all His commandments which I command you today.
Deuteronomy 30:1-8
This promise of restoration laid the groundwork for the New Covenant. Much of the confusion regarding the biblical view of the New Covenant arises from approaching the Mosaic Covenant with a negative preconceived view. It is often misunderstood as “outdated,” “a curse if followed,” or “simply legalistic,” which distorts its intended purpose and connection to the New Covenant.
Modern Interpretations and Misunderstandings
Some modern interpretations suggest that the New Covenant was fully realized with Jesus’ death and resurrection. However, this view often overlooks or downplays promises like Israel’s restoration and the universal knowledge of God within the hearts where no man will have need to teach others to know Him. These promises are real and qualifiable as God does not lie. Therefore, since the elements of the New Covenant have not taken root, this covenant remains a future reality tied to the Messianic Kingdom.
Supersessionism
Supersessionism, often called replacement theology, is the belief that the Church has replaced Israel in God’s plan of restoration, rendering His promises to Israel null and void. However, the New Covenant does not negate or replace God’s promises to Israel. Instead, it builds upon them, affirming the prophetic utterances of restoration, renewal, and redemption specifically given to the nation of Israel. The New Covenant ensures that God’s faithfulness to His chosen people remains intact, with Gentiles included through their grafting into these promises (Romans 11:17-18).
The Spirit as Firstfruits
Acts 2 describes the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which some view as the fulfillment of the New Covenant because its connection to the new spirit promised to be given. While this event is profound and significant, the pouring out of God’s spirit is described as the “firstfruits” of the covenant (Romans 8:23). The full blessings of the New Covenant will come when Jesus returns to reign as King.
And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.
Romans 8:23
The giving of the Spirit at Pentecost serves as a deposit, guaranteeing the redemption promised through the covenants made with Abraham, Moses, and David. This redemption, as described in Romans, refers to the gift of eternal life (the resurrection of the dead) secured by the blood of Jesus on Calvary. Its ultimate fulfillment is eschatological in nature.
The New Covenant in the Second Temple Period
After seventy years of exile, Israel returned to the land and rebuilt the temple (Book of Ezra). However, this restoration did not match the promises of the New Covenant. The new temple was less glorious than the first, and a Davidic king did not reign. Rome’s oppressive rule further fueled the hope for a future fulfillment.
The people remained faithful to God’s promises and believed He would accomplish what He promised to Abraham. The people believed that God’s promises would be realized on the Day of the Lord, when He would establish His kingdom and bring about the blessings of the New Covenant.
Elements of the New Covenant
The New Covenant addresses the failures of the first covenant and ensures Israel’s future faithfulness to God in order for Him to accomplish His promise. Here are the key players of the New Covenant:
- A New Heart and Spirit
- In Ezekiel 36:26-27, God promises, “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove the heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.”
- This transformation enables Israel to walk in God’s ways and follow His commands never to sin again.
- The Law Written on Hearts
- Unlike the Mosaic Covenant, where the law was written on tablets made of stone, the New Covenant is where God’s law are placed in the hearts of His people. (Jeremiah 31:33).
- Universal Knowledge of God
Jeremiah 31:34 states, “They will no longer teach each other to know the Lord, for they will all know Me, from the least to the greatest.”- This promises a future where everyone will have an intimate relationship with God knowing His laws and obeying them.
- Restoration to the Land
- God promises to gather His people from exile and return them to the land given to their ancestors (Ezekiel 36:28).
These elements demonstrate that the New Covenant is not merely an internal, spiritual renewal but a holistic restoration of the nation of Israel, their land and through them, the world.
Jesus and the New Covenant
Jesus as the Mediator
At the Last Supper, Jesus declared, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for many” (Luke 22:20). This statement shows that Jesus’ death initiated the New Covenant. His sacrifice fulfilled the need for a perfect atonement, as described in Hebrews 9:11-15. Unlike the blood of animals, which provides temporary cleansing, Jesus’ blood cleanses the conscience and brings eternal redemption.
But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things to come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling those who have been defiled sanctify for the cleansing of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? For this reason He is the mediator of a new covenant, so that, since a death has taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were committed under the first covenant, those who have been called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
Hebrews 9:11-15
Though the New Covenant was inaugurated (a better-translated word for this is G1456 “renewed, or consecrated”) by Jesus, the promises of this covenant—restoration, universal knowledge, and new creation—remain eschatological, awaiting their fulfillment when He returns to establish His kingdom.
As a descendant of Abraham, Jesus would have understood the covenantal promises to Israel in their historical and scriptural context. He would not have reinterpreted the Scriptures to withdraw these promises from Israel but rather would have reaffirmed the prophets’ words about their future fulfillment, including the restoration of the land, the people, and their relationship with God.
In another account of the Last Supper, Jesus connects the covenant to the coming of “that day”, meaning the day of the Lord and the coming kingdom. The New Covenant will find its fulfillment on the day of the Lord.
And He said to them, “This is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly I say to you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”
Mark 14:24-25
Again in the Gospel of Luke, during this same account, Passover is stated to have its fulfillment in the Kingdom of God.
And He said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I shall never again eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”
Luke 22:15-16
By referencing the future fulfillment, Jesus highlights that the New Covenant, while inaugurated by His sacrifice (Passover), will not reach its completion until the Kingdom is established.
The New Covenant and the Nations
Gentile Inclusion
Though the New Covenant is made strictly with Israel, it extends its blessings eschatologically to all nations, fulfilling the Abrahamic Covenant. This reflects God’s promise to Abraham: “In your seed, all the nations of the earth shall be blessed” (Genesis 22:18). Furthermore, Paul explains in Romans 11:17-18 that Gentiles are grafted into the promises given to Israel, sharing in the blessings of the covenant through the Jewish Messiah, Jesus. However, for Gentiles the reality that our complete salvation is found in the the fulfillment of the New Covenant to the Jews first then to the Gentiles, is a hard pill to swallow.
I say then, they did not stumble so as to fall, did they? May it never be! But by their transgression salvation has come to the Gentiles, to make them jealous. Now if their transgression is riches for the world and their failure is riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fulfillment be!
Romans 11:11-12
Unity in Christ
Ephesians 2:14-16 highlights how Jesus reconciles Jews and Gentiles, creating one body and breaking down the dividing wall. This unity demonstrates the inclusive nature of the New Covenant, where all people can participate in God’s redemptive plan through a lifestyle of repentance and belief in the exalted One of Israel until the end.
In Closing
The New Covenant is the culmination of God’s redemptive plan that finds its fulfillment at the end of the age, on the Day of the Lord. It addresses Israel’s continual disobedience by giving them a new heart and new spirit, ensuring their faithfulness to God and God’s ultimate faithfulness to the world through them. Through Jesus, the seed of Abraham and the son of David, the covenant’s blessings of the coming restoration of all things extend to all nations, uniting Jews and Gentiles in God’s redemptive plan. As believers, we eagerly await this fulfillment.
Therefore it was necessary for the copies of the things in the heavens to be cleansed with these, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us; nor was it that He would offer Himself often, as the high priest enters the holy place year by year with blood that is not his own. Otherwise, He would have needed to suffer often since the foundation of the world; but now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, so Christ also, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time for salvation without reference to sin, to those who eagerly await Him.
Hebrews 9:23-28
Maranatha!
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Further Resources for Exploration If you’re interested in diving deeper into the biblical understanding of the New Covenant and its eschatological significance, we recommend exploring Daniel Training Network’s teaching by Cameron Honer: What Is the New Covenant?.
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