The Abrahamic, Mosaic, and New (Jesus) Covenants
And What They Mean for Every Person, Dead
or Alive
This article is based
on information from the book, Creation’s Jubilee by Dr. Stephen
Jones. The material has been edited and
direct quotes of Dr. Jones will be found in quotation marks. I wanted to share this important information
and considered it easier to merely copy the information or present it in an
edited format.
There are several covenants recorded in the Bible but
only two that deal directly with the salvation of mankind: The Old Covenant instituted through Moses and
the New Covenant mediated by Jesus. The
Old Mosaic Covenant made mankind fully liable for all sin and the New Covenant
made Jesus fully liable for the sins of all mankind.
The relationship between these two covenants: Old and
New, can be better understood from a viewpoint related by Paul in Galatians
3:15.
Galatians 3:15-16 NET
Brothers and sisters, I offer an example from everyday life: When a
covenant has been ratified, even though it is only a human contract, no one can
set it aside or add anything to it. (16) Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and
to his descendant. Scripture does not say, "and to the descendants,"
referring to many, but "and to your
descendant," referring to one, who is Christ.
A covenant is a contract between two people, once signed
and witnessed by both parties, it cannot be changed and one cannot refuse to
abide by its content. “God made a
contract with Abraham and to his seed (descendants).” This covenant was by the promise of God and
was thus an unconditional covenant with Abraham. “It was like a ‘promise to pay,’ a check that
bore only one signature – that of God”.
In a usual covenant one animal is cut in half but God instructed
Abraham to cut five animals as a five-fold fulfillment binding. Both parties were to walk through the animal
signifying the breaking of the covenant would result in being cut in half. God knowing that a human cannot always be
perfectly obedient put Abraham to sleep and passed through the animals
alone. “Only God bound Himself to
perform certain things. This is what
Paul means when he says that this covenant was made ‘by promise’. It is not ‘by agreement,’ which is two-sided.
It is ‘by promise,’ which is one-sided”.
Since Abraham was put asleep and could not ratify the covenant, it was
ratified by Jesus nearly 2000 years later as related by Paul: When a
covenant has been ratified….. , no one can set it aside or add anything to it.
- Galatians 3:15.
Paul now contrasts the Abrahamic covenant with the
covenant made with the Israelites through Moses.
Galatians 3:17 NET What I am
saying is this: The law that came four hundred thirty years later does not
cancel a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to invalidate the promise.
“You see, Paul is dealing with an apparent contradiction
in these two covenants. The first said, ‘I promise to save all your seed and
give them the Kingdom.’ The second said, ‘I will save you ONLY IF you are
obedient.’”
Exodus 19:5-6 NET And now,
if you will diligently listen to me and keep my covenant, then you will be my
special possession out of all the nations, for all the earth is mine, (6)
and you will be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are
the words that you will speak to the Israelites."
“And so the problem that Paul raises in Galatians 3: 17
is this: Which covenant shall we follow in order to obtain the inheritance, or
the promises? More than that, what is the relationship between the two
covenants? If God already unconditionally promised the inheritance to Israel in
the time of Abraham, then why institute a second covenant under Moses, a
conditional covenant at that, which seemed to nullify the Abrahamic covenant?”
God does not desire rebellious or disobedient
people. A promise of salvation to all,
regardless of their sin nature or disobedient actions is not the plan of
God. Therefore, the covenant under Moses
established the judgments of God upon the sinful lawlessness and also set the
standard for righteousness that all people will eventually attain.
“The law covenant, spoken out of the midst of fire, established
not only the discipline to bring believers into maturity, but also established
and defined a future “lake of fire” for the disobedient unbelievers”.
An Example by
Dr. Jones
Suppose you were to go to your attorney and draw up your
will. You decide to will your house and property to your son. It is done of
your own free will, just because you love your son. Then you return home, tell
your son what you have done, and promise that you will never revoke that will.
A year later, you make another trip to the attorney’s office, this time taking
your son with you. There you draw up a contract whereby you will give your son
his inheritance, but he first must build a barn on the property. Both of you
sign your names to this second contract, for he must be in agreement with this.
The next year, you die. The attorney calls your son and reads the will to him.
He is the inheritor of your house and property. This is a fact that cannot be
nullified. However, since he has not yet completed the building of the barn, as
specified in the second contract, he is unable to lay claim to his inheritance
for the time being.
The Abrahamic covenant was unconditional and the Mosaic
covenant was conditional upon obedience to the law of God, but the Mosaic
covenant does not nullify the Abrahamic covenant. To Abraham and his seed was given the
inheritance of the Kingdom but the Mosaic covenant delayed the inheritance until
a future time when the inheritors learned obedience.
Summary by Dr.
Jones
But there is another, more universal level of meaning to
this story. God chose Abraham and his seed to be a blessing to all families of
the earth. Abraham was to be God’s attorney to call together all families of
the earth (after the death of Jesus Christ) for a reading of His will. They are
called to inform the world of their inheritance, now that the Testator has
died. This covenant cannot be annulled for any reason. However, under Moses,
God set a condition before that promise could be inherited. The condition is
obedience. And so, we ask people to make a decision to follow Christ. What does
this mean? It means, essentially, that we are to ratify, or sign our names to
the Mosaic Covenant, promising to make Jesus the Lord of our life and obey His
law (i.e., refrain from sin).
This is what it means to place our faith in Him. They
have faith if they truly believe that God is able through Jesus Christ to
fulfill His promise. Salvation is not
dependent upon the will of man, but of God. The will of man is never more
powerful than the sovereignty of God.
And so, our decision to follow Christ— which is without
question the most important decision we can make— is nonetheless NOT the true
basis of our salvation. It was not the basis of Israel’s salvation either. We
are not saved by the will of man, for the will of man has its roots in Moses,
not in Abraham.
Our inheritance with God is instead based upon a better
covenant, the new and unconditional covenant signed by Jesus in his own blood.
Jesus’ death was the only condition by which the Abrahamic covenant could be
obtained. A “last will and testament” is not in force until the death of him
that made the will,
Hebrews 9:15-17 NET And so
he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive
the eternal inheritance he has promised, since he died to set them free from
the violations committed under the first covenant. (16)
For where there is a will, the death of the one who made it must be
proven. (17) For a
will takes effect only at death,
since it carries no force while the one who made it is alive.
The inheritance is obtained by the will of God alone, and
by the blood of the true Sacrifice for sin— Jesus Christ. Those who believe that their own “decision”
will save them, those who believe that salvation comes by the will of man, are
in the same position as the majority were in the Old Testament.
Christianity for many has become a performance-based
religion. So long as they see in themselves personal imperfections, they walk
in guilt and fear, rather than in forgiveness and faith. The solution is to see
that one’s salvation and justification, is based upon the decision of God
Himself. Our ability to be obedient is a sanctification process by which we, as
Christians, learn to hear God’s voice as He leads us to the new Promised Land,
the perfection of the Feast of Tabernacles.
Jesus never advocated breaking the law, nor did the
Apostle Paul. But Paul very carefully explains to us that it is impossible for us
to obtain our inheritance (salvation) by means of the law covenant. It comes instead by the death of Jesus, which
validated the Abrahamic covenant, the unconditional promise that we shall
receive the inheritance. And what He has promised, He will see to it that it
shall be done, for this is His Will.
E. Jones, Dr.
Stephen (2014-08-06). Creation's Jubilee - God's Kingdom
Ministries
