The “New Covenant” is More Than a “New Testament”

The title “New Testament” does not exist in the Scripture and was first used in the 2nd century (as agreed by most scholars) in the writings of “Melito of Sardos,” who died around 180 CE. This is recorded in Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History, 4.26.14. Although some say that Melito “does not explicitly reference a new testament, but rather by implication as he mentions the old testament.” We know that the phrase was later used by Tertullian, who lived between 155 to 240 CE, and then later by Jerome as a title for the 27 books from the Apostolic era.

In the New Work Encyclopedia, it states:

• "All Scripture is divided into two Testaments. That which preceded the advent and passion of Christ—-that is, the law and the prophets—-is called the Old; but those things which were written after His resurrection are named the New Testament. The Jews make use of the Old, we of the New: but yet they are not discordant… (Against Marcion). While Christians have thus come to refer to the Hebrew Scriptures as the Old Testament, Jews prefer the term Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, the latter word being an acronym for its three basic component parts: the Torah (Book of Moses), Nevi'im (Prophets), and Ketuvim (Writings). - New Testament.”

This title, by implication, has been used by many down through time to say that God’s Commandments in the Hebrew Bible are “old” and were replaced with those in the “new.” It has been understood, in a sense, like having an old car and buying a new one. You park the old car, look at occasionally, and drive the new one, making the first car obsolete.

We believe this is NOT how the God of Abraham would want His Word divided and termed. He always used the word “Covenant” when referring to His promises to Abraham and His people, this includes God Fearers. We can find every one of God’s promises contained in the “New Testament” [really “New Covenant”], within the “Abrahamic Covenant.”

The 2nd century heretic, Marcion, rejected the Hebrew Bible and only accepted Luke and Paul’s writings [Leiden, 1887, W.C. Van Manen, “Marcion’s Brief van Palus aan de Galatiers, pp. 528-553]. He created a separation in doctrinal thought that is still prevalent today:

• “Study of the Hebrew scriptures, along with received writings circulating in the nascent Church, led Marcion to conclude that many of the teachings of Jesus were incompatible with the actions of Yahweh, the belligerent god of the Hebrew Bible. Marcion responded by developing a ditheistic system of belief around the year 144. This notion of two gods—a higher transcendent one and a lower world creator and ruler—allowed Marcion to reconcile his perceived contradictions between Christian Old Covenant theology and the Gospel message proclaimed by the New Testament.”… After his excommunication, he returned to Asia Minor, where he continued to lead his many church congregations and teach the Gospel of Marcion. [en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marcion of Sinope]

WHAT IS A TESTAMENT?

Catholic Encyclopedia has this to say:

• "Testament come from testamentum, the word by which the Latin ecclesiastical writers translated the Greek diatheke…means…the legal disposition a man makes of his goods for after his death…the Hebrew berith, which means a pact, an alliance, more especially the alliance of Yahweh with Israel…the same reason we meet the distinction between the Old and New Testaments. In this meaning the expression Old Testament (he palaia diatheke) is found for the first time in Melito of Sardis, towards the year 170. There are reasons for thinking that at this date the corresponding word "testamentum" was already in use amongst the Latins. In any case it was common in the time of Tertullian.”

Easton's Bible Dictionary:

• “Testament [N] - occurs twelve times in the New Testament (Hebrews 9:15 , etc.) as the rendering of the Gr. diatheke, which is twenty times rendered "covenant" in the Authorized Version, and always so in the Revised Version. The Vulgate translates incorrectly by testamentum, whence the names "Old" and "New Testament," by which we now designate the two sections into which the Bible is divided.”

When Yeshua came, died, resurrected, and returned to His Father in heaven, He was NOT leaving a “Last Will and Testament.” He was fulfilling and ratifying a covenant promise that God made to Abraham and to his descendants!

THE NEW COVENANT

We believe the correct and accurate title, if one feels it necessary to divide God’s word up into two sections, would be “New Covenant.” This is a title God uses in Jeremiah 31:31-34:

• "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."

This Scripture is quoted in the Apostolic Writings in Hebrews 8:8:

• “Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, 'Know the Lord,' for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more." In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.”

In the Book of Hebrews, the “main point” of this chapter (8), is about Yeshua being our “High Priest, who is seated at the right side of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens” (8:1). It is discussing His intercession for us during this time when there is not a Temple or Aaronic priesthood on earth and speaks of His second coming to compete His work.

Please note that the word “covenant” DOES NOT exist in verses 7 and 8 of this chapter, although many translators have inserted it to support their doctrine of Yeshua’s death replacing the Mosaic part of the Abrahamic Covenant. The real context being discussed here is the eternal “High Priesthood” of Yeshua.

ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

God established only ONE eternal covenant with His people and it was ratified through Abraham. If we are to understand what the “New Covenant” means, then we must understand it through the words that God gave to Abraham. In Gen 17:7:

• “I am establishing My covenant between Me and you, along with your descendants after you, generation after generation, as an everlasting covenant, to be Elohim (God) for you and for your descendants after you.” (CJB)

There are three aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant: Mosaic, Davidic, and “New.” One part does NOT replace the other but are a re-emphasis or further revelation of what G-d has already given the people of Israel in His Abrahamic Covenant. One-part builds upon the other part and therefore they are interlocked. It is like building a house that must have a foundation, walls, and roof. If one part is missing, the house will not stand.

• Mosaic - functions to identify those who share in the Abrahamic faith, and those who do not. It gives divine guidelines (commandments) for living in fellowship with G-d and His people.

• Davidic - promises the ultimate reign of Messiah as King through the family line of David. He will provide eternal peace and security for the land of Israel and its people.

• New – centers around Messiah’s first and second comings with the fulfillment of all the promises.

Dr. John Fischer, of Menorah Ministries, did a great job explaining how the Abrahamic Covenant is the higher-level document with these three subsets in his book “The Olive- Tree Connection.”

God chose Abraham and promised him:

• Land (Gen 12:1,7; 13:14-17) – Canaan (Promised Land)

• Nation (or seed – Gen 12:2; 15:3-5) – multiply and make them a great nation

• Great Blessing (Gen 12:2-2; 15:7-18) – make them instruments for blessing the entire world, bringing them the Living Torah, Messiah Yeshua

GOD PROVIDED THROUGH MOSES

God provided a constitution for Abraham’s children to live by for them to be blessed in their personal life, family life, community life, and in their worship of a Holy God (Ex. 19; Lev 27; Book of Deuteronomy).

• It was given in the form of treaties between a servant nation and a great king;

• It outlines the conditions for living under the King’s rule;

• Contains governmental, social, family, and personal affairs guidelines; and

• Tells citizens how to live their life properly before their King in a land given to their Father, Abraham.

GOD PROVIDED THROUGH KING DAVID

God provides the “seed” promises (2 Sam 7:5-16 and Ps 89:1-37). He describes Abraham’s greatest seed, “Messiah” and establishes the throne (authority to rule Israel) of David forever for David’s descendants and the final King from the seed of David, Messiah Yeshua. In Jer. 23:5-6 He states:

• “‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord, ‘That I will raise to David a Branch of righteousness; A King shall reign and prosper, and execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In His days Judah will be saved, And Israel will dwell safely; Now this is His name by which He will be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS.’”

And in Ezek. 37:21-24:

• “Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord God: Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again. They shall not defile themselves anymore with their idols, nor with their detestable things, nor with any of their transgressions; but I will deliver them from all their dwelling places in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them. Then they shall be My people, and I will be their God. David My servant shall be king over them, and they shall all have one shepherd; they shall also walk in My judgments and observe My statutes, and do them.’” (see Matt 24)

GOD PROVIDED THROUGH THE NEW COVENANT

Like the two previous aspects of the Abrahamic Covenant, God guarantees Israel’s continued existence through His Son, Messiah Yeshua. Yeshua identifies Himself as the Mediator of this blessing in Luke 22:19-20 and Heb 9:15. Through this promise, God:

• Expands the Abrahamic Covenant’s “blessings promise” (Jer. 31:30-39; Ezek. 36:22-32);

• Shows how Israel will be the source of blessing for the ALL nations (families of the earth - Gen 12:3);

• Provides His Spirit to cause believers to have a new nature; and

• Will ultimately wipe out sin from the earth.

This aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant was initiated at Shavout (Pentecost) in Acts 2, as was promised in Ezek. 36:24-27 with future fulfillment when Messiah returns.

• “For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

PAUL UNDERSTOOD THREE ASPECTS OF “ONE” COVENANT - ABRAHAMIC COVENANT

Paul uses the word “covenants” in two of his letters when referring to the three promises contained in the Abrahamic Covenant. He did not see one superseding the other but each being part of ONE covenant:

• Rom. 9:3-5, “For I could wish that I myself were accursed from Messiah for my brethren, my countrymen according to the flesh, who are Israelites, to whom pertain the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the Law, the service of God, and the promises; of whom are the fathers and from whom, according to the flesh, Messiah came, who is over all, the eternally blessed God. Amen.”

• Eph. 2:11-12, “Therefore remember that you, once Gentiles in the flesh--who are called Uncircumcision by what is called the Circumcision made in the flesh by hands--that at that time you were without Messiah, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.”

Paul believed that the covenant God made with Abraham and his offspring, is the promise of salvation. ALL who are part of this covenant and claim Abraham as their father, will receive salvation (Rom 4:11-12). God does not have another covenant with mankind outside of the one He has with Israel.

• Gal 3:6-7, “It was the same with Avraham: ‘He trusted in G-d and was faithful to him, and that was credited to his account as righteousness.’ Be assured, then, that it is those who live by trusting and being faithful who are really children of Avraham.”

• Gal 3:29 “there is neither Jew nor Gentile…for in union with the Messiah Yeshua, you are all one. Also, if you belong to the Messiah, you are seed of Abraham and heirs according to the promise.” (Rom 9:6-13)

• Gal. 4:28, “Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise.”

• Eph. 2:11-13,19, “Therefore, remember your former state: you Gentiles by birth…at that time had no Messiah. You were estranged from the national life of Isra'el. You were foreigners to the covenants embodying G-d's promise….But now, you who were once far off have been brought near through the shedding of the Messiah's blood…So then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers. On the contrary, you are fellow-citizens with G-d's people and members of G-d's family.”

CONCLUSION

The Abrahamic Covenant has been misrepresented by many modern teachers by breaking God’s Word into two parts: Old and New. This has led many to believe in two or three gods with no connection to the ONE God of Israel.

As God Fearers, we believe that “oneness” is what God teaches in His Word and it is important to our understanding of God and His Covenant. God’s covenant promises are to:

• ONE man, Abraham;

• ONE nation, Israel, and those who are grafted in; and

• ONE King, restoring kingship back to Him through Yeshua. The way He meant it to be since the beginning.