Reference: Covenant
American
The word testamentum is often used in Latin to express the Hebrew word which signifies covenant; whence the titles, Old and New Testaments, are used to denote the old and new covenants. See TESTAMENT.
A covenant is properly an agreement between two parties. Where one of the parties is infinitely superior to the other, as in a covenant between God and man, there God's covenant assumes the nature of a promise, Isa 59:21; Jer 31:33-34; Ga 3:15-18. The first covenant with the Hebrews was made when the Lord chose Abraham and his posterity for his people; a second covenant, or a solemn renewal of the former, was made at Sinai, comprehending all who observe the law of Moses. The "new covenant" of which Christ is the Mediator and Author, and which was confirmed by his blood, comprehends all who believe in him and are born again, Ga 4:24; Heb 7:22; 8:6-13; 9:15-23; 12:24. The divine covenants were ratified by the sacrifice of a victim, to show that without an atonement there could be no communication of blessing and salvation form God to man, Ge 15:1-8; Ex 24:6-8; Heb 9:6. Eminent believers among the covenant people of God were favored by the establishment of particular covenants, in which he promised them certain temporal favors; but these were only renewals to individuals of the "everlasting covenant," with temporal types and pledges of its fulfilment. Thus God covenanted with Noah, Abraham, and David, Ge 9:8-9; 17:4-5; Ps 89:3-4, and gave them faith in the Savior afterwards to be revealed, Ro 3:25; Heb 9:15.
In common discourse, we usually say the old and new testaments, or covenants-the covenant between God and the posterity of Abraham, and that which he has made with believers by Jesus Christ; because these two covenants contain eminently all the rest, which are consequences, branches, or explanations of them. The most solemn and perfect of the covenants of God with men is that made through the mediation of our Redeemer, which must subsist to the end of time. The Son of God is the guarantee of it; it is confirmed with his blood; the end and object of it is eternal life, and its constitution and laws are more exalted than those of the former covenant.
Theologians use the phrase "covenant of works" to denote the constitution established by God with man before the fall, the promise of which was eternal life on condition of obedience, Ho 6:7; Ro 3:27; Ga 2:19. They also use the phrase, "covenant of grace or redemption," to denote the arrangement made in the counsels of eternity, in virtue of which the Father forgives and saves sinful men redeemed by the death of the Son.
See Verses Found in Dictionary
For God once publicly offered Him in His death as a sacrifice of reconciliation through faith, to demonstrate His own justice (for in His forbearance God had passed over men's former sins);
So where has human boasting gone? It was completely shut out. On what principle? On that of doing something? No, but on the principle of faith.
For through the law I myself have become dead to the law, so that I may live for God.
Brothers, I am going to use a human illustration: Even a human contract, once it has been ratified, no one can annul or change. Now the promises were made to Abraham and his descendant. It does not say, "and to your descendants," in the plural, but in the singular, "and to your descendant," that is, Christ. read more. I mean this: The law which was given four hundred and thirty years later could not annul the contract which had already been ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise. For if our inheritance depends on the law, it can no longer depend on the promise. But it was by promise that God so graciously bestowed it upon Abraham.
This is spoken as an allegory. For these women are two covenants, one coming from Mount Sinai, bearing children that are to be slaves;
so much the more Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
But, as the case with Him now stands, He has entered upon a priestly service as much superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is the Mediator is superior to theirs, superior because it has been enacted upon superior promises. For if the first covenant had been faultless, there could have been no room for a second one. read more. For, because He was dissatisfied with His people, He said: "'See; the time is coming,' says the Lord, 'When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Unlike the one that I made with their forefathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them out from the land of Egypt, for they did not abide by their covenant with me, so I did not care for them,' says the Lord. 'For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel in those days,' says the Lord; 'I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And nevermore will each one need to teach his fellow-citizen, And each one teach his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," For all will know me, from the lowest to the highest. For I will be merciful to their deeds of wrong, and never, never any more will I recall their sins,'" In speaking of a new covenant He makes the first one obsolete; and whatever is obsolete and antiquated is on the verge of vanishing.
With these arrangements completed in this way, the priests in conducting their official services regularly go into the outer part of the tent of worship;
And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them.
And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them. For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved. read more. For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive. So not even the first covenant was ratified without the use of blood. For after every regulation in the law had been spoken by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, crimson wool, and a bunch of hyssop, and sprinkled the book containing the law and all the people, saying, "This is the blood that ratifies the covenant which God commanded me to make with you." In the same way he sprinkled with blood the tent and all the utensils of the priestly service. In fact, under the law, almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood no forgiveness is granted. So, on the one hand, the copies of the original things in heaven had to be purified with such sacrifices; but on the other hand, the original things themselves in heaven with better sacrifices than these.
to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks a better message than even Abel's did.
Easton
a contract or agreement between two parties. In the Old Testament the Hebrew word berith is always thus translated. Berith is derived from a root which means "to cut," and hence a covenant is a "cutting," with reference to the cutting or dividing of animals into two parts, and the contracting parties passing between them, in making a covenant (Ge 15; Jer 34:18-19).
The corresponding word in the New Testament Greek is diatheke, which is, however, rendered "testament" generally in the Authorized Version. It ought to be rendered, just as the word berith of the Old Testament, "covenant."
This word is used (1) of a covenant or compact between man and man (Ge 21:32), or between tribes or nations (1Sa 11:1; Jos 9:6,15). In entering into a convenant, Jehovah was solemnly called on to witness the transaction (Ge 31:50), and hence it was called a "covenant of the Lord" (1Sa 20:8). The marriage compact is called "the covenant of God" (Pr 2:17), because the marriage was made in God's name. Wicked men are spoken of as acting as if they had made a "covenant with death" not to destroy them, or with hell not to devour them (Isa 28:15,18).
(2.) The word is used with reference to God's revelation of himself in the way of promise or of favour to men. Thus God's promise to Noah after the Flood is called a covenant (Ge 9; Jer 33:20, "my covenant"). We have an account of God's covernant with Abraham (Ge 17, comp. Le 26:42), of the covenant of the priesthood (Nu 25:12-13; De 33:9; Ne 13:29), and of the covenant of Sinai (Ex 34:27-28; Le 26:15), which was afterwards renewed at different times in the history of Israel (De 29; Jos 1:18; 2Ch 15; 23; 29; 34; Ezr 10; Ne 9). In conformity with human custom, God's covenant is said to be confirmed with an oath (De 4:31; Ps 89:3), and to be accompanied by a sign (Ge 9; 17). Hence the covenant is called God's "counsel," "oath," "promise" (Ps 89:3-4; 105:8-11; Heb 6:13-20; Lu 1:68-75). God's covenant consists wholly in the bestowal of blessing (Isa 59:21; Jer 31:33-34).
The term covenant is also used to designate the regular succession of day and night (Jer 33:20), the Sabbath (Ex 31:16), circumcision (Ge 17:9-10), and in general any ordinance of God (Jer 34:13-14).
A "covenant of salt" signifies an everlasting covenant, in the sealing or ratifying of which salt, as an emblem of perpetuity, is used (Nu 18:19; Le 2:13; 2Ch 13:5).
COVENANT OF WORKS, the constitution under which Adam was placed at his creation. In this covenant, (1.) The contracting parties were (a) God the moral Governor, and (b) Adam, a free moral agent, and representative of all his natural posterity (Ro 5:12-19). (2.) The promise was "life" (Mt 19:16-17; Ga 3:12). (3.) The condition was perfect obedience to the law, the test in this case being abstaining from eating the fruit of the "tree of knowledge," etc. (4.) The penalty was death (Ge 2:16-17).
This covenant is also called a covenant of nature, as made with man in his natural or unfallen state; a covenant of life, because "life" was the promise attached to obedience; and a legal covenant, because it demanded perfect obedience to the law.
The "tree of life" was the outward sign and seal of that life which was promised in the covenant, and hence it is usually called the seal of that covenant.
This covenant is abrogated under the gospel, inasmuch as Christ has fulfilled all its conditions in behalf of his people, and now offers salvation on the condition of faith. It is still in force, however, as it rests on the immutable justice of God, and is binding on all who have not fled to Christ and accepted his righteousness.
CONVENANT OF GRACE, the eternal plan of redemption entered into by the three persons of the Godhead, and carried out by them in its several parts. In it the Father represented the Godhead in its indivisible sovereignty, and the Son his people as their surety (Joh 17:4,6,9; Isa 42:6; Ps 89:3).
The conditions of this covenant were, (1.) On the part of the Father (a) all needful preparation to the Son for the accomplishment of his work (Heb 10:5; Isa 42:1-7); (b) support in the work (Lu 22:43); and (c) a glorious reward in the exaltation of Christ when his work was done (Php 2:6-11), his investiture with universal dominion (Joh 5:22; Ps 110:1), his having the administration of the covenant committed into his hands (Mt 28:18; Joh 1:12; 17:2; Ac 2:33), and in the final salvation of all his people (Isa 35:10; 53:10-11; Jer 31:33; Tit 1:2). (2.) On the part of the Son the conditions were (a) his becoming incarnate (Ga 4:4-5); and (b) as the second Adam his representing all his people, assuming their place and undertaking all their obligations under the violated covenant of works; (c) obeying the law (Ps 40:8; Isa 42:21; Joh 9:4-5), and (d) suffering its penalty (Isa 53; 2Co 5:21; Ga 3:13), in their stead.
Christ, the mediator of, fulfils all its conditions in behalf of his people, and dispenses to them all its blessings. In Heb 8:6; 9:15; 12:24, this title is given to Christ. (See Dispensation.)
See Verses Found in Dictionary
And a man came up to Him and asked, "What is there good that I can do to possess eternal life?" And He answered him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only One who is perfectly good. But if you want to get into that life, you must practice keeping the commandments."
Then Jesus came up to them, and said, "Full authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.
"Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel, for He has come and brought His people deliverance; and He has made a mighty Saviour for us in the house of His servant David, read more. "as He promised by the lips of His ancient prophets, deliverance from our foes and from the hands of all who hate us, to show mercy to our forefathers, and carry out His sacred covenant, the oath which He swore to our forefather Abraham, to grant us deliverance from the dreaded hand of our foes, so that we could serve Him in holiness and uprightness In His own presence all our days.
Omitted Text.
But to all who did accept Him, and trust in His name, He gave the right to become the children of God,
For the Father passes sentence on no one, but He has committed all judgment to the Son,
We must continue to do the works of Him who sent me while it is daylight. Night is coming when no one can do any work. While I am in the world, I am the light of the world."
just as you have given Him authority over all mankind to give eternal life to all whom you have given Him.
I have glorified you down here upon the earth by completing the work which you have given me to do.
"I have made your very self known to the men whom you have given me out of the world. At first they were yours, but now you have given them to me, and they have obeyed your message.
I am praying for them. I am not praying for the world now, but only for those whom you have given me, because they are yours --
So He has been exalted to God's right hand and has received from His Father, as promised, and poured out upon us the Holy Spirit, as you see and hear.
So here is the comparison: As through one man sin came into the world, and death as the consequence of sin, and death spread to all men; because all men sinned. Certainly sin was in the world before the law was given, but it is not charged to men's account where there is no law. read more. And yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the way Adam had, against a positive command. For Adam was a figure of Him who was to come. But God's free gift is not at all to be compared with the offense. For if by one man's offense the whole race of men have died, to a much greater degree God's favor and His gift imparted by His favor through the one man Jesus Christ, has overflowed for the whole race of men. And the gift is not fit all to be compared with the results of that one man's sin. For that sentence resulted from the offense of one man, and it meant condemnation, but the free gift resulted from the offenses of many, and it meant right standing. For if by one man's offense death reigned through that one, to a much greater degree will those who continue to receive the overflow of His unmerited favor and His gift of right standing with Himself, reign in real life through One, Jesus Christ. So, as through one offense there resulted condemnation for all men, just so through one act of uprightness there resulted right standing involving life for all men. For just as by that man's disobedience the whole race of men were constituted sinners, so by this One's obedience the whole race of men may be brought into right standing with God.
He made Him who personally knew nothing of sin to be a sin-offering for us, so that through union with Him we might come into right standing with God.
and the law has nothing to do with faith, but it says, "It is the man who does these things that will live by doing them." Christ ransomed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us -- for the Scripture says, "Cursed be everyone who is hanged on a tree" --
but when the proper time had come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born subject to law, to ransom those who were subject to law, so that we might be adopted as sons.
Though He was existing in the nature of God, He did not think His being on an equality with God a thing to be selfishly grasped, but He laid it aside as He took on the nature of a slave and became like other men. read more. Because He was recognized as a man, in reality as well as in outward form, He finally humiliated Himself in obedience so as to die, even to die on a cross. This is why God has highly exalted Him, and given Him the name that is above every other name, so that in the name of Jesus everyone should kneel, in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld, and everyone should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the praise of God the Father.
in the hope of eternal life which God, who never lies, promised ages ago
For when God made His promise to Abraham, He took an oath by Himself, since He had no one greater by whom He could take it, saying: "I will certainly bless you over and over again, I will extensively increase your numbers." read more. And so by patiently waiting he obtained what God had promised him. For it is a custom among men to take oath by something greater than themselves, and an oath taken for confirmation settles any dispute among them. Therefore, because God wanted to make the strongest demonstration of the unchangeable character of His purpose, He interposed with an oath, so that by these two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to prove false, we who have taken refuge with Him may have encouragement strong enough to make us seize upon the hope that lies ahead of us. This hope we have as an anchor for our souls, secure and safe, which reaches up behind the heavenly veil, (6:19) where Jesus has blazed the way for us and became a High Priest with the rank of Melchizedek.
But, as the case with Him now stands, He has entered upon a priestly service as much superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is the Mediator is superior to theirs, superior because it has been enacted upon superior promises.
And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them.
So, when Christ was coming into the world, He said:
to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood which speaks a better message than even Abel's did.
Fausets
Hebrew berit, Greek diatheekee. From baarah "to divide" or" cut in two" a victim (Gesenius), between the parts of which the covenanting parties passed (Ge 15:9, etc.; Jer 34:18-19). Probably the covenanting parties eating together (which barah sometimes means) of the feast after the sacrifice entered into the idea; compare Ge 31:46-47, Jacob and Laban.
A COVENANT OF SALT, taken in connection with the eastern phrase for friendship, "to eat salt together," confirms this view. Salt, the antidote to corruption, was used in every sacrifice, to denote purity and perpetuity (Le 2:13; Mr 9:49). So a perpetual covenant or appointment (Nu 18:19; 2Ch 13:5). The covenant alluded to in Ho 6:7 margin is not with Adam (KJV "men" is better, compare Ps 82:7), for nowhere else is the expression "covenant" applied to Adam's relation to God, though the thing is implied in Ro 5:12-19; 1Co 15:22; but the Sinaitic covenant which Israel transgressed as lightly as "men" break their every day covenants with their fellow men, or else they have transgressed like other "men," though distinguished above all men by extraordinary spiritual privileges.
Covenant in the strict sense, as requiring two independent contracting parties, cannot apply to a covenant between God and man. His covenant must be essentially one of gratuitous promise, an act of pure grace on His part (Ga 3:15, etc.). So in Ps 89:28 "covenant" is explained by the parallel word "mercy." So God's covenant not to destroy the earth again by water (Genesis 9; Jer 33:20). But the covenant, on God's part gratuitous, requires man's acceptance of and obedience to it, as the consequence of His grace experienced, and the end which He designs to His glory, not that it is the meritorious condition of it. The Septuagint renders berit by diatheekee (not suntheekee, "a mutual compact"), i.e. a gracious disposal by His own sovereign will. So Lu 22:29, "I appoint (diatithemai, cognate to diatheekee, by testamentary or gratuitous disposition) unto you a kingdom."
The legal covenant of Sinai came in as a parenthesis (pareiselthee; Ro 5:20) between the promise to Abraham and its fulfillment in his promised seed, Christ. "It was added because of the (so Greek) transgressions" (Ga 3:19), i.e. to bring them, and so man's great need, into clearer view (Ro 3:20; 4:15; 5:13; 7:7-9). For this end its language was that, of a more stipulating kind as between two parties mutually covenanting, "the man that doeth these things shall live by them" (Ro 10:5). But the promise to David (2 Samuel 7; Psalm 89; 2; 72; Isaiah 11) took up again that to Abraham, defining the line, the Davidic, as that in which the promised seed should come.
As the promise found its fulfillment in Christ, so also the law, for He fulfilled it for us that He might be "the Lord our righteousness," "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Jer 23:6; 1Co 1:30; Ro 10:4; Mt 3:15; 5:17; Isa 42:21; 45:24-25). In Heb 9:15-18 the gospel covenant is distinguished from the legal, as the New Testament contrasted with the Old Testament "Testament" is the better translation here, as bringing out the idea of diatheekee, God's gracious disposal or appointment of His blessings to His people, rather than suntheekee, mutual engagement between Him and them as though equals.
A human "testament" in this one respect illustrates the nature of the covenant; by death Christ chose to lose all the glory and blessings which are His, that we, who were under death's bondage, might inherit all. Thus the ideas of "mediator of the covenant," and "testator," meet in Him, who at once fulfills God's "covenant of promise," and graciously disposes to us all that is His. In most other passages "covenant" would on the whole be the better rendering. "Testament" for each of the two divisions of the Bible comes from the Latin Vulgate version. In Mt 26:28, "this is My blood of the new testament" would perhaps better be translated "covenant," for a testament does not require blood shedding. Still, here and in the original (Ex 24:8) quoted by Christ the idea of testamentary disposition enters.
For his blood was the seal of the testament. See below. Moses by "covenant" means one giving the heavenly inheritance (typified by Canaan) after the testator's death, which was represented by the sacrificial blood he sprinkled. Paul by testament means one with conditions, and so far a covenant, the conditions being fulfilled by Christ, not by us. We must indeed believe, but even this God works in His people (Eph 2:8). Heb 9:17, "a testament is in force after men are dead," just as the Old Testament covenant was in force only in connection with slain sacrificial victims which represent the death of Christ. The fact of the death must be "brought forward" (Heb 9:16) to give effect to the will. The word" death," not sacrifice or slaying, shows that "testament" is meant in Heb 9:15-20. These requisites of a "testament" here concur:
1. The Testator.
2. The heirs.
3. Goods.
4. The Testator's death.
5. The fact of His death brought forward. In Mt 26:28 two additional requisites appear.
6. Witnesses, His disciples.
7. The seal, the sacrament of the Lord's supper, the sign of His blood, wherewith the testament is sealed. The heir is ordinarily the successor of him who dies, and who so ceases to have possession. But Christ comes to life again, and is Himself (including all that He had), in the power of tits now endless life, His people's inheritance; in His being heir (Heb 1:2; Ps 2:8) they are heirs.
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But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for this is the fitting way for both of us to do our full duty to God." Then he yielded to Him.
But Jesus answered him, "Let it be so now, for this is the fitting way for both of us to do our full duty to God." Then he yielded to Him.
"Do not suppose that I have come to set aside the law or the prophets.
"Do not suppose that I have come to set aside the law or the prophets.
for this is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.
for this is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.
for this is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.
for this is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.
Everyone must be seasoned with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt loses its strength, how can you season it again?
Everyone must be seasoned with fire. Salt is a good thing, but if salt loses its strength, how can you season it again?
and as my Father has conferred on me a kingdom,
and as my Father has conferred on me a kingdom,
Because no human creature can be brought into right standing with God by observing the law. For all the law can do is to make men conscious of sin.
Because no human creature can be brought into right standing with God by observing the law. For all the law can do is to make men conscious of sin.
For the law results in wrath alone, but where there is no law, there can be no violation of it.
For the law results in wrath alone, but where there is no law, there can be no violation of it.
So here is the comparison: As through one man sin came into the world, and death as the consequence of sin, and death spread to all men; because all men sinned.
So here is the comparison: As through one man sin came into the world, and death as the consequence of sin, and death spread to all men; because all men sinned. Certainly sin was in the world before the law was given, but it is not charged to men's account where there is no law.
Certainly sin was in the world before the law was given, but it is not charged to men's account where there is no law.
Certainly sin was in the world before the law was given, but it is not charged to men's account where there is no law.
Certainly sin was in the world before the law was given, but it is not charged to men's account where there is no law. And yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the way Adam had, against a positive command. For Adam was a figure of Him who was to come.
And yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the way Adam had, against a positive command. For Adam was a figure of Him who was to come. But God's free gift is not at all to be compared with the offense. For if by one man's offense the whole race of men have died, to a much greater degree God's favor and His gift imparted by His favor through the one man Jesus Christ, has overflowed for the whole race of men.
But God's free gift is not at all to be compared with the offense. For if by one man's offense the whole race of men have died, to a much greater degree God's favor and His gift imparted by His favor through the one man Jesus Christ, has overflowed for the whole race of men. And the gift is not fit all to be compared with the results of that one man's sin. For that sentence resulted from the offense of one man, and it meant condemnation, but the free gift resulted from the offenses of many, and it meant right standing.
And the gift is not fit all to be compared with the results of that one man's sin. For that sentence resulted from the offense of one man, and it meant condemnation, but the free gift resulted from the offenses of many, and it meant right standing. For if by one man's offense death reigned through that one, to a much greater degree will those who continue to receive the overflow of His unmerited favor and His gift of right standing with Himself, reign in real life through One, Jesus Christ.
For if by one man's offense death reigned through that one, to a much greater degree will those who continue to receive the overflow of His unmerited favor and His gift of right standing with Himself, reign in real life through One, Jesus Christ. So, as through one offense there resulted condemnation for all men, just so through one act of uprightness there resulted right standing involving life for all men.
So, as through one offense there resulted condemnation for all men, just so through one act of uprightness there resulted right standing involving life for all men. For just as by that man's disobedience the whole race of men were constituted sinners, so by this One's obedience the whole race of men may be brought into right standing with God.
For just as by that man's disobedience the whole race of men were constituted sinners, so by this One's obedience the whole race of men may be brought into right standing with God. Then law crept in to multiply the offense. Though sin has multiplied, yet God's favor has surpassed it and overflowed,
Then law crept in to multiply the offense. Though sin has multiplied, yet God's favor has surpassed it and overflowed,
What are we then to conclude? Is the law sin? Of course not! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have learned what sin was, for I should not have known what an evil desire was, if the law had not said, "You must not have an evil desire."
What are we then to conclude? Is the law sin? Of course not! Yet, if it had not been for the law, I should not have learned what sin was, for I should not have known what an evil desire was, if the law had not said, "You must not have an evil desire." Sin found its rallying point in that command and stirred within me every sort of evil desire, for without law, sin is lifeless.
Sin found its rallying point in that command and stirred within me every sort of evil desire, for without law, sin is lifeless. I was once alive when I had no connection with the law, but when the command came, sin revived, and then I died;
I was once alive when I had no connection with the law, but when the command came, sin revived, and then I died;
For Christ has put an end to law as a way to right standing for everyone who puts his trust in Him.
For Christ has put an end to law as a way to right standing for everyone who puts his trust in Him. For Moses says of the law-way to right standing with God that whoever can perform the law will live by it.
For Moses says of the law-way to right standing with God that whoever can perform the law will live by it.
Brothers, I am going to use a human illustration: Even a human contract, once it has been ratified, no one can annul or change.
Brothers, I am going to use a human illustration: Even a human contract, once it has been ratified, no one can annul or change.
Then what about the law? It was added later on to increase transgressions, until the descendant to whom the promise was made should come, enacted through the agency of angels in the person of an intermediary.
Then what about the law? It was added later on to increase transgressions, until the descendant to whom the promise was made should come, enacted through the agency of angels in the person of an intermediary.
For it is by His unmerited favor through faith that you have been saved; it is not by anything that you have done, it is the gift of God.
For it is by His unmerited favor through faith that you have been saved; it is not by anything that you have done, it is the gift of God.
but in these latter days He has spoken to us through a Son, whom He had appointed lawful owner of everything, and through whom He had made the worlds.
but in these latter days He has spoken to us through a Son, whom He had appointed lawful owner of everything, and through whom He had made the worlds.
And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them.
And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them.
And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them.
And this is why He is the Mediator of a new covenant, in order that, after He had suffered death for securing redemption from the offenses committed under the first covenant, those who had been invited to share it might obtain the eternal inheritance promised them. For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved.
For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved.
For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved.
For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved.
For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved.
For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved. For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive.
For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive.
For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive.
For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive.
For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive.
For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive. So not even the first covenant was ratified without the use of blood.
So not even the first covenant was ratified without the use of blood.
So not even the first covenant was ratified without the use of blood.
So not even the first covenant was ratified without the use of blood. For after every regulation in the law had been spoken by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, crimson wool, and a bunch of hyssop, and sprinkled the book containing the law and all the people,
For after every regulation in the law had been spoken by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, crimson wool, and a bunch of hyssop, and sprinkled the book containing the law and all the people, saying, "This is the blood that ratifies the covenant which God commanded me to make with you."
saying, "This is the blood that ratifies the covenant which God commanded me to make with you."
Hastings
The term is of frequent occurrence in the Bible, and is used in the general sense of a compact or agreement between parties, and also in the more technical and legal sense of an arrangement entered into by God, and confirmed or sealed with the due formalities. The Hebrew word (ber
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for this is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many for the forgiveness of their sins.
Then He said to them, "This is my blood which ratifies the covenant, the blood which is to be poured out for many.
Now you will keep silent and be unable to talk until the day when this takes place, because you did not believe what I told you, for it will be fulfilled at the proper time."
In like manner after supper He took a cup of wine, and said, "This cup of wine is the new covenant to be ratified by my blood, which is to be poured out for you.
And you are the descendants of the prophets and the heirs of the sacred compact which God made with your forefathers, when He said to Abraham: 'All the families of the earth are to be blessed through your posterity.'
The high priest asked, "Are these statements true?"
And with Abraham He made the sacred compact of circumcision, and he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
For they are Israelites; to them belong the privileges of sonship, God's glorious presence, the special covenants, the giving of the law, the temple service, the promises,
and so in that way all Israel will be saved, just as the Scripture says: "From Zion the Deliverer will come; He will remove ungodliness from Jacob;
He has qualified even me as a minister of the new covenant, which is not a written but a spiritual covenant. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.
Brothers, I am going to use a human illustration: Even a human contract, once it has been ratified, no one can annul or change.
Brothers, I am going to use a human illustration: Even a human contract, once it has been ratified, no one can annul or change.
This is spoken as an allegory. For these women are two covenants, one coming from Mount Sinai, bearing children that are to be slaves;
At that time you were without any connection with Christ; you were aliens to the commonwealth of Israel, strangers to the sacred compacts made by God's promise, with no hope, and no God in the world.
For He saved us and called us with a holy call, not in accordance with anything that we had done, but in accordance with His own purpose and unmerited favor which was shown us through union with Christ Jesus eternal ages ago,
Therefore, because God wanted to make the strongest demonstration of the unchangeable character of His purpose, He interposed with an oath,
so much the more Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant.
But, as the case with Him now stands, He has entered upon a priestly service as much superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is the Mediator is superior to theirs, superior because it has been enacted upon superior promises.
But, as the case with Him now stands, He has entered upon a priestly service as much superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is the Mediator is superior to theirs, superior because it has been enacted upon superior promises. For if the first covenant had been faultless, there could have been no room for a second one. read more. For, because He was dissatisfied with His people, He said: "'See; the time is coming,' says the Lord, 'When I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, Unlike the one that I made with their forefathers the day I took them by the hand to lead them out from the land of Egypt, for they did not abide by their covenant with me, so I did not care for them,' says the Lord. 'For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel in those days,' says the Lord; 'I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And nevermore will each one need to teach his fellow-citizen, And each one teach his brother, saying, "Know the Lord," For all will know me, from the lowest to the highest. For I will be merciful to their deeds of wrong, and never, never any more will I recall their sins,'" In speaking of a new covenant He makes the first one obsolete; and whatever is obsolete and antiquated is on the verge of vanishing.
with its golden incense-altar and the chest for the covenant, completely covered with gold, and in it a golden jar which held the manna, Aaron's staff that budded, and the tablets on which the covenant was written;
For when a will is made, it is necessary that the death of him who makes it be proved. For a will is valid only after a man is dead, since it has no force whatever while the one who made it is alive.
saying, "This is the blood that ratifies the covenant which God commanded me to make with you."
How much severer punishment do you suppose that one deserves who tramples the Son of God underfoot, and counts as a common thing the blood of the covenant by which he was consecrated, and has insulted the Spirit that grants God's unmerited favor?
May God, who gives us peace, who brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, who through the blood by which He ratified the everlasting covenant, is now the Great Shepherd of the sheep,
Morish
To this subject as spoken of in scripture there are two branches:
1. man's covenant with his fellow, or nation with nation, in which the terms are mutually considered and agreed to: it is then ratified by an oath, or by some token, before witnesses. Such a covenant is alluded to in Ga 3:15; if a man's covenant be confirmed it cannot be disannulled or added to. When Abraham bought the field of Ephron in Machpelah, he paid the money "in the audience of the sons of Heth" as witnesses, and it was thus made sure unto him. Ge 23:16. In the covenant Jacob made with Laban, they gathered a heap of stones to be witness between them, and "they did eat there upon the heap." Ge 31:46. When the Gibeonites deceived Joshua and the heads of Israel, "the men took of their victuals, and asked not counsel at the mouth of the Lord, and . . . sware unto them." Jos 9:14-15. So to this day, if a stranger in the East can get the head of a tribe to eat with him, he knows he is safe, the eating is regarded as a covenant. In 2Ch 13:5 we read of 'a covenant of salt;' and to eat salt together is also now regarded as a bond in the East.
2. The covenants made by God are of a different order. He makes His covenants from Himself, without consulting man. With Noah God made a covenant that he would not again destroy the world by a flood, and as a token of that covenant, He set the rainbow in the cloud. Ge 9:8-17. This kind of covenant takes the form of an unconditional promise. Such was God's covenant with Abraham, first as to his natural posterity, Ge 15:4-6; and secondly, as to his seed, Christ. Ge 22:15-18. He gave him also the covenant of circumcision, Ge 17:10-14; Ac 7:8,
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And with Abraham He made the sacred compact of circumcision, and he became the father of Isaac and circumcised him on the eighth day, and Isaac became the father of Jacob, and Jacob of the twelve patriarchs.
Afterward he received the mark of circumcision as God's seal of his right standing with Him on condition of faith which he had before he was circumcised, that he might be the forefather of all who have faith while still uncircumcised, that they might have their faith credited to them as right standing with God;
Brothers, I am going to use a human illustration: Even a human contract, once it has been ratified, no one can annul or change. Now the promises were made to Abraham and his descendant. It does not say, "and to your descendants," in the plural, but in the singular, "and to your descendant," that is, Christ. read more. I mean this: The law which was given four hundred and thirty years later could not annul the contract which had already been ratified by God, so as to cancel the promise.
And if you belong to Christ, then you are real descendants of Abraham, and heirs in accordance with the promise made to him.
Smith
Covenant.
The Heb. berith means primarily "a cutting," with reference to the custom of cutting or dividing animals in two and passing between the parts in ratifying a covenant.
In the New Testament the corresponding word is diathece (diatheke), which is frequently translated testament in the Authorized Version. In its biblical meaning two parties the word is used--
1. Of a covenant between God and man; e.g. God covenanted with Noah, after the flood, that a like judgment should not be repeated. It is not precisely like a covenant between men, but was a promise or agreement by God. The principal covenants are the covenant of works --God promising to save and bless men on condition of perfect obedience --and the covenant of grace, or God's promise to save men on condition of their believing in Christ and receiving him as their Master and Saviour. The first is called the Old Covenant, from which we name the first part of the bible the Old Testament, the Latin rendering of the word covenant. The second is called the New Covenant, or New Testament.
2. Covenant between man and man, i.e. a solemn compact or agreement, either between tribes or nations,
or between individuals,
by which each party bound himself to fulfill certain conditions and was assured of receiving certain advantages. In making such a covenant God was solemnly invoked as witness,
and an oath was sworn.
A sign or witness of the covenant was sometimes framed, such a gift,
or a pillar or heap of stones erected.
Watsons
COVENANT. The Greek word ??????? occurs often in the Septuagint, as the translation of a Hebrew word, which signifies covenant: it occurs also in the Gospels and the Epistles; and it is rendered in our English Bibles sometimes covenant, sometimes testament. The Greek word, according to its etymology, and according to classical use, may denote a testament, a disposition, as well as a covenant; and the Gospel may be called a testament, because it is a signification of the will of our Saviour ratified by his death, and because it conveys blessings to be enjoyed after his death. These reasons for giving the dispensation of the Gospel the name of a testament appeared to our translators so striking, that they have rendered ??????? more frequently by the word testament, than by the word covenant. Yet the train of argument, where ??????? occurs, generally appears to proceed upon its meaning a covenant; and therefore, although, when we delineate the nature of the Gospel, the beautiful idea of its being a testament, is not to be lost sight of, yet we are to remember that the word testament, which we read in the Gospels and Epistles, is the translation of a word which the sense requires to be rendered covenant. A covenant implies two parties, and mutual stipulations. The new covenant must derive its name from something in the nature of the stipulations between the parties different from that which existed before; so that we cannot understand the propriety of the name, new, without looking back to what is called the old, or first. On examining the passages in Galatians 3, in 2 Corinthians 3, and in Hebrews 8-10, where the old and the new covenant are contrasted, it will be found that the old covenant means the dispensation given by Moses to the children of Israel; and the new covenant the dispensation of the Gospel published by Jesus Christ; and that the object of the Apostle is to illustrate the superior excellence of the latter dispensation. But, in order to preserve the consistency of the Apostle's writings, it is necessary to remember that there are two different lights in which the former dispensation may be viewed. Christians appear to draw the line between the old and the new covenant, according to the light in which they view that dispensation. It may be considered merely as a method of publishing the moral law to a particular nation; and then with whatever solemnity it was delivered, and with whatever cordiality it was accepted, it is not a covenant that could give life. For, being nothing more than what divines call a covenant of works, a directory of conduct requiring by its nature entire personal obedience, promising life to those who yielded that obedience, but making no provision for transgressors, it left under a curse "every one that continued not in all things that were written in the book of the law to do them." This is the essential imperfection of what is called the covenant of works, the name given in theology to that transaction, in which it is conceived that the supreme Lord of the universe promised to his creature, man, that he would reward that obedience to his law, which, without any such promise, was due to him as the Creator.
No sooner had Adam broken the covenant of works, than a promise of a final deliverance from the evils incurred by the breach of it was given. This promise was the foundation of that transaction which Almighty God, in treating with Abraham, condescends to call "my covenant with thee," and which, upon this authority, has received in theology the name of the Abrahamic covenant. Upon the one part, Abraham, whose faith was counted to him for righteousness, received this charge from God, "Walk before me, and be thou perfect;" upon the other part, the God whom he believed, and whose voice he obeyed, beside promising other blessings to him and his seed, uttered these significant words, "In thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed." In this transaction, then, there was the essence of a covenant; for there were mutual stipulations between two parties; and there was superadded, as a seal of the covenant, the rite of circumcision, which, being prescribed by God, was a confirmation of his promise to all who complied with it, and being submitted to by Abraham, was, on his part, an acceptance of the covenant.
The Abrahamic covenant appears, from the nature of the stipulations, to be more than a covenant of works; and, as it was not confined to Abraham, but extended to his seed, it could not be disannulled by any subsequent transactions, which fell short of a fulfilment of the blessing promised. The law of Moses, which was given to the seed of Abraham four hundred and thirty years after, did not come up to the terms of that covenant even with regard to them, for, in its form it was a covenant of works, and to other nations it did not directly convey any blessing. But although the Mosaic dispensation did not fulfil the Abrahamic covenant, it was so far from setting that covenant aside, that it cherished the expectation of its being fulfilled: for it continued the rite of circumcision, which was the seal of the covenant; and in those ceremonies which it enjoined, there was a shadow, a type, an obscure representation, of the promised blessing, Lu 1:72-73.
Here, then, is another view of the Mosaic dispensation. "It was added, because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made," Ga 3:19. By delivering a moral law, which men felt themselves unable to obey; by denouncing judgments which it did not of itself provide any effectual method of escaping; and by holding forth, in various oblations, the promised and expected Saviour; "it was a schoolmaster to bring men unto Christ." The covenant made with Abraham retained its force during the dispensation of the law, and was the end of that dispensation.
The views which have been given furnish the ground upon which we defend that established language which is familiar to our ears, that there are only two covenants essentially different, and opposite to one another, the covenant of works, made with the first man, intimated by the constitution of human nature to every one of his posterity, and having for its terms, "Do this and live;"
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to show mercy to our forefathers, and carry out His sacred covenant, the oath which He swore to our forefather Abraham,
Then what about the law? It was added later on to increase transgressions, until the descendant to whom the promise was made should come, enacted through the agency of angels in the person of an intermediary.
'For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel in those days,' says the Lord; 'I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they will be my people. And nevermore will each one need to teach his fellow-citizen,