Building up believers and the New Testament church

The New Covenant

The Old Covenant

As we look back in a brief overview of the history of God's dealing with man, there are certain things that stand out which form the background for our present relationship with God. It is very clear that God Himself does not change, but that His dealing with men does change. God has been moving with purpose since the beginning of time, and His purpose is to bring many sons to glory and to include them in everlasting fellowship with Himself. The very nature of God is love, and God's love reaches out to include all who will respond to it.

There are many things we may not understand, but it is evident from history that the working of God's purpose takes time. Christ was the Lamb "slain from the foundation of the world," yet he died thousands of years later at the very hour appointed by God. In the Old Testament, the history of God's dealing with man up until the time of Christ, we find that God's dealings were with certain men (such as Noah and Abraham), and then with the nation of Israel. His purpose in dealing with each is clearly stated, and the history we have is evidently what God wanted us to have, to form the basis for our understanding of His present dealing. Reading the Old Testament, we not only learn history, but also see clearly the character of God and how He views things. Through the entire history of God's interaction with man, we see one theme that is of major importance to us: God was moving towards Calvary, and His final provision and work of redemption would be accomplished there. Everything God did was to prepare men for the coming Redeemer.

When we speak of the Old Covenant, we are referring to the covenant which God made with Israel. At the heart of the Old Covenant was the Law. In Galatians Paul tells us why the Law was given--to preserve Israel as a nation until the time of Christ (Galatians 3:19). It was a "schoolmaster" to keep lawlessness in check, and to make sure there was a place for Christ to enter into the human race. It was never intended to bring life (Galatians 3:21), for if it could have, then Christ died in vain. It also revealed man's inability to be righteous in himself (Romans 7), and for those who had ears to hear, it pointed the way to God's provision which was Christ. Before the Law was given, men thought that they could do whatever God asked. God knew differently, but He let mankind come to that realization through experience and failure.

A further aspect of the Law that is important to us at this time is that it was dependent on what man could do. God said, "If you will do such and such, I will do so and so." God did not break His side, but man could not fulfill his commitment. The end of the whole matter was a nation that did not even recognize God when He came to live among them. Their concept of righteousness, justice, and God Himself was so distorted that the very people who were supposed to be a channel through whom God could bless all of the people of the earth plotted to put to death their Messiah.