[In the Old Testament God dealt with man according to the law. Everyone who kept the law would be blessed (Deut. 6:1-3), and everyone who did not abide by all the things written in the book of the law to do them would be cursed (Gal. 3:10). The law was able only to demand and condemn; it could not give life. Galatians 3:21 says, “If a law was given which was able to give life, righteousness would have indeed been of the law.” But actually man cannot be justified by law, for the law only demands and condemns; it cannot give life, nor can it give man the power to be justified by God.]
[Galatians 3:12 says, “And the law is not of faith, but he who does them shall live by them.” The law is not of faith; it is of works. The law is not based on the principle of faith; it is based on the principle of works. Man must do the law in order to live. Therefore, Moses spoke many times to all Israel in this way: “Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye may live” (Deut. 4:1; 5:1; 6:1, 25).]
[Referring to the old covenant, Hebrews 8:13 says, “In saying new, He has made the first old. Now that which is becoming old and growing decrepit is near to disappearing.” The prophecy in Jeremiah 31:31-34 concerning the coming new covenant indicated that the first covenant had become old and decrepit. It might have been that Jeremiah realized the weakness and unprofitableness of the old covenant and was deeply burdened about this matter. Therefore, God had an opportunity to come in to say through him, “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, and I will consummate a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah” (Heb. 8:8). Not only was the old covenant decrepit, but it was also near to disappearing. Therefore, it could only be applied to the Old Testament age.]
[The new testament, or the new covenant, is a better covenant (Heb. 8:6). The new covenant is better than the old one, just as the reality of a person is better than his photograph. The old covenant, like a photograph, had only the outward form, but the new covenant, like the real person, has the inward life with all its reality. The old covenant was lifeless; the new covenant is constituted with the indestructible life (Heb. 7:16). Everything in the new covenant is much better than the things in the old covenant because everything in the new covenant is the reality constituted with life. Therefore, it is a better covenant.
Furthermore, the new covenant is an eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20). Unlike the old covenant, which became old and decrepit and was abolished (Heb. 8:13), the new covenant is eternally effective.]
[The new covenant was accomplished by Jesus Christ Himself. When the Lord Jesus was crucified on the cross and shed the precious blood, He made the way for God to enact a new covenant with us (Matt. 26:28). Unlike the old covenant which was ordained in the hand of Moses, the new covenant was accomplished by the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, God’s beloved Son.]
[After eating the Passover with the disciples, the Lord established His table with the bread and the cup. He took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood” (Luke 22:20). The new covenant was established with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. First John 1:7 also says that the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, cleanses us from all sin. Because His blood satisfied the requirement of God’s righteousness, it opened the way for God to enact a new covenant with us. Therefore, the new covenant was enacted through the blood of Jesus, the Son of God; it is not like the old covenant which was enacted with the blood of bulls and goats.]
[Now that we are in the new covenant, we are not under the law but under grace (Rom. 6:14). Grace is the Triune God processed through incarnation, human living, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension to become everything to us. He is our redemption, salvation, life, and sanctification.
The new covenant is based upon grace, which gives life, as its condition. This means that in the new covenant the processed Triune God intends to be our all. Hence, the new covenant does not require man to keep the law; rather, it deals with man according to grace, which is God as everything to man.]
[Romans 11:6 says, “But if by grace, it is no longer out of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace.” Whereas the law is altogether out of works, grace is absolutely not of works. Anything that is out of works is not grace but law. John 3:15 says, “That everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life.” Thus, the New Testament shows us very clearly that God does not require man to work; God requires man only to believe. In the New Testament age, the unique cause of God’s judgment on man is man’s unbelief, his not believing in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God (John 3:18).
In the New Testament, the meaning of the word faith has two aspects. Objectively, faith is what we believe. Subjectively, faith is our believing. Therefore, faith denotes both the act of believing and that in which we believe. The things in which we believe include God’s sending His Son into the world, the Son’s human living, His death on the cross to accomplish redemption, His burial, His resurrection, His becoming the life-giving Spirit, His ascension, and His pouring out of the Holy Spirit. When we hear of all these divine matters, we will be stirred up and filled with appreciation. This is our faith and this is our believing act. In the new covenant man only needs to have such a faith; man does not need to strive to keep the law.]
[The new covenant was established when the Lord Jesus died on the cross and shed His blood. Hence, to those who believe in Him, that was the beginning of the new covenant. But as far as the Israelites are concerned, the prophecy in Jeremiah 31 will not be fulfilled until Christ’s second coming. The new covenant will be applied unto eternity, because it is an eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20).]
[The new and the old testaments first refer to the two covenants which God made with man as the two conditions for man to have a relationship with Him. The old covenant was ordained in the hand of Moses, dedicated with the blood of bulls and goats, and based upon the law, which could not give life, as its condition, requiring man only to work, not to believe. It was not God’s original intention but was added later and eventually was done away. Thus, it was applied only to the Old Testament age. The new covenant, the better and eternal covenant, was accomplished by Jesus Christ, was established with the blood of Jesus, the Son of God, and is based upon grace, which gives life, as its condition, requiring man only to believe, not to work. It is of God’s original intention and is applied to the New Testament age and eternity.]