In the new covenant there is also the function of the law of life by which we know God in the inward way of life. Verse 11 says, “And they shall by no means teach each one his fellow citizen and each one his brother, saying, Know the Lord, for all shall know Me from the little one to the great among them.” There is no need for the outward teachings, because we know the Lord by the sense of life. Some today oppose us for saying that we no longer need the teachings. They are not merely opposing us; they are opposing the Bible. It is the Holy Bible that says that we do not need the teachings because we have the inner sense of life.
In this verse two Greek words are used for know: the first is ginosko, which signifies the outward, objective knowledge; the second is oida, referring to the inward, subjective consciousness. In John 8:55 the Lord Jesus told the Pharisees that they have not known (ginosko) God the Father (even in the outward, objective knowledge), but He knows (oida) the Father (in the inward, subjective consciousness).
The last of the contents of the new covenant is propitiation for our unrighteousnesses and forgiveness of our sins. Hebrews 8:12 says, “I will be propitious to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins I will by no means remember anymore.” To be propitious is to make propitiation for our sins. Christ made propitiation for our sins to appease God’s righteousness, to reconcile us by satisfying the demand of God’s righteousness (2:17). God is propitious to us because Christ has made propitiation for our sins. Based upon this propitiation, God forgives our sins. In 8:12 we are told by the Lord that “their sins I will by no means remember anymore.” Here we see that God will forget our sins. To forgive means to forget, for the forgetting of sins is the real forgiveness of sins. If you forgive me, it means that you must forget my faults. Without forgetting, forgiveness is not real. God not only forgives us our sins but also forgets our sins.
In the new covenant the primary blessing is the imparting of the divine life which brings in the inner law of life, the blessing of having God and of being His people, and the inward ability of knowing the Lord. For God to do this, He had to be propitious to our unrighteousnesses and forget our sins. The propitiation for our unrighteousnesses and the forgiveness of our sins give Him the ground to impart His life into us. The little word “for” in verse 12 proves this. He imparts life to us, “for” He is propitious to our unrighteousnesses and forgets our sins. God’s original intention for His eternal purpose was to impart His life into man, but sin came in to frustrate this. In order to carry out His original intention, God made propitiation through Christ for our sins and granted us the forgiveness of sins so that He might impart the divine life into us for the fulfillment of His purpose. This divine life brings in the law of life, our relationship with God in life, and the inward ability of knowing the Lord. In the new covenant, life with its riches has been brought in and sin with its sinfulness has been put away. This is the content of the new covenant. Praise the Lord!