The first covenant had faults. Then what about the second covenant? The second covenant is the new covenant (Heb. 8:7, 13). The new covenant is enacted upon better promises (Heb. 8:6). The new covenant is not written on tables of stone, but on tables that are hearts of flesh (2 Cor. 3:3). The new covenant imparts God’s laws into man’s mind and inscribes them upon man’s heart (Heb. 8:10). In other words, in the new covenant, the One who demands of us is God, and the One who enables us to do the will of God is also God! The new covenant is a covenant in which God gives you life and power to do the good He intends you to do, so that He may be your God and you may be His people (Heb. 8:10; Titus 2:14). The new covenant enables man to know God more deeply and in an inward way, without being taught by his fellow citizen (Heb. 8:11). Therefore, the new covenant is the covenant of sanctification (Heb. 10:29), the better covenant (Heb. 7:22; 8:6), and an eternal covenant (Heb. 13:20). We must say, “Hallelujah! How sweet and how glorious is the new covenant! What a grace it is!”
We have seen before that the word of grace which God has given us includes God’s promises, God’s facts, and God’s covenants. We have also seen that God’s covenants include God’s promises and God’s facts. Now let us see God’s promises and God’s facts which are included in God’s covenants. The Scriptures show us that God’s covenant is God’s promise, except that God’s promise was spoken by God’s mouth, and God’s covenant was made by an oath (Heb. 6:17). The promise binds God, and much more, the covenant binds God. When God made a covenant with Abraham He swore by Himself (Heb. 6:13-14). “Wherefore God, willing to show more abundantly to the heirs of the promise the unchangeableness of His counsel, intervened by an oath” (Heb. 6:17). For “the Lord has sworn and will not regret it” (Heb. 7:21). Therefore, a covenant limits God and binds God more than a promise.
Hebrews 9:15-18 clearly shows us that in the new covenant there are promises and there are also facts. Verse 16 says, “For where there is a testament there must of necessity be the death of him who made it.” In the original text, testament and covenant are the same word. Therefore, the word covenant has two meanings in the Scriptures: first it is a covenant, or contract, and second it is a testament, or will. Hence, we can say that the new covenant is a covenant, and we can also say that it is a will.
A covenant cannot be established without a promise. Every covenant must have a promise. An ordinary promise does not necessarily contain any pledge, but the covenanted promise must go through a legal process; it is protected and enforced by law. Hence, God’s covenant must include God’s promise. Those who are deeply taught by God’s grace and who deeply know Him, consider that there is very little difference between His promise and His covenant, for they know that God is faithful even as He is righteous. They believe that if God has promised, He will fulfill His promise. It is not necessary for all His promises to pass through a legal process. To them, God’s promise equals His covenant. But to those who are weak in faith, there is a great difference between God’s promise and God’s covenant. To them it seems that the covenant is the guarantee that God’s promise will definitely be fulfilled. We cannot say that all of God’s promises are His covenants, but we dare to say that all of God’s covenants include His promises.
Hebrews 8:6 says, “But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry; inasmuch as He is also the Mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted upon better promises.” This verse tells us that the new covenant is a better covenant because it is enacted upon better promises.
In God’s covenant there is not only the promise, but also the testament. Hebrews 9:15 speaks of “the promise of the eternal inheritance” and verse 16 speaks of the testament. A testament, or will, indicates that there is an estate, a bequest. The things bequeathed are the facts. For instance, a father may make a will, specifying how his possessions should be taken care of and disposed. Either they are to be passed on to his son or to someone else. Then those who receive the inheritance enjoy what he bequeathed. Therefore a testament, or a will, is not composed of empty words, but must include some facts. A testament is a covenant. Therefore, we say that the covenant includes God’s facts.
A covenant differs from God’s promise and God’s fact, but a covenant also includes God’s promise and God’s fact. Without the promise and fact, the covenant becomes empty words and meaningless. We thank God that He has many promises which are related to the new covenant. There are also many facts which are related to the new covenant. We must say, “Hallelujah, the new covenant is so rich and complete!”