We have seen previously that in the new covenant the forgiveness of sins is the gospel of grace. If a man can believe this grace for the forgiveness of his sins, his conscience will have rest. We know that many who belong to the Lord have received this grace for the forgiveness of their sins. Concerning this aspect of the new covenant they not only believe, but they are also willing to testify that God has forgiven them their sins and cleansed them from all their unrighteousnesses.
However, in addition to this aspect of the new covenant concerning the forgiveness of sins, there are also two other extremely glorious and precious parts of the new covenant: one is the matter of life and power, and the other is the matter of the inward knowledge, or knowing God in an inward way. These two aspects have been much neglected, and are not understood or even believed by many. This is why so many of God’s children are so spiritually poverty-stricken. This is also why many are so weak and full of failure. Brothers and sisters, it is good that God has forgiven us our sins, but if after our sins are forgiven we remain the same, God is still unable to obtain in us what He intends, and we still cannot do God’s will. In that case, what is the difference between us and the children of Israel who wandered in the wilderness? And if there is no difference, where is the glory of the new covenant? Therefore, brothers and sisters, we must see this better aspect of the new covenant.
According to Hebrews 8:9, under the old covenant God took the children of Israel by their hand and led them out of Egypt, but in the new covenant God draws our hearts out of Egypt. In the old covenant God gave the law externally to the children of Israel, but in the new covenant God has put the law inside of us and has inscribed it upon our hearts. Under the old covenant, there were those who taught the children of Israel, yet they observed God’s works for forty years and were always going astray in their hearts; they did not know God’s ways (Heb. 3:9-10). However in the new covenant there is no need to be taught by man, for all can know God in an inward way from the least to the greatest. Now let us see how it is that God has put His law into us and inscribed it upon our hearts, and why it is an extremely glorious and precious part of the new covenant.
Before we begin, we must read the related verses. The first is Hebrews 8:10: “For this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will impart My laws into their mind, and on their hearts I will inscribe them, and I will be God to them, and they shall be a people to Me.” Another is Hebrews 10:16: “This is the covenant which I will covenant with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their hearts and upon their minds I will inscribe them.” These two verses both speak first of imparting or of inscribing. They are different in this respect: in 8:10 the mind is first mentioned and then the heart, while in 10:16, the heart is mentioned first and then the mind. Whether the mind or the heart is mentioned first, both passages speak of imparting or inscribing, and both mention the mind and the heart. Therefore both speak of the same thing. We must also realize that both these passages are quotations from Jeremiah 31:33, which reads: “But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
Ezekiel 36:25-28 speaks of the same thing as Jeremiah 31:31-34, except that some words are clearer in Ezekiel while other words are clearer in Jeremiah. The passage in Ezekiel reads: “And I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep mine ordinances, and do them. And ye shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; and ye shall be my people, and I will be your God.”
At least five things are referred to in these verses: (1) cleansing with clean water, (2) giving a new heart, (3) giving a new spirit, (4) taking away the stony heart and giving a heart of flesh, and (5) having His Spirit within. When we put these five matters together, the result is to “cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my ordinances and do them...and ye shall be my people, and I shall be your God.” Notice the word “cause” in verse 27; it means to motivate. The Holy Spirit who indwells us gives us new strength to do God’s will and to please God, so that God can be our God and we can be His people.