covenant. The book known as the Bible contains both documents of the first and second covenants, we
know them as the old testament and the new testament, or the old covenant and the new covenant. A
covenant is a contract.
Many believers have only a limited understanding of the covenants or contracts that God has made with
the house of Israel. It is the purpose of this writer to bring into focus what these contracts mean, and to
show the difference between the old, or first covenant and the new, or second one.
In the Hebrew language the first 5 books of the old testament are called the Torah, which when the
translators translated the Bible into English they translated it “The law”. The whole old testament was
called “the Torah‘ (law), ‘The Psalms’ and ‘The Prophets’, the Torah consisting of the first five books. It
is also known as ‘The book of the covenant’.
In Exodus, the second book of the Torah , in the Old Testament, there is an account of God making a
contract or covenant with the children of Israel. God had freed the Israelites from slavery in Egypt by
striking the Egyptians with a series of miraculous plagues until the ruler of Egypt not only consented to
letting them go, but thrust them out.
In the third month after they left Egypt and had been led out into the desert they came to the foot of Mt.
Sinai and camped there. On the third day, God came down upon the top of the mountain and spoke to all
the Israelites: This is what He said to them.
Exodus 20
1 ¶ And God spoke all these words, saying:
2 "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.
3 "You shall have no other gods before Me.
4 "You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above,
or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth;
5 you shall not bow down to them nor serve them. For I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting
the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate Me, 6
but showing mercy to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments.
7 "You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless
who takes His name in vain.
8 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your
son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your
stranger who is within your gates. 11 For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea,
and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and
hallowed it.
12 ¶ "Honor your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your
God is giving you.
13 "You shall not murder.
14 "You shall not commit adultery.
15 "You shall not steal.
16 "You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
17 "You shall not covet your neighbor's house; you shall not covet your neighbor's wife, nor his male
servant, nor his female servant, nor his ox, nor his donkey, nor anything that is your neighbor's."
The people were frightened terribly and they asked Moses that God not speak to them, even Moses was
so frightened that he shook like a leaf: Heb 12:21 And so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, "I am
exceedingly afraid and trembling.")
So God gave the rest of His instructions of what He would require of them to Moses and had him
present them to the people.
On the third day after they arrived, God spoke to them. There had been some preliminary negotiations
between God and the people with Moses acting as the go between. There is an account of that in
chapter 19. I doubt if everything that was spoken and agreed to is written in this chapter because this
is a brief account of it. Exodus 21, 22, 23, and 24 gives someof the terms of the contract God made with
them. A list of what they must do. They agreed, the equivalent of signing a contract.
Ex 24:3 So Moses came and told the people all the words of the LORD and all the judgments. And all the
people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which the LORD has said we will do."
4 And Moses wrote all the words of the LORD. And he rose early in the morning, and built an altar at the
foot of the mountain, and twelve pillars according to the twelve tribes of Israel. 5 Then he sent young
men of the children of Israel, who offered burnt offerings and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen to the
LORD. 6 And Moses took half the blood and put it in basins, and half the blood he sprinkled on the
altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing of the people. And they said, "All
that the LORD has said we will do, and be obedient." 8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on the
people, and said, "This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has made with you according to all
these words."
Heb 9:18 Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. (The second or new
covenant was also dedicated with blood) Mt 26:28 "For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is
shed for many for the remission of sins.
The people knew they were making a contract with God. The Bible only gives a brief account of what
went on. No doubt Moses spent some time in explaining to them what God was doing, and what God
would do for them in return for their obedience to His terms. In Deut. We find what God will do for them
in performing His part of the contract:
Chapter 28:1 ¶ "Now it shall come to pass, if you diligently obey the voice of the LORD your God, to
observe carefully all His commandments which I command you today, that the LORD your God will set
you high above all nations of the earth. 2 "And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake
you, because you obey the voice of the LORD your God: 3 "Blessed shall you be in the city, and blessed
shall you be in the country. 4 "Blessed shall be the fruit of your body, the produce of your ground and
the increase of your herds, the increase of your cattle and the offspring of your flocks. 5 "Blessed shall
be your basket and your kneading bowl. 6 "Blessed shall you be when you come in, and blessed shall
you be when you go out. 7 "The LORD will cause your enemies who rise against you to be defeated
before your face; they shall come out against you one way and flee before you seven ways. 8 "The
LORD will command the blessing on you in your storehouses and in all to which you set your hand, and
He will bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you. 9 "The LORD will establish you as a
holy people to Himself, just as He has sworn to you, if you keep the commandments of the LORD your
God and walk in His ways.
10 "Then all peoples of the earth shall see that you are called by the name of the LORD, and they shall
be afraid of you. 11 "And the LORD will grant you plenty of goods, in the fruit of your body, in the
increase of your livestock, and in the produce of your ground, in the land of which the LORD swore to
your fathers to give you. 12 "The LORD will open to you His good treasure, the heavens, to give the rain
to your land in its season, and to bless all the work of your hand. You shall lend to many nations, but you
shall not borrow. 13 "And the LORD will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and
not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you today, and
are careful to observe them. 14 "So you shall not turn aside from any of the words which I command you
this day, to the right or the left, to go after other gods to serve them.
These are promises of physical blessings. There is no promise of eternal life. God did promise
Abraham that he and his descendants would possess the land. Gen 12:7 Then the LORD appeared to
Abram and said, "To your descendants I will give this land." And there he built an altar to the LORD, who
had appeared to him. Later He promised Jacob that He would give the land to his descendants as an
everlasting possession. Gen 48: 3 Then Jacob said to Joseph: "God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in
the land of Canaan and blessed me, 4 "and said to me, 'Behold, I will make you fruitful and multiply you,
and I will make of you a multitude of people, and give this land to your descendants after you as an
everlasting possession.'
This has the implication of also giving them eternal life in order for them to possess it forever. But
these promises were given to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and were not made a part of the covenant that
was made at Mt. Sinai.
The Israelites did not keep their commitment to obey the terms of the contract with God. So later God
had this to say: Jeremiah 31:31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new
covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah- 32 "not according to the covenant that I
made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My
covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD. 33 "But this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in
their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 "No
more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they
all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their
iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
This has not been completely fulfilled. What we have now and have had for the last 2000 years are the
first steps, a partial fulfilling of it. The new covenant is now in place, but He hasn’t given His spirit to, or
written His laws in the hearts of all flesh yet.
Jesus of Nazareth was born between 1400 and 1500 years after God made the covenant with Israel.
Jeremiah, through whom God promised a new covenant, wrote between 6oo and 650 B C. The writer of
Hebrews in speaking of Jesus who is now our high priest, said this: Heb 8:6 ¶ But now He has obtained a
more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established
on better promises. Heb 9:15 ¶ And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of
death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may
receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
This is saying that a new covenant has been enacted and Jesus was the mediator of it. The old
covenant is contained in what is called the Torah or old testament. It is too lengthy to recount in its
entirety in this study, but the terms are contained in mainly the last four books of the Torah namely,
Exodus, Leviticus, Deuteronomy, and Numbers. One should study these books if he is not familiar with
the terms or requirements of the old covenant. In the course of this writing some of the terms will be
mentioned in order to clarify the difference between the old and new contracts.
In the covenant drawn up at Mt. Sinai, there were two distinct sets of laws or terms given by God to
Israel. The first and primary law was the one God spoke with His own voice to the children of Israel.
This is an eternal spiritual law and has existed eternally. It has governed both the spirit world and the
physical created universe. It is the law of love. It expresses the character of God for He is love. Love is
His nature. Hatred is the opposite of love, it is expressed by evil. In God there is no evil.
The other set of laws are what is called “the law of Moses”. Not that Moses enacted these laws, but
because he wrote them in a book (scroll). God gave him these laws and told him to write them in a
book. The actions that many of these laws required to be carried out were types of the Messiah. In
other words they pictured what He would do and accomplish when it was time for Him to appear. There
are many who contend that when the Bible speaks of “the law of Moses” it is including the ten
commandments that God Himself spoke to Israel. That is where many go astray. As stated above, the
ten commandments that God gave to Israel is a separate distinct law from that which is called “the law of
Moses”. The commandments were written on tablets of stone with God’s own finger, and put inside the
ark. “The law of Moses” was written on a scroll by Moses and put in the side of the ark. It also
contained the ten commandments as a requirement or term in the contract that God made with Israel.
EX. 25:10 ¶ "And they shall make an ark of acacia wood; two and a half cubits shall be its length, a cubit
and a half its width, and a cubit and a half its height. "And you shall overlay it with pure gold, inside and
out you shall overlay it, and shall make on it a molding of gold all around. "You shall cast four rings of
gold for it, and put them in its four corners; two rings shall be on one side, and two rings on the other
side. "And you shall make poles of acacia wood, and overlay them with gold. "You shall put the poles
into the rings on the sides of the ark, that the ark may be carried by them. "The poles shall be in the
rings of the ark; they shall not be taken from it. "And you shall put into the ark the Testimony which I will
give you. "You shall make a mercy seat of pure gold; two and a half cubits shall be its length and a cubit
and a half its width. "And you shall make two cherubim of gold; of hammered work you shall make them
at the two ends of the mercy seat. Make one cherub at one end, and the other cherub at the other end;
you shall make the cherubim at the two ends of it of one piece with the mercy seat. And the cherubim
shall stretch out their wings above, covering the mercy seat with their wings, and they shall face one
another; the faces of the cherubim shall be toward the mercy seat. "You shall put the mercy seat on top
of the ark, and in the ark you shall put the Testimony that I will give you.
The word testimony means the revelation of God’s will. The testimony here are the two tablets of stone
on which God wrote the ten commandments. De 10:1 ¶ "At that time the LORD said to me, 'Hew for
yourself two tablets of stone like the first, and come up to Me on the mountain and make yourself an ark
of wood. De 10:2 'And I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you
broke; and you shall put them in the ark.'
The second distinct law is called “the law of Moses”, and was put on the side, or beside the ark. Duet.
31:25 24 So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were
finished, that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: 26
"Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may
be there as a witness against you;
Sin is defined in 1 John 3:4 ¶ Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the
transgression of the law. This is speaking of the eternal law of love, God’s law, the ten commandments.
This is shown to be so in James 2:10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one
point, he is guilty of all. 11 For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not murder. Now if
thou commit no adultery, yet if thou murder, thou art become a transgressor of the law.
It is evident that James was writing about the ten commandments which if one broke one of them, he
broke the whole law. The law of God has 10 points, which constitutes sin if one of them is broken. The
penalty that God set for anyone transgressing His law is eternal death. (Eze 18:4 "Behold, all souls are
Mine; The soul of the father As well as the soul of the son is Mine; The soul who sins shall die. Eze 18:20
"The soul who sins shall die). The scriptures state that all have sinned, and so all, from Adam to the
present time, have broken God’s law of love and have come under the death penalty. The Father sent
Jesus Christ, who created all things including man, to this earth. He was made a human being like we
are so that He could die for all mankind. His life could pay the death penalty for all mankind because He
was the Creator of all men and all existed in Him. John 1:1, 3, 10, 14. Jesus mediated a new covenant by
means of His death.
This eternal law was in force in the garden of Eden. There was already a death penalty for violating it:
Gen.2:16 ¶ And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely
eat; 17 "but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of
it you shall surely die."
The scriptures say that it is a better covenant. Heb 8:6 ¶ But now He has obtained a more excellent
ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better
promises. The new covenant is established, it is now in force. The first covenant is no longer in force.
Heb 8:13 In that He says, "A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming
obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
What are the terms of the new and better covenant? If the terms were the same as the old covenant,
then it would not be a new one. If the only thing different about the new covenant are better promises,
then there would be no need to make a new one, but just amend it by adding the better promises to the
old one .
It seems to be very difficult for some to determine the terms of the new covenant. Many are swayed by
their own carnal desires and let those desires influence them in determining the terms. For example
those who desire to commit sex sins or cheat and lie in order to make business deals that benefit them,
look on the sacrifice of Messiah as freeing them from the death penalty and being under grace, as a
license to continue following their carnal (natural) desires. They consider that Jesus did it all for them
in that He lived a sinless life, and paid the penalty for all their sins. The majority of those who claim they
are Christians hold these tenets or similar ones.
One can reach a valid understanding of the new covenant, if, The Father has chosen to draw him to
Messiah, and he has repented, been baptized, and has received the Holy Spirit. It is God who grants
repentance: 2Ti 2: 24 And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach,
patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance,
so that they may know the truth.
The New Testament is the document explaining the terms of the new covenant, just as the Torah or Law
in the Old Testament is the document that explains the terms of the old covenant. The document of the
new covenant is composed of The Gospels, Acts, The Epistles (letters), and the Book of Revelation. The
terms of the new covenant are found in all four sections of this document.
So what does the new covenant consist of? What has God agreed to do, and what do those who enter
into the new covenant with Him agree to do?? The promises of God contained in the new covenant are
scattered throughout the New Testament. As stated above, the New Testament is the document of the
new covenant. If it were an agreement between a builder and a home owner, there would be a
document drawn up specifying what the builder would do and what the home owner would do. It is
called a contract, and that is exactly what the New Testament is. Also the terms of what those who enter
into this contract are required to do, are scattered throughout the document.
The first account of Jesus, the mediator of the new covenant, addressing the public is in Mark 1:14 ¶
Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God,
15 and saying, "The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the
gospel." He was beginning to announce the terms of the new covenant. First in order to be able to
enter into the new covenant (agreement), one has to repent and believe the gospel (good news or glad
tidings) of the kingdom of God. The good news was about the kingdom of God and all it meant. This
was one of the better promises in the new covenant. The promise that one could enter into that
kingdom thereby inheriting eternal life. One has to believe the gospel in order to repent. Believing
and repenting go hand in hand.
As stated above God is choosing the ones He wants to enter into a new covenant (contract) with Him, in
this present age. He did the same thing with the old covenant. He chose the house of Israel from all
the nations, to enter into a covenant with Him. As Jesus stated in John 6:44 "No one can come to Me
unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. John 6:65 And He said,
"Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My
Father."
Jesus, as the mediator of the new covenant, made the promise of eternal life to those whom the Father
chose to enter into the covenant. John 6:68 But Simon Peter answered Him, "Lord, to whom shall we
go? You have the words of eternal life. He promised to raise them up to eternal life by a resurrection at
the last day. Mt 19:29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or
wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. John
6:54 "Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.
There are also more promises in the document. 2Ti 2:12 If we endure, We shall also reign with Him. If
we deny Him, He also will deny us. Re 20:6 Blessed and holy is he who has part in the first resurrection.
Over such the second death has no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with Him a thousand years. Paul and the other apostles knew of the promise of being kings and
ruling with Christ. Mt 19:28 So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration,
when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve
thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Luke 19:16 "Then came the first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas.' 17 "And he said to
him, 'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities.'
18 "And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned five minas.' 19 "Likewise he said to him,
'You also be over five cities.'
Who is this man that gives such promises? Who is this that says He will resurrect people and give them
eternal life. How come this man had the power to perform such miracles as changing water into wine,
and creating food? John 2;7 Jesus said to them, "Fill the water pots with water." And they filled them up
to the brim. 8 And He said to them, "Draw some out now, and take it to the master of the feast." And they
took it.
9 When the master of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, and did not know where it
came from (but the servants who had drawn the water knew), the master of the feast called the
bridegroom. 10 And he said to him, "Every man at the beginning sets out the good wine, and when the
guests have well drunk, then the inferior. You have kept the good wine until now!" 11 This beginning of
signs Jesus did in Cana.
Matt.14:16 But Jesus said to them, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." 17
And they said to Him, "We have here only five loaves and two fish." 18 He said, "Bring them here to Me."
19 Then He commanded the multitudes to sit down on the grass. And He took the five loaves and the
two fish, and looking up to heaven, He blessed and broke and gave the loaves to the disciples; and the
disciples gave to the multitudes. 20 So they all ate and were filled, and they took up twelve baskets full
of the fragments that remained. 21 Now those who had eaten were about five thousand men, besides
women and children.
He healed all kinds of diseases: Mt 4:23 ¶ And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all kinds of sickness and all kinds of
disease among the people. Mt 8:16 When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were
demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick,
Who was this man that even brought people that were dead back to life? John 11:11 These things He
said, and after that He said to them, "Our friend Lazarus sleeps, but I go that I may wake him up." Joh 11:
14 Then Jesus said to them plainly, "Lazarus is dead. 39 Jesus said, "Take away the stone." Martha, the
sister of him who was dead, said to Him, "Lord, by this time there is a stench, for he has been dead four
days." 43 Now when He had said these things, He cried with a loud voice, "Lazarus, come forth!" 44
And he who had died came out bound hand and foot with grave clothes, and his face was wrapped with
a cloth. Jesus said to them, "Loose him, and let him go."
Luke 7:12 And when He came near the gate of the city, behold, a dead man was being carried out, the
only son of his mother; and she was a widow. And a large crowd from the city was with her. 13 When the
Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, "Do not weep." 14 Then He came and touched
the open coffin, and those who carried him stood still. And He said, "Young man, I say to you, arise." 15
So he who was dead sat up and began to speak. And He presented him to his mother. 16 Then fear came
upon all, and they glorified God, saying, "A great prophet has risen up among us"; and, "God has visited
His people."
Mt 9:23 When Jesus came into the ruler's house, and saw the flute players and the noisy crowd wailing,
24 He said to them, "Make room, for the girl is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. 25 But
when the crowd was put outside, He went in and took her by the hand, and the girl arose.
He walked on water: Matt.14:24 But the boat was now in the midst of the sea, distressed by the waves;
for the wind was contrary. 25 And in the fourth watch of the night he came unto them, walking upon the
sea. 26 And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, It is a ghost; and
they cried out for fear.
He could control the weather: Mark 4:39 Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea,
"Peace, be still!" And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.41 And they feared exceedingly, and
said to one another, "Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!"
There is no record of any man doing the things that this man did. John 15:24 If I had not done among
them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated
both me and my Father.
The New Testament or the new covenant, tells us who He is. Many do not understand the new
covenant, because they don’t believe what it says. The apostle John in the very beginning of his
biography of Jesus tells who He is: John 1:1 ¶ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through Him,
and without Him nothing was made that was made. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 ¶
And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. 6 There was a man sent
from God, whose name was John. 7 This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all
through him might believe. 8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. 9 That was
the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the
world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and His own did
not receive Him. 12 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the
glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 ¶ John bore witness of Him and
cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He
was before me.'"
Not only did John identify who Jesus really was, but so did Paul: Eph 3:9 and to make all see what is the
fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God who created all
things through Jesus Christ;
Col. 1: 14 in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins. 15 He is the image of
the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in
heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or
powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. 17 And He is before all things, and in Him all
things consist. 18 And He is the head of the body, the church, who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead, that in all things He may have the preeminence.
This man was God the Creator, our Creator. He became a human being (was made flesh) and walked
here on earth. Phil. 2:5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though
he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself,
taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form he
humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.
He experienced the things that we do. He endured the heat of the sun and the cold of winter. He
worked and sweated, and smelled sweaty. He bathed to keep from stinking. If He hit his thumb with a
hammer, it hurt. Heb 2:17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be
a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the
people.
The book of Hebrews shows that Jesus is God:
1 ¶ God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, 2
has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom
also He made the worlds;
3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things
by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the
Majesty on high, 4 ¶ having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they. 5 For to which of the angels did He ever say: "You are My Son, Today I
have begotten You"? And again: "I will be to Him a Father, And He shall be to Me a Son"? 6 But when He
again brings the firstborn into the world, He says: "Let all the angels of God worship Him." 7 And of the
angels He says: "Who makes His angels spirits And His ministers a flame of fire."
8 But to the Son He says: "Your throne, O God, is forever and ever; A scepter of righteousness is the
scepter of Your Kingdom. 9 You have loved righteousness and hated lawlessness; Therefore God, Your
God, has anointed You With the oil of gladness more than Your companions." 10 And: "You, LORD, in the
beginning laid the foundation of the earth, And the heavens are the work of Your hands. 11 They will
perish, but You remain; And they will all grow old like a garment; 12 Like a cloak You will fold them up,
And they will be changed. But You are the same, And Your years will not fail." 13 But to which of the
angels has He ever said: "Sit at My right hand, Till I make Your enemies Your footstool"? 14 Are they not
all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?
He had the authority to make a new covenant with Israel. This covenant has been expanded to include
the Gentiles, those whom the Father draws to Jesus now in this age and will include everyone in the
new age. He is the one who made the old covenant with the Israelites at Mt. Sinai. The One who spoke
to them and gave them the eternal law of love that expresses the Father’s and His character, their
nature. Their character and nature are alike, are the same. In Isaiah there is one quoted as saying; Isa
45:18 For thus says the LORD (YHVH), Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and
made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: "I am the
LORD (YHVH), and there is no other. Isa 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The
everlasting God, the LORD (YHVH), The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His
understanding is unsearchable. Isa 43:15 I am the LORD (YHVH), your Holy One, The Creator of Israel,
your King."
YHVH as many know is the tetragramaton of the God that is written about in the Torah. The Hebrew
written language contained no vowels. No one knows for sure how it was pronounced. There are
different opinions from scholars, and some who study the scholars writings settle on one of the
opinions and are convinced that is the way to pronounce His name.
In the book of Genesis chapter 2:5 the tetragramaton (YHVH) is used for the first time, identifying the
God who did the creating.
As shown previously, the New Testament shows that Jesus Christ was the Creator, so YHVH and Jesus
are the same Being.
Those who don’t understand, claim that Jesus was not God in the flesh. One reason they give is
because He never claimed to be God. It is not recorded where He said the words, “I am God”, but He
said it in other ways. The Jews understood: John 10:32 Jesus answered them, "Many good works I
have shown you from My Father. For which of those works do you stone Me?" 33 The Jews answered
Him, saying, "For a good work we do not stone You, but for blasphemy, and because You, being a Man,
make Yourself God." 34 Jesus answered them, "Is it not written in your law, 'I said, "You are gods"'? 35
"If He called them gods, to whom the word of God came (and the Scripture cannot be broken), 36 "do
you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, 'You are blaspheming,' because I
said, 'I am the Son of God'?
The Jews understood that claiming to be the son of God was the equivalent of saying that He was God.
Another time He told them who He was: 5 When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, "Son,
your sins are forgiven you." 6 And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts,
7 "Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" 8 But
immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to
them, "Why do you reason about these things in your hearts? 9 "Which is easier, to say to the paralytic,
'Your sins are forgiven you,' or to say, 'Arise, take up your bed and walk'? 10 "But that you may know that
the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins" --He said to the paralytic, 11 "I say to you, arise, take
up your bed, and go to your house."
A man can forgive another man’s sins against himself, but no man can forgive sins against God, only
God can do that. They reasoned that He was committing blasphemy by implication, which was
punishable by death, by telling the man that his sins were forgiven. If He had begun His ministry by
saying plainly that He was God in the flesh, he would have been arrested immediately and could not
have fulfilled His whole mission. As he told the Jews: John 10:24 Then the Jews surrounded Him and
said to Him, "How long do You keep us in doubt? If You are the Christ, tell us plainly." 25 Jesus
answered them, "I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in My Father's name, they bear
witness of Me. 26 "But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. 27 "My
sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 "And I give them eternal life“.
He did claim that He existed before;
John 3:13 "No one has ascended to heaven but He who came down from heaven, that is, the Son of Man
who is in (from) heaven.
John 6:33 "For the bread of God is He who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world."
John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.
John 6:41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, "I am the bread which came down
from heaven." :42 And they said, "Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we
know? How is it then that He says, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
John 6:50 "This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die.
John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live
forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world."
John 6:58 "This is the bread which came down from heaven--not as your fathers ate the manna, and are
dead. He who eats this bread will live forever."
John 6:62 "What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before?
John 17:5 "And now, O Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You
before the world was.
John 8: 57 Then the Jews said to Him, "You are not yet fifty years old, and have You seen Abraham?"
58 Jesus said to them, "Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM."
The works or miracles that He did, which were many and varied, shows who He is, for no man can do
those things. It is true that He said that the Father was the one that did the works, that He could not do
them alone, or of Himself. It was through His faith that He did them, yet before He came to earth as a
human being He created the worlds through faith. Heb 11:3 By faith we understand that the worlds were
framed by the word of God, so that the things which are seen were not made of things which are
visible. Did the Father do the works even though Christ spoke the words, just as He did the miracles,
when He was a man here on earth, by telling them they were healed, or Lazarus, who was dead, to come
out of the tomb? The Father acts on faith and on love. If we ask anything in godly love and believe it
will happen with no doubt, then it will.
MANY TERMS OF THE OLD COVENANT ARE INCORPORATED INTO THE NEW
There are many terms in the old covenant that are ramifications of God’s law of love. These terms are
part of the new covenant in that they are reflected in God’s law of love that is put in our hearts and
minds by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (This is another promise. He would put His laws in our minds
and write them in our hearts). For example: Ex 22:10 "If a man delivers to his neighbor a donkey, an ox,
a sheep, or any animal to keep, and it dies, is hurt, or driven away, no one seeing it, 11 "then an oath of
the LORD shall be between them both, that he has not put his hand into his neighbor's goods; and the
owner of it shall accept that, and he shall not make it good.
Jesus changed the part that an oath must be taken, and now the neighbor only gives his word. Matt.5:
33 "Again you have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not swear falsely, but shall perform
your oaths to the Lord.' 34 "But I say to you, do not swear at all: neither by heaven, for it is God's throne;
35 "nor by the earth, for it is His footstool; nor by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36 "Nor
shall you swear by your head, because you cannot make one hair white or black. 37 "But let your 'Yes' be
'Yes,' and your 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.
Ex 22:14 "And if a man borrows anything from his neighbor, and it becomes injured or dies, the owner of
it not being with it, he shall surely make it good.
Le 19:16 'You shall not go about as a talebearer among your people;
De 25:15 "You shall have a perfect and just weight, a perfect and just measure, that your days may be
lengthened in the land which the LORD your God is giving you.
There are many more terms that fall under the law of love.
Jesus is the head of the church: Eph 5:23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of
the church; and He is the Savior of the body.
Mt 16:18 "And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates
of Hades shall not prevail against it.
In Acts 15 there is an account of the church that Jesus established coming together to determine
whether the Gentile converts should be circumcised and keep “the law of Moses”. In other words to
determine if the terms of the old covenant applied to the new covenant. This matter came up when
some Jews that had joined the church there in Jerusalem came down to Antioch where Paul and
Barnabas were and had this to say:
Ac 15:1 ¶ And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised
according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."
The word custom is translated from the Greek word “ethos” meaning: usage (prescribed by habit or
law): So they were saying “according to the law of Moses“. Paul and Barnabus disagreed with them: 2
Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined
that Paul and Barnabas and certain others of them should go up to Jerusalem, to the apostles and
elders, about this question.
Here is part of the account of what happened in Jerusalem when Paul and Barnabus arrived in
Jerusalem: And when they had come to Jerusalem, they were received by the church and the apostles
and the elders; and they reported all things that God had done with them. 5 But some of the sect of the
Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, "It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command them to
keep the law of Moses." 6 ¶ Now the apostles and elders came together to consider this matter.
Their decision was a very important one because it would determine just what constituted the new
covenant, what terms contained in the first covenant applied to the new covenant. As shown before,
Jesus Christ was the head of that church. Some seem to think that He had gone back to heaven and
completely abandoned His office as the head of the church, or else He was powerless to guide His
church in it’s decision.