The Old Covenant vs. the New Covenant - the Power of Living in Right Relationship with God
- Rebecca Galeskas
- May 28
- 5 min read
Defining Covenant
From the very beginning, God has worked through covenants with His people.
A covenant is a formal, solemn, and binding agreement or promise between two or more parties (Mirium Webster)
More than just a contract, covenants are relational. And God’s covenants always serve as an opportunity for us to choose to live in right-standing relationship with Him.
Initially, in the garden of Eden, mankind was in perfect relationship with God. When Adam and Eve sinned and broke that perfect relationship (see Genesis 3), God began instituting covenants to bring us back into right relationship with Him.
There are several covenants that God makes with individuals in the Old Testament that point towards the coming Messiah and God’s ultimate restoration of His people back to relationship with Him
Covenant with Adam and Eve that He would bring a Savior to restore relationship
Covenant with Noah that He would never destroy the earth with a flood again (points to God’s desire to restore rather than destroy)
Covenant with Abraham that He would make His family into a great nation and bless the world through it
Covenant with David to establish David’s lineage and kingdom forever (through Jesus)
These were personal covenants between God and individuals, and each one not only drew the individuals into closer relationship with God, they also pointed to God’s ultimate plan to redeem humanity through His Son.
There are two covenants, though, that God established between Himself and all mankind - the Old Covenant and the New Covenant.
The Old Covenant and New Covenant
As Christians, it is important for us to understand the Old Covenant and New Covenant so we can walk in the fullness of God's promises.
What we often refer to as the “Old Covenant” is the Covenant God established between Himself and the Israelite people at Mt Sinai when He gave them the ten commandments. In addition to the ten commandments, there were a litany of other laws that the people had to follow (you can read all about it in Exodus, Leviticus, and Deuteronomy).
In the Old Covenant, the people had to obey all the laws in order to be “right with God.” When they messed up, they were required to make certain sacrifices and atonements for their sin. It was a covenant based on the work of the people.
The Old Covenant was not just difficult; it was impossible to maintain. So, God made a new way through His Son, Jesus.
Jesus established the New Covenant, a covenant of faith. When Jesus died on the cross, He served as the perfect sacrifice. He fulfilled all the law and the prophets, and so His sacrifice held the power to wipe away all sins for those who choose to believe and surrender to Him. His resurrection sealed the covenant and established it for eternity. In His death, He removed all our sins. In His resurrection, He delivered us into new life in Him.
Jesus Himself says in Matthew 5:17
“Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.”
Because Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets, we get to live in the fulness of God’s promises and blessings that come as a result of personal relationship with Him. We also are given the Holy Spirit who enables and empowers us to walk in obedience to God.
Ultimately, the purpose of the Old Covenant was to point us to our great need for God. The law serves to show us that we are unable to maintain right standing with God in our own strength. A right relationship with God can only be established through His loving-kindness and our willingness to receive it.
As Romans 10:4 says:
Christ is the culmination of the law so that there may be righteousness for everyone who believes.
Thanks to the New Covenant through Jesus, we don’t gain righteousness by acting right. That was impossible to do anyway! Instead, we gain righteousness through faith in Jesus, and then we can live in righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit working in and through us.
In short, the Old Covenant required people to do the right thing to be in relationship with God. The New Covenant invites us into relationship with God, and then He does a transformative work within us so we can freely do the right thing through the power of His Spirit. The Old Covenant is about what we can do. The New Covenant is about all God has done.
How to View the Bible through the Lens of the New Covenant
When we read the Old Testament, it’s important to view it through the lens of the New Covenant.
The Old Testament is still relevant to us as modern-day believers. It has not become obsolete simply because we now live under the New Covenant. Instead, it has gained even more power because we know that everything God did under the Old Covenant ultimately culminated in the New Covenant.
We see evidence after evidence of God’s great love and faithfulness to us throughout the Old Testament. Though His people fell away time and time again, He always was faithful to redeem Him. The cycles and stories we see in the Old Testament are proof of God’s nature. He is a God who redeems. And we are blessed to live under the power of His redemption through the New Covenant.
As you read and study the Old Testament, keep in mind the finished work of the cross. Ask God to reveal to you the ways the stories, law, prophecies, and poetry of the Old Testament point to the promise and fulfillment of the New Covenant through Jesus and promise of His ultimate return and our final redemption where we will be fully restored to relationship with Him.
Live in the Power of the New Covenant
When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior, we are brought into relationship with God through the New Covenant. Our salvation isn’t just for eternity. We can live in the fullness of God’s promises to us NOW!
Living in the New Covenant means we are able to live from righteousness rather than for righteousness. Sin no longer has a hold on us, and we have nothing to prove or earn. Instead, we are able to live in relationship with God, and through that relationship, He transforms us so we can live a life of obedience to Him – a life full of love, joy, peace patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).
Ephesians 2:8-10 says:
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”
Thanks to Jesus’ sacrifice, we get to live in relationship with God day in and day out. He leads us each step of the way. We no longer have to fight and strive and work. He invites us to lay all that down in exchange for His love.
That is the ultimate gift of the New Covenant. We get to live life now in the fullness of God’s love. We don’t have to work to earn His love, righteousness, and relationship. Instead, we receive His love, and the good works He has prepared for us to do will naturally follow out of the overflow of a life lived in His love.
What a great joy it is to live under the promise and blessing of the New Covenant.
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