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Have you been told
that the New Covenant was made with Israel
and Judah alone and that the Gentiles have no place in
it? To understand who
can take part in the New Covenant, we need
to look at two of the previous covenants God
made with the human race; the Abrahamic and the
Mosaic Covenants.
The
Abrahamic Covenant:
God
called Abram (later changed to Abraham) out
from paganism in his home land to make a
covenant with him. Genesis 12:1-3 says, “Now
the LORD said to Abram, “Go from your
country and your kindred and your father’s
house to the land that I will show you. And
I will make of you a great nation, and I
will bless you and make your name great, so
that you will be a blessing. I will bless
those who bless you, and him who dishonors
you I will curse, and in you all the
families of the earth shall be blessed.’”
(see Gen. 12:1-7; 13:14-17; 15; Gen. 17:1-14; 22:15-18).
God promised that He
would make Abraham’s name great (Gen. 12:2), and that Abraham would be the father
of a multitude of nations (Gen. 17:4-5).
God had chosen to raise up Israel as a
people for Himself through Abraham, and to give
them the land of Canaan as a place for them
to dwell in (Gen. 12:5-7; 2 Cor. 11:22). God also promised to raise up a
descendant from Abraham’s seed who would
become the Savior of the world (Rom. 9:4-5; Gal. 3:16). Because Abraham responded to God’s
call with true faith, people from
every nation on earth can become members of
God’s family and receive God’s promise of
eternal life (Gen. 12:1-3; Isa. 49:6;
Acts 1:8; Gal. 3:14, 29; Rev. 7:9-10).
The Bible describes Abraham as the “father
of all who believe”, and he is used as an
example for all those who would live by
faith alone, just as he did
(Gen. 15:1-21; 22:15-18; 26:1-6; Isa. 51:1-3;
Hab. 2:4; Acts 3:8, 16, 25, 26; Rom. 1:17; 2:13; 4:11, 12, 16;
Gal. 3:7, 9, 29; 5:2-12; Heb. 11:8, 17).
Because of Israel’s unfaithfulness, God
promised to make a New Covenant to replace
the Old Covenant.
Jeremiah 31:31-33
says, “Behold, the days are coming, declares
the LORD, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel and the house of
Judah, 32 not like the covenant
that I made with their fathers
on the day when I took them by the hand to
bring them out of the land of Egypt, my
covenant that they broke, though I was their
husband, declares the LORD. 33 For this is the
covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel after those days, declares the LORD:
I will put my (new covenant)
law within them, and I will write it on
their hearts. And I will be their God, and
they shall be my people.”
(cf. Heb. 8:7-13; 10:15-18).
“This covenant was made with Israel and
Judah, yet the church enjoys the spiritual
blessings of this covenant now. The
Abrahamic covenant was made with Abraham and
his physical descendants, (see Gen. 17:7), who would inherit the land (see
Gen. 12:7; 13:14-15). Yet the Abrahamic
covenant also contained spiritual promises
(see Gen. 12:3) in which the church
participates (see Rom. 11:11-27; Gal. 3:13, 14). The new covenant in fact is a
fulfillment of the spiritual redemption
promised in the Abrahamic and Davidic
covenants (see Matt. 26:26-29; Luke 22:20).”[1]
God had always intended to
include the Gentiles in His plan of
salvation.
The Mosaic Covenant had
served as a dividing wall or partition to
separate Israel from the unbelieving
Gentiles (John 4:22; 7:35; Acts 14:1, 5; 18:4;
Rom. 3:9; 3:29; 9:4-5; 9:24; 1 Cor. 1:22-24). The Gentiles had been
kept separate from Israel and were
called strangers to the covenants. Christ brought
the two groups together by doing away with
the partition.
Ephesians 2:11-16
says, “Therefore, remember that formerly you
who are Gentiles by birth and called
“uncircumcised” by those who call themselves
“the circumcision” (that done in the body by
the hands of men)— 12 remember that at that
time you were separate from Christ, excluded
from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to
the covenants of the promise, without hope
and without God in the world. 13 But now in
Christ Jesus you who once were far away have
been brought near through the blood of
Christ. 14 For he himself is
our peace, who has made the two one and has
destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of
hostility, 15 by abolishing in his flesh the
law with its commandments and regulations.
His purpose was to create in himself one new
man out of the two, thus making peace, 16
and in this one body to reconcile both of
them to God through the cross, by which he
put to death their hostility.” (NIV)
“Gentiles (the “Uncircumcision”) experienced
two types of alienation. The first was
social, resulting from the animosity that
had existed between Jews and Gentiles for
thousands of years. Jews considered Gentiles
to be outcasts, objects of derision, and
reproach. The second and more significant
type of alienation was spiritual, because
Gentiles as a people were cut off from God
in 5 different ways: 1) they were “separate
from Christ,” the Messiah, having no Savior
and Deliverer and without divine purpose or
destiny. 2) They were “excluded from the
commonwealth of Israel.” God’s chosen
people, the Jews, were a nation whose
supreme King and Lord was God Himself, and
from whose unique blessing and protection
they benefitted. 3) Gentiles were “strangers
to the covenants of promise,” not able to
partake of God’s divine covenants in which
He promised to give His people a land, a
priesthood, a people, a nation, a kingdom,
and a King—and to those who believe in Him,
eternal life and heaven. 4) They had “no
hope” because they had been given no divine
promise. 5) They were “without God in the
world.” While Gentiles had many gods, they
did not recognize the true God because they
did not want Him (see Rom. 1:18-26).”[2]
The New Covenant did away with the
dividing wall and made both groups into one
new group, the church of God (1 Cor. 10:32). All the divine promises of the
previous covenants find their fulfillment in
Christ Jesus (2 Cor. 1:20; Heb. 7:20-22; 8:6; 9:15).
Christ abolished
the dividing wall by fulfilling the Law’s
requirements and removing the Law’s
condemnation for all those who believe in
Him, Jews and Gentiles alike (Matt. 5:17; Rom. 8:1; Heb. 9:11-14; 10:1-10). When we are in Christ, we
become a totally new person, part of a new
human race made in Christ’s image, the
second Adam (1 Cor. 15:45, 49;
Eph. 4:24).
Jesus came to be a light to the
nations.
Acts 13:47 says, “For so the
Lord has commanded us, saying, “‘I have made
you a light for the Gentiles, that you may
bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Jesus Christ is the “new” covenant
(Isa. 42:1-7; 49:7-9; cf. Matt. 12:17-21; Luke 4:18-21).
It is only through Him that we can have an
eternal relationship with God. God said He
would make a covenant with His people, and
that covenant is Jesus Christ. All those who
are in Christ become members of God’s family
and take part in the New Covenant of grace.
Everyone is welcome in the New Covenant.
Jesus shed His blood to take away the sins
of the whole world, not just Israel’s.
John 1:29 says, “The
next day [John the Baptist], saw Jesus coming
toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of
God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
The
Apostle Paul was specifically called by
Jesus Christ to share the gospel with the
Gentiles.
Galatians 2:1-2; 2:6-7
says, “Then after fourteen years I
went up again to Jerusalem with Barnabas,
taking Titus along with me. 2 I went up
because of a revelation and set before them
(though privately before those who seemed
influential) the gospel that I proclaim
among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I
was not running or had not run in vain... 6
And from those who seemed to be influential
(what they were makes no difference to me;
God shows no partiality) — those, I say, who
seemed influential added nothing to me. 7 On
the contrary, when they saw that I had been
entrusted with the gospel to the
uncircumcised, just as Peter had been
entrusted with the gospel to the
circumcised.”
All those who are led by the Spirit are
Abraham’s “spiritual” offspring.
Romans 8:14-17 says, “For all who are
led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15
For you did not receive the spirit of
slavery to fall back into fear, but you have
received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by
whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 The Spirit
himself bears witness with our spirit that
we are children of God, 17 and if children,
then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs
with Christ, provided we suffer with him in
order that we may also be glorified with
him.”
Galatians 3:28-29 says, “There
is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither
slave nor free, there is no male and female,
for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And
if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s
offspring, heirs according to promise.”
Colossians 3:11 says, “Here there is not
Greek and Jew, circumcised and
uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave,
free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
And
Ephesians 3:6 says, “This mystery is that
the Gentiles are fellow heirs, members of
the same body, and partakers of the promise
in Christ Jesus through the gospel.”
Anyone who receives Jesus Christ as Lord
and Savior is the spiritual heir of Abraham
and have all of the same rights and
privileges promised to Israel in the
Abrahamic and Mosaic Covenants (Gal. 3:7-29; 4:22-31;
Rom. 4:12-21; 9:7-8).
Salvation is a free gift
offered to everyone who believes.
All
we have to do is exercise faith in Jesus
Christ, the one who fulfilled the Old
Covenant Law on our behalf and brought it to
an end through His sacrificial death on
Calvary’s cross.
Romans 10:9-13 says,
“because, if you confess with your mouth
that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart
that God raised him from the dead, you will
be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes
and is justified, and with the mouth one
confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture
says, “Everyone who believes in him will not
be put to shame.” 12 For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek; for the
same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his
riches on all who call on him. 13 For
“everyone who calls on the name of the Lord
will be saved.”’
The New
Testament makes it clear about who can take
part in the New Covenant.
Titus 2:11 says, “For the grace of God has
appeared, bringing salvation for all
people,”
Matthew 28:19 says, “Go
therefore and make disciples of all nations,
baptizing them in the name of the Father and
of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.”
Acts 2:17 says, “’And in the last days it
shall be, God declares, that I will pour out
my Spirit on all flesh, and your sons and
your daughters shall prophesy, and your
young men shall see visions, and your old
men shall dream dreams.” (cf. 1 Tim. 2:4;
Rom. 2:28-29; 9:7; 10:12-13).
The New Covenant is
open to all. Jesus Christ was the promised
seed, who takes away the sins of the world
and has made good on God’s promise to
Abraham to bless both his physical offspring
and all the other people of the world who
choose to live by faith in the Son of God (Gen. 12:1-3;
Rom. 3:22; 4:16-24; John 1:29;
Gal. 2:20).
We can all share in
Christ’s inheritance. John 3:16 says, “For
God so loved the world, that he gave his
only Son, that whoever believes in him
should not perish but have eternal life.”
Jesus Christ wants us to take
His message of salvation to a lost and
fallen world.
2 Corinthians 5:17-21 says,
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a
new creation. The old has passed away;
behold, the new has come. 18 All this is
from God, who through Christ reconciled us
to himself and gave us the ministry of
reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God
was reconciling the world to himself, not
counting their trespasses against them, and
entrusting to us the message of
reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are
ambassadors for Christ, God making his
appeal through us. We implore you on behalf
of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our
sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin,
so that in him we might become the
righteousness of God.”
No
matter what your skin color is, or what race
you come from, God’s promise of eternal life
is available to you when you put your faith
and trust in Jesus Christ alone for your salvation
(Rom. 8:9-11; Heb. 9:15).
References:
1. Nelson’s NKJV
Study Bible: Hebrews 8:8.
2. The MacArthur
Study Bible: Romans 2:11-12.
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