RandyPNW
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- Jun 8, 2021
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It's quite plainly stated in Scriptures that the original covenant was the contract God initiated with Israel under the Law of Moses. It was a proposition, administered by angels, that proposed Israel remain in a real relationship with God as long as they remained true to the spirit and practice of the laws of Moses.
It was not a promise of Eternal Life, or a complete restoration from the fall of Adam. But it was a means of God blessing Israel in their land, prospering in all they did, as long as they remained faithful to God, producing in their works recognition of their need for mercy, acknowledgement of their sins, and repentance when they failed.
The New Covenant was anticipated in the Lord's Supper, where Jesus illustrated, by ritual, what it would be based on, namely his death and resurrection. Those who were willing to remain true to Jesus after the Law of Moses had proven to fail with Israel could be blessed, similar to how Israel had been blessed under the Law. However, this was the exclusive means of restoration after Adam's fall, and the only means of obtaining Eternal Life.
Being true to Jesus is a matter of recognizing that he was both the giver of the Law and the redemption that the Law had anticipated. In a practical sense, it is beyond the 613 requirements of the Law, going back to the original mandate to Man that he live in the image and likeness of God. What this rule, or law, is consists of recognition of who God is, who He was in the administration of the Law and what God was like in the history of Jesus.
Obviously, the same morality as existed under the Law would exist in being true to Jesus. However, there is a difference between observing the laws of human behavior as existed under the Law and observing the laws of human behavior without the Law.
It is a matter of distinguishing between love and justice in Divine morality generality and a codified regimen that was necessary only on a temporary basis. Temple law, priestly law, sacrificial law, and all of the codes and rituals presenting a temporary image of Christ would no longer be required after Christ had fulfilled such. But the principles of divine love and justice would continue, as always, after those requirements had passed away.
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