Many Christians would most likely say that there is a difference between the Old and the New Covenants. But when asked what that difference is, they may not be able to say. While there is a difference between the Old and the New, a careful study must be done in order to move beyond saying there is a difference to knowing what that difference is.
But does it actually matter what that difference is? Does it have any bearing on my life? To know the workings of God in the New Testament aligns the mind of the individual with truth. To know Scripture brings about faith, and to believe in the Word of God brings about conviction.
Paul can help on this matter.
The New Covenant is more glorious than the Old
Scripture says, “But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious” (KJV, 2 Cor. 3:7-8). Here we see that the Old Covenant was a covenant that showed forth the glory of God.
In verse 13, it is said that when Moses went before God, his face would shine because the glory of God as revealed in the Old Covenant was manifest in Moses’ shining face. But what is the glory of God? In simple terms, it may be helpful to understand the glory of God as God’s manifestation of His holiness.
Holiness is the very essence of God. Holiness is not simply one attribute of God. Everything that God is, and does, is absolutely holy. He loves with a holy love, and He is just with a holy justice. His holiness is absolute perfection and separation from anything and everything imperfect. His holiness sets Him apart from everything in creation and renders Him worthy of worship.
In the book of Isaiah, we can gain an idea of God’s glory as being the manifestation of His holiness. Scripture says the seraphim worshipped God and declared, “… Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory” (Is. 6:3). In other words, God is holy, and the display of His holiness is glorious.
So where does this bring us? Paul already said in 2 Corinthians 3:7-8 that the Old Covenant was glorious. However, Paul goes on to say that that the ministry of the Spirit is even more glorious, and in saying this, Paul is eluding to the New Covenant.
But why is the New more glorious than the Old? In the New Covenant, one can see the eternal plan of God being made manifest among God’s creation. God never intended for the Old Covenant to be an end in itself. The Old was meant to guide the people into the New. In reality, Jesus Christ was the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the earth. God created the world after the eternal covenant between the Father, Son, and Spirit had been enacted. This eternal covenant involved the Son of God taking on flesh, revealing God to humanity like never before, seeking and saving the lost, and dying in their stead.
The glory of the Old could never compare with the glory of the New.
Life vs. death
One of the defining marks of the Old Covenant is that it was a ministry of death. But how could God do such a thing? Why would God do such a thing? Why would a ministry of death be enacted by God? God made it clear from the first book of the Bible that a right standing before God must come by faith alone.
In the Old Covenant, one can see God’s revealing to man the sinfulness of man. Nobody in their right mind should have ever looked at the law and said to himself, “I am good enough to make it to heaven because I have been absolutely obedient in every area of my life.”
Even the righteous man Job recognized that he needed a redeemer. Job said, “For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth” (Job 19:25). Remember that Paul said, “But if the ministration of death…” (2 Cor. 3:7), and death it did bring. The law could not give life; it did not have the ability to do so. However, mankind needed to see their plight. Mankind needed to recognize their need for a Savior.
However, Paul declared that the New Covenant is, “…the ministration of the spirit…” This ministry is a ministry of life. Scripture says, “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing…” (John 6:63). In the New Covenant, one can see a covenant of life.
Righteousness vs. condemnation
Scripture says, “For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory” (2 Cor. 3:9). Here it is stated that the Old Covenant was a ministry of condemnation. Condemnation is closely connected with the death that was previously stated, but it must also be analyzed separately.
Condemnation, in simple terms, means guiltiness. The law that God gave to His people never justified a single soul. All that the law brought was condemnation. The law would only reveal a man’s sin; it would never make him righteous.
On the other hand, the New Covenant is one that brought justification. Saying that the ministry of the New is a ministry of righteousness is equal to saying that through the New Covenant, people can be justified before God.
Paul, in the book of Romans, went to great lengths to teach the Roman believers about justification by faith alone, in Christ alone. He placed the law up against that of justification by faith and told of the way that no one would be justified by the law. The law condemns, but faith brings righteousness.
Permanent vs. passing
Scripture says, “For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious” (2 Cor. 3:11). The Old Covenant was one that was to be done away with. God’s dealings with man were never ultimately about the Old Testament. God had the New Covenant in His sights, and in the fullness of time, God revealed His plan. The New Covenant is to be the permanent covenant. The New Covenant will be the covenant which brings the believer home to be with the Lord. It is an enduring covenant and will never be done away with. It is the very covenant that will sustain the relationship between the believer and God.
Man need not fear some future date in which God changes His mind about what He has done for the believer in Christ. Man need not fear being with God in eternity and experiencing a moment in which God suddenly turns His back on His children. Paul has made it clear that the covenant that has been enacted through the work of Christ is an eternal and permanent covenant and will never be abolished.
What a reason to rejoice! God has covenanted with His people in such a way that man can dwell with God throughout eternity, although man does not deserve to do so. Despite the fact that people have broken the law of God, there is a way to be right before God apart from the law. The law brings death, but praise God that the Spirit is a life-giving Spirit, and His work is evident in the New Covenant.
Do not delay: Run to the Lord this day! He is eager for His creation to come into His kingdom. He is a loving Father and a gentle Guide. He knows no limits to His loyalty to those who bow the knee before Him and turn to Christ.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for being so gracious to me. Your grace is evident in the New Covenant. I pray that You would help me to be thankful for the work that You have done through Christ. Thank You for not counting my sins against me. Thank You for making the way of salvation through the cross of Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.