Do Christians Partake of the New Covenant Promised to Israel?

[RockSolid]

What is the context of this?

Luk 21:7 And they asked him, saying, Master, but when shall these things be? and what sign will there be when these things shall come to pass?

Tie in the account by Matthew...

Mat 24:3 And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

What Jesus is saying there is in regard to the end time, that is why it is 'about to come to pass'.

It wasn't the end of the "world", more KJV confusion. It was the end of the age, the old covenant, old temple, old church age.

ESV
Matt 24:3 As he sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the close of the age?”

YLT
Matt 24:3 And when he is sitting on the mount of the Olives, the disciples came near to him by himself, saying, `Tell us, when shall these be? and what is the sign of thy presence, and of the full end of the age?'

NASB
Matt 24:3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?”

The end of the old covenant age was "about to come to pass" in the first century.

[JerryShugart]

The end of the old covenant age was "about to come to pass" in the first century.

The "end of the age" will not happen until the "world" is harvested:

"Then he left the crowd and went into the house. His disciples came to him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.” He answered, “The one who sowed the good seed is the Son of Man. The field is the world, and the good seed stands for the people of the kingdom. The weeds are the people of the evil one, and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels. “As the weeds are pulled up and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the age. The Son of Man will send out his angels, and they will weed out of his kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. They will throw them into the blazing furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father" (Mt.13:36-43).

[David Taylor]

Do Christians Partake of the New Covenant Promised to Israel?

The New Covenant was not solely nor only promised to Israel.

The New Covenant was only first announced to Israel.

The New Covenant was promised to all human beings, because the New Covenant is nothing more than Jesus Christ's taking away their sins, (via His passion on the cross for all men).

There is no racial or ethnic divides in Christ's New Covenant. It invites all, and welcomes all; whosoever will.

Anyone that partakes of Christ's New covenant is a follower of Christ, sometimes called Christian.

[JerryShugart]

NASB
Matt 24:3 As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” [/I]

The end of the old covenant age was "about to come to pass" in the first century.

You quoted Matthew 24:3 and there one of the questions refer to the coming of the Lord Jesus. Later He tells us that when He returns to earth THEN He will began to rule from His throne:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (Mt.25:31).

When He comes THEN shall He sit upon His throne. And since the word "come" refers to coming to earth that means that it will be THEN, when He is on earth, when He will begin to rule. That certainly did not happen in the first century.

[JerryShugart]

The New Covenant was not solely nor only promised to Israel.

Then you should be able to provide a verse where it says that it was promised to anyone other than the house of Israel.

The New Covenant was only first announced to Israel.

The verses where the New Covenamt was "announced" also told of the future results of that covenant:

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah...And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer.31:31,34).

All of those of the houses of Judah and srael will know the Lord and all of them will receive the forgiveness of their sins. We can also know that the promise is made to Israel after the flesh because it was that entity who broke the covenant which God made with their fathers:

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD" (Jer.31:31-32).

The New Covenant will be made with those who broke the Covenant which God made with "their fathers." So that can only be referring to Israel "after the flesh." It was Israel "after the flesh" who broke the Covenant which God made with "their fathers." Also, it was Israel "according to the flesh" who was brought out of the land of Egypt.

Common sense dictates that the New Covenant promised to the house of Israel has not yet been fulfilled because not all of the sins of Israel "after the flesh" have been forgiven.

[RockSolid]

That certainly did not happen in the first century.

Matt 24:34 Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.
Matt 10:23 When they persecute you in one town,flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.
Matt 16:28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom."

[David Taylor]

The New Covenant was not solely nor only promised to Israel.

Then you should be able to provide a verse where it says that it was promised to anyone other than the house of Israel.

Jesus Christ taking providing forgiveness and taking away the sins of the people is the New Covenant.

Here is where Christ's New Covenant is promised to everyone....not limited to just Israelites.

I John 1:7-2:2 "1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he(Jesus Christ) is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

Matthew 26:26 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh"

[JerryShugart]

Matt 16:28 Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom

Funny how you just continue to ignore the fact that "the field is the world." Now you throw out another verse which you do not even understand. The following words of Peter refer to this "coming", and it happened at the "transfiguration" on the holy mount:

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount" (2 Pet.1: 16-18).

Peter says that he was was an eyewitness of His "majesty". The word "majesty" is translated from the Greek word "megaleiotes" and that word means "greatness, magnificence…of the visible splendor of the divine majesty as it appeared in the transfiguration of Christ, 2 Peter i.16" ("Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon").

Therefore by the context of the words "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" we know that this "coming" is in regard to His appearing at the transfiguration on the holy mount.

In each gospel that records the words of the Lord Jesus saying that some of His Apostles will see Him in the kingdom the events of the "transfiguration" immediately follow. On the holy mount "His face did shine like the sun, and His rainment was as white as the light" (Mt. 17:2).

The event at the transfiguration fulfilled the words of the Lord Jesus when He said that some of His Apostles would "not taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom".

[JerryShugart]

Here is where Christ's New Covenant is promised to everyone....not limited to just Israelites.

[I]I John 1:7-2:2 "1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he(Jesus Christ) is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

The words "New Covenant" do not even appear once in these verses. So you have proved nothing.

Matthew 26:26 "And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

Of course the death of the Lord Jesus did ratify the New Covenant promised to the house of Israel but in order for it to come into effect it was necessary for the nation of Israel to repent. And on the day of Pentecost we see Peter telling the nation that if she repented then her sins would be blotted out and the Lord Jesus would be sent to them so that they could enjoy His presence:

"Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, that the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you" (Acts 3:19-20).

The nation did not repent so even though the New Covenant had been ratified by His blood it did not come into effect. It would be ridiculous to even imagine that a people who refused to repent would begin to receive the benefits of that covenant.

Hebrews 10:14 "For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified. Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before, This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin. Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh"

When we look at what is said here it becomes clear that the New Covenant is for the house of Israel and not for us in the Body of Christ:

"The Holy Spirit also testifies to us about this. First he says: This is the covenant I will make with them after that time, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them on their minds...Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more" (Heb.10:16-17; NIV).

Here the author of Hebrews changes the wording of the verse from the O.T. that speaks of Israel's New Covenant so that the Jewish Christians would not be left with the impression that the blessings of Israel's New Covenant were being applied to them.

The words from the OT which read "This is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel" (Jer.31:33) are changed to "this is the covenant that I will make with them."

So the author writes that "the Holy Spirit testifies to us...this is the covenant that I will make with them."

It is impossible that the author of Hebrews is applying the New Covenant to "us" in the Body of Christ since those who will receive the benefits of the New Covenant is "them."

[RockSolid]

The event at the transfiguration fulfilled the words of the Lord Jesus when He said that some of His Apostles would "not taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom".
[

So which of His 12 Apostles died before the transfiguration, because only "some" of them would be alive, not all.

Funny how you just continue to ignore the fact that "the field is the world." Now you throw out another verse which you do not even understand. The following words of Peter refer to this "coming", and it happened at the "transfiguration" on the holy mount:

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount" (2 Pet.1: 16-18).

Peter says that he was was an eyewitness of His "majesty". The word "majesty" is translated from the Greek word "megaleiotes" and that word means "greatness, magnificence…of the visible splendor of the divine majesty as it appeared in the transfiguration of Christ, 2 Peter i.16" ("Thayer’s Greek English Lexicon").
Therefore by the context of the words "coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" we know that this "coming" is in regard to His appearing at the transfiguration on the holy mount.

Matt16:27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.
Matt16:28 Truly,I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”

There was neither "coming with his angels" nor a "repayment to each person according to what they have done" in the transfiguration.

[Raybob]

Here is where Christ's New Covenant is promised to everyone....not limited to just Israelites.

[I][COLOR="#FF0000"]I John 1:7-2:2 "1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he(Jesus Christ) is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for our's only, but also for the sins of the whole world."

The words "New Covenant" do not even appear once in these verses. So you have proved nothing...

The blood that was shed was FOR the new covenant! What do you think the new covenant was all about, besides Christianity?

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
(Heb 13:20)

[JerryShugart]

So which of His 12 Apostles died before the transfiguration, because only "some" of them would be alive, not all.

The Lord did not say that any of them would die either before the transfiguration or His coming in the clouds. Here is what He did say:

"I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom" (Mt.16:28).

There was neither "coming with his angels" nor a "repayment to each person according to what they have done" in the transfiguration.

You assume that the "coming" of the Lord Jesus in the following verse is the same one which you quote:

"For we have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. And this voice which came from heaven we heard, when we were with Him in the holy mount" (2 Pet.1: 16-18).

There is absolutely no reason to think that the coming of the Lord spoken of in that verse has to match all of the circumstances of a later one. And speaking of a later "coming" perhaps you will respond to what I said earlier:

The Lord Jesus tells us that when He returns to earth THEN He will began to rule from His throne:

"When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory" (Mt.25:31).

When He comes THEN shall He sit upon His throne. And since the word "come" refers to coming to earth that means that it will be THEN, when He is on earth, when He will begin to rule. That certainly did not happen in the first century.

You expect me to address all of the verses which you quote so if you want me to continue then it is your turn to answer what I said here.

[JerryShugart]

The blood that was shed was FOR the new covenant! What do you think the new covenant was all about, besides Christianity?

I have already said that the New Covenant was promised to the house of Israel. Besides that, the benefits of that covenant was not for "all" men but instead "many":

"For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins" (Mt.26:28).

The "blood of the new covenant" was not for all but instead for "many." And the many only includes those in the house of Israel.

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
(Heb 13:20)

The Greek word tranlated "covenant" in that verse is diatheke. And the author of Hebrews believed that when that word was used it was not in regard to a "covenant" at all but instead to a "last will and testament":

"For where a testament (diatheke) is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth" (Heb.9:16-17).

Zane C. Hodges writes that the author of Hebrews "treated the Greek word for 'covenant' (diatheke) in the sense of a will. While 'covenants' and 'wills' are not in all respects identical, the author meant that in the last analysis the New Covenant is really a testamentary disposition. Like human wills, all the arrangements are secured by the testator and its beneficiaries need only accept its terms" (Walvoord & Zuck, The Bible Knowledge Commentary; New Testament [Colorado Springs: Chariot Victor Publishing 1983], p.802).

The New Covenant promised to the house of Israel at Jeremiah 31:31 is not a "last will and testament." The diatheke that applies to us is not a covenant at all.

[jeffweeder]

The "blood of the new covenant" was not for all but instead for "many." And the many only includes those in the house of Israel.

This is false.
According to the Prophets, the new cov always included the Gentiles. Under the new cov those who were not Gods people would be called Gods people.
To partake of the new cov, one must be covered by the blood of Christ, for the Jew first and then the Gentile. Therefore ,Only a Christian can partake of the new cov.

[Mark F]

Are Christians partaking in the blessings under the New Covenant promised to the house of Israel? According to what Paul says here the New Covenant promised to Israel will not be fulfilled until "all Israel shall be saved":

"For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins" (Ro.11:25-27).

Indeed, when we examine the promises of that covenant we can see that it speaks of the forgiveness of sins for all those of Israel:

"Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah...And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jer.31:31).

Obviously this has not yet happened so the New Covenant is not in force yet. So common sense dictates that Christians cannot be partaking of blessings from something that is not yet in existence.

Hi Jerry,
Interesting question, I see what your saying and it is something I have thought about myself. The part I highlighted in red seems to not be observable today if this covenant is in effect to day with the Church.

Do you think that God has more than one covenant, or does He only have one, or one at a time? For example, it seems that God's character is in question here, it seems that God has made an unconditional covenant with Abraham's physical seed, yet some would have it to be granted to Gentile Christians today? Or how about the covenant with David? Are these still valid, or has this "New" covenant replaced them?

I have never read where anyone has pointed out what you have here and find it very interesting and worthy of more study.