The
Two Covenants
Review and Herald
October
17, 1907
The Two Covenants
Mrs. E. G. White
As the Bible presents two laws,
one changeless and eternal, the other provisional and temporary, so there are
two covenants. The covenant of grace was first made with man in Eden, when,
after the fall, there was given a divine promise that the seed of the woman
should bruise the serpent's head. To all men this covenant offered pardon, and
the assisting grace of God for future obedience through faith in Christ. It
also promised them eternal life on condition of fidelity to God's law. Thus the
patriarchs received the hope of salvation.
This same covenant was renewed
to Abraham in the promise, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed." Genesis 22:18. This promise pointed to Christ. So Abraham
understood it (see Galatians 3:8, 16), and he trusted in Christ for the
forgiveness of sins. It was this faith that was accounted unto him for
righteousness. The covenant with Abraham also maintained the authority of God's
law. The Lord
appeared unto Abraham, and said, "I am the Almighty God; walk before me,
and be thou perfect." Genesis 17:1. The testimony of God concerning his faithful servant
was, "Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my
statutes, and my laws." Genesis 26:5. And the Lord declared to him,
"I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee
in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to
thy seed after thee." Genesis 17:7.
Note: The Bible says that no
man has seen God (meaning the Father). So Abraham saw the Lord Jesus and Jesus
referred to Himself as the Almighty God.
Rev 11:17 Saying, We give thee
thanks, O Lord God Almighty, which art, and wast, and art to come; because thou
hast taken to thee thy great power, and hast reigned.
Rev 15:3 And
they sing the song of Moses the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb,
saying, Great and marvellous [are] thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true
[are] thy ways, thou King of saints.
Rev 16:7 And I heard another
out of the altar say, Even so, Lord God Almighty, true and righteous [are] thy
judgments.
[All judgment is given to the
Son].
Jhn 5:27 And
hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of
man.
Isa 30:18 And therefore will
the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you, and therefore will he be
exalted, that he may have mercy upon you: for the LORD [is] a God of judgment:
blessed [are] all they that wait for him.
Thus, when Ellen White says
that Jesus is not God Almighty, she must have meant to distinguish between the
distinction between the persons of Jesus and the Father, for she also said that
Jesus is God in the highest sense and God in the highest sense is God Almighty.
End note.
Though this covenant was made
with Adam and renewed to Abraham, it could not be ratified until the death
of Christ. It
had existed by the promise of God since the first intimation of redemption had
been given; it had been accepted by faith; yet when ratified by Christ, it is called a new covenant. The law of God was the basis of
this covenant, which was simply an arrangement for bringing men again into
harmony with the divine will, placing them where they could obey God's law.
Another compact—called in
Scripture the "old" covenant—was formed between God and Israel at
Sinai, and was then ratified by the blood of a sacrifice. The Abrahamic covenant was
ratified by the blood of Christ, and it is called the "second,"
or "new" covenant, because the blood by which it was sealed was shed
after the blood of the first covenant. That the new covenant was valid in the days of Abraham,
is evident from the fact that it was then confirmed both by the promise and by
the oath of God,—the "two immutable things, in which it was impossible for
God to lie." Hebrews 6:18.
But if the Abrahamic
covenant contained the promise of redemption, why was another covenant formed
at Sinai?—In their bondage the people had to a great
extent lost the knowledge of God and of the principles of the Abrahamic covenant. In delivering them from Egypt, God
sought to reveal to them his power and his mercy, that they might be led to
love and trust him. He brought them down to the Red Sea—where, pursued by the
Egyptians, escape seemed impossible—that they might realize their utter helplessness, their
need of divine aid; and then he wrought deliverance for them. Thus they were filled with love and gratitude to God, and
with confidence in his power to help them. He had bound them to himself as
their deliverer from temporal bondage.
But there was a still greater
truth to be impressed upon their minds. Living in the midst of idolatry and
corruption, they had no true conception of the holiness of God, of the
exceeding sinfulness of their own hearts, their utter inability, in themselves, to render obedience
to God's law, and their need of a Saviour. All this they must be taught.
God brought them to Sinai; he
manifested his glory; he
gave them his law, with the promise of great blessings on condition of
obedience: "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then
... ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an
holy nation." Exodus 19:5, 6. The people did not realize the
sinfulness of their own hearts, and that without Christ it was impossible for
them to keep God's law; and they readily entered into covenant with God. Feeling that they were able to
establish their own righteousness, they declared, "All that the Lord hath
said will we do, and be obedient." Exodus 24:7. They had witnessed the
proclamation of the law in awful majesty, and had trembled with terror before
the mount; and yet only a few weeks passed before they broke their covenant
with God, and bowed down to worship a graven image. They could not hope for the
favor of God through a covenant which they had broken; and now, seeing their
sinfulness and their need of pardon, they were brought to feel their need of
the Saviour revealed in the Abrahamic covenant, and
shadowed forth in the sacrificial offerings. Now by faith and love they were bound to God as their
deliverer from the bondage of sin. Now they were prepared to appreciate the
blessings of the new covenant.
The terms of the "old
covenant" were, Obey and live: "If a man do, he shall even live in
them" (Ezekiel 20:11; Leviticus 18:5); but "cursed be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them."
Deuteronomy 27:26. The "new covenant" was established upon
"better promises,"—the promise of forgiveness of sins, and of the grace of God to renew the heart,
and bring it into harmony with the principles of God's law. "This shall
be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel: After those days,
saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their
hearts.... I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more." Jeremiah 31:33, 34.
Note: The definition of the grace of God is the Holy
Spirit of Christ, the power of Christ which is given for obedience and
apostleship, Romans 1:5.
“They must have His grace, the Spirit of Christ, to help their infirmities, or they cannot
form a Christian character. Jesus loves to have us come to Him, just as we
are—sinful, helpless, dependent.” Faith and Works, p. 38.
“There must be a power working from within, a new life from
above, before man
can be changed from sin to holiness. That power is
Christ. His grace [the Spirit of Christ] alone can
quicken the lifeless faculties of the soul, and attract it to God, to
holiness.” (ST, May 28, 1902, par. 3). End note.
The same law that was engraved
upon the tables of stone, is written by the Holy Spirit
upon the tables of the heart. Instead
of going about to establish our own righteousness, we accept the
righteousness of Christ. His blood atones for our sins. His
obedience is accepted for us. Then the heart renewed by the Holy Spirit
will bring forth "the fruits of the Spirit." Through the grace of Christ we
shall live in obedience to the law of God written upon our hearts. Having the Spirit of Christ,
we shall walk even as he walked. Through the prophet he declared of himself, "I delight to do thy will,
O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." Psalm 40:8. And when among men
he said, "The Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things
that please him." John 8:29.
The apostle Paul clearly
presents the relation between faith and the law under the new covenant. He
says, "Being
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
"Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid; yea, we establish
the law." "For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through
the flesh,"—it could not justify man, because in his sinful nature he
could not keep the law,—"God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the
law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit." Romans 5:1; 3:31; Romans 8:3, 4.
God's work is the same in all
time, although there
are different degrees of development, and different manifestations of his
power, to meet the wants of men in the different ages. Beginning with the first
gospel promise, and coming down through the patriarchal and Jewish ages, and
even to the present time, there has been a gradual unfolding of the purposes of God in the
plan of redemption.
The Saviour typified in the rites and ceremonies of the Jewish law is the very
same that is revealed in the gospel. The clouds that enveloped his divine form
have rolled back; the mists and shades have disappeared; and Jesus, the world's
Redeemer, stands revealed. He who proclaimed the law from Sinai, and delivered to Moses the
precepts of the ritual law, is the same that spoke the sermon
on the mount.
The great principles of love to God, which he set forth as the foundation of
the law and the prophets, are only a reiteration of what he had spoken through
Moses to the Hebrew people: "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God is one Lord:
and thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy
soul, and with all thy might."
Note:
“Christ was the
leader of the Hebrews as they marched from Egypt to Canaan. In union with the Father, Christ proclaimed
the law amid the thunders of Sinai to the Jews, and when he appeared on earth
as a man among men, he came as a descendant of Abraham.
Shall we use the same argument concerning the Bible and Christ, and
reject them as Jewish, as is done in rejecting the Sabbath of the Lord our God?
The Sabbath institution is as closely identified with the Jews as is the Bible,
and there is the same reason for the rejection of one as of the other.
But the Sabbath is not Jewish in its origin. It was instituted in Eden
before there were such a people known as the Jews. The Sabbath was made for all
mankind, and was instituted in Eden before the fall of man.
The Creator called it "my holy day." Christ announced himself as
"the Lord of the Sabbath." Beginning with creation, it is as old as
the human race, and having been made for man it will exist as long as man shall
exist. Hallowed by the Creator's rest and blessing, the Sabbath was kept by
Adam in his innocence in holy Eden, by Adam fallen, yet repentant, when he was
driven from his happy estate. It was kept by all the patriarchs from Abel to
Noah, to Abraham, to Jacob. When the chosen people were in bondage in Egypt,
many, in the midst of the prevailing idolatry, lost their knowledge of God's
law; but when the Lord delivered Israel, he proclaimed his law in awful grandeur
to the assembled multitude, that they might know his will, and fear and obey
him forever. {ST, November 12, 1894 par. 7} September 4, 1884
Immutability of the Law of God.” By Mrs. E. G. White.
[End note].
"Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." Deuteronomy 6:4, 5; Leviticus 19:18. The teacher is
the same in both dispensations. God's claims are the same. The principles of
his government are the same. For all proceed from him "with whom is no
variableness, neither shadow of turning." James 1:17; Patriarchs and
Prophets, 373.
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