The New Covenant

The Promise

Throughout the entire history of God's dealing with men before the time of Christ, we find constant mention of a future time when the Holy Spirit would be poured out. Consider these promises to Israel: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you: I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them" (Ezekiel 36:26,27). "'I will put My Spirit in you, and you shall live, and I will place you in your own land. Then you shall know that I, the Lord, have spoken it and performed it,' says the Lord" (Ezekiel 37:14). "'And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,' says the Lord God" (Ezekiel 39:29). "And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days" (Joel 2:28,29).

As Israel was downtrodden by the nations, imagine the hope this must have created within their hearts. These promises had not yet been fulfilled, and they were constantly looking forward to that future day. The last command that Jesus gave his disciples before He went away is found in Acts 1:4. "And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, 'which,' He said, 'you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.'" This is clearly referring to what happened on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2) when the Holy Spirit came in power, and filled those who were waiting in the upper room. Addressing the assembly, Peter said this was a fulfillment of the promise in the prophecy of Joel: that God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh (Acts 2:17). He also said that it was a direct result of what Christ did on the cross. When Christ was exalted, He poured out "the promise of the Holy Spirit." (Acts 2:33)

What we need to see here without a shadow of doubt is that this is the fulfillment of the promises in the Old Testament scriptures quoted above. The work of redemption was accomplished, Christ sat down, and the way was now open for men to partake of the life of God, His Holy Spirit.

In considering these scriptures, some may feel that since the Old Testament prophecies were addressed to Israel, this New Covenant, too, only affects Israel. Peter, speaking under the direction of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, said that the Promise was also to "those who were far off." (Acts 2:39) Later, in the household of Cornelius (Acts 10), God made it very plain to Peter and to everyone else that the distinction between Jew and Gentile was finished. It took a dramatic working to communicate the message, but God knows how to communicate to man. The separation of Israel as a nation through which God would move was finished (at least for now), and the door into the life of God was open to all. Some may hold that some distinction should continue to be made, but we can only say that Paul laid down his life for the absolute truth that in Christ there is neither Jew or Gentile, circumcision nor uncircumcision, slave nor free. Let us get firmly in our minds that God knows no man according the flesh and we should not either. The New Covenant is a covenant in life for all who will come. God shows no favorites.

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