while today

Have you ever wondered what the difference is between the old and new covenants?  There are many similarities between the two.  They both came from God, they are both glorious, they both show us how God wants us to live, they both require obedience.  But what are the differences between them? 

Something radically changed when God instituted the new covenant, and in the third chapter of 2 Corinthians, Paul highlights the sharp contrast between the two.  He writes, “…our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:5b-6 NASB95)   The first difference we see is that the old covenant was “of the letter,” but the new is “of the Spirit.”  This is a major distinction, for the letter of the Law brought death, but the Spirit of God is able to make us alive.

Paul continues, “But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was, how will the ministry of the Spirit fail to be even more with glory?  For if the ministry of condemnation has glory, much more does the ministry of righteousness abound in glory.” (2 Corinthians 3:7-9 NASB95) The old covenant was “the ministry of death.”  It was very glorious, but it killed those who were under it.  The old covenant was “the ministry of condemnation.” The people under it were condemned because, under a system of law, only those who keep the letter of the law flawlessly will be deemed righteous by God.  In sharp contrast, the new covenant—the ministry of the Spirit—is much more glorious than the old and is actually able to impart righteousness to those who are under it.

Finally, while the old covenant was written on stone tablets, in the new covenant, God writes His laws in our minds and hearts by His Spirit. (2 Corinthians 3:3, Hebrews 8:10) Because of this, under the new covenant there can be a real, inward transformation of our hearts and lives.  It is not simply external obedience to a written code (as was the view of many Israelites under the Law), but obedience from a heart that has been cleansed and renewed by God.  As we see at the end of chapter three, “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NASB95) What a wonderful thought!  What hope this verse gives us!  In the new covenant, you and I are being transformed by the Spirit who dwells within us.  God is working on our hearts to transform us into the image of His Son, as we behold His glory.

Thanks be to God for His new covenant in which we can find true life, righteousness, and inner transformation.

—Scott Colvin