What is the New Covenant? Part 1

Have you ever heard someone speak of a new and old biblical covenant? I have, and the other day I got the notion to ask a group of believers what the "new" or "old" covenant was. I was amazed when none of them were able to directly answer my question. How many times do we accept terminology into our lives simply because it has been used so much. Our goal at http://JesusWalksInWords.com is to help people know what they believe and why they believe it.

As it relates to the term "New Covenant" this term appears in NIV scripture 8 times and KJV scripture 4 times. Since the bulk of the material is in the NIV source for this topic we will focus primarily on those Scriptures for this dialog.

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The following verses speak of a "New Covenant" while not providing any substance as to what it actually is.

1. Jeremiah 31:31
2. Hebrews 8:8
3. Hebrews 8:13*
4. Hebrews 12:24

Since the above verses do not help us understand what the "New Covenant" is we will not address them directly in this document with the exception of Hebrews 8:13 which we will return to at the end of the article.

Here are the verses that appear to lend more understanding to exactly what the "New Covenant" is and is not.

Luke 22:20
In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

1 Corinthians 11:25
In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

These passages provide a direct reference to communion. As such the reader could presume that the "New Covenant" is the same as partaking in communion. However the next two verses appear to lead the reader in an entirely different direction.