Ratifying the New Covenant

(Hebrews 9:18-23 – Ratifying the New Covenant)

The New Covenant was ratified at and by the death of Jesus. When it comes to the religious covenants of God, they are ratified by the shedding or blood. This section of scripture explains how this works. It provides parallel examples between the Old Covenant, and ratifying the New Covenant.

It is an important thing to understand. When we look at what was achieved under the New Covenant, it is important to understand why ratifying the New Covenant had to occur in a certain way.

The promises of God under the New Covenant are many and varied. But they could not come into effect until the New Covenant was ratified. So, we will examine all of these things in this post today.

What does ratifying the New Covenant mean?

First, before going any further, let us look at the scriptures under review.

18 Hence even the first covenant was not ratified without blood. 19 For when every commandment of the law had been declared by Moses to all the people, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, 20 saying, “This is the blood of the covenant which God commanded you.” 21 And in the same way he sprinkled with the blood both the tent and all the vessels used in worship. 22 Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. 23 Thus it was necessary for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these rites, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. (Hebrews 9:18-23)

There are good examples and references to how the covenants are ratified. These are covenants between man and God, and they are very serious matters. Indeed they are matters of life and death, in more ways than one.

How was the New Covenant ratified?

The first thing we see is that ratifying the New Covenant as well as the Old Covenant, required the shedding of blood. Under the laws of the Old Covenant, there were a variety of burnt offerings requiring the shedding of the blood of different animals. Sheep, goats, bulls, and even birds were offered as blood sacrifices for the sins of the people.

Any time a death occurs, be it human or animal, it is a serious matter. And the animals that were offered under the Old Covenant had to be without spot or blemish. They had to be as perfect a specimen of that animal as could be found. God did not accept the lame, maimed, blind, or second best animals as sacrifices.

When God established the Old Covenant law with Moses and the people of Israel, it was ratified by the shedding of blood of a perfect red heifer. The carcass of the heifer was then burned and the ashes mixed with water, hyssop and other things to sprinkle the tablets of the Ten Commandments, the tabernacle, the implements of worship, and all of the people. By the death of the heifer and the sprinkling of the blood and ashes, the rites of purification were completed and the Old Covenant was ratified.

In a similar manner, ratifying the New Covenant occurred at the death of Jesus. When His blood was shed for us, the New Covenant was ratified and it came into effect.

A covenant is a will, and vice versa. A will does not come into effect until it is ratified. And a will is ratified by the death of the one who made the will. After the will has been ratified, it cannot be changed.

So too the will of the Lord that is the New Covenant. Ratifying the New Covenant, or the will of God, occurred at the death of Jesus. His will came into force when He died and like a human will, it cannot be changed or varied.

What were the promises under the New Covenant?

Ratifying the New Covenant brought all of the promises of God into effect. It was through ratifying the New Covenant that we were able to be set free from our sins. Prior to the death of Jesus it was possible to receive forgiveness of sin through the sacrifices. But once Jesus died, His sacrifice was so much greater than the sacrifice of the blood of goats and bulls that our sins could be completely removed. More about this in the next section.

In addition to the removal of sin, God also set aside the laws of Moses for those who have faith. This is a logical next step to the removal of sin.

If you take away sins but don’t remove the law, then the next time someone breaks the law they have sin again. And the blood of Jesus was never meant to be offered up over and over again, like the blood of goats and bulls. Under the Mosaic law, there were annual offerings for sin. But Jesus died once for all. He did not come back every year to die again, and again.

But we are told that sin is the breaking of the law.

Every one who commits sin is guilty of lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)

So, to overcome the continual act of sinning every time someone breaks the law, God took away the law. After all, you can’t break a law that you are not under. For example, if I live in Europe, I cannot break a law that exists in Africa, or the United States, or anywhere else because I am not under those laws.

Likewise, in ratifying the New Covenant, God moved His people out of the kingdoms of this world and into the kingdom of God. Those who come to Christ, believe and have faith in Him, are no longer citizens of this world. We become citizens of the kingdom of God through being baptised into the death and resurrection of Jesus. And because we are under a different kingdom, we are no longer subject to the laws God established through Moses for this physical world. This is another of the promises of God under the New Covenant. We are new creations, born again of water and the Spirit to become God’s children in His kingdom.

Furthermore, in the writings of Joel we see the promise of the Holy Spirit to those who enter the New Covenant. This did not happen and was not available to all people until Jesus died, ratifying the New Covenant.

“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, and your young men shall see visions. 29 Even upon the menservants and maidservants in those days, I will pour out my spirit. (Joel 2:28-29)

This promise of the Holy Spirit could not occur until the ratifying of the New Covenant occurred when Jesus died and was resurrected. We saw the beginning of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on the Day of Pentecost when the disciples first received the Holy Spirit and spoke with tongues and prophesied. The apostle Peter in his oration after this even also stated that this promise was available to everyone who came to Christ. It is still available today for all who believe and are baptised.

Ratifying the New Covenant to forgive sins

The scripture tells us that Jesus came to take away sins, not just forgive them, but to completely remove even the remembrance of sins. Consider what these scriptures tell us. First, note what this verse tells us:

For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins. (Hebrews 10:4)

The blood of animal sacrifices could not take away your sins. They could not be utterly and completely removed. They were forgiven, but not removed. By contrast, look at what the scripture says about the blood of Christ.

Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

And;

You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. (1 John 3:5)

And again;

16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,” 17 then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their misdeeds no more.” (Hebrews 10:16-17)

In each of these verses we see the effect of ratifying the New Covenant. This last verse tells us that Jesus died to ratify the New Covenant and that our sins would be completely forgotten. In the previous two verses we see the reason why Jesus came. He came to remove our sins and to take them away. Not just forgive, but completely remove them!

And if you want further evidence of this and where God has put all of our sins and trespasses, note these next words.

Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger for ever because he delights in steadfast love. 19 He will again have compassion upon us, he will tread our iniquities under foot. Thou wilt cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18-19)

The Importance of ratifying the New Covenant

It was a tremendously important thing when Jesus came and died for us. In His death we received many promises, and all of this occurred only through ratifying the New Covenant.

Remember, the New Covenant is the will of God. You could look at it as the last will and testament of Jesus Christ. And best of all, we are the beneficiaries of His will. The New Covenant promises are made to and for us. When we seek God and enter into His covenant, we receive His abundant promises. And there is still more to come.

The greatest promise of all is to be eternal life with God and Jesus Christ. He promises us eternity where there will be no pain, no sickness, no death, no evil, and more. In fact the Bible tells that no man can imagine what God has planned for His people who come to Him under the New Covenant and the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

So, let us seek God and His ways. Learn what it means to be saved under the gospel and thank Him for ratifying the New Covenant in Jesus Christ.

You might also like:

My Yoke Is Easy And My Burden Is Light
The Stone That The Builder Rejected
Parable Of The Marriage Feast The Great Invitation
The Transfiguration
The Hope Of Eternity Is In Christ
Learning
Inherit Eternal Life
The End Of An Age
Behold The Lamb Of God
Two Flocks
Why Jesus Died
It Is Finished
Jesus Dies
You Shall Receive Power
The Promise Of The Holy Spirit
Unlocking The Promises Of God To The Gentiles
Baptism And Receiving The Holy Spirit
Essence Of The New Covenant
Mystery Of The New Covenant
Ratifying The New Covenant
A New Creation In Christ Jesus