Now to the focus of this study. The Bible refers to three relationships defining two people groups of God (The ‘Nation Israel’ and “the Body of Christ.” These are referred to as,

1) The Old Covenant for Israel, 2) The New Covenant for Israel, and, 3) the “fellowship of the mystery” which concerns the union between the members of “the body of Christ” and with Christ.

The two Covenants (Old and New) and the one “fellowship of the mystery” describe the three different relationships with God for believers of three different time periods;

1) That which Jesus’ “little flock” HAD,

2) and that Jesus’ “little flock” remnant WILL HAVE when Jesus returns to earth and sets up His kingdom, and,

3) the grace we of “the body of Christ” that we ENJOY TODAY in receiving God’s salvation and “all spiritual blessings” related to our ‘heavenly status’ as forever in union with Christ (Eph. 1:3).

If we today ignore the differences between The Old Covenant for the Nation Israel, The New Covenant for Nation Israel, and, the “Fellowship of The Mystery” it causes believers of “the body of Christ” to misappropriate and claim Israel’s blessings and curses of a different dispensational age, and thereby miss out on the present blessings belonging to us in ‘this age.’ This then causes many to resort to various Jewish religious behaviors and laws, that they mistakenly think will invoke God’s blessing today.

What are the differences between Israel’s Old and New covenants, and “the fellowship of the mystery” of “the body of Christ”?

THE OLD COVENANT:

The Old Covenant is also called “the Law of Moses.” This law relationship was intended to be a blessing to Israel and that through them, ultimately, to the world would be blessed. It would be through Israel’s separation and obedience unto The LORD… but they never obeyed!

The ‘Mosaic Law’ was declared to be their righteousness if Israel performed all that God instructed. It would also be a curse if they disobeyed, and it was this latter lesson that Israel would learn. They could not keep the law, which then required a multitude of prescribed sacrifices to ‘cover’ their sins.  

The ‘Nation Israel,’ as God’s promised channel of God’s blessing to the world was not done away by their failure to keep the law. God often repeated promises to make Abraham’s seed, Israel, the nation through which the world would be blessed (Gen. 12:1-3). The promises of God cannot be revoked simply because Israel did not fulfill them by their own power.

Summary - The “Old Covenant” Is Based Upon:

• Israel is a nation being wholly separate from the Gentiles (which represent all nations, all other ethnicities).
• The law was given to obey and make them obviously separate from the Gentiles
• Israel had God’s Covenant with them, to make Israel the channel of blessing to the world.

THE NEW COVENANT:

Israel still had God’s promises to be The Nation through which the world would be blessed. The Old and New Covenants were both intended to fulfill this promise. This is why both the Old and New Covenants are made “with the house of Israel and Judah,” having nothing to do with “the body of Christ.”

³¹  Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a NEW Covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Jeremiah 31:31 (KJV)
¹⁰  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I Will Put My Laws Into Their Mind, and Write Them In Their Hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Hebrews 8:10 (KJV)

By Contrast, Paul writes this to the Gentiles at Ephesus:

¹² That at that time [in time past, before their salvation by grace] ye [Gentiles] were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and Strangers from The Covenants of Promise, having no hope, and without God in the world: Ephesians 2:12 (KJV)

Both the Old Covenant and The New Covenant include the law, priests, a kingdom, and sacrifices for sin. Both were intended to provide blessings on the world … through Israel.

Both are the subject of Prophecy. They were not part of God’s Pauline Gentile “Mystery” (secret) Program that was “kept secret since the world began” (Rom. 16:25) until it was revealed to Paul for the Gentiles.

The New Covenant was made “better” than the Old Covenant (cf. Heb. 8:6) in that God Would Perform In Them All That They Could Not Do under the Old. Christ would be the “better” priest. He would give them the Spirit to Cause Them to Keep the Law, and He would come to establish “the kingdom” on earth.

The New Covenant is merely the Old Covenant blessings and promises to the fathers … to be Made Possible Through the Provision of GOD’S ENABLEMENT. Whereas the Old Covenant emphasized man’s performance under the Law, the New Covenant was GOD PERFORMING IN THEM, what Israel could not do. The Old Covenant failed to fulfill the promises, but the New would not fail.

⁷ For IF that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the SECOND. ⁸  For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: ⁹  Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they continued not in my covenant, and I regarded them not, saith the Lord. ¹⁰ For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I Will Put My Laws Into Their Mind, and Write Them In Their Hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people: Hebrews 8:7-10 (KJV)

²⁶ A New Heart Also Will I Give You, And A New Spirit Will I Put Within You: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. ²⁷ And I Will Put My Spirit Within You, and Cause You To Walk In My Statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them. Ezekiel 36:26-27 (KJV)

Note that Jesus of Nazareth actually heightened “the Law” by adding what I call the “Messianic Law” as found in the ‘Sermon of the Mount,’ seen in Matthew's gospel chapters 5-7. E.g. This includes Matthew 5:28 “But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.” But in the Messianic Kingdom believing Israelites will have these Laws ‘written in their hearts’ and they shall be ‘caused to obey’ (Jer. 31:33). No person could keep these Laws, apart from the empowerment of the Holy Spirit, while they still live in human bodies that are laden with “Sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3).