What is the New Covenant?

This is a brief introductory study of the New Covenant. This study is not exhaustive by any means.

What is a Covenant?

Covenant is a word we use today, but fail to grasp its full meaning. Many think of it as a promise, but a covenant is far more. It is a total commitment, and absolute requirement, to do or not do something, even at the cost of one's life. 

Commitment, in terms of life or death, is difficult for us to comprehend, but a covenant is exactly that, and is exactly what we are to do with God.

The very nature of covenant is the bond between the parities of the covenant, each saying "Everything I have is yours." In making covenant with Him we are to give everything we have to Him, then He gives us all His love, blessings, power, and eternal life. If He is not LORD of all, He is not LORD at all.

Moved by the Spirit

The Move of the Holy Spirit in the Last Days
And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also on the servants and on the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit. Joel 2:28-29

We see see in Joel chapter 2 verses 28-29 that it is prophesied in the last days that God (YHVH) would pour out His Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh). We will seek to briefly examine this passage as well as related passages to see the greater picture of just what this pouring out of God’s Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh) is and what it might look like in the lives of those called by God (YHVH) in these, the last days.

Let us begin by examining the words here in there original Hebrew to get a broader understanding of what is being told to us. The Hebrew word for Holy Spirit is “Ruach haKodesh" - Kodesh meaning "holy" or "Set-Apart”.

Letting the Bible interpret itself

The Bible can really come to life, and amazing things can be discovered, when we let the Bible interpret itself, rather than leaning to our own understandings and dogma. The Bereans searched the scriptures (Acts 17) to confirm what Paul was telling them was the truth. What scriptures did the Bereans have? The Old Testament. So that is how we should also confirm the contents of the New Testament. Here is an example from the book of 1 John.

1 John 1:5-10

This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice