By Dr. R. Scott Clark
Professor of Church History and Historical Theology, Westminster Seminary in California, Escondido, California
Associate Pastor, Oceanside United Reformed Church, Oceanside, California

(originally written c. 1988. Latest rev. January, 2009)

What are the Relations Between the Covenants?

The Lord Jesus has fulfilled the bloody signs and types of circumcision and has replaced them with un-bloody signs.²⁷ 2 Timothy 2:11; Romans 6:2, 5, 6, 8 teach that, by faith, all believers died with Christ. If Christ died an accursed death and we died with Christ, then by faith in Christ we have undergone the curse implied by circumcision. Colossians 2:20; Philippians 3:3 explicitly say that by faith, in Christ’s death, all believers have undergone circumcision. Romans 6:2-10 says that we are baptized into Christ’s death. That is, when the sign of the covenant is applied, the recipient is identified with Jesus’ death and the cursedness of Christ.

The main difference is that what the Old Covenant promised through ceremonies and sacrifices, the New Covenant reveals as fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus. Part of our problem as late 20th century believers is that we are largely ignorant of the Old Covenant Scriptures. This was not the case among first century believers. The New Covenant Scriptures refer constantly to the Old Covenant. Romans 3:21, 9:27, 11:13-32; Luke 24:27; Hebrews 9:15, and the whole of ch.11 all teach that the Covenant of Grace instituted by God through Abraham continues into the New Covenant. God’s Word clearly teaches that New Covenant believers are the New Covenant Israel.²⁸ Everyone who believes is the true son of Abraham.²⁹ Romans 9:6-9 teaches that a Jew is one who loves the Messiah Jesus and trusts him only for salvation.³⁰ Thus we cannot say that there are two completely different ‘churches’ or peoples of God. Paul teaches clearly in Romans 2:29; 4 [all]; 9:6-9 and Jesus teaches explicitly in John 8:31-58 no one is saved by being Jewish.³¹

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