Page 258 - Through New Eyes

E I G H T E E N

THE NEW WORLD

The coming of the New Covenant is a story that does not
need rehearsing in full here. There was a decline in the centuries
before Christ, as the Jews gradually lost a true understanding of
the Old Covenant, and developed a corrupting tradition. The
announcement of the Kingdom by John the Forerunner was
simultaneously a condemnation of the corruptions of Judaism
(Matthew 3:7-12). John’s announcement was the preliminary
judgment, and Jesus’ announcement was the full judgment (Mat-
thew 23-24). The Exodus was made by our Lord on the Cross,
on behalf of His people (Luke 9:31). After this transition, there
was a new world established, with a new name for God (Father,
Son, and Holy Spirit; Jesus Christ) and a new name for the peo-
ple (Christians; Acts 11:26). The new grant given God’s people
was the Kingdom in its fullness, including the whole world. There
was a new law (John 13:34), new sacraments (baptism and holy
communion), and a new visionary symbol (the New Jerusalem).

The Summation of the Old Covenant
From the perspective of the New Covenant, the Old Cove-
nant in its entirety, from Adam to John the Baptist, was inade-
quate and imperfect. It was a system “under law” in the sense
that it could only condemn men, not save them. The entire Old
Covenant stood in Adam, and Adamic humanity existed under
the condemnation of the first covenant: Having seized the for-
bidden fruit, they were exiled from God and destined for death. 1
Although each of the new covenants before Christ provided a
more glorious kingdom establishment for God’s people; yet be-
fore the coming of the Messiah, the world was still “in Adam.”
Thus, the glories of the Old Covenant could never be anything
other than provisional and anticipatory.
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