Scripture opens with the words "In the beginning." Genesis 1.1 This is the physical creation of everything we see and that exist. Starting with light and ending with the creation of man. The other creation we learn about in scripture is about spiritual creation. John writes, "In the beginning." John 1.1 This first alludes to the physical creation when it says of Jesus, "Through Him all things were made." John 1.3 Then instead of speaking of the physical light he changes and says Jesus "was life, and that life was the light of men." John 1.4 This change over cover both contracts/covenants of scripture. There is the physical covenant and the spiritual covenant.
We need to remember that the Bible is made up of 66 books inspired by God over thousands of years. The Old Testament was written between 1500 B.C. and 400 B.C. The New Testament was written between 45 A.D. and 95 A.D. Almost all of the New Testament was originally letters that were shared with the churches or members in the local churches. Yet the Bible has a uniform flow and shows us the inspiration of a divine hand.
We can see the two covenants in the book of Genesis as God relates them to Abraham. The first covenant we want to look at God is speaking to Abraham and says "I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants." Genesis 17.7 This is the physical covenant God made with Abraham and his family. This extends through Isaac, Jacob through the tribes into the nation of Israel. This is the PHYSICAL covenant God made with Abraham's PHYSICAL descendants. Then later God again comes to Abraham and says "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed." Genesis 22.18 Many people read this and think that God is just restating the same contract. They are wrong. A key to understanding what the Bible means is that Scripture interprets Scripture. Simply stated the Bible explains itself. We find the answer to what the "seed" of God is in the book of Galatians where Paul writes "Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as referring to many, but rather to one, “And to your seed,” that is, Christ" Galatians 3.16 This shows that this is not about the descendants of Abraham but about Jesus who is the seed of Abraham. This is the SPIRITUAL covenant God made with Abraham. These two covenants run throughout the Bible. You have to watch for them and make sure that you understand the difference. If you can see the difference than you can see how they run parallel to each other. The one PHYSICAL the other SPIRITUAL.
Let's look as these side by side with a few examples. The physical covenant has a physical kingdom Israel. The spiritual covenant has a spiritual kingdom the church. The physical covenant has a physical temple in Jerusalem. The spiritual covenant has a spiritual temple it is each individual believer. The physical covenant required that the sacrifices be killed. The spiritual covenant calls the believers to be living sacrifices holy and acceptable to God. The physical covenant has physical enemies like the Canaanites and Philistines. The spiritual covenant has spiritual enemies that are a spiritual wickedness in high places. The physical covenant was written on tablets of stone. The spiritual covenant is written on tablets of the heart. The physical covenant was designed to convict and punish the guilty. The spiritual covenant was designed to forgive and free. The physical covenant is summed up in the Old Testament LAW of Moses. The spiritual covenant is summed up in the New Testament and the GRACE of Jesus.
There are times when the two covenants appear beside each other in the same verse. Paul writing to the Romans church said, "For the wages of sin is death." That is the old covenant. It comes with the punishment and ends in death. Then Paul continues "but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." This is the spiritual covenant that sets the person free from the physical covenant. The physical covenant covers all who have not accepted Jesus as their personal savior. The Spiritual covenant covers all who by faith have accepted Jesus and are living for him.
Jesus knew that he was the seed of the New Covenant that would set people free from the Old Covenant. At the Last Supper on the night before he was crucified Jesus "took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me." Luke 22.19 The old physical covenant required the death of the guilty party. Jesus was going to die a physical death in our place to take care of the physical covenant.
Then we see that "In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you." Luke 22.20 The New Spiritual Covenant replaces the Old Physical Covenant.
