| Christ is the Mediator of a better covenant (8:6). The new covenant is better than the old covenant, just as the reality of a person is better than his photograph. The old covenant, like a photograph, had only the outward form, but the new covenant, like the real person, has the inward life with all its reality. The old covenant was lifeless, but the new covenant is constituted with the indestructible life. Everything in the new covenant is much better than the things in the old covenant because everything in the new covenant is the reality. Hence, it is a better covenant. The new covenant has replaced the old covenant (8:7, 13). When a real person comes, he replaces his photograph, for the reality replaces the picture, the shadow. The old covenant had fault and became old, decrepit, and near to disappearing, and the new covenant has been consummated to replace it. Now it is meaningless for anyone to still remain in the old covenant. In the new covenant the primary blessing is the imparting of the divine life which brings in the inner law of life, the blessing of having God and of being His people, and the inward ability of knowing the Lord. For God to do this, He had to be propitious to our unrighteousnesses and forget our sins. The propitiation for our unrighteousnesses and the forgiveness of our sins give Him the ground to impart His life into us. The little word “for” in verse 12 proves this. He imparts life to us, “for” He is propitious to our unrighteousnesses and forgets our sins. God’s original intention for His eternal purpose was to impart His life into man, but sin came in to frustrate this. In order to carry out His original intention, God made propitiation through Christ for our sins and granted us the forgiveness of sins so that He might impart the divine life into us for the fulfillment of His purpose. This divine life brings in the law of life, our relationship with God in life, and the inward ability of knowing the Lord. In the new covenant, life with its riches has been brought in and sin with its sinfulness has been put away. This is the content of the new covenant. Praise the Lord! (Life-Study of Hebrews, pp. 409-410,414) |
