Jeremiah 31:27 - Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man, and with the seed of beast.
Jeremiah 31:28 - And it shall come to pass that, like as I have watched over them to pluck up and to break down and to overthrow and to destroy and to afflict, so will I watch over them to build and to plant, saith Jehovah.
Jeremiah 31:29 - In those days they shall say no more, The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the children's teeth are set on edge.
Jeremiah 31:30 - But every one shall die for his own iniquity: every man that eateth the sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
Jeremiah 31:31 - Behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
Jeremiah 31:32 - not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith Jehovah.
Jeremiah 31:33 - But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith Jehovah: I will put my law in their inward parts, and in their heart will I write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Jeremiah 31:34 - And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know Jehovah; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith Jehovah: for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more. -- American Standard Version.
This prophecy, as such, actually belongs to the "age to come", when it will be true that everyone who dies will die for his own iniquity, not the sin of Adam or parents. (Ezekiel 18:2,3) Additionally, the new covenant is made with Israel and Judah. Some claim that the covenant is actually concluded with what is often referred to as the spiritual Israel, the Christian church, not fleshly Israel. If this were true, how is it to be said of Christian, most of whom were never under the Mosaic covenant made with Israel, that this "new covenant" is "not according to the covenant I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt"? While a few of those who belong to the Gospel Age church have a Jewish heritage by flesh, most are not. Most Christians have never been under the Law of Moses so that it could be said of them: "my covenant they broke". This can only apply to fleshly Israel, not the church of faith that is being called out at the present time.
Ezekiel 16 likewise depicts the same time, and the same covenant. There Jehovah speaks to Jerusalem (representing all of Israel), and compares her with her sisters, Sodom and Samaria. He speaks of the day of resurrection, saying: "And I will bring back their captive ones [from the captivity of death], the captive ones of Sodom and her daughters, and the captive ones of Samaria and her daughters, and the captive ones of your captives in the midst of them." (Ezekiel 16:53, Restoration Light Improved Version, RLIV) Jehovah further says to them: "And your sisters, Sodom and her daughters, will return to their former estate [being returned to life]; and Samaria and her daughters will return to their former estate; and you and your daughters will return to your former estate." (Ezekiel 16:55) To this day, the people of Sodom have remained in the realm of death. They have in no wise been returned to their former estate. This can only be accomplished by their resurrection from the dead, when they are to be raised in the resurrection of the unjust.
What does this have to do with the new covenant? Jehovah continues to speak to Jerusalem:
"Nevertheless. I will remember my covenant with you in the days of your youth, and I will establish an everlasting covenant with you." (Ezekiel 16:60) Here he speaks of two different covenants, the one established with Israel in the days of her youth, which was the covenant through Moses, and another covenant, a future covenant. This future covenant is not fulfilled with the Gospel Age church, as it cannot be said of the Gospel Age church that God will remember his covenant (the covenant through Moses) with them. Jehovah further says to Jerusalem: "Then you will remember your ways, and be ashamed, when you receive your sisters, your elder and your younger; and I will give them unto you as daughters, but not by your covenant." (Ezekiel 16:61) The covenant made with the children of Israel through Moses is again referred to, and Jehovah tells Jerusalem that this coming blessing will not be by means of that covenant.
Again, we note that this is not speaking of the Gospel Age church, since it could not be said to the Gospel Age church that the blessings foretold would be "not by your covenant", that is, by the Law Covenant made with the children of Israel. God did not make that Law Covenant through Moses with the church of the Gospel Age.
And Jehovah states to Jerusalem: "And I will establish my covenant with you; and you will know that I am Yahweh; that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I have forgiven your for all that you have done." (Ezekiel 16:62,63) It should be apparent that the covenant being spoken of is the same covenant spoken of in Jeremiah 31:31. It should be further apparent that this covenant is to established with the same "Israel" that had been under the Law Covenant through Moses, the Israel that had become divided into two "houses".
Does this mean that the Gospel Age believers receive no benefit from the New Covenant? No, but we need to examine some scriptures to see how the New Covenant is applied to the Gospel Age believers, and yet have the scriptures to be in harmony with what is prophesied about the new covenant.
In the Gospels, we find the expression "new covenant" used in Luke 22:20, where Jesus speaks of such at his last meal. He took the cup, and stated to his disciples: "This cup means the new covenant in my blood which is poured out for you." Jesus did not say that the cup represents the New Covenant that is being made with you. What did he say? If we look at this as it stated, Jesus was certainly saying that the new covenant is represented by his blood, that his blood was to be poured out for them. So it is apparent that the disciples of Jesus receive a benefit from the "new covenant" as represented in the blood of Jesus, which blood, Jesus said, was poured out for them.
So how do we harmonize this with Jeremiah 31:31? How does the Gospel Age church obtain these benefits, if the New Covenant is actually made with Israel in the age to come? We believe the Scriptures indicate that the New Covenant is applied to Christians when they are reckoned, imputed as justified, as though in the age to come, as though made alive in the resurrection day, counted as children of that day when the knowledge of Jehovah will cover the earth, and no longer children of this condemned age of darkness. -- 1 Thessalonians 5:5.
Those called in this age receive the first fruits of the spirit that is to be poured out in the age to come. (Romans 8:23; Hebrews 6:5; James 1:18) This first fruits of the spirit would have to include the pouring out of God's spirit on believers as recorded in Acts 2:14-36; 10:45. The Christian's baptism is a symbol of being baptized into Jesus' death in order to appropriate the benefits of the death of Christ. (Romans 6:3) As a result, the Christian in this age receives the first fruits of the spirit -- as an earnest (that which in purchases is given as a pledge or down payment that the full amount will subsequently be paid) -- the spiritual benefits of the ransom, the power of the age to come, in this age. -- Romans 8:23; 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5; Ephesians 1:13,14; Hebrews 6:5.
The holy spirit is given now as a down payment, or earnest of the inheritance. 2 Corinthians 1:22; 5:5, in effect, declare that the inheritance in the kingdom will be much more than is now obtained through the spirit.
In combining all this information, we believe that the proper conclusion is that the spirit is received by means of obtaining the powers of the age to come, as spoken of in Hebrews 6:5, in which age to come the holy spirit will be poured out on all flesh. (Joel 2:28; Isaiah 40:5) The believer today receives the "first fruits" of the spirit (Romans 8:23) in anticipation of the coming time when they will be revealed to the creation and the creation will also be able to delivered from the bondage of present-day corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. (Romans 8:21) The church is a kind of firstfruits of God's creatures (James 1:18), indicating the after fruits yet to come in the next age, when "the earth will be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the waters cover the sea." (Isaiah 11:9, RLIV) The outpouring of holy spirit on believers in this age is but a prelude to the actual fulfillment of Joel's prophecy in the age to come. -- Acts 2:16-21.
It is thus by partaking of that which belongs to age to come, receiving the benefits of the new covenant that is to be established in that age with Israel, that those called in this age receive the benefits of that covenant.
See also our Resource Page on the New Covenant
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