REMEMBERING AND RENEWING THE NEW COVENANT DURING COMMUNION
Jesus made a significant and timely announcement to His disciples as He approached His death. At what is called the Lord’s Supper, just before Gethsemane, while at the table, Jesus says, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is poured out for you." This declaration signifies that the New Covenant is sealed by the blood of Jesus Christ, offering redemption and reconciliation to all who believe.
Promises of the New Covenant of grace: 1. The Law is written on our hearts. “I will put my laws into their minds, and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people” (Hebrews 8:10; Jeremiah 31:33).
The New Covenant promise spoke of the interior quality of true religion. True love of God, springing from the gift of faith, would be demonstrated by a people who are not characterized as always apostatizing from the Lord. Instead, out of sincere and true love for God, faith and repentance will be the defining characteristic of their lives.
2. We know the Lord. “And they shall not teach, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest” (Hebrews 8:11; Jeremiah 31:34a).
The second promise of the New Covenant is that God’s people will truly know Him. This knowledge is our delight and the reason that Jesus’ high priestly prayer said that we would “know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent” (John 17:3).
3. Our sins are remembered no more. “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more” (Hebrews 8:12; Jeremiah 31:34b).
A significant promise that we enjoy in the New Covenant is that we live in full trust that God has been merciful to us in our sins; He remembers them no more.
4. We are indwelt by the Holy Spirit.
The greatest promise that we enjoy in the New Covenant is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, who empowers believers to live according to God's will. Ezekiel 36:26-27 predicted this transformation: "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will remove your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and to carefully observe My ordinances."
This covenant is recalled and renewed when a believer observes the Lord’s Supper. The communion service includes the opportunity to examine our relationship to Christ and confess any sins to Him. It also helps us remember, with thanksgiving, the great sacrifice that Jesus made for us, and to look forward to His glorious return (1 Corinthians 11:23-32).