Is the New Covenant Operative Today?

Summary

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Grace in Focus Episode Summary

Title: Is the New Covenant Operative Today?
Date: September 23, 2025
Hosts: Bob Wilkin & Ken Yates
Podcast: Grace in Focus | Grace Evangelical Society

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Episode Overview

This episode of Grace in Focus, hosted by Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates, tackles a highly debated question in Free Grace Theology: "Is the New Covenant operative today, and if so, is it operative for the church?" The discussion centers on properly interpreting key New Testament passages, dispensationalist views of the New Covenant, its relationship to Israel and the church, and what practical implications follow for Christian living, sanctification, and the Spirit’s work.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting Up the Question

• Listener question: Aren't there New Testament verses indicating that the New Covenant is being ministered in the church today? (00:51)
• Background:
  • The Free Grace view often teaches that the New Covenant is specifically for national Israel, not the church.
  • The question arises repeatedly in classes and conferences.

2. Biblical References Examined

• Jeremiah 31:31-33 — The foundational Old Testament prophecy about the New Covenant, directed explicitly to Israel. (01:54)
• 1 Corinthians 11:25 — Paul recounts Jesus’ words at the Last Supper: "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." Addressed to a Gentile-majority church (Corinthians). (02:16)
• 2 Corinthians 3:6 — Paul claims to be "a minister of the new covenant," in the context of his Spirit-empowered ministry to the Corinthians, contrasting the law and the Spirit. (02:14)

3. How Dispensationalists Interpret the Question

• Ken Yates: “First thing I would point out is do a word study of New Covenant. What you will find is it’s amazingly rare in the New Testament. If I remember correctly, there’s four uses.” (03:59)
• Scriptural references to the “New Covenant” are rare; its operation isn’t explicitly declared as present in the Church Age.
• Interpretive options among dispensationalists:
  1. Two New Covenants View:
     • “There’s a new covenant for Israel, and there’s a new covenant for the church... They’re both based upon the death of Christ. But the church is under a new covenant and Israel is going to be under the new covenant when he returns.” — Bob Wilkin (05:24)
  2. Single (Future) New Covenant View:
     • The New Covenant was inaugurated in a sense by Christ’s blood but isn’t actually operational until Christ is ruling over Israel in the Millennium. (05:45)
  3. Church as Beneficiary, Not Party:
     • “There would be some who would say that the new covenant is for the nation of Israel, but the church receives some of the blessings.” — Bob Wilkin (06:41)
     • Ken Yates counters: “We’re not Israel... The promises for Israel aren’t for us. We need unique promises for us.” (06:57)

4. Theological and Practical Ramifications

• The New Covenant promises (Jeremiah 31) involve a transformed Israel: God's law written on Jewish hearts, national salvation, and Messiah's rule from Jerusalem.
  • “Now, when the New Covenant is inaugurated, according to Jeremiah 31, he’s going to write the law on their hearts. Right. And he says, and everyone will know the Lord from the least to the greatest. Of course, he’s talking about in Israel.” — Ken Yates (04:24)
• The church currently does not experience these specific, Israel-focused blessings.
• Paul refers to “ministering” the new covenant (2 Corinthians 3:6) as ministering in light of or in anticipation of these future promises.

5. Clarifying Paul’s Language

• Definite Article Debate:
  • “When Paul says we are ministers of a new covenant, I don’t think the article is there... In other words, he’s not really talking about Jeremiah 31. I’ve heard it said this way... we’re ministers of a new covenant here.” — Bob Wilkin (09:41)
  • Ken Yates: “It could be. But if he only uses the expression new covenant twice... it would seem likely that they both would be talking about the same new covenant.” (10:07)
• The Greek grammar doesn’t require an article for something to be definite, so Paul could still be referencing Jeremiah 31 even if the grammar is ambiguous. (10:44)

6. The New Covenant and the Law

• Key Difference: Christians now are not under the law of Moses or the law written perfectly on their hearts (as promised to Israel under the New Covenant).
  • “We don’t even have God’s laws. We don’t have the New Testament commands written on our heart. The only way we get them there is by hearing the word of God taught. And the Spirit transforming us.” — Bob Wilkin & Ken Yates (12:42 to 12:53)

7. Conclusion & Application

• Bob and Ken agree: The New Covenant is not currently operative—the promises are awaiting fulfillment when Christ rules Israel.
  • “I’m confident the New Covenant is not operating.” — Ken Yates (11:43)
  • “And we agree.” — Bob Wilkin (11:57)
• Caution: Don’t overbuild theology or spiritual experience on a doctrine with few clear New Testament references.
  • “If this was some really key, crucial theological aspect, don’t you think there’d be some passage that clearly laid this out?” — Ken Yates (12:18)
• Practical warning: Speculation about the New Covenant and the church can lead to legalism.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• Ken Yates (03:59):

  “First thing I would point out is do a word study of New Covenant. What you will find is it’s amazingly rare in the New Testament.”

• Bob Wilkin (05:24):

  “One would be that... Jeremiah is talking about a new covenant that he’s going to make with the nation of Israel. But there’s also a new covenant for the church. They’re not the same... But the church is under a new covenant and Israel is going to be under the new covenant when he returns.”

• Ken Yates (06:57):

  “We’re not Israel. We’re not the chosen people. And the promises for Israel aren’t for us. We need unique promises for us.”

• Ken Yates (08:48):

  “I think probably that would be an inaccurate statement because that would then say the new covenant is currently operating. So probably initiate is wrong, anticipates would be right.”

• Ken Yates (11:43):

  “Look, I would encourage all of you, if I seem like I’ve stumbled around here... But look, I’m confident the New Covenant is not operating.”

• Ken Yates (12:18):

  “If this was some really key, crucial theological aspect, don’t you think there’d be some passage that clearly laid this out?”

• Bob Wilkin & Ken Yates (12:42-12:53):

  “We don’t even have God’s laws. We don’t have the New Testament commands written on our heart. The only way we get them there is by hearing the word of God taught.” (Bob) “And the Spirit transforming us.” (Ken)

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Timeline of Key Segments

• 00:51–02:14 — Listener question and scripture set-up
• 03:59–05:45 — What “New Covenant” means and dispensational options
• 06:41–07:41 — Church as possible beneficiary and difference from Israel
• 08:48–11:43 — Grammar, possible interpretations, Ken and Bob’s hesitations
• 12:18–12:53 — Warnings, practical implications, Spirit versus law

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Closing

Main Takeaway:
Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates both maintain that the New Covenant, as prophesied in Jeremiah for Israel, is not currently operative for the church. While the church benefits from Christ’s sacrifice (the basis of the New Covenant), the specific promises and spiritual realities of Jeremiah 31 await fulfillment in a future era when Jesus reigns as Israel’s Messiah. The “new covenant” language used by Paul serves more as anticipation or ministry in relation to what God will do for Israel—not a claim that the church is fully under this covenant today.

Encouragement:
Listeners are encouraged to study the scriptures carefully, avoid dogmatism on lightly attested doctrines, and keep a clear distinction between Israel and the church in their theology—practicing grace and caution in application.

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Transcript

[Bob Wilkin]

The following is a listener supported ministry from the Grace Evangelical Society.

[Narrator]

Answering another one of your questions today is the New Covenant operative right now? Hello friend. We're glad you're joining us here on Grace and Focus. This is the ministry of the Grace Evangelical Society. We're located in North Texas and Our website is faithalone.org at that website you will find lots of information about us, who we are, some hundreds of articles that we've published, a few free ebooks, our magazine, our seminary and our bookstore where you can find Bob Wilkins latest book, the Gospel is still under Siege. Find it [e-mail] now with today's question and answer discussion, here are Bob Wilkin and Ken Yates.

[Bob Wilkin]

Bob, we have a question here from Tom that I hear pretty regularly in my Zoom classes and in the seminary classes. And by the way, let me put in a plug for the GES seminary classes. If you're interested in taking them, contact faithalone.org or call the office and we'll get you set up. Anyway, Tom asked about the New Covenant.

[Ken Yates]

Yeah, that's a big question. We get a lot of questions.

[Bob Wilkin]

Oh yeah, we get this in our conferences and everything else. I mean, this question comes up a lot. And specifically he wants to know aren't there verses and we're going to read a couple that he references here. Aren't there verses in the New Testament that indicate that the New Covenant is already being ministered in the church today? Because he talks about the free grace view and we've talked about this in our conferences that we have taught at our conference that the New Covenant is for the nation of Israel and there's a difference between Israel and the church. And the church is not under the New Covenant.

[Ken Yates]

And by the way, the verses that say that the New Covenant is for Israel is Jeremiah 31, 31 to 33.

[Bob Wilkin]

Yes, 30 to 33. Yeah, there's about four verses there. But Tom references one verse in First Corinthians and one verse in Second Corinthians.

[Ken Yates]

All right, so what verses does he hit?

[Bob Wilkin]

Okay, First Corinthians 11:25. Paul is talking about the Lord's Supper, right? And he says in the same manner Christ or it says he also took the cup after supper, right? Saying this cup is the New covenant in my blood. And of course Paul is talking to the Corinthians about them, the way they are mistreating the Lord's Supper or they're not conducting it in the right manner. And he's referencing what Christ said on the night he was betrayed when he took the cup and said, this cup is the New Covenant in my blood. Do this in remembrance of me. And so Tom is saying, he's talking to the church at Corinth. He's saying, this is what the Lord's Supper was based upon. And the Lord refers to the cup as the cup of the New Covenant. All right, the other verse that he references is 2nd Corinthians 3. 6. Paul here is talking about, well, he's going to get into the discussion of walking by the Spirit, of being transformed by the Spirit. The law couldn't do that. And he says in 2 Corinthians 3, 6, he's talking about his own ministry. And he says, God also made us sufficient as ministers of the New Covenant. And so Paul is saying that he is a minister of the New Covenant. He's talking again to the church at Corinth here in 2 Corinthians. So Tom is saying, doesn't that show that Paul is ministering to the church as a minister under the New Covenant, and therefore the church is under the New Covenant?

[Ken Yates]

Okay, so this is a highly controversial question, but first thing I would point out is do a word study of New Covenant. What you will find is it's amazingly rare in the New Testament. If I remember correctly, there's four uses. There's these two. And then in the Synoptics, you have, this is the blood of the New Covenant, right?

[Bob Wilkin]

Yeah. Hebrews refers to New Covenant, Right?

[Ken Yates]

Yeah. But it's extremely rare, first of all. But secondly, there's no verse that says, the New Covenant is currently operating. When he says, we're ministers of the New Covenant, you have to say, what does that genitive mean of the New Covenant? I think it means concerning the New Covenant or in relation to the New Covenant. In other words, what we minister in anticipation of the coming kingdom, when Israel will be the dominant nation and Jesus will be ruling from Jerusalem. And so we know the New Covenant is going to be inaugurated. Now, when the New Covenant is inaugurated, According to Jeremiah 31, he's going to write the law on their hearts. Right. And he says, and everyone will know the Lord from the least to the greatest. Of course, he's talking about in Israel. Right.

[Bob Wilkin]

Well, he says in Jeremiah, this is for the Jews.

[Ken Yates]

Right. So there's two ways that dispensationalists have handled this. And you know this. Right. One is there's two New Covenants. Now, how does that view work? Do you remember that?

[Bob Wilkin]

Sure. One would be that that view would be that, yes, Jeremiah is talking about a new covenant that he's going to make with the nation of Israel. But there's also a new covenant for the church. They're not the same. They're different. They're both based upon the death of Christ. But the church is under a new covenant and Israel is going to be under the new covenant when he returns.

[Ken Yates]

Okay, so that's one. And the other view is there's one new covenant and within that some people that it has not yet begun, but it was more or less inaugurated with the blood of Christ. But it won't actually begin until Jesus is established as King of Israel.

[Narrator]

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[Bob Wilkin]

There would be some who would say that the new covenant is for the nation of Israel, but the Church receives some of the blessings. Now they would say that we're not under the new Covenant, but we're beneficiaries of it. Yeah. Beneficiaries of it.

[Ken Yates]

Yeah. And I would not see that because we're not Israel. We're not the chosen people. And the promises for Israel aren't for us. We need unique promises for us. And so I think when Paul says he's a minister of the New Covenant, he's saying, look, I realize God has not forgotten his people. What is Romans 9, 10, 11 all about? Right. There's a future for Israel in Romans 11:26, one day all Israel will be saved. Every single adult Jew will be a believer at the end of the tribulation. But not only that, all of the unbelieving children are going to be saved too. Because salvation in Romans 11:26 refers to deliverance from Gentile domination and from the army surrounding Jerusalem.

[Bob Wilkin]

Right, right.

[Ken Yates]

And so when Paul ministers in light of the New Covenant, he doesn't see the church as independent of Israel. Well, I maybe should say that differently. It is independent in one sense, but we are ultimately for the benefit of Israel. God says, I'm going to bless those who bless you to Abraham.

[Bob Wilkin]

Would you feel comfortable or uncomfortable saying something like this? Again, I'm just talking off the top of my head. Okay, Christ's death and resurrection, making the new covenant, which is Jeremiah talking about for the nation of Israel, that is the basis for it. That's why the new covenant is coming. But when Paul, for example, in 2 Corinthians 3 is talking about we are ministers of a new covenant, he's not saying that the church is under that new covenant, but with the coming of Christ, which is the basis for the new covenant. Jeremiah 31, this way of living, this walking by the Spirit, it was made possible through the death of Christ as well. It's not the law. And so he's talking in those terms.

[Ken Yates]

Yeah, it could be. And I've been ruing over me saying that the death of Christ and the blood of Christ initiated the new covenant. Some people would say that. I think probably that would be an inaccurate statement because that would then say the new covenant is currently operating. So probably initiate is wrong, anticipates would be right. But ultimately the new covenant won't come until the Messiah of Israel comes again. And so the new covenant won't even be operative during the 75 days between the end of the tribulation and the beginning of the millennium. The new covenant will begin with the millennium.

[Bob Wilkin]

So what would you say about a, like a grace person, for example, who would make the distinction, because I've heard this before, that there's a difference between the new covenant and a new covenant.

[Ken Yates]

I've not heard that one. Give me that one.

[Bob Wilkin]

Well, if I remember right, I don't have the Greek text in front of me, but when Paul says we are ministers of a new covenant, I don't think the article is there. Yeah, he's just saying we're ministers of a new agreement where we're not under the law anymore. In other words, he's not really talking about Jeremiah 31. I've heard it said this way. Okay, we're not talking about Jeremiah 31, but the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life, and we're ministers of a new covenant here.

[Ken Yates]

Okay, that would be possible. But if he only uses the expression new covenant twice, and he uses it once in 1st Corinthians 11 and then once in 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, it would seem likely that they both would be talking about the same new covenant.

[Bob Wilkin]

Right?

[Ken Yates]

Of course, in First Corinthians 11, 26, it does have the definite article, I think, doesn't it, when he says that this is the new covenant in my blood.

[Bob Wilkin]

Yeah, I'm just looking right now. I'm looking at 2 Corinthians 3:6. The article's not there. We are ministers of a New Covenant. The article's not there.

[Ken Yates]

But in Greek, you don't have to have the definite article for something to be definite.

[Bob Wilkin]

Right. My point, there would be. Could Paul just be he's just comparing the Old Covenant under the law with the New Covenant or a New Covenant under his Spirit. We don't live by the law because that's what he's talking about in 2 Corinthians 3. But this is something new. It's not the New Covenant. I'm just saying. I've heard that before.

[Ken Yates]

Okay. And that's a possibility. I suppose it would be kind of a form of saying there's one New Covenant for Israel and one New Covenant for the church. Right?

[Bob Wilkin]

Yeah.

[Ken Yates]

1 Corinthians 11:26.

[Bob Wilkin]

Yeah. In 1 Corinthians 11:25, it is the New Covenant.

[Ken Yates]

The New Covenant.

[Bob Wilkin]

Yeah. But of course, in that case, Paul's quoting from Jesus words on the night he was betrayed.

[Ken Yates]

Right.

[Bob Wilkin]

He's talking to the Jews there. Right. When the night he was. This is the blood of the New Covenant or the cup of the New Covenant in my blood.

[Ken Yates]

Yeah. And look, I would encourage all of you, if I seem like I've stumbled around here, Kensmore definitive than I am. But look, I'm confident the New Covenant is not operating. The New Covenant is not operating.

[Bob Wilkin]

And we agree.

[Ken Yates]

Yeah, maybe there's a New Covenant, but I'm not so inclined at this point. I'm open. But what I would encourage all of you to do is study this out. But the other thing to keep in mind is that the expression doesn't occur much. And if this was some really key, crucial theological aspect, don't you think there'd be some passage that clearly laid this out?

[Bob Wilkin]

Right.

[Ken Yates]

We don't have that. So I would say, you know, that it's dangerous to go there because it often leads people into legalism and they somehow. Because the New Covenant, when it comes in the law of Moses, is going to be operative again.

[Bob Wilkin]

And you helped me with this one time, Bob, when you said, when the New Covenant. We'll have the law written in our heart. We don't have the law of Moses written in our heart. So wait a second.

[Ken Yates]

We don't even have God's laws. We don't have the New Testament commands written on our heart.

[Bob Wilkin]

That's right. So we're not under that.

[Ken Yates]

The only way we get them there is by hearing the word of God taught. Right.

[Bob Wilkin]

And the Spirit transforming us.

[Ken Yates]

Yes.

[Bob Wilkin]

Well, that was a great question. We hope this helped and remember.

[Ken Yates]

Keep Grace in Focus.

[Narrator]

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[Bob Wilkin]

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