Introduction

One of the most important tasks in a theological discussion is to establish the definition of terms. Often amid debate, there can be much confusion because this first crucial step wasn’t taken. Furthermore, our own theology can be confused if we don’t first take the time to establish the definition of terms.

Much confusion exists today about the relationship between Old and New Covenant Israel. To cut through this confusion and understand the relationship, we must first understand how the Bible defines the two.

Old Covenant Israel

To start off, it is helpful to think through what is definitive of Old Covenant Israel. What makes Old Covenant Israel Old Covenant Israel? What is Old Covenant Israel? It is helpful to examine what requirements existed to be in Old Covenant Israel to define what Old Covenant Israel is. What we find is quite interesting. Ethnicity was not a requirement nor a guarantee of being in Old Covenant Israel. Admission into Old Covenant Israel was primarily based on observance of the ceremonial law.

No Ethnic Requirement

Normally, the citizens of OC Israel were ethnic descendants of Abraham. However, what was normative should not be equated with what was required. One did not need to be a descendant of Abraham to be a part of OC Israel. Furthermore, being a descendant of Abraham, or Israel for that matter, did not guarantee entrance into OC Israel. A person could be ethnically a descendant of Abraham and Israel and yet not a part of OC Israel.

Rahab, Ruth, Uriah the Hittite, and others are helpful examples of this. Let's examine one example in particular. In Joshua 14:13-14, we read that Caleb was given Hebron as his inheritance in the land. What makes this interesting? Caleb is the "son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite."[1] Caleb is the son of a Canaanite (cf Gen 15:19). Caleb is not ethnically a son of Abraham, yet he receives a portion in the Promised Land. Robert Hubbard Jr. notes that, “…Caleb ‘represents a non-Israelite clan incorporated into the tribe of Judah and larger Israel…’”[2] His ethnicity did not bar him from being in the OC nation of Israel. How is it that Caleb became a part of OC Israel?

Ceremonial Law

To be a part of the OC nation of Israel, one needed to observe the ceremonial law. The ceremonial law was the dividing wall between those who were part of OC Israel and those who weren’t. This truth is particularly seen in the ceremonial laws regarding circumcision. Exodus 12:48 explains, “If a stranger shall sojourn with you and keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it.” In this passage, we learn that foreigners could become “as a native of the land” if the males observed the ceremonial law of circumcision. Douglas Stuart, commenting on this passage, writes, “Circumcision indicates membership in the covenant community of God.”[3] Circumcision was the entrance requirement to be a member of the OC nation of Israel. This fact further illustrates that ethnicity was not a requirement to be a citizen of the nation, although observance of circumcision was.

We also read in Genesis 17:14: “Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.” If someone was ethnically a descendant of Abraham but was not circumcised, he would not enjoy the benefits of being in the OC nation of Israel. He was to be cut off from the people. These passages demonstrate that entrance into OC Israel was not based on ethnicity but on observance of the ceremonial laws. To be in the OC nation of Israel, one had to be circumcised. However, not all those in Israel who were ceremonially circumcised were circumcised in the heart.

A Mixed Covenant Group

To be a part of the OC community, one needed to observe the ceremonial laws. One could be in the OC nation of Israel through the ceremonial laws without having genuine faith. OC Israel was a mixed covenant group that contained both believers and unbelievers. This notion of a mixed covenant group is seen in the idea of the “remnant” in Israel that runs throughout the Old Testament (1 Kings 19:14-18; Jer 50:18-20).

Though entrance into OC Israel required circumcision, it was not merely an outward circumcision that was needed to be saved. In Deuteronomy 30:6, we read that love for Yahweh and the ability to live are dependent on God inwardly circumcising the heart. Furthermore, Paul gives a crucial interpretative lens regarding the need for heart circumcision. In Romans 2:28-29 Paul writes, “For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter...” To be a member of OC Israel, one needed to be circumcised. However, just because someone was part of the OC nation of Israel it did not mean he was truly a Jew; it did not mean he was truly of the people of God. True Jews, the true people of God, are not merely circumcised outwardly; they are those circumcised of heart by the Spirit.

Within OC Israel, many were merely circumcised outwardly. However, there was always a remnant of those who were circumcised inwardly. Paul further illustrates this truth. In Romans 9:6-8 he writes, “It is not as though God’s word has failed. For not all who are descended from Israel are Israel. Nor because they are Abraham’s descendants are they all his children. On the contrary, ‘Through Isaac your offspring will be reckoned.’ So it is not the children of the flesh who are God’s children, but it is the children of the promise who are regarded as offspring.” John Murray writes, “…Paul’s argument is that God’s faithfulness to his covenant is not to be judged by the extent to which those physically descended from Abraham are partakers of salvation. God’s faithfulness is vindicated by the fact that the covenant promise contemplates those who have been sovereignly chosen by God…”[4]

Not all those descended from Israel and Abraham are the true Israel. The true Israel is not determined by outward circumcision, nor is it determined by ethnicity. The true Israel is determined by “God’s mercy” (Rom 9:16). In other words, the true Israel is determined by God’s electing purposes. OC Israel was a mixed group containing those who were merely Jews outwardly and a remnant of those whom God elected to be circumcised in heart.

To summarize, entrance into the OC nation of Israel was based upon observance of the ceremonial laws, not ethnicity. Furthermore, OC Israel contained a mixed group of those who were merely circumcised outwardly (not regenerate) and those who were the true Israel, the elect of God who were circumcised in heart (regenerate). 

New Covenant Israel Arrives

What makes New Covenant Israel New Covenant Israel? What is New Covenant Israel? In Jeremiah 31:31-34, God promises a new covenant that he will establish “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” The New Covenant will be different from the Old Covenant as it will not be “like the covenant [God] made with their fathers” (v 32). Here, we see that both covenants are made with Israel, the New Covenant is "with the house of Israel" and the previous covenant, the Old Covenant, had been "made with their fathers." In Hebrews 8, we see that the NC, and with it, NC Israel, has come because Christ has come. With the coming of the NC the OC is made “obsolete” and is vanishing away (v 13). As Thomas Schreiner puts it, “The prophecy of a new covenant entails the obsolescence of the old.”[5]

But what are the similarities and differences between OC Israel and NC Israel? What remains from OC Israel and what is new about NC Israel?

Similarities Between Old and New

Still No Ethnic Requirement

Just as there was no ethnicity requirement to enter into OC Israel, there remains no ethnicity requirement to enter into NC Israel. Again, as Paul puts it, true Jews, true Israelites, are those circumcised in heart, the elect of God, who are children of Abraham because they have put their faith in the offspring of Abraham (Gal 3:7, 16).

Saved by Faith in Christ

The Catechism for Boys and Girls asks, “How were godly persons saved before the coming of Christ?” To which it answers, “They believed in the Saviour to come.”[6] The only means of salvation under both the OC and the NC is union with Christ through faith. Under the NC, people are saved by faith in Christ, who has come, whereas under the OC, people were saved by faith in Christ, who was to come (John 8:56; Gal 3:7-9). In the NC, people are saved by faith in the accomplished work of Christ, whereas in the OC, people were saved by faith in the promised work of Christ.

Differences Between Old and New

No Ceremonial Law Requirement

Entrance into OC Israel required observance of the ceremonial law. A fundamental difference in NC Israel is that because Christ has fulfilled the ceremonial law, the ceremonial law is no longer a requirement to be part of the covenant people of God. This is one of the recurring arguments of Hebrews. Believers do not need to, nor should they, go back to the ceremonial laws of the OC because Christ has come who is “the true form of these realities” (Heb 10:1). Samuel Renihan, quoting John Owen, explains, “Thus, ‘The Old Covenant was typical, shadowy and removeable. The New Covenant is substantial and permanent, as containing the Body which is Christ.”[7] Throughout the New Testament, we see that the ceremonial laws of the OC are abolished because they have been fulfilled in Christ.

The Temple

The temple (and the tabernacle before it) was central to the ceremonial laws regarding OC worship. Throughout the Old Testament, the people are indicted by God for worshipping outside of the Jerusalem temple. The temple is symbolic of God’s presence with his people. Under the OC, God’s presence (and worship of him) was tied to a particular place, the temple in Jerusalem. Under the NC, worship is no longer tied to Jerusalem or the temple. Why? Because Christ, the incarnate presence of God with his people, has come. 

Immanuel, God with us, tabernacled among his people (Mat 1:23; John 1:14). Furthermore, after Christ’s ascension, he sent the Spirit to dwell in his people. God’s presence with his people is no longer tied to a specific geographical temple location; instead, he dwells in his people through the Spirit (1 Cor 3:16). God’s people are now the temple of God (Eph 2:19-22). Charles Hodge explains, “A temple is a building in which God dwells. Such a temple is holy, as sacred to him. It belongs to him, is consecrated to his use…. This is true of the church as a whole, and of all its constituent members.”[8]

The fact that the ceremonial laws regarding Jerusalem temple worship have been abolished is demonstrated in Jesus’ conversation with the Samaritan woman (John 4:19-24). A point of contention between the Samaritans and the Jews was the location of worship. The Samaritans believed that worship should take place at Mount Gerizim, whereas the Jews believed that worship should take place in Jerusalem. Jesus responds to this debate by saying in John 4:21-23, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him.” Under the NC, the requirements regarding the location of the worship of God have been abolished. NC Israel does not need to worship in Jerusalem; they can worship God in any geographic location as long as it is done in spirit, from the heart, and in truth, according to God’s Word. D.A. Carson explains, “To worship the Father ‘in spirt and truth’ clearly means more than worship without necessary ties to particular holy places (though it cannot mean any less). The prophets spoke of a time when worship would no longer be focused on a single, central sanctuary, when the earth would be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.”[9]

Circumcision

One of the first points of debate under the NC was whether or not Gentiles needed to be circumcised to be part of the covenant people of God. This debate makes sense, considering the OC context. As noted above, circumcision was the ceremonial law that granted admittance into OC Israel. You could not be part of the nation of Israel if you were an uncircumcised descendant of Abraham. Furthermore, you could be part of the nation of Israel if you were a circumcised Gentile. Under the NC, do Gentiles still need to be circumcised to enter into Israel?

Though many passages answer this question (Rom 2:25-29; 4:9-12; Phil 3:2-3; Col 2:11; Gal 6:15), it is particularly helpful to see how the Jerusalem council responded to this question in Acts 15. Some men were teaching, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved” (Acts 15:1). They were teaching that the OC restrictions still applied to NC Israel. Peter responded to this teaching by saying that because God had given the Gentiles the Spirit, God has “... made no distinction between us and them, having cleansed their hearts by faith...” (Acts 15:9). Under the NC, circumcision, like the rest of the ceremonial law, is no longer a dividing wall between those who are Israel and those who are not.

James agrees with Peter and quotes Amos 9:11-12 as evidence. In Acts 15:13-18, James says, “Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written, ‘After this I will return, and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen; I will rebuild its ruins, and I will restore it, that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who are called by my name, Says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’” In this passage, James explains that the Gentiles’ inclusion in the NC is the fulfillment of what Amos prophesied. God would one day rebuild the tent of David, restoring Israel. This rebuilding and restoration of Israel includes the Gentiles “who are called by [God’s] name”. J.A. Alexander writes, “… the restoration of the kingdom of David was to be connected with the spiritual conquest of the Gentiles…”[10] As such, Gentiles need to become Jews via circumcision to enter the kingdom. James understood from Amos that NC Israel, which has come, would consist of Gentiles without the required observance of circumcision.

Dietary Laws & Ceremonial Feasts

Another aspect of OC Israel’s ceremonial laws was the dietary laws and ceremonial feasts. These are also abolished under the NC. In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul writes, “Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.” Under the NC, one no longer needs to observe the dietary laws and ceremonial feasts. Why? Because these, and the other ceremonial aspects of OC Israel, are mere shadows. The real substance is Christ, thus, the shadows are no longer definitive of Israel; Christ is.

Priests & Sacrifices

The central aspect of OC temple worship was the priests and sacrifices. Since Christ fulfills ceremonial laws regarding both, they are both abolished under the NC. The book of Hebrews provides a powerful argument for this. Believers were tempted to return to temple worship, including the priests and the sacrifices. The author of Hebrews argues that since the new and better has come (Christ and the NC), believers should not and can not return to the old (the ceremonial laws of the OC) (Heb 7:11-28; 8:6-7; 10:1-4, 9, 12, 18). To return to the shadows (the ceremonial law) is to refuse the substance (Christ) (Heb 12:25).

Praise be to God that the substance has come! One no longer needs to observe the ceremonial laws, which were mere shadows, to be part of Israel. The dividing wall of hostility has been removed (Eph 2:11-22)!

No Unbelievers in NC Israel

As we saw before, Israel had a mixed membership under the OC. Some were in OC Israel through the ceremonial law of circumcision who nevertheless were uncircumcised of heart; they were not saved. Does this mixed membership continue in NC Israel? No, those who are a part of NC Israel are only the elect of God, who have been regenerated by the Spirit, circumcised in heart, and united to Christ through faith.

Jeremiah’s prophecy of NC Israel, quoted in Hebrews, gives important indicators of this truth. All those in NC Israel have a new work done in which God’s laws are in their minds and written on their heart (Heb 8:10). Furthermore, all those in NC Israel know (salvifically) the Lord (v 11). John Owen explains, “The knowledge of the Lord may be here taken, not objectively and doctrinally, but subjectively, for the renovation of the mind in the saving knowledge of God.”[11] Lastly, all those in NC Israel have had their sins forgiven (v 12). These truths can only be said of those who are united to Christ through faith. NC Israel only includes those who are united to Christ through faith.

Additionally, Paul’s imagery of the olive tree in Romans 11 indicates that all those in NC Israel are true believers. Paul starts chapter 11 by asking the question, “Has God rejected his people?” So many of those who were in OC Israel were not saved; so many of those who were in OC Israel rejected Christ. Paul explains that this is nothing new. He explains that Israel has always included a remnant of those who were saved (v 5). The basis for being saved is not membership in OC Israel; the basis for being saved has always been God’s electing grace (v 6-7). Under the NC, those who were not truly saved have been removed from the covenant people of God. They are broken off from the olive tree (a symbol of Israel, see Jer 11:16) “because of their unbelief” (v 20). Furthermore, Gentiles are grafted into the olive tree (Israel) through faith in Christ. What remains of the olive tree, what remains of Israel, is only the true Israel, those who are united to Christ through faith and who thus bear fruit (Luke 3:8-9; John 15:1-6, 16).

Whereas OC Israel was comprised of unbelievers and believers, NC Israel is comprised only of believers. Praise God for his electing grace that has placed us in the olive tree! Praise God that he has grafted in wild olive branches such as us into Israel, into Christ!

Concluding Thoughts

As mentioned at the start, there is much confusion today regarding the relationship between Old and New Covenant Israel. Much of this confusion stems from not taking the time to define terms. This paper has demonstrated that OC Israel was a mixed group of believers and unbelievers bound together through the ceremonial law and not through ethnicity. Furthermore, this article has demonstrated that NC Israel no longer has any ceremonial law requirements and that only all those who have placed their faith in Christ constitute NC Israel.

These truths have practical ramifications for those who hold paedobaptist and dispensational theological perspectives. First of all, a view of the church that includes unbelieving infants necessarily involves a return to abolished aspects of the OC. Under paedobaptism, baptism becomes a new ceremonial law to grant entrance into Israel.

Furthermore, this paradigm recreates a mixed covenant people of God that can not exist under the NC as all of NC Israel know the Lord and have had their sins forgiven. Entrance into NC Israel is by faith alone in Christ alone.

Furthermore, any theological view includes that a future return of the nation of Israel necessitates a return to abolished aspects of the OC as well. The OC nation of Israel is not defined by ethnicity but by the observance of the ceremonial laws. A return of the nation of Israel requires a return to exclusive temple worship, circumcision, dietary laws, ceremonial feasts, sacrifices, and a Levitical priesthood. Christ has fulfilled these laws causing them to vanish away (Heb 8:13). NC Israel does not require observance of the ceremonial law or a particular ethnicity. Entrance into NC Israel is by faith alone in Christ alone. 

As such, as best as we can, we ought to baptize believers only and we should not hope for a return of the OC Israel. With the coming of Christ, the NC has come and it is far superior!

Below is a diagram summarizing the article's main points.

[1] All Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton: Crossway, 2001).

[2] Robert L. Hubbard Jr, The NIV Application Commentary: Joshua (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2009), 405.

[3] Douglas K. Stuart, The New American Commentary: Exodus, vol.2 (Nashville, TN: B&H Publishing Group, 2006), 310.

[4] John Murray, The New International Commentary on The New Testament: Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1968), 24.

[5] Thomas Schreiner, Evangelical Biblical Theology Commentary: Hebrews (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2020), 254.

[6] Reformed Reader, “A Catechism for Boys and Girls,” accessed June 12, 2025, https://www.reformedreader.org/ccc/acbg.htm.

[7] Samuel Renihan, The Mystery of Christ, His Covenant, & His Kingdom (Cape Coral, FL: Founders Press, 2020), 37.

[8] Charles Hodge, Commentary on the Epistle to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1994), 152.

[9] D.A. Carson, The Pillar New Testament Commentary: The Gospel According to John (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1991), 226.

[10] J.A. Alexander, Geneva Series of Commentaries: Acts (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 2024), 82.

[11] John Owen, Hebrews, vol. 6 (Carlisle, PA: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1991), 163.