The New Testament Inheritance: A Superior Reality to the New Covenant
Orientation
Many believers experience confusion, legalism, and spiritual impotence by mistakenly thinking they are under Israel's New Covenant.
- This error shifts focus from Christ's finished work to our own performance.
- It breeds hypocrisy and robs us of the transformation and glory God intends.
- It creates a system of mutual obligation that cannot produce life.
Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. (2 Corinthians 3:6)
— 2 Corinthians 3:6
Clarification
Believers are not parties to a covenant of law but are heirs of a superior Testament inheritance distributed through ministry.
- The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31, Ezekiel 36) is for Israel and is rooted in law-language.
- The Church's portion is a New Testament inheritance hrist Himself alled finished work.
- This inheritance is imparted, not earned, through the Gospel which reveals and gives Christ.
For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth. (Hebrews 9:16-17)
— Hebrews 9:16-17
Structure
God imparts Christ into believers via the Holy Spirit, transforming them into living epistles and co-heirs of glory.
- The Holy Spirit is the living ink writing Christ into our hearts (2 Corinthians 3:3).
- New Testament ministry nourishes by distributing Christ's unsearchable riches, strengthening the inner man.
- Suffering is used by God to turn our gaze to Christ's glory, producing soul salvation and joy.
Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. (2 Corinthians 3:3)
— 2 Corinthians 3:3
Weight-Bearing Prose
The core assertion is categorical: the Church has nothing to do with Israel’s New Covenant. We are testament heirs, not covenant parties. This is not semantic but substantive. The New Covenant language (Jeremiah 31:31-34) is law-language
‘I will… if you will’
which always fosters legalism and hypocrisy, shifting focus to human obligation. In contrast, the New Testament is a will, a finished inheritance distributed after the Testator’s death. Our inheritance is Christ Himself, and it is imparted, not legislated.
Pauline categories make this clear. The ministry we received is of the Spirit, not the letter (2 Corinthians 3:6). The Gospel preaching of the New Testament unveils Christ and imparts Him, sealing us with the Spirit and regenerating us. This is an ongoing ministry of impartation, where the Spirit engraves Christ into us, making us living epistles. Transformation is not via covenant obligation but via the Spirit’s inward writing.
God uses suffering and affliction paradoxically within this Testament framework. These are not punishments for covenant failure but tools to turn our gaze from the visible to the unseen glory of Christ, working an eternal weight of glory. This process saves the soul
renewing the mind and emotions
s the life of the Spirit overflows from our regenerated spirit. The result is a hidden, paradoxical spirituality marked by weakness yet manifesting the fragrance of Christ’s knowledge.
Integration
Your standing is secure. You are not in a fluctuating covenant relationship based on your performance. You are an heir. Christ is your inheritance
finished work, given freely. The pressure is off. The ministry you hear is not laying obligations upon you; it is distributing Christ to you, nourishing you as His body and bride.
Any sense of striving or failure is met with this reality: Christ is being written into you by the Spirit. Your afflictions are not signs of God’s displeasure but His tools to center you more deeply on the glory of your portion. Look away to Christ. The joy and peace are found there, in Him, not in your covenant-keeping. You are sealed, loved, and united to Him. Rest in the assurance that the One who began this good work is the One who imparts it, day by day, through the Spirit. This is your landing place: Christ Himself, your all-sufficient inheritance.