Transfiguration of the Covenant

The Old Testament laws were part of the Old Testament Covenant. Certainly the moral law is still in force, since the eternal moral law is the Justice of God. But the disciplines of the Old Covenant are not in force. Yet it is not the case that the New Covenant has no discipline. The Church has two types of authority, the teaching authority, which issues doctrines on faith, morals, and salvation, as well as the temporal authority, which issues rules and rulings, that is, disciplines. The faithful depend upon both the beliefs and the practices of the Church in order to live the faith.

But the Old Testament Covenant was issues by God in words that indicate it shall continue forever. In Genesis, God says to Abram (Abraham):

[Genesis]
{13:14} And the Lord said to Abram, after Lot was divided from him: “Lift up your eyes, and gaze out from the place where you are now, to the north and to the meridian, to the east and to the west.
{13:15} All the land that you see, I will give to you, and to your offspring even forever.
{13:16} And I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth. If any man is able to number the dust of the earth, he will be able to number your offspring as well.”

If the Old Testament covenant is no longer in force, if it has been nullified or even replaced, then the offspring of Abraham would not be his countless spiritual offspring, including all faithful Christians. His offspring would then be a much smaller number. And the meaning of the passage would then be restricted from the broad promise of countless spiritual offspring, to the narrow promise of many merely physical descendants. But the Magnificant of the Virgin Mary in Sacred Scripture teaches that Christians are the spiritual descendants of Abraham:

[Luke]
{1:54} He has taken up his servant Israel, mindful of his mercy,
{1:55} just as he spoke to our fathers: to Abraham and to his offspring forever.”

Therefore, the Old Testament covenant, which began with Abraham, continues for his spiritual descendants forever. There is no end to this covenant. So then how can we explain that there is also a New Testament covenant established by the Blood of Christ?

[Luke]
{22:20} Similarly also, he took the chalice, after he had eaten the meal, saying: “This chalice is the new covenant in my blood, which will be shed for you.”

We cannot say that the Old Covenant has passed away, since God promised that covenant to Abraham and his (spiritual) descendants forever. And we cannot say that there are two covenants, the Old and the New, by which human persons are saved. For we know by faith that all who are saved have salvation by the Blood of Christ, who died for us on the Cross. Christ is the sole source of salvation, so there cannot be two covenants in force today. Neither can we say that the New Covenant has replaced the Old Covenant, since God promised Abraham that the Old Covenant would continue in his spiritual descendants forever.

The only solution to this theological dilemma is that the Old Covenant has been transfigured, has been transformed, into the New Covenant. All of the Old Covenant promises continue under the New Covenant, in a higher form. For example, the promise concerning the descendants of Abraham, which is true of his physical descendants, the Hebrew people, when they live by faith, is true to an even greater extent of all his spiritual descendants, Christians. And the disciplines of the Old Testament, which had their usefulness in their time, continue to be fulfilled in their spiritual meaning, in the spirit but not the letter of those practices. The promises God made to Abraham and to his descendants, which He said in truth would continue forever, do in truth continue forever, and to a much greater extent than Abraham ever imagined.

This transfiguration of the Old Testament covenant into the New Testament covenant is analogous to the change that occurs at the consecration of bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. Both bread and wine are good things from God; so too is the Old Covenant a good thing from God. But the consecrated bread and wine, which is the Real Presence of Christ, is so much greater than words can express. Similarly, the New Covenant is so much greater than words can express, for God became a man and died for our salvation, and this is the fulfillment, with an exceedingly great superabundance, of every Old Covenant promise and of all the promises of the New Covenant.

Since even the Old Testament disciplines instituted by God by Divine Revelation are dispensable, then certainly the New Testament disciplines are also changeable and dispensable. Now as long as we are in this life, following Christ in body and soul, we need some disciplines, exterior rules for worship, to live as the people of God, to act harmoniously with one another, just as the Israelites needed in ancient times. We need both doctrine and discipline. The temporal authority of the Church has the authority to change various elements of discipline, and to dispense from various elements of discipline. But the Church lacks the authority to entirely dispense from all disciplines, so that the Faith would then be doctrine without discipline. In Heaven, no discipline is needed because all the faithful have the Beatific Vision of God. And after the general Resurrection, again no discipline is needed, for the same reason. But as long as we are in this life, the people of God need some practices, rules, and rulings, as a practical necessity in order to live out the doctrines of the Faith. Doctrine is always greater than discipline, but discipline is not entirely dispensable.

by
Ronald L. Conte Jr.
Roman Catholic theologian and
translator of the Catholic Public Domain Version of the Bible.