“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” — Ephesians 2:4-7
What truly makes us new – what makes us clean and able to come before God – is Jesus. He came and fulfilled the old covenant and established the new covenant. The old covenant, in short, says that in order to be saved, you must perfectly obey the law. The old covenant has many parts and Jesus came and fulfilled it all. He came down to Earth, lived a perfect life, fulfilled the old covenant and died on the cross to atone for our sins, effectively saving us from having to fulfill the old covenant as well (Hebrews 9:15).
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” —Ephesians 2:8-10
He didn’t just fulfill the old covenant though. He established a new one in rising from the grave three days after his crucifixion. In this, he establishes the new covenant that makes salvation not about works and perfection but about faith and grace. Jesus died and rose again so that we could not only be made clean and be forgiven from our sins but that we may also walk in grace, reverence of him and have a relationship with God himself.