24 February 2009

New & Everlasting Covenant – 2.24.09

First, let's review:

EDENIC COVENANT: God keeps His word. Man fails to keep God's requirements.

ADAMIC COVENANT: Sin brings a curse, but Jesus bore that curse for us.

NOAHIC COVENANT: God will never again destroy the earth with fire (though He will renovate it by fire).

ABRAHAMIC COVENANT: The great Hebrew nation will forever inherit the land of promise.

MOSAIC COVENANT: Governed by the law of God.

DAVIDIC COVENANT: With David's son upon the throne.

Now, because of Israel's agreement with God at Mount Sinai, in order for the promise God made to Abraham to be fulfilled, somehow the nation must be enabled to keep and be governed by the law of God. And David is going to need some kind of help getting up out of the grave (especially after his adultery and murder) in order to sit on the throne that God promised would be his forever.

From the very first covenant we learned that God always keeps His promises. And when we examine what the Bible says about this new and everlasting covenant, we find that it was all made possible by what Jesus Christ did when He bore mankind's sin upon the cross.

This new covenant could thus be considered THE FINAL FULFILLMENT OF THE ABRAHAMIC, MOSAIC, AND DAVIDIC COVENANTS MADE POSSIBLE BY THE LORD JESUS CHRIST.

You see, as a result of Jesus Christ's mediatorial (think I made that word up) work on the cross: on the day when the nation repents and turns to Him, God will save the entire nation of Israel in a day; He will indwell them with His Spirit; He will put His law in their hearts; He will plant them in the land from whence they shall never be removed; and He will rule over them as King with David as their prince.

You'll just have to read the following passages that describe the wonders of these new covenant blessings: Jeremiah 31:31-37; Jeremiah 32:37-44; Isaiah 54:7-10; Isaiah 61:7-11; Ezekiel 16:59-63; Romans 11:25-29; Hebrews 8:6-13; Hebrews 10:16-18. And Christ's role in making all this possible: Luke 1:67-75; Hebrews 12:24; Isaiah 42:1-7; Isaiah 43:5-9.

Now, I call your remembrance to Romans 9:4 (the covenants pertain to Israel) and Ephesians 2:12 (Gentiles strangers to the covenants of promise). But I would be amiss to point out the fact that we as Christians do indeed get in on some of these new covenant blessings, like:

  • our sins and iniquities remembered no more
  • indwelt by the Spirit of God
  • His law put in our hearts
  • the hope of the resurrection

The question poses itself: How can this be, if the covenants are strictly for Israel? Well, it goes back to what we discussed just over a month back (Joseph, Jesus, & the New Covenant – 1.16.09). When Jesus Christ shed His blood and died on Calvary's cross, only to rise again 3 days later, it was as if he "killed two birds with one stone." That same payment for sin made possible both our individual salvation (and birth into the family of God and baptism into the body of Christ) AND the fulfillment of all the covenants God had made with His chosen people, the nation of Israel.

Hebrews 13:20-21 Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

So while Jesus died on the cross to make a propitiation for the sins of the whole world (1 John 2:2), the blessed results of His doing so are varied and without number.

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