THE COVENANTS - PART 5

THE SIXTH COVENANT OF GOD TO MAN

THE NEW COVENANT

The dispensation of grace is the new agreement God has made with mankind, based on the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. The concept of a new covenant originated with the promise of the prophet Jeremiah that God would accomplish for His people what the old covenant had failed to do. Under this new covenant, God would write His Law on human hearts. This promised action suggested a new level of obedience, a new knowledge of the Lord, and a new forgiveness of sin.

Jer 31:31 "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.

The New Testament, which itself means "new covenant," interprets the work of Jesus Christ as bringing this promised new covenant into being. In Luke 22:20, when Jesus ate the Passover meal at the Last Supper with His disciples, He spoke of the cup as "the new covenant in My blood." When the apostle Paul recited the tradition he had received concerning the Last Supper, he quoted these words of Jesus about the cup as "the new covenant in My blood"

Luke 22:20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.

1 Cor 11:25 In the same way, after supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me."

But the Epistle to the Hebrews gives the new covenant more attention than any other book in the New Testament. It includes a quotation of the entire passage from Jeremiah 31:31-34.

Heb 8:8 8 But God found fault with the people and said: "The time is coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 9 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they did not remain faithful to my covenant, and I turned away from them, declares the Lord. 10 This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time, declares the Lord. I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 11 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, `Know the Lord,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest. 12 For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

Jesus is also referred to by the writer of Hebrews as "the Mediator of the new covenant". The new covenant, a "better covenant... established on better promises", rests directly on the sacrificial work of Christ, according to Hebrews. The new covenant accomplished what the old could not: removal of sin and cleansing of the conscience. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross thus makes the old covenant "obsolete" and fulfills the promise of the prophet Jeremiah.

Heb 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

Heb 12:24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

Heb 8:6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.

Heb 10:2 If it could, would they not have stopped being offered? For the worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins.

Heb 8:13 By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear.

The Dispensation of Grace is the period of time in which "the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man" is extended. This period of time is sometimes called the Church Age or Dispensation of the Holy Spirit.

The whole purpose of God in this covenant is to impute righteousness to man by which he can have fellowship with God. Under the old covenant (Old Testament) God demanded righteousness from man, by obedience to God in the New Testament, God gives that righteousness to man.

How does the Dispensation of Grace differ from the Dispensation of the Law? Three distinct differences appear as we study the Bible.

1. The Law is related to Moses and works, Grace to Jesus Christ and faith.

Jn 1:17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

Rom 4:4-10 4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness. 6 David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 7 "Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 8 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him." 9 Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness. 10 Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before!

2. The Law blesses the good; Grace saves the bad.

Exo 19:5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine,

Eph 2:1-9 1 As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, 2 in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. 3 All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. 4 But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, 5 made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions-- it is by grace you have been saved. 6 And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, 7 in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus. 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

3. The Law demands that blessings be earned; Grace is a free gift.

Dt 28:1-6 1 If you fully obey the LORD your God and carefully follow all his commands I give you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations on earth. 2 All these blessings will come upon you and accompany you if you obey the LORD your God: 3 You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country. 4 The fruit of your womb will be blessed, and the crops of your land and the young of your livestock-- the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks. 5 Your basket and your kneading trough will be blessed. 6 You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

Eph 2:8-9 8 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-- and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-- 9 not by works, so that no one can boast.

Rom 4:4-5 4 Now when a man works, his wages are not credited to him as a gift, but as an obligation. 5 However, to the man who does not work but trusts God who justifies the wicked, his faith is credited as righteousness.

As with all the past covenants, there is a test involved here too. Salvation was conditional in the Old Testament in that the qualification for that salvation was legal obedience. In the New Testament, salvation comes not by works or obedience to a set of laws and commandments, but by acceptance of Jesus Christ and the fruit of that salvation being good works. The test then is to see who will accept or reject the grace of Jesus Christ.

We can see the results of this test in past, present and future Biblical truths.

The Past

Acts 4:27 Indeed Herod and Pontius Pilate met together with the Gentiles and the people of Israel in this city to conspire against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed.

The Present

2 Tim 3:1-8 1 But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. 2 People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, 3 without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, 4 treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God-- 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them. 6 They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over weak-willed women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, 7 always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth. 8 Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth-- men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected.

The Future

Col 1:27 To them God has chosen to make known among the Gentiles the glorious riches of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Eph 3:16-21 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge-- that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. 20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

In the "new" and "better" covenant, the cross carries with it many marvelous dividends for all those who would accept the righteousness offered by God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

This verse satisfies four basic needs of mankind.

1. The forgiveness of sins.

This is accomplished by the shedding of blood.

Also by our confession of sin.

2. The deliverance from inbred iniquities.

What is iniquity?

Unrighteousness, lawlessness. The Bible often uses this word to describe evil and wickedness. Iniquity can suggest different types of evil, such as transgressions of spiritual law and crimes against God <2 Pet. 2:16; Rev. 18:5>, moral or legal wrongs <1 Cor. 13:6> or depravity and sin in general <Gen. 15:16; Ps. 51:1,5, 9>. Also see SIN. (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

2 Pet 2:16 But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey-- a beast without speech-- who spoke with a man's voice and restrained the prophet's madness.

Rev 18:5 for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes.

1 Cor 13:6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

Gen 15:16 In the fourth generation your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure."

Ps 51:1 Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions.

What is sin?

Lawlessness <1 John 3:4> or transgression of God's will, either by omitting to do what God's law requires or by doing what it forbids. The transgression can occur in thought <1 John 3:15>, word <Matt. 5:22>, or deed <Rom. 1:32>. (from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary)

1 John 3:4 Everyone who sins breaks the law; in fact, sin is lawlessness.

1 John 3:15 Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him.

Matt 5:22 But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, `Raca,' is answerable to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, `You fool!' will be in danger of the fire of hell.

Rom 1:32 Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

3. Peace of mind and heart.

Being innocent by justification allows us to have that peace of mind and heart necessary to be free from the guilt of sin.

4. Healing for the body.

The New Testament bears witness to this great promise.

We saw earlier that this covenant is also called the Dispensation of the Holy Spirit. Why? What role does the Holy Spirit play in this part of the plan of God for His creation? A look into the life and ministry of the Holy Spirit will reveal why this covenant is referred to in this manner.

Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the:

Spirit of God Spirit of Wisdom Spirit of Judgment

Spirit of Grace Spirit of Truth Spirit of Jesus Christ

What are some of the acts of the Holy Spirit during this dispensation?

1. He searches the deep things of God.

I Cor 2:10 but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.

2. He speaks to us.

Rev 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God.

3. He makes intercession for us.

Rom 8:26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

4. He teaches us.

Jn 14:26 But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

5. He leads and guides us.

Rom 8:14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

6. He empowers men for service in the Kingdom of God.

Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them."

Acts 20:28 Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.

7. Through Him the Lord Jesus Christ is glorified.

Jn 16:14 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.

Jn 15:26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.

In the new covenant, God has not left man to determine by himself, the need for a Saviour. The Holy Spirit also contends with the sinner to bring him to the point of accepting or rejecting salvation.

Jn 16:8-11 8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; 10 in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (NIV)

The Holy Spirits' work and relation to believers starts at the acceptance of Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord and continues until death. He does not leave us in the world to fend for ourselves in the spiritual war that we enter into as we become the children of God. Listed are some of the ways in which the Spirit is related to us in His work.

1. Beginning with Christ through a genuine conversion experience.

2. Baptized into the Lord Jesus Christ through water baptism.

3. The baptism with the Holy Spirit with the evidence of speaking in other tongues.

4. Sanctification of the Spirit that sets us apart for God's service.

5. The Spirit filled life which produces spiritual fruit and manifestation.

6. The Spirit filled life which enables us to worship and pray as we ought.

7. The establishment of ministry through confirmation and the laying on of hands.

8. Resurrection life for our body as the Spirit's climax!

Without argument, the single most important issue of the new covenant in Christ is, our complete and total forgiveness of sins by the blood of Jesus Christ. In that forgiveness is what is called, "atonement". Because of the importance of this area of this covenant, I would like to spend some time examining the atonement provided through grace.

ATONEMENT

The act by which God restores a relationship of harmony and unity between Himself and human beings. The word can be broken into three parts which express this great truth in simple but profound terms: "at-one-ment." Through God's atoning grace and forgiveness, we are reinstated to a relationship of at-one-ment with God, in spite of our sin.

(from Nelsons' Bible Dictionary)

Strong's # 2643 katallage (kat-al-lag-ay'); from 2644; exchange (figuratively, adjustment), i.e. restoration to (the divine) favor: KJV-- atonement, reconciliation (-ing).

Romans 11:15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead? (NIV)

2 Cor 5:19 that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. (NIV)

Because of Adam's sin and our own personal sins , no person is worthy of relationship with a Holy God. Since we are helpless to correct this situation and can do nothing to hide our sin from God, we all stand condemned by sin. It is human nature (our sinfulness) and God's nature (His holy wrath against sin) which makes us "enemies".

Rom 5:18 Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.

1 Cor 15:22 For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive.

Col 1:21 Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.

Eccl 7:20 There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.

Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

Prov 20:9 Who can say, "I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin"?

Heb 4:13 Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account.

Rom 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God.

Rom 5:10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!

Atonement, God's gracious response to the helplessness of His chosen people, the nation of Israel, was to give them a means of RECONCILIATION through Old Testament covenant Law. This came in the sacrificial system where the death, or "blood" of the animal was accepted by God as a substitute for the death which the sinner deserved: "For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls".

Ezek 18:20 The soul who sins is the one who will die. The son will not share the guilt of the father, nor will the father share the guilt of the son. The righteousness of the righteous man will be credited to him, and the wickedness of the wicked will be charged against him.

Lev 17:11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.

The Law required that the sacrificial victims must be free from defect, and buying them always involved some cost to the sinner. But an animal's death did not automatically make people right with God in some simple, mechanical way. The hostility between God and man because of sin is a personal matter. God for His part personally gave the means of atonement in the sacrificial system; men and women for their part personally are expected to recognize the seriousness of their sin. They must also identify themselves personally with the victim that dies: "Then he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him".

Lev 16:29 29 "This is to be a lasting ordinance for you: On the tenth day of the seventh month you must deny yourselves and not do any work-- whether native-born or an alien living among you-- 30 because on this day atonement will be made for you, to cleanse you. Then, before the LORD, you will be clean from all your sins.

Mic 6:6 6 With what shall I come before the LORD and bow down before the exalted God? Shall I come before him with burnt offerings, with calves a year old? 7 Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, with ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? 8 He has showed you, O man, what is good. And what does the LORD require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.

Lev 1:4 He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.

In the Old Testament, God Himself brought about atonement by graciously providing the appointed sacrifices. The priests represented Him in the atonement ritual, and the sinner received the benefits of being reconciled to God in forgiveness and harmony.

Although Old Testament believers were truly forgiven and received genuine atonement through animal sacrifice, the New Testament clearly states that during the Old Testament period God's justice was not served: "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins". Atonement was possible "because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed". However, God's justice was served in the death of Jesus Christ as a substitute who "not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the Most Holy Place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption". "And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant".

Heb 10:4 because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Rom 3:25 God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished--

Heb 9:12 He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption.

Heb 9:15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance-- now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant.

The Lord Jesus came according to God's will "to give His life a ransom for many", or "for all". Though God "laid on Him the iniquity of us all"; yet Christ "has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God", so that those who believe in Him might receive atonement and "be saved from [God's] wrath" through "the precious blood of Christ".

Acts 2:23 This man was handed over to you by God's set purpose and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put him to death by nailing him to the cross.

1 Pet 1:20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.

Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

1 Tim 2:6 who gave himself as a ransom for all men-- the testimony given in its proper time.

Is 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

2 Cor 5:21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Gal 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: "Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree."

Eph 5:2 and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.

Rom 3:22 This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference,

Rom 5:9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him!

1 Pet 1:19 but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect.

No believer who truly understands the awesome holiness of God's wrath and the terrible hopelessness that comes from personal sin can fail to be overwhelmed by the deep love of Jesus for each of us, and the wonder of God's gracious gift of eternal atonement through Christ. Through Jesus, God will present us "faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy".

Jude 1:24 To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy-

With the forgiveness of sins, comes the final covenant of God to man, the Everlasting Covenant or the Dispensation of Divine Government. In the next lesson we will examine what it will be like living under a Theocratic government and the eternal state of all who have been, are now and will be children of the Most High God. Hallelujah!!!!