Category: The New Covenant

Three Covenants

“For it is written that Abraham had two sons, one by the bondwoman [Hagar] and one by the free woman [Sarah].  But the son [Ishmael] by the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and the son [Isaac] by the free woman through the promise.  This is allegorically speaking, for these women are two covenants” (Galatians 4:22-24).

The apostle Paul goes on to explain in Galatians chapter 4 that Sarah and Isaac are a picture of the new covenant while Hagar and Ishmael are representatives of the old covenant.  How are Sarah and Isaac connected to the new covenant when they lived almost 2000 years before the new covenant came through Jesus Christ?

We will get back to that question, but let’s start with a look at an earlier covenant; a covenant prior to both the old and the new.  Isaac is called a son of promise because his story is wrapped up in the promise of God to Abraham, a promise we refer to as the Abrahamic covenant.  This covenant, first revealed in Genesis chapter 12 and repeated in various forms throughout Abraham’s lifetime, contains these highlights:

  1. It was a covenant based on God’s promise, not Abraham’s action.
  2. It was a promise to bless all the families of the earth, both Jew and Gentile.
  3. It was a promise fulfilled in the one who “believed”, not based on religious activity or behavior.
  4. It was a covenant that was transformational, not transactional.
  5. It was a covenant between God and God; Abraham was the beneficiary.

Does all of the above sound familiar?  It certainly does!  It sounds a lot like the new covenant, ushered in by Jesus.  But before we search the riches of the connection between the Abrahamic and new covenants, let’s take a closer look at God’s covenant with Abraham.  We will start there next time.

The Blood of Jesus Speaks a Better Word

“And to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24).  The blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.

What “word” did the blood of Abel speak?  Recall the story from Genesis chapter 4.  “And it came about when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother and killed him.  Then the Lord said to Cain, ‘Where is Abel your brother?’  And he said, ‘I do not know.  Am I my brother’s keeper?’  And God said, ‘What have you done?  The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to Me from the ground.  And now you are cursed from the ground, which has opened its mouth to receive your brother’s blood from your hand’ “ (Genesis 4:8-11)

The blood of Abel spoke a curse.  The blood of Abel spoke a word of guilt, shame, and condemnation.  The blood of Abel called from the ground, “GUILTY!”  It identified Cain as guilty of murder.

What does the blood of Jesus proclaim?  The exact opposite.  The blood of Jesus declares, “NOT GUILTY!”  The better word of Jesus’ blood is that you are now identified as “not guilty” through the power of the sprinkled blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus declares you holy and blameless.  “He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death [the sprinkled blood of Jesus], in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach” (Colossians 1:22).

The blood of Jesus declares you righteous.  “For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One [to the point of death on a cross] the many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19).

The blood of Jesus declares you clean.  “How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” (Hebrews 9:14).

The blood of Jesus declares you forgiven.  “He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross [a cross covered in the sprinkled blood of Jesus]“ (Colossians 2:13-14).

The better word of the sprinkled blood of Jesus?  You are not guilty!  You are holy, blameless, righteous, clean, and forgiven!  That is a better word!

Shadow and Reality

“Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or Sabbath day.  These are a mere SHADOW of the things that were to come; the REALITY, however, is found in Christ” (Colossians 2:16-17).

In Paul’s letters to the Galatian and Colossian believers, he writes very specifically about the lure of the Law, the lure of pagan religious observances, the lure of any rule-keeping system to put us back into bondage.  These are referred to by Paul as, “elementary principles of the world” (Galatians 4:3,9; Colossians 2:20).  And, prior to Christ, we were slaves to them.

But we have been set free from these systems!  Christ set us free.  According to our verses above, these systems were only a SHADOW of things to come.  Christ is the REALITY.  We are in the reality.  We are in Christ.  We are set free in Christ.  Christ is our reality.

Your shadow is not you.  That long shadow across the driveway in the late evening is not you.  I can jump with two feet on your shadow and you won’t feel a thing.  Because your shadow is not you.  But your shadow points to you.  I can follow your shadow into the front yard and find you!

The law or any rule-keeping system is a shadow.  It is not life-giving.  It has no life in it, just like a shadow has no life in it.  But it points to the life-giver.  The Law points to Christ.  “The Law has become our tutor to lead us to Christ” (Galatians 3:24).  The Law is the shadow.  Christ is the reality.

Think about it this way.  During several months of our engagement, I was working for a mining company in remote Alaska.  And Rhonda’s letters to me were a lifeline in our connection.  They were beautiful.  I read them over and over.  I parsed every word.  I read between the lines.  Her love for me literally flowed out of them.  For my part, I sent an equal number of much more average letters back to her in Indiana.

Fast forward 5, 7, 10 years after our wedding; I don’t exactly remember when.  We found our box of love letters and thought, “This would be fun.  Let’s read them again.”  After a couple of letters, we looked at each other and were each afraid to say what we were thinking.  The letters were still beautifully written, but they had become, how shall I say it … boring, bland, lacked pizazz.  Rhonda’s hand-drawn scrollwork was as pretty as ever, but the words kind of fell flat.  And my letters did not pass the test of time well at all.

What happened?  The letters were the shadow.  When that was all we had, it was beautiful and powerful.  But now we were married.  Now we had the reality.  We were sharing our lives together every day.  We were raising a family together.  We lived life together.  We were eating together.  We were going out together.  We were sleeping together.  We were experiencing the reality of marriage.  The shadow, as beautiful as it was in its time, no longer held its value.

The Law and the rule-keeping systems we try to use today in its place are the shadow.  Christ is the reality.  Christ in you is the reality.  Christ living His life through you is the reality.  And it is not just a theory or theology.  It is a reality that we walk in!  Thanks be to God for this indescribable gift!

Love, Acceptance, and Forgiveness

We all have a deep need for love, acceptance, and forgiveness.  And that deep need is fully satisfied in our Savior, Jesus Christ.  In Christ, you are … deeply loved … fully accepted … and completely forgiven.

You are deeply loved.  “But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).  When did God first love us?  Had we done anything “good” at that point to earn His love?  He loved us when we were actually His enemies.  He loved us and showed His love for us when Jesus died for us; when we were still lost on our sins.

You are fully accepted.  It is God’s deep love for you that made you His child.  “See how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are!” (I John 3:1).  You are a fully accepted child of God.  You can enter His room with confidence.  You can jump up on His lap.  You can cling to His neck.  He is your “Abba Father!”

You are completely forgiven.  “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).  “For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14).  “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.  Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer an offering required for sin” (Hebrews 10:17-18).

You are completely and forever forgiven.  Your guilt, shame, and condemnation have been removed as far as the east is from the west.  They have been washed away.  They have been replaced by the superior love, acceptance, and forgiveness of God Himself.  You are completely forgiven.

But how do we receive this incredible love, acceptance, and forgiveness?  We receive it by faith.  We express our faith in Jesus and receive all of this as a one-time gift when we acknowledge our guilt, accept the free gift of Christ’s death in our place, and believe what Jesus says is true.  If you wish to say “I’m in” with this new faith in Christ, tell God in prayer about your decision.  Then, talk to someone about it.  If you would like to know more about God’s offer or talk with us about a decision you’ve made, contact us through the “our mission” page on this site.  We would be happy to come along side you.

Come and See

The message of the kingdom is always an invitation, never an imposition.  In the Scriptures, this invitation is wrapped up in the word come.

“Ho! Everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and you who have no money come, buy and eat.  Come, buy wine and milk without money and without cost” (Isaiah 55:1).

“Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

“But when Jesus saw this, He was indignant and said to them, ‘Permit the children to come to Me; do not hinder them; for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these” (Mark 10:14).

Jesus said, “A man once gave a great banquet and invited many.  And at the time for the banquet, he sent his servant to say to those who had been invited, ‘Come, for everything is now ready.‘ “ (Luke 14:16-17).  The next few verses list the excuses as the invitees begged off.  The story continues … “Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’  And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’  And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled.  For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste my banquet‘ “ (Luke 14:21-24).

Here is a miracle of Jesus that includes an invitation to come.  “He said to the man with the withered hand, ‘Get up and come forward!’  And He said to them, ‘Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?’  But they kept silent.  After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, ‘Stretch out your hand.’  And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored” (Mark 3:3-5).

“Nathanael said to Philip, ‘Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?’  Philip said to him, ‘Come and see’ “ (John 1:46).

The Samaritan woman extended this invitation to experience the kingdom to her neighbors.  “Come, see a man who told me all the things that I have done; this is not the Christ, is it?” (John 4:29).

“Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink’ “ (John 7:37).

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come.”  And let the one who hears say, “Come.”  And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who wishes take the water of life without cost” (Revelation 22:17).

The promise of Isaiah 55:1 has been fulfilled.  Let all who respond to the invitation come and drink from the water of life without cost.

Come and see.  The King is inviting you into His kingdom.