Covenants and Jesus
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Covenant: God Pursues
Covenant: God Pursues
We believe that God makes and keeps His covenant promises. God’s covenants reveal His loving grace and mercy, because although people deserve nothing but condemnation, God gives gracious covenantal salvation. Because God welcomed us into an eternal covenant relationship, we seek to live in gracious loving relationship with Him and others.
Covenants are very important in Scripture and should be important to us too. The Bible speaks of seven, four of which God made with the nation of Israel. Three of those four, are unconditional in nature; meaning regardless of Israel’s obedience or disobedience, God still will fulfill these covenants with Israel.
The Mosaic Covenant is conditional in nature. The three covenant (Adamic, Noahic, and New) are made between God and mankind in general, and are not limited to the nation of Israel.
On this topic of covenants, Christians are divide. Some Christians think that all of the covenant are conditional in nature. Others believed that the unconditional covenants have yet to be totally fulfilled and will come to fruition sometime in the future.
And secondly, how does the church relate to the covenants?
Some believe that the church fulfills the covenants and God will never deal with Israel again. This is replacement theology and has little scriptural evidence.
Others believe that the church initially or partially will fulfill these covenants. While many of the promises towards Israel are still in the future, many believe that the church shares in the covenants in some way. (This is where I’m aligned)
Still others believe that the covenants are for Israel and for Israel alone, and the church has no part in these covenants.
Adamic Covenant:
Adamic Covenant:
The best way to think about the Adamic covenant is that it has two parts. the first has been called the Edenic Covenant: that is where man’s responsibility towards creation and God’s directive regarding the tree of knowledge of good and evil is outlined.
26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. 28 Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so.
The second half include the curses pronounced against mankind for Adam and Eve’s sin, as well as God’s provision for that sin.
15 And I will put enmity
Between you and the woman,
And between your seed and her Seed;
He shall bruise your head,
And you shall bruise His heel.”
Noahic Covenant:
Noahic Covenant:
This was an unconditional covenant between God and Noah (specifically) and the rest of humanity (generally). After the Flood, God promised humanity that He would never again destroy all life on earth with water (Genesis 9). The rainbow is a sign of this covenant, the promise that the entire earth would never again be flooded and a reminder that God can and will judge sin.
5 and did not spare the ancient world, but saved Noah, one of eight people, a preacher of righteousness, bringing in the flood on the world of the ungodly;
Abrahamic Covenant:
Abrahamic Covenant:
[Genesis 12:1-9; 13:14-7; 15:1-21; 17:1-14; 22:15-18] In this covenant, God promised many things to Abraham. He personally promised that He would make Abraham’s name great:
2 I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
That Abraham would have numerous physical descendants:
16 And I will make your descendants as the dust of the earth; so that if a man could number the dust of the earth, then your descendants also could be numbered.
Also that he would be the father of a multitude of nations:
4 “As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. 5 No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations.
God made these promises regarding the nation of Israel. God would even give Abraham the geographical boundaries of the nation of Israel. Another provision in this covenant is that the families of the world will be blessed through the physical line of Abraham:
3 I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”
18 In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice.”
Bothe of these verses are a reference to the Messiah (Christ), who would be a descendent of Abraham.
Palestinian Covenant:
Palestinian Covenant:
[Deuteronomy 30:1-10] This is a land covenant that reiterates the land promised to Israel in the Abrahamic Covenant. According to the terms of this covenant, if the people disobeyed, God would cause them to be scattered around the world:
3 that the Lord your God will bring you back from captivity, and have compassion on you, and gather you again from all the nations where the Lord your God has scattered you. 4 If any of you are driven out to the farthest parts under heaven, from there the Lord your God will gather you, and from there He will bring you.
Yet He would eventually restore the nation:
5 Then the Lord your God will bring you to the land which your fathers possessed, and you shall possess it. He will prosper you and multiply you more than your fathers.
When the nations is restored, then they will obey Him perfectly, and God will cause them to prosper. I believe we will see this come to fruition once we see what Paul spoke of in Romans:
25 For I do not desire, brethren, that you should be ignorant of this mystery, lest you should be wise in your own opinion, that blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in. 26 And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written:
“The Deliverer will come out of Zion,
And He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob;
Mosaic Covenant:
Mosaic Covenant:
[Deuteronomy 11; et al.] This was a conditional covenant that either brought God’s direct blessing for obedience or God’s direct cursing for disobedience upon the nation of Israel. Part of this covenant was the ten commandment (Exodus 20) and the rest of the law, which contains over 600 commands—roughly 300 positive and 300 negative.
The historical books in the Bible (Joshua-Esther) detail how Israel succeeded at obeying the law or how they miserably failed to obey the law.
26 “Behold, I set before you today a blessing and a curse: 27 the blessing, if you obey the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you today; 28 and the curse, if you do not obey the commandments of the Lord your God, but turn aside from the way which I command you today, to go after other gods which you have not known.
Davidic Covenant:
Davidic Covenant:
[2 Samuel 7:8-16] The Davidic Covenant expounds on the “seed” aspect of the Abrahamic Covenant. The promises to David in this passage are significant. God promised that David’s lineage would last forever and that his kingdom would never pass away permanently.
Though David’s throne hasn’t been established in place at all times. There will be a time, when someone from David’s line will again sit on the throne and rule as king.
The future king is Jesus:
32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Highest; and the Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. 33 And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom there will be no end.”
New Covenant:
New Covenant:
This important covenant is first made with Israel and then with all mankind.
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek.
In this covenant it involves a total change of heart so that God’s people are naturally pleasing to Him. Entering this New Covenant is made possible only by faith in Christ, who shed His blood to take away the sins of the world. It also gives the person a new heart, a new spirit , the indwelling Holy Spirit, and true holiness. As we learned in the Book of Hebrews that this New Covenant is superior to the old one, since the New Covenant is established on a better promises.
Speaking of Jesus, lets spend the rest of the time we have together diving into our Churches Christology and where we stand on the Person of Christ.
Incarnation: God comes
Incarnation: God comes
We believe that the eternal Son of God and second person of the Trinity became flesh, adding humanity to His divinity, and entered into human history as the God-Man, Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is one person with two natures, fully God and fully man. Jesus Christ is the Word, or Logos, of God because He is the personal, eternally existing Creator of the universe, distinct from, yet equal with, the Father and the Holy Spirit. Jesus Christ was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit and born from the Virgin Mary in Bethlehem to redeem sinful man as the only mediator between God and man. We believe that Jesus Christ, during the Incarnation, laid aside the continual exercise of His divine attributes and lived His sinless life by the power of the Holy Spirit. Because He is both our Savior and Example, we deeply love Jesus Christ and seek to live with and like Him by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Incarnation is a term used to indicate that Jesus, the Son of God, took on human flesh. The hypostatic union explains the two natures are joined, and the Incarnation affirms His humanity.
God is three persons.
Each person is fully God.
There is one God.
The Bible’s support of Jesus’ humanity is extensive. the Gospels report Jesus’ human needs including sleep:
23 But as they sailed He fell asleep. And a windstorm came down on the lake, and they were filling with water, and were in jeopardy.
Food:
2 And when He had fasted forty days and forty nights, afterward He was hungry.
18 Now in the morning, as He returned to the city, He was hungry.
Physical protection:
13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
39 Therefore they sought again to seize Him, but He escaped out of their hand.
Other indications of His humanity are that He perspired:
43 Then an angel appeared to Him from heaven, strengthening Him. 44 And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
bled:
34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.
Jesus also expressed emotions including joy:
11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full.
Sorrow:
37 And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed.
Anger:
5 And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.
During His life, Jesus referred to Himself as a man:
40 But now you seek to kill Me, a Man who has told you the truth which I heard from God. Abraham did not do this.
And after His resurrection His humanity was still recognized:
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your midst, as you yourselves also know—
The purpose of the Incarnation was not to taste food or to feel sorrow. The Son of God came in the flesh in order to be the Savior of mankind. It was necessary to be born under the law. Where we all have failed to fulfill God’s law, Christ came in the flesh to fulfill it on our behalf:
5 to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption as sons.
Also it is necessary for the savior to shed His blood for the forgiveness of sins:
22 And according to the law almost all things are purified with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no remission.
Jesus Christ interjected Himself into human history and was born of a virgin, named Mary.
This is important for four reasons:
Salvation was promised through the “seed” of the woman and He would ultimately destroy the serpent, so God brought it about by his own power not through mere human effort. Salvation cannot ever be brought about in human effort, but it has to be a work of God Himself.
The virgin birth made possible the uniting of full deity and full humanity in one person.
14 Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, 15 and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. 17 Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.
The virgin birth also makes possible Christ’s true humanity to be without inherited sin. All human being have inherited legal guilt and a corrupt moral nature from Adam. Because Jesus didn’t have a human father means He is not corrupted.
Man has to pay the price for man’s mistakes, animal sacrifices did not cut it. Even if one could live perfectly you wouldn’t be able to save anyone but yourself… because you have no power. This is why Jesus needs to be both fully God and fully man. Only God has the power, and He is fully man so He can take our place.
14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
Cross: God Dies
Cross: God Dies
We believe that Jesus Christ lived a perfectly righteous and sinless life, died in the place of sinners, fully absorbing the wrath of God, paying the just penalty for their sins and reconciling them to God. As our substitute, Jesus Christ suffered and died in our place to forgive us, love us, cleanse us, and embrace us, while the punishment for our sins was diverted from us to Him. Because Jesus died for our sins, we seek to humbly confess our sins to Jesus Christ and to one another, put sin to death in our lives, forgive one another, and happily invite others to do the same.
“The cross of Christ is the most revolutionary thing ever to appear among men. The cross of old Roman times knew no compromise; it never made concessions. It won all its arguments by killing its opponent and silencing him for good. It spared not Christ, but slew Him the same as the rest. He was alive when they hung Him on that cross and completely dead when they took Him down six hours later. That was the cross the first time it appeared in Christian History… “–A.W. Tozer
Turn in your bibles to Matthew 27:35.
35 Then they crucified Him, and divided His garments, casting lots, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet:
“They divided My garments among them,
And for My clothing they cast lots.”
36 Sitting down, they kept watch over Him there. 37 And they put up over His head the accusation written against Him:
THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS
38 Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left.
39 And those who passed by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
41 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ”
44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing.
45 Now from the sixth hour until the ninth hour there was darkness over all the land. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
47 Some of those who stood there, when they heard that, said, “This Man is calling for Elijah!” 48 Immediately one of them ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and offered it to Him to drink.
49 The rest said, “Let Him alone; let us see if Elijah will come to save Him.”
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit.
There are three point I’d like to make on this topic of the Cross:
What Jesus did here on the cross was take the full wrath of God upon Himself. Being our propitiation shield. What Jesus accomplished in 3 hours would have taken me an eternity to repay in hell.
1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.
He did this because He loves you:
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
19 We love Him because He first loved us.
Because of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross we have a means to confess our sins:
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
13 He who covers his sins will not prosper,
But whoever confesses and forsakes them will have mercy.
16 Confess your trespasses to one another, and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.
19 Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord,
(This is my opinion) God did not turn His back on His Son while on the cross. Where people see Jesus crying to God asking, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” I see Jesus using the common means of the time and point everyone in earshot to Psalm 22, which is what He is quoting.
The Psalm contains messianic themes, that paint the picture of the crucifixion.
In addition the Psalm depicts a time of hopelessness, where one feels so far from God’s grace and mercy that it is as if God has forsaken them. However the Psalm concludes with showing that God never left their side during their tribulation.
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from Him;
But when He cried to Him, He heard.
If God could turn away from Jesus… He can easily turn His back on you and I. And that doesn’t not align with what we find in Scripture.
Jesus wanted all standing there that day to understand that despite what the world looks like, despite much darkness there is, despite having absolutely no reason to have hope, God is still here. God is still working God has not turned His back on you.
Resurrection: God Saves
Resurrection: God Saves
We believe that Jesus Christ, after dying on the cross, arose bodily from the grave on the third day, appearing to many witnesses and proving that He was physically alive. Through faith we are united with the risen Christ, raised with Christ, and granted the same Holy Spirit power that raised Christ. The benefits of Jesus’ resurrection include the forgiveness of sins, justification, sanctification, and ultimately glorification. We believe that justification through the work of Jesus is possible by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus Christ alone. His righteousness is imparted to us at the time of saving faith, simultaneous with our justification and brings us new life by the Holy Spirit, who regenerates us with a new nature and beings sanctifying us to become increasingly more like Jesus. Because Jesus is alive forever, we confidently trust that one day we will likewise rise from our grave to live together as God’s people with Him forever.
Resurrected: Not a spirit but physically alive, revealing Himself to many witnesess.
36 Now as they said these things, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and said to them, “Peace to you.” 37 But they were terrified and frightened, and supposed they had seen a spirit. 38 And He said to them, “Why are you troubled? And why do doubts arise in your hearts? 39 Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself. Handle Me and see, for a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see I have.”
40 When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His feet. 41 But while they still did not believe for joy, and marveled, He said to them, “Have you any food here?” 42 So they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish and some honeycomb. 43 And He took it and ate in their presence.
Forgiveness, justification, sanctification, glorification, and the Holy Spirit.
For those who repent of their sins, confess Jesus Christ is Lord, and believe in their hearts that God raised in from the dead… You are saved and you receive this wonderful benefits:
Forgiveness:
32 And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Justification:
1 Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Sanctification:
23 Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Glorification:
4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.
Grace alone, faith alone, in Christ alone.
Grace alone: Soli Grace| Faith alone: Sola Fide
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
In Christ alone: Solus Christus
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
12 Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”
Christ’s Second Coming:
Christ’s Second Coming:
We believe in the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, which is His personal, visible return to Earth and the establishment of His millennial kingdom. We believe in the resurrection of the body, the final judgment and eternal blessing of the righteous and endless separation of the wicked.
There are so many verses that tell us Jesus is coming back...
28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
7 Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him, even they who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. Even so, Amen.
36 “But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.
44 Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect.
Jesus is coming back at any point… What would you want Him to come back to you doing?
This is one of the ways that we are to live our lives. Just like the Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25:14-30). We have been given gifts to be used for the glory of God, not living for ourselves any longer, but for our God and Master.
To the Chief Musician. On Stringed Instruments. A Psalm. A Song.
1 God be merciful to us and bless us,
And cause His face to shine upon us,
Selah
2 That Your way may be known on earth,
Your salvation among all nations.
3 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
4 Oh, let the nations be glad and sing for joy!
For You shall judge the people righteously,
And govern the nations on earth.
Selah
5 Let the peoples praise You, O God;
Let all the peoples praise You.
6 Then the earth shall yield her increase;
God, our own God, shall bless us.
7 God shall bless us,
And all the ends of the earth shall fear Him.