The Better Covenant

Intro.

Last week we discussed what it means that we are exiles in this world. We talked about how this world is not our permanent dwelling, and we talked about wearing the name of Christ well in this world of temporary residence. This week, we are going to focus in on the Gospel.

If I were to give you a message which I said was capable of saving everyone from impending disaster, and tell you to make it known to everyone you know, you may be fairly inclined to take that message pretty seriously. You would not say “come listen to someone else talk about how you can be saved from disaster.” No, rather you would be active in helping the people you love understand the message!

If I were to tell you about some incredible sale deal at a popular clothing or hardware store, even then, as unimportant as that is, we would likely be talking about it to the people around us.

God has given us the Gospel, literally the Good News of salvation to all men — yet most Christians don’t know how to begin telling their loved ones about this message. We don’t even know how to approach the issue. Brethren, if we are willing to talk about less important matters, or even other important matters that still are less important, then we ought to be eager to talk about the Gospel!

However, I think that it is perhaps true that many of the Church do not know what the Gospel is, or God’s role in it. This is my goal for all of us this morning: Understand the gospel, and know God’s role in it according to Peter..

Getting the Gospel

1 Peter 1:10–12 CSB

Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who prophesied about the grace that would come to you, searched and carefully investigated. They inquired into what time or what circumstances the Spirit of Christ within them was indicating when he testified in advance to the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you. These things have now been announced to you through those who preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—angels long to catch a glimpse of these things.

Peter mentions that our salvation was spoken of to the prophets long ago, and they sought to figure it out!

Firstly, this tells us a very important thing: The Gospel is not the same as the Law which was given through Moses!

No, that does not leave us in antinomianism (meaning without any law from God), but it means that the relationship we have with God in Christ is different than that which came through Moses.

What exactly makes it different?

Promises: the Covenant Christians live in with God is, as Hebrews says, “enacted on better promises.” If we really want to understand this we have to get a look at what God had promised to Israel under the first covenant. He gave them the physical land that once belonged to Canaan; the people of Israel were promised to be given physical blessings or cursings according to their faithfulness to the Old Covenant; the people of Israel were the only ones who were given that covenant. As for us under the New Covenant in Christ, Eph. 1.3 says we are promised to receive “every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” Paul will go on from there, as Peter says in v. 2, that God chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world and predestined the Church for adoption as sons as pleases Him. Eph. 1.7 says we find our redemption in the blood of Christ — Israel never had a sacrifice to offer under the Old Covenant that could permanently remove the record of sin, yet in Christ we find our full atonement and forgiveness with no need to offer animals in lieu of ourselves. Paul and Peter both go on to talk about our inheritance — not a physical land but and eternal life granted to us by God’s grace through our faith in the Lord! Lastly, we are granted to have the Spirit of God Himself dwell within us! The Spirit came upon only a few in the Old Covenant, and He made His dwelling in none. The People of Israel were not sealed with the Spirit of God through their faith, and they did not know fellowship with God as does the Church.

High Priest: the other thing which Hebrews will say makes our covenant better is that we have a better high priest. Our High Priest is Jesus the Lord, the Son of God, God become flesh. He is able, because of His time in flesh, to sympathize with us in our weakness and He offered one time, for all time and all people, the sacrifice to purify us of sins and totally remove our sins from us! Said a different way, through the sacrifice of Jesus, and only that (as opposed to the Law), we are found as perfect before God. Spotless and sanctified (set apart, made holy). Our High Priest is even from a different line than the Jewish priests: they had to be directly descended from Aaron the Levite, and Jesus was of Judah and a Priest in kind with the mysterious Melchizedek. The Law, the covenant, changed entirely when He became the High Priest for the People of God — and it will remain this way forever because He is High Priest based on His “indestructible life” and the oath of God promising He would be priest forever. Because He remains as High Priest forever, He is “able to save to the uttermost” those who would come to God through Him! Finally, the High Priests under the Law would be men of weakness, needing to offer sacrifices to atone for their own sins — yet Jesus does not, nor does He offer again and again sacrifices for our own sins! For, He offered an eternally sufficient sacrifice in His own body.

Heb. 7.11ff is where we can find this description of Jesus and His complete, perfect sacrifice on our behalf.

The New Covenant is so much greater than the old on the basis of our better promises and our better High Priest Who offers a better sacrifice!