THE BENEFITS OF THE NEW COVENANT – PART ONE

THE BENEFITS OF THE NEW COVENANT – PART ONE

 

 

Friends, I welcome you again, in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. Today, I am going to speak on the Benefits of the New Covenant. We have two short scriptures to read:

Jeremiah 31:31-34

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. 33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”

Matthew 26:26-30

26 And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, “Take, eat; this is My body.”

27 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. 29 But I say to you, I will not drink of this fruit of the vine from now on until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father’s kingdom.”

30 And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

 

PRAYER:

We have come again, dear Lord. Thank You for this time. And may we be blessed in hearing and in obeying Your Word, in Jesus Name!

The Benefits of the New Covenant

A new covenant implies that there was some other covenant before that. And that is true. And that is what we call the old covenant. The scriptures say that the introduction of the new covenant means that the old covenant was faulty. That’s what Hebrews 8:6-7 says.

Hebrews 8:6-7

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises.

For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.

This new covenant is described as a better covenant established on better promises. There are a couple of covenants in the Old Testament. God made the covenant with Noah that He would never again destroy humanity with a flood; and gave the rainbow as a sign for this covenant. He also entered into a covenant with Abraham and gave circumcision of Jewish males (Jewish males not females) as a sign for this covenant. Then He entered into another covenant with the Nation of Israel at Mount Sinai or Horeb, in Exodus 19-23. The Ten Commandments are the words of this covenant. Besides the Sinai covenant, there is also the Moab Covenant. And that was thirty-nine years later just before Israel entered into the Promised Land. And you find that in Deuteronomy 29.

The Sinai covenant is what is often referred to as the old covenant.

Before we discuss the new covenant and the benefits let us observe one curious point about it. Where we read in Jeremiah 31:31-34, we find that the new covenant is God’s promise to Israel, not to the Gentiles. He made it explicitly clear that it was a promise to Israel.  Behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah

Hebrews 8:10-12

10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

This new covenant is God’s promise to Israel, not to the Gentiles. How come the church enjoys the privileges of this covenant today? I think it is because:

  1. God does not reckon time as we do.

Most Jewish religious leaders missed the Messiah when He came because they fail to accept this reality.

  1. Secondly, Jesus inaugurated this covenant, ratified it with His own blood, a day before He was crucified – or the night before He was crucified. Because He said in,

Matthew 26:28

28 For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.

  • Thirdly, keeping this new covenant is possible only by the activity of God Himself working in the minds and hearts of those who would enter into it. Because in Jeremiah 31:33, He says, I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts. It is by the power of God that anyone can keep the new covenant. Then this leads me to the fourth point.
  1. This enablement to keep God’s law which is by the power of the Holy Spirit is fulfilled already because Jesus, ten days after He ascended to heaven (forty day after His resurrection but ten day after He ascended into heaven) sent the Holy Spirit. And it is this Holy Spirit now indwelling the believers. And He is the one who is writing or has written the Law of God in the heart of the believer and enabling the believer at the same time to obey.

But the next question we ask is: is it a covenant or a will? This is an important fact to examine as we examine the benefits of the new covenant

There are two different Greek Words translated covenant in the English Bible. The first one is the word that is used also for marriage covenant or an agreement between people and states. In this case, the two parties will make a covenant before God. And the two parties will be equally committed to keeping that covenant. It weighs equally on either of the two parties or on each of the two parties. So this relationship is entered into on equal terms. And that word that is translated covenant is the Greek Word diathéké. Each one contributes something to the covenant. And either party has the power to it at some cost. It is not permissible, but it can – It will cost you something. But this better covenant that we are talking about between God and the believer is a different word altogether that is used. God and man do not enter into this relationship on equal terms. God, out of His own choice and grace, offered man this relationship. And as such, man cannot alter it. He can only accept it or reject it. So, given its nature, this covenant is more a will than a covenant. No wonder it is sometimes referred to as the New Will or the New Testament. Those who accept this offer owe God a debt and a duty; but they cannot alter it.

Our time is up. When we come back we will go into the benefits of the new covenant proper.

But friend, have you experienced this new covenant with God through Jesus Christ? It’s important – absolutely immigrant that you do. The sooner the better. Do so now – I will strongly advise you.

PRAYER:

Thank You, Father, again for Your Word. Thank You, in Jesus Name. Amen.

Post a comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.