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This little book is not meant to be an exhaustive study of the
covenants of the Lord. It is merely a guide for teaching and for
study. It is the outgrowth of a class I have taught at Zion
Ministerial Institute. As you can see as you go through this study,
there are many points that you could go much deeper into. Please do
that. I pray that this study wets your appetite for more study in
these marvelous covenants.
In this book I have chosen to focus most of my attention on the
Noahic, the Abrahamic, the Mosaic, and the New Covenant. The other
covenants (Everlasting, Edenic, Adamic) are mentioned and are given
in outline form, but they are not given the time or space that these
other covenants are given. You can go as deep as you want to in the
study of the covenants. The deeper that you delve, the more you will
see Jesus in the covenants. The more you understand these pacts that
God made with man, the more you will be in awe at the love and mercy
of God to reach out and make a way for man to draw near to Him.
The purpose of all of these covenants was to make a way for man to
have a relationship with God that was not available before. They
culminate in the New Covenant. We celebrate the New Covenant with
"communion." That is what God is desiring of us all the
time--communion. My prayer is that this study will draw you closer in
your relationship and understanding of our Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ.
A. To show every promise Jesus gave to the believer is
available today.
1. The entire N.T. is our rightful heritage. We must learn
to possess all that Jesus died to secure for us.
2. 2 Pe. 1:3,4 -- promise is the Greek word,
epaggelma , which means "to announce,
assert with a sense of self committal." In other words, it is what
God has committed Himself to do. Covenants involve God committing
Himself to us. It can mean to vow or offer.
a. Ja. 1:12 -- crown of life promised.
b. 1 Jn. 2:25 -- eternal life is promised.
c. Acts 7:5 -- refers to the promise of the land to Abraham.
d. Heb. 10:23 -- faithful is God who has promised.
e. Heb. 11:11 -- she judged God to be faithful concerning the promise
of Isaac, the seed.
f.All these have to do with a covenant. God's promises are only fully
understood in context of the covenants and only fulfilled as we walk
in covenant relationship with God.
B. To show that all Biblical promises are founded on
covenants God made with men.
1. The atonement is an outgrowth of covenants. To see if
healing is in the atonement, look back to see if it is a part of the
covenants God made with man in the past, or if it was foreshadowed by
one of the previous covenants.
2. To show it is a basic error to detach Bible promises from their
covenants, for covenants also have their stipulations.
This is the covenantal principle of hermeneutics.
C. To reveal what our inheritance is through Jesus
Christ.
1. Romans 9:1-8 -- The covenants are a part of the
inheritance of the saints. Israel did not fully enter into this
inheritance, but they are reserved for the children of promise (v.8)
who are the true Israel of God.
D. To see God's redemptive plan and goal through history.
The covenants are a revelation of God's purposes and hold
out a definite promise of what God desires to do. The object of God
throughout the covenants has been one--to draw man to Himself and to
have man be completely dependent on Him so we could be brought into
the right position and disposition whereby God could fill us
completely with Himself, His love, and His blessings. Thus the
covenants are a window of heaven whereby we can see into the very
heart of God. We know that as we see Him more clearly as He really
is, we shall become more like Him.
E. To increase our faith
Because we fail to understand Jewish history found in God's
Word, we miss a lot of what God was really trying to say. The
covenants were designed by God to give man a hold upon God as the
Covenant-keeping God, and to give man hope, faith, and assurance when
approaching God. The lack of faith in our Christian life is many
times due to the fact that we have neglected to see God as the God of
the Covenant. We have not worshipped the Covenant-keeping God. We
have not called upon God to remember His covenant and we have not
done what God called us to do--"to take hold of His Covenant." Is it
any wonder then that our faith has come short of the blessings God
has promised? We need to begin to see the covenants, especially as
they point to the New Covenant, as the title-deeds of our inheritance
and the riches we are to possess even here on earth.
We must begin to think of the certainty of the Covenants. We must use
them in prayer, knowing that they are more sure than the foundations
of the mountains, the seasons, sun, moon, etc. In Luke 1:67--75 we
find Zechariah in his Spirit-filled prophesy reminding them of the
holy covenant and the oath that God had given. Let us, under the
unction of the Spirit, use the covenants to approach God and to
minister His Word to those around us.
We need more of God. What God did in the covenants was to bring man
to Himself, to teach him to trust in Him, to delight in Him, and to
be one with Him.
A.Definitions
1. English definition
In English the word "covenant" signifies a mutual understanding
between two or more parties that each binds himself to fulfill
certain obligations; a legal promise or undertaking; a written
agreement.
2. Hebrew -- "Beriyth"
a. Means "to cut and to divide, hence, to cut the covenant." It means
a compact which implies the thought or cutting the covenant.
The Authorized Version of verses 18-20 is better translated as the
New International Version. God says that He will make those that did
not give heed to the covenant that they made before the Lord like the
calf that they cut in two and then walked between to ratify the
covenant. Here in these verses we have a hint at the way ancient
covenants were made. A young calf was cut in two and the parties of
the covenant passed between the two halves laid one over against the
other. The meaning of the rite seems to have been that the parties of
the covenant thereby called down an imprecation upon themselves if
they broke the covenant. The fate of the calf was the fate of those
that broke the covenant they made before Jehovah.
God takes vows and covenants very seriously. We might not cut up a
calf and walk between it, but, we do experience judgment when we make
a covenant and fail to keep its terms. No one can break the marriage
covenant and not pay the consequences. No one can make vows to God
and then just discard them and think that they need not keep their
vows. God said here in Jeremiah 34 that He would personally hand
those that broke the covenant over to their enemies. There are many
who are living today who have been handed over to their enemies:
depression, economic chaos, reproach, shame, sickness, turmoil, etc.
When one begins to get at the root of the problem, one sees that they
failed to keep a covenant that they made before the Lord.
b. We see beriyth used in different ways.
In Jeremiah 2:9 the Lord said that he would yet plead with (or
bring charges against, NIV) Israel. The word used for plead is the
Hebrew word riyb , which means "to toss; wrangle; to
defend." It is a term used in the courts and in public discussion and
debate. What we find took place in this paragraph is that the Lord
set Himself up as a trial lawyer to, as the New International Version
rightly translates, "bring charges against" His people. In the
Septuagint about a third of the appearances of riyb are
rendered as the Greek word krino , a word with
prevalently legal-judicial overtones. So we see the Lord coming to
put Israel on trial and reason with them for their disobedience and
apostasy. In Isaiah 1:18-20 the Lord also calls to his people:
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though
your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they
be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and
obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and
rebel, ye shall be devoured with the sword: for the mouth of the LORD
hath spoken it.
We also find the Lord acting as a trial lawyer for breaking
the covenant in Micah 6;1-8 and Psalm 50.
d. Translation (KJV)
a. Confederacy (Gen. 14:13; Ob. 7)
b. League (Josh. 9:6,7; Jud. 2:2)
c. Covenant (Gen. 6:18; Lev. 2:13; Ps. 89:3,4; Dan. 9:27)
3. Diatheke (N.T. Greek)
a. Definitions
Vines
= A disposition (statement of will) or arrangement of any sort
which one wishes to make valid. Last disposal which one makes of
earthly possessions.
= Last will and testament that has been ratified. Gal 3:15 a
decree or declaration of purpose. The declarations of one person's
will, not the result of an agreement between parties, like a
compact or contract.
= A testament or will of absolute uninimity. An arrangement
made by one party with plenary power, which the other party may
accept or reject, but cannot alter.
b. Translation
(Mt. 26:28; Heb. 7:22; 9:15-17,20; Rev. 11:19). NIV translates
these as "Covenant" or "will". Translates as "testament" 13 times
in KJV.
(Lk. 1:72; Rom 9:4; Eph. 2:12; Heb. 12:24; 13:20) NIV
translates these as "covenant". Translated as "covenant" 20 times
in KJV.
4. Suntithemai (N.T. Greek)
a. Definition
Means "to put together, place together, to make arrangement." It
refers to an arrangement between men and never is used to refer to
the covenants made by God and presented to man.
b. Translation
a. Covenanted (Lk. 22:5)
b. Agreed (Jn. 9:22; Acts 23:20)
c. Assented (Acts 24:9)
B. God originated the covenants
1. God is the covenantor. He is the one who has the ability
to perform the obligations or promises expressed in it. The covenants
had to originate with God, for He alone has the mind, the authority,
and the ability to make them effective. He has always initiated
covenants with man so that He might bless man in a greater way than
previously.
a. Covenant-making God -- Gen. 6:18; 15:18; 71:2, 2 Sam. 23:5; Jer.
31:31-34; Isa. 55:3; 61:8.
b. Covenant-keeping God -- Once God has made a covenant He does not
forget it or become negligent about it. He always follows through
with the commitments that He makes (Dt. 7:8,9; 2 Chron 6:14,15; Ps.
111:5,9; Ro. 1:31
c. Covenant-revealing God -- God does not hide His promises and terms
from His people. He takes the initiative and reveals the availability
of a covenantal relationship with Him (Ps. 25:14; Deut 4:13)
d. Covenant-enabling God -- Without the enabling of God, man cannot
keep the terms of the covenant. God gives grace so that we may keep
these terms. Man's inability was seen under the Mosaic covenant (Eph.
2:4-13).
2. His people are the covenantees -- the person to whom covenant
promises are made. They need the ability to meet the
requirements.
a. Covenants require two parties.
b. It requires a relationship
A. To provide a binding sense of commitment to a
relationship.
1. Josh.9:1-17; 2 Sam. 21 -- The Gibeonites are a good
example.
2. Jer. 34:8-18; Eze. 17:11-21 -- Zedekiah made a covenant with
Nebuchadnezzar.
3. Those who enter into a covenant relationship bind themselves to
that relationship and provide it with a strong sense of security.
This is seen in the marriage covenant, which is a model of God's
Covenants with man. God hates divorce because it disannuls a
covenant, destroys its very purpose and does not accurately reflect
the irrevocability of the covenants by which man is redeemed (Mal.
2:14-16).
4. A covenant (or testament) is legally binding. God binds himself
legally by the force of a law, and oath, or the death of a victim to
perform a promise to men.
B. To provide a vehicle for God to express His will and
purpose for man.
God has a reason from everything that He does. There is an
overall plan for all of God's works. Before the fall of man, God
expressed His purpose in creating man in the form of a covenant: the
Edenic Covenant. The fulfillment of this covenant was interrupted and
apparently frustrated by Adam's breaking the terms of the covenant.
Therefore, God initiated the redemptive covenants: the Adamic,
Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New
Covenant.
A. Words or promises of the covenant.
1. Promises--Because a covenant is an interpersonal
commitment, a covenant has promises for the future, describing what
the covenantor can expect for keeping or breaking the covenant.
a. This can be promises of blessing or cursing.
b. It can be natural, national, and temporal promises.
c. It can be spiritual and/or eternal promises.
2. Terms
a. Deut. 29:1,9 -- "These are the terms of the covenant carefully
follow the terms of the covenant"
b. The conditions under which the promises will be fulfilled.
3. Oath
a. Deut. 29:14
b. Hebrew, SHABA, shebuw`ah = something sworn; an oath or curse.
Signifies "to seven oneself", i.e., to swear as if repeating a
declaration seven times.
Gen. 50:25 (w/ Ex. 13:19) -- An oath to remove Joseph's bones (made
to assure another person that they would keep their promises)
Ex. 22:11 -- Made to confirm the truth of a matter
c. Greek, HORKOS = a fence, a limit, a sacred restraint placed on
oneself.
Mt. 14:7-9--Herod
a) The oath bound the one who uttered it to its fulfillment (Num.
30:2,10; 1 Sam. 14:26-28; Acts 23:21; 2 Chron. 6:22; 15:15).
Mt. 26:72 -- Peter
Lu. 1:73 -- To Abraham
Acts 2:30 -- To David
Hebrews 6:16,17 -- An oath is a confirmation of an end to all
strife.
d. Power of an oath
4. Book
a. Ex. 24:7 -- The Mosaic covenant was specifically made into a book
of its own and called the book of the covenant. The New Covenant was
made into a book called the New Testament. The other covenants were
eventually recorded in the greatest "Book of the Covenant," the
Bible.
5. Importance of covenant words (Dt. 29:1)
a. The meaning of Scripture is not what interpreters think it means,
but what the words contained in Scripture say it means.
b. God carefully chose the words in His covenants
c. Every jot and tittle is important (Mt. 5:18).
B. Ratification (Blood) of the covenant
1. Blood of the covenant
Because a covenant involved a life and death commitment, the
ratification of it involved bloodshed. The blood represented the life
commitment of those entering into the covenant. Because a sacrifice
was necessary, there was a need for a mediator and a
sanctuary--someone to officiate the ratification ceremony and a holy
place which was either an altar or the tabernacle or temple.
a. Psa. 50:5 -- "Gather my saints together unto me; those that have
made a covenant with me by sacrifice."
2. Eating together
a. In ancient times, eating together was a very precious ceremony and
involved entering into a bond with that person. At times the
sacrifice that produced the blood was that which was eaten.
C. Seal of the covenant
A seal is an ongoing reminder of the truth and a witness
that the covenant had been made. It is a reminder of the covenantal
promises as well as the terms and conditions. Therefore, each
covenant had its own particular seal which was referred to as either
a sign, seal, or token of the covenant.
In Genesis 31:43-52, Jacob and Laban made a covenant to ratify an
oath,which was a covenant between them. The covenant called down
imprecatations upon the one who would violate the league between
them. They named the pillar "Mizpah" which means "The Lord watch over
you." This carried the thought that if one violated the covenant they
had made, the Lord would see it and judge.This pillar was the seal or
sign of the covenant between.
A. Everlasting
These covenants were made to be never-ending, eternal, and
abiding though the ages. However, in these covenants there are
elements that will not last forever. For example, in the Abrahamic
Covenant the seal is circumcision (Gen. 17:13). However, the outward
circumcision of the flesh is now fulfilled in the real circumcision
that is spiritual--that of the heart. Therefore, only the real,
spiritual circumcision will abide forever.
1. Noahic -- Gen. 9:16
2. Abrahamic -- Gen. 17:13
3. Phinehas' covenant -- Num. 25:12,13
4. Davidic -- 2 Sam. 23:5
5. New -- Eze. 16:60; Heb. 13:20
B. Temporal
1. Mosaic -- Gal. 3:19
a. Heb 9:10 -- Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers
washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of
reformation.
b. Under the Mosaic Covenant, the tabernacle services, the
sacrificial system, and the priesthood, the festivals,etc. were the
external temporal forms of the law. These continued until Christ
fulfilled the Law and abolished them. However, the spiritual truth
that each teaches remains forever (Rom. 2:20).
C. What some call unconditional.
There are those who say that two covenants, the Abrahamic
and the Davidic, are unconditional and that they do not depend upon
the response of the recipients of the covenants. But we will see that
each covenant has at least the basic requirements of faith and
obedience in order for the descendants to see the fulfillment.
1. Abrahamic - Gen. 22:17
There is no direct mention that the seed of Abraham needs to remain
obedient for God to multiply them. Abraham's obedience guaranteed
this blessing on his seed regardless of their goodness or wickedness.
However, the promised land associated with this covenant was
certainly conditional upon their obedience to the will of God. For if
they did not obey, then the land would spue them out just as it did
the inhabitants before Israel took possession of it. Also, now that
those that are of faith are clearly the seed of Abraham and can
inherit the promises of Abraham, it is clear that the conditions of
faith and obedience are still in effect.
2. Davidic -- 2 Sam. 7:12-15
David was guaranteed that one of his seed would always sit on his
throne. However, God did promise to chasten his sons if they were
disobedient, but the promise would remain and God's mercy would not
depart from them. David's seed rebelled and was taken into captivity.
Jesus was sent and will fulfill the promise of the seed that sits on
the throne forever.
D. Conditional
This is a covenant where God focuses heavily upon the
obedience of man and the conditions that are attached to the
promises. If the covenant conditions are broken by man, then God is
not obligated to fulfill the promises. The covenant has been
annulled, breached, and no longer is in effect.
1. Jer. 31:32 -- "Not according to the covenant that I made with
their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them
out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I
was an husband unto them, saith the LORD"
2. Zech. 11:10 -- "And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it
asunder, that I might break my covenant which I had made with all the
people."
3. 2 Cor. 3:13 -- "And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face,
that the children of Israel could not steadfastly look to the end of
that which is abolished."
There is a progressive nature to the covenants. The Edenic is the
only one involving man before sin and distinctly declares man's
purpose for being here on earth. The other covenants are after the
fall of man and move man towards recovering that which was lost
through the fall. The Adamic and Noahic both spoke of redemption by
the Messianic seed. Arising out of these two covenants is the
Abrahamic Covenant. It spoke of the chosen nation out of which the
Messiah was to come. All the families of the earth would be blessed
through the Messianic seed. The Mosaic Covenant gave the chosen
nation an opportunity to approach a holy God and to have fellowship
with Him.It also showed how God required that His chosen people live.
What some call the "Palestinian Covenant" is the part of the Mosaic
Covenant that dealt with the land that the nation of Israel was to
have as a possession. The Davidic and the New Covenant showed that
the Messianic king was to come from David, and the New Covenant is
the fulfillment of what these other Covenants were pointing towards.
The Covenant of Peace referred to in Ezekiel 34 and 37 appears to be
fulfilled in the coming age when the Lord Jesus sets up his reign of
Peace here on earth. It is an extension and completion of the
benefits of the New Covenant. This is where our bodies will be
redeemed and we shall be like Jesus for we shall see Him as He
is.
A. Everlasting-- Heb. 13:20,21
Hebrews 4:3 says that the works were finished from the
foundation of the world. In Ephesians 1:4-7 we find that we have been
chosen by Christ before the foundation of the world that we should be
holy and without blame before him in love. Such statements show that
before there was even a creation, God had made an agreement to
obligate Himself to mankind and Christ had made a covenant or promise
to come down and lay down His life for our salvation.
1. Words
a. Deals with the foreknowledge of God made in eternity in the
counsels of the Godhead.
b. According to God's eternal purpose (Eph. 1:4; 2:10, 3:11;
Jn.17:5)
2. Blood
a. A declaration that the Lamb of God would be slain was made from
the foundation of the world
b. Heb. 13:20,21--"Now the God of peace, that brought again from the
dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the
blood of the everlasting covenant, Make you perfect in every good
work to do his will, working in you that which is wellpleasing in his
sight, through Jesus Christ; to whom be glory for ever and ever.
Amen."
c. Eph. 1:4 --"According as he hath chosen us in him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame
before him in love."
d. 1 Pe. 1:20 --"Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of
the world, but was manifest in these last times for you."
3. Seal of eternal life
a. Titus 1:2 -- "In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie,
promised before the world began."
b. Fulfillment of this is seen and realized in Rev. 2:7 and 22:14 in
the tree of life.
B. Edenic--Gen. 1,2
C. Adamic--Gen. 3
D. Noahic --Gen. 6-9
E. Abrahamic--Gen. 12-22
F. Mosaic--Gal. 3:24; Ex. 19-40
G. Palestinian--Deut. 27-33
H. Phinehas --Num. 25:12-13
Phinehas was zealous and took a javelin and slew the sinners
in order to stop the plague among the children of Israel. God made a
covenant with Phinehas that his seed would have an everlasting
priesthood because he was zealous for righteousness and made
atonement for the children of Israel.
I. Davidic--2 Sam.9; Ps.89, 132
J. New--Jer. 31:31-34, Heb. 8, Mt. 26
K. Peace--Eze. 34:25; 37:26
The creation of man implies the moral responsibility of God toward
man and of man toward his Creator; it is therefore, a type of
covenant. Adam was given the responsibilities to replenishing the
earth, to subdue it, and to have dominion over it. Man was to dress
the garden and to keep it. To keep it is the Hebrew word
shammar , which means to keep, observe, preserve,
beware, take heed, mark, regard, to watch over diligently, and even
to spy. Adam was to keep watch over the garden to make sure the
adversary did not get any inroads to the garden. He failed when he
yielded to Eve's suggestion to eat of the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
When man sinned, he broke the covenant relationship that he had with
God. God desired to restore man to fellowship with Him and began to
do that through the redemptive covenants. The rest of the covenants
are a progression towards restored fellowship with God beginning with
the Adamic and ending with the New Covenant, where fellowship is
restored.
A. Promises
1. Promise of eternal life when they eat of the tree of
life.
a. Creation of man in God's image
2. Promise of death if they eat of the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil (2:17)
B. Terms of the Covenant
1. Commanded not to eat of the fruit of the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
a. Gen. 2:9, 16,17
b. Rom. 5:12-21 -- "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the
world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that
all have sinned ."
c. Rev. 22:14 -- "Blessed are they that do his commandments, that
they may have right to the tree of life."
d. Deut. 11:26-28 -- Blessing if you obey, a curse if you
disobey.
A. God took the rib out of Adam to form a bride for him,
or
B. Creation of man, God put blood, which was man's life in him.
A. The Tree of Life
Adam broke the terms of the covenant, and God withheld this
tree from Adam.
B. The witness to man's full redemption is the freedom to
have access to the tree of life which is in Paradise.
1. Rev. 2:7; 22:14
The Adamic Covenant is the covenant God made with Adam and Eve in
the garden of Eden after they had sinned (Gen 3:1-13). God wasted no
time in making this covenant, for it was made the day that man fell
(Gen. 3:8). It expressed His purpose and commitment to seeing man's
full redemption.
We can see that Satan's tactics were to question the terms of the
covenant that God had laid down. His aim was to break the covenantal
relationship Adam and Eve enjoyed with their Creator. He knew that if
he could get them to break the terms of the covenant, then they would
lose the blessings of the covenant. Satan's direct attack was against
the covenantal language. Genesis 3:1-6 records the serpent's tempting
of the woman and how he undermined the words of the covenant:
1. The serpent questioned the Word, "Hath God said " (v. 1).
2. The woman added to the Word, " neither shall ye touch it" (v.
3).
3. The woman weakened the Word, "lest ye die" (v. 3). In Deut. 4:2,
Prov. 30:6, Rev. 22:18,19, and Gen. 2:17, we find the prohibition of
changing the Word of God.
4. The serpent lied against the Word, "You will not surely die" (v.
4).
5. The serpent misinterpreted the Word, "You shall be as gods" (v. 5)
Second Corinthians 4:2 states, "But have renounced the hidden things
of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of
God deceitfully; but by manifestation of the truth commending
ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."
Thus, Eve was deceived and ate the forbidden fruit. Adam also ate of
it and their unbelief and disobedience broke their covenantal
relationship with God and brought them under the curse of the
covenant (Gen. 3:6,7; 1 Tim. 2:13-15; Rom. 5:12-21; 14:23; Hos. 6:7;
1 Jn. 3:4). Adam lost his dominion and came under the dominion of sin
and death (1 Cor. 15:45-49; Rom. 5:12). This set the stage for the
Adamic Covenant. God came on the scene and though he kept the
absolute curse of the Edenic Covenant, He showed mercy as well. In
that mercy, God's objective and purpose in man is fully
preserved.
A. Promises
1. Blessing (3:15)
The seed of the woman would bruise the serpent's head. This promise
is the first Messianic promise and involves the chosen seed of
Israel, the virgin birth of Christ, His ministry, the Church, and
overcomers who place all things under Christ's feet.
2. Cursing
a. On the serpent (3:14)
Made to crawl on its belly all the days of its life. The thought is
that the serpent had been one of the most beautiful creatures on the
earth, but now it would bear the stigma of its association with
Satan.
b. On the devil (3:14)
Beyond the natural animal, a curse was placed upon the devil, "that
old serpent" (Rev. 12:9; 20:1-3). Satan would be crushed.
B. Terms of the Covenant
1. They had to receive the coats of skin in exchange for
their covering of fig leaves (Gen. 3:21).
2. Adam named his wife Eve, as the mother of all living
(3:15,16,20)
3. Somewhere Adam communicated with his children the concept of faith
sacrifices (Gen. 4:1-4).
When Adam and Eve fell from their covenant relationship with God,
they tried to cover their own sin with fig leaves, the works of their
own hands. But they could not make themselves acceptable to God.
Their conscience were striken, and it led to the law of works (Rom.
5:12-14; 3:27). God judged their efforts as insufficient, but
provided a covering for their sin through death. Death had to take
place in order for sin to be covered. This is implied in Genesis 3:21
when God clothed them with coats of skin, which had to have come from
a slain innocent animal. Adam and Eve were clothed in the death of
another. The innocent died for the guilty, and the sinless was
sacrificed for the sinful. This pointed to the New Covenant where the
body and blood of Jesus Christ would be poured out for the remission
of our sins.
A. The Coats of Skin
1. They were tokens of their faith in the atoning sacrifice
of the Adamic Covenant.
2. They wore these for their righteousness as we who accept the
finished work of Calvary wear Christ as our Righteousness.
After the Adamic Covenant, God set a period of testing and trial
to test man's faith and obedience to the covenant. The importance of
man's obedience to God, the necessity of conquering Satan, the place
of diligence of work, and the belief in the substitutionary death of
an innocent animal for a faith offering were emphasized under the
Adamic Covenant. It was not long before most of the world had drifted
from God and was living in great wickedness, wrong marriages, corrupt
desires, violence, and all kinds of evil. Beginning with Cain, an
ungodly line had begun to develop (Gen. 4), and the Godly line of
Seth (Gen. 5) now began to intermarry with the people of the land
(Gen. 6:4). Eventually, the entire human race was corrupted by their
intermarrying with one exception: "Noah found grace in the eyes of
the Lord" (Gen. 6:8).
If God destroyed the entire human race, then there would have been no
Seed to fulfill the promises of the Adamic Covenant. God
always keeps His Word ( Heb. 11:7; 2 Pe. 2:5), and so God
found Noah and staked all creation on this faithful man. Noah, in
turn, staked all that he had on God's Covenant with him and spent 120
years building an ark under the direction of the Lord. Even before
judgment was executed, God was moving in covenant grace to preserve
his faithful, covenant man. After the Flood, God made a covenant with
Noah, his family, and all creatures. Thus, man began a new era on a
new earth with a new covenant.
A. Promises of Blessing
1. Blessing upon Noah and his sons (9:1)
2. Fruitfulness and multiplicity (9:1,7; 8:15-17)
3. Rule over animal kingdom (9:2)
From Genesis 2:19,20, we see that this was the original condition of
man. Not all the consequences of the fall were lifted, however, as
seen in Romans 8:20-22.
4. Provision of meat to eat as well as herbs (9:3)
Previous to this they only had herbs to eat. This is the first
provision of red meat.
5. Ground never to be cursed again (8:21)
It was cursed under the Adamic Covenant, but God promised that he
would restrain any further curse for man's sake. Note that God spoke
this in his heart.
6. Never again annilate the creatures (8:21)
The creatures would be ruled by fear and dread and affected by the
results of the fall, but it would not be totally destroyed by God. We
can see God's compassion on the beasts in the following
Scriptures:
a. Jonah 4:11 -- "And should not I spare Nineveh, that great city,
wherein are more than sixscore thousand persons that cannot discern
between their right hand and their left hand; and also much
cattle?"
b. Ps. 104:9ff -- "He sendeth the springs into the valleys, which run
among the hills. They give drink to every beast of the field: the
wild asses quench their thirst. By them shall the fowls of the heaven
have their habitation, which sing among the branches. He watereth the
hills from his chambers: the earth is satisfied with the fruit of thy
works. He causeth the grass to grow for the cattle, and herb for the
service of man: that he may bring forth food out of the earth ."
7. Four seasons established (8:22)
Under the Edenic Covenant the sun,moon, and stars were given for
signs for days, months, and years (Gen. 1:14-19). From Adam to Noah,
there was a constant climate and the earth was watered by a mist
instead of rain (Gen. 2:5,6; 7:4). After the flood there was no
longer the mist and constant climate, but there were to be seasons.
These seasons were meant to be a blessing for man's obedience, but if
man was disobedient, he would find that things would not go well for
him.
8. No more universal flooding (9:11,15)
This broke the fear of another worldwide flood. The world will never
again be destroyed by water, but will be by fire.
a. Isa. 54:9 -- "For this is as the waters of Noah unto me: for as I
have sworn that the waters of Noah should no more go over the earth;
so have I sworn that I would not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee
"
b. 2 Pe. 3:5-7 -- "For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by
the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out
of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being
overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth, which
are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire
against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men."
B. Promises of Cursing (9:25-27)
Canaan was cursed for Ham's exposing of his father's
nakedness.
C. Terms of the Covenant
1. Faith and Obedience
If Noah would not have had faith to obey the Lord, then he would have
perished like all the rest in the flood
a. Gen. 6:22 -- "Noah did everything just as God commanded him."
b. Gen. 7:5 -- "Noah did all that the Lord commanded him."
c. Heb. 11:7 -- "By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not
seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his
house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the
righteousness which is by faith."
d. 2 Pe. 2:5 -- "Noah the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness
."
2. Not to eat blood (9:4)
Man was first permitted to eat meat, but he was not to eat blood.
Here it is first mentioned that blood represents the life, and the
shedding of blood represents death. The blood in any sacrifice
belonged to the Lord, for the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ
would be the cleansing of our sins
3. Murder forbidden (9:5,6)
There was much violence in the world in the days of Noah. God
specifically forbade murder and protected the life of man, being made
in the image of God.
4. Capital Punishment
This was the first form of civil government. With the prohibition of
murder came the punishment for it. Cain was judged directly by God,
but with the Noahic Covenant God delegated authority to man as well
as a responsibility to judge matters. The institution of civil
government is clearly endorsed in the Mosaic and the New Covenant
a. Ex. 21:23-25; Lev. 24:17-22; Dt. 19:21; Num. 35
b. Mt. 22:17-21; 1 Ti. 2:1-4; 1 Pe. 2:17
Noah took the clean animals and the clean birds from the ark
(7:2,3) and sacrificed them to the Lord as burnt offerings (Gen.
8:20). This was the sacrifice and the blood of the Noahic Covenant.
It was a sweet-smelling savor unto the Lord. In the Mosaic Covenant,
any sweet-smelling offering to the Lord was a voluntary offering, not
a sin offering.
Noah was the priest in the offering. He shows us the importance of
being the household priest as were Job and Abraham. The priestly
ministry would not come until the Mosaic ministry, which would point
to the ultimate priest--Jesus Christ.
Genesis 9:12-17 clearly says that the sign of the covenant was the
rainbow. It was placed between heaven and earth so that it would be a
reminder of the covenant God had made. God would look upon it and
remember the covenant as well as man.
In Revelation 4:3, we find the rainbow around the throne of God. We
also find Jesus Christ having a rainbow around His head in Revelation
10:1. As the rainbow was a link between heaven and earth, so Jesus
Christ was the link between heaven and earth. A rainbow is a
continual reminder of the covenant relationship that God has made
available to man.
Every covenantal period has a time of testing or probation. Adam
had a time of testing and failed in the garden of Eden. After the
Adamic Covenant Cain and the entire human race, except for Noah, lost
the faith and obedience that was implied the the Adamic Covenant,.
Noah found grace and God made a covenant with Noah. After the flood,
Ham failed the test. Further down the line as we read in Genesis
10,11, the human race once again fell away from faith in God. They
built the tower of Babel. Nimrod (Gen. 10:9) in the grandeur of his
reign presented himself as the promised "Seed of the Woman" of
Genesis 3:15 and proclaimed himself to be the savior of the race.
Though not much is said of him in scripture, it is obvious from human
records that he thought a great deal of himself, and the civilization
of that time thought much of him.
The tower of Babel was an attempt to unify humanity and to redeem it
by human devices from the curse of sin. God had given man civil
government, and now man used the delegated authority of human
government and turned it against God and His government. Human
government was usurping the place of Divine Government.
The human body was worshipped, and sex was deified in the name of
religion. Most of the race followed the religion of Nimrod. God came
down (Gen. 11:5) and judged the wickedness of the land by confusing
their speech. Consequently, the people dispersed throughout the
world.
While the families of the earth were developing into nations, God
chose a man named Abram to make the next covenant with and through
him God blessed all the nations of the earth (Gen. 11:10-21;
12:1-3).
We see a pattern in each covenantal period:
1. Man goes through a period of testing to see if he
will keep the terms of the covenant.
2. Man fails to keep the terms.
3. God comes in judgment of man's sins.
4. God seeks out a faithful man with whom to make a
redemptive covenant .
This covenant, like the others, rested on the obedience and faith of
man. Abraham walked in faith and obedience and as a result he
received the covenant. The promises to Abraham's seed were based on
God's holiness and mercy towards all the sincerely repentant who walk
with him in faith. God never binds Himself to bless and support one
who practices sin. We must be careful that we do not teach God's Word
in such a way that it eliminates the penalties for sin and rebellion
towards God.
The Abrahamic Covenant builds upon the Edenic, Adamic, and Noahic
Covenants and enlarges them. It is also the foundation for all
succeeding covenants: Mosaic, Davidic, and New Covenants (Rom.
9:4-5). All God's dealings with Israel--past, present, and
future--are rooted in the Abrahamic Covenant. In this covenant there
are promises that are still valid today.
The covenant was not just made with Abraham, but its oath was given
to Isaac, confirmed to Jacob, and then confirmed to Israel after him
(1 Chron. 16:15-17). These three patriarchs all had a part in the
Abrahamic Covenant. It was originally given to Abraham and also given
or confirmed to Isaac and Jacob.
A. The Promises of the Covenant
1. To be made a great nation (12:2)
2. Personal blessing (12:2)
This was fulfilled in the blessing of Melchizedek in Genesis
14:19,20, in the blessing of material prosperity (13:2; 24:1,35), and
in physical vitality (Rom. 4:17-21). This blessing was fulfilled in
the lives of Isaac and Jacob as well (26:12-14; 30).
3. Abraham's name would be great (12:2)
a. Given a new name at the time of circumcision (Gen. 17:5; Acts
7:8)
b. Blessing of a good reputation (Gen. 24:35)
c. Name associated with faith (Rom. 4:11-16)
d. Many nations revere his name, and three major religions honor him:
Islam, Judaism, and Christianity.
4. He would be a blessing (12:2).
a. He rescued Lot when the cities were taken captive (14:14).
b. He rescued Lot through prayer and intercession.
c. He was a blessing to his own household (18:19).
5. Whoever blessed Abram would be blessed, and whoever cursed him
would be cursed (12:3).
6. All the people of the earth would be blessed through him
(12:3)
a. 22:17,18 -- " And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."
7. Blessing of the promised land
a. 12:1 -- God would show him a land
b. 13:14-18 -- God would give him and his seed the land forever.
c. 15:7-21 -- From the Euphrates to Egypt would be given to him.
d. 17:7,8 -- " And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee,
the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an
everlasting possession; and I will be their God."
e. This promise was given to Isaac (26:2-4).
f. This promise was given to Jacob.
8. Father of many nations
a. Seed as dust of the earth (13:16)
b. Seed as the stars of heaven (15:5)
c. Father of man nations (17:4-8)
d. Seed as innumerable as the stars and as the sand (Gen.
22:17,18).
e. Sarah was to be a mother of nations (17:16).
f. Isaac's seed promised to be as the stars of heaven (26:4)
g. Jacob
9. God would be a God to him and to his seed (17:7,8).
10. Victory over enemies
a. Gen 22:17 -- "thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies."
b. Gen 24:60 -- " and let thy seed possess the gate of those which
hate them."
c. Gen 49:8-12 -- " thy hand shall be in the neck of thine
enemies."
11. Kings would be born of him (17:6).
a. 17:16 -- "and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of people
shall be of her."
b. 35:11 -- "a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and
kings shall come out of thy loins."
In the Abrahamic Covenant there were both natural and spiritual
promises, therefore these eleven characteristics are both natural and
spiritual. Galatians 3 shows us how Gentiles can have part of this
covenant.
B. The Terms of the Covenant
1. Faith
a. Gen. 15:6 -- "And he believed in the LORD; and he
counted it to him for righteousness."
b. Gal. 3:6 -- "Even as Abraham believed God, and it
was accounted to him for righteousness."
c. Heb. 11:8ff -- "By faith Abraham, when he was
called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an
inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By
faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a
strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the
heirs with him of the same promise: By faith he
sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling
in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same
promise: For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose
builder and maker is God."
d. How was this faith developed?
2. Obedience
a. Leave your country, people and your father's household and go to
the land I will show you (12:1).
Heb. 11:8 -- "By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a
place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and
he went out, not knowing whither he went."
b. Gen. 22:18 -- "And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth
be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice."
c. Gen. 26:5 -- "Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my
charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws."
Abraham's obedience grew out of his faith. It was his unquestioning
obedience to the will of God that proved his faith. James 2:20-24
tells us that it is our obedience that proves that we have real
living faith as well. These are not just the cornerstones of the
Abrahamic Covenant, but they are the cornerstones of anyone who comes
to God. It is through faith which is evidenced through obedience to
the Lord. Romans 4:23,24 tells us that God is obtaining a world-wide
spiritual family with faith and obedience like Abraham.
d. Gen. 17:1 -- "walk before me, and be thou perfect."
This was not the perfection of unfailing sinlessness, but the total
commitment of heart and mind and will to the Lord. As they walked
with the Lord and kept a perfect heart, the Lord would confirm the
covenant with them. Thus, we see that this covenant is conditional.
There are well-known authors who say this this covenant is
unconditional, but it is clearly conditional.
C. Oath of the covenant
The Abrahamic Covenant was one of the few covenants that had
an oath attached to it to make it irrevocable.
1. Heb. 6:13-18 -- When God made a promise to Abraham, He confirmed
it with an oath so that it could not be changed. He bound Himself to
fulfill it.
2. Gal. 3:15-17 -- God can never disannul His covenant with Abraham
and his seed.
A. Animal Sacrifices
1. Gen. 15:7-17 -- God passed between the pieces to "cut the
covenant" with Abraham.
2. Gen. 22 -- God asked for Isaac, and gave a ram as a
substitutionary sacrifice for Abraham's only son. Thus, Abraham did
typically what God the Father would do in reality with His only Son,
Jesus.
3. Gen. 14:18 -- Symbolically in the bread and wine, Abraham partook
of the blood and body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
The seal of the covenant was circumcision. The Abrahamic Covenant
is called the "covenant of circumcision" in Acts 7:8. It is referred
to as a token (Gen. 17:11), as a seal (Rom. 4:11), and as a sign
(Rom. 4:11).
A. It was the outward sign of their inward commitment to the
terms of the covenant.
1. To reject or neglect this was to break the covenant and
to cut oneself off from its benefits
Gen. 17:14 -- "And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his
foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his
people; he hath broken my covenant."
2. God sought to kill Moses because he failed to bring his family
into covenant relationship with Him by circumcision (Ex. 2:23-25;
3:1-6). He had to make sure his own family had the seal of the
covenant.
B. Fulfillment in Christians
1. Water baptism
2.Circumcision of the heart--Cutting off the life of the flesh, the
carnal self and experiencing the new life of the Holy Spirit.
A. The entire history of redemption is based on this
covenant. Take out this covenant and all that proceeds from it and
the Bible is empty.
B. It is the foundation and source of the succeeding covenants.
C. Many other Scriptures refer to the Abrahamic covenant:
1. Ex. 32:9-13
2. Deut. 29:10-13
3. Deut. 34:1-4
4. 2 Ki. 13:23
5. 1 Ki. 18:36
6. Neh. 9:5-8,32
7. 2 Chr. 30:6
8. Ps. 105:1-45
9. Isa. 51:2
10. Micah 7:1-20
11. Ex. 3:15
The Mosaic Covenant is essentially found in Exodus 19:1-6, 24:7,8,
and 34:10. It is another step in the progressive revelation of God's
plan of redemption for mankind. It is an outgrowth and further
development of the Abrahamic Covenant. It is found in the Pentateuch,
anticipated in Genesis, and presented in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers,
and Deuteronomy. It was a topological fulfillment of the Abrahamic
Covenant, not the real fulfillment, which came in the New
Covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant is called the Law, the Sinaitic Covenant, the Old
Covenant, and the First Covenant (in its relationship to the nation
of Israel and the New Covenant). It was the most complicated and
difficult of all the covenants to interpret because of its intricate
details concerning the sacrifices, the priesthood and the sanctuary
as well as the laws governing the civil life of the people of God.
When these explicit external forms are properly interpreted, we can
see the spiritual meaning that they illustrate and that is found true
in the New Covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant prevailed until it was fulfilled in Christ. Upon
its fulfillment, the old was "changed, annulled, dead, done away,
abolished, blotted out, nail to his cross, made old, taken away" as
the scriptures say,. (Mt. 5:17,18; Lk. 16:16; Rom. 6:14; 7:1-7; Gal.
3:19-25; Eph. 2:13-16; Php. 3:1-3; Col. 2:8-17; Heb. 7:12,18,19;
8:6-13; 9:10-15; 10:1-17). However, both in the early church and in
the church today, there is much confusion over the purpose and
relationship of this covenant to Christians today. In Acts 15,
Galatians, and Hebrews, we see that this confusion had taken place.
But God has moved onward. He freely gives salvation to whoever
believes in Him. To ignore this in these last days and return to the
Law embodied in the Mosaic Covenant is certain spiritual death to any
believer (Gal. 3:10; 5:4; Jn. 3:36).
This covenant was made to be a "schoolmaster" to bring the chosen
nation of Israel to Jesus Christ, the only way to salvation.
A. Why was this covenant made?
1. Nation on trial
As we have seen, after every promise of a covenant, there is a
probationary period. As Abraham's seed was multiplying and becoming a
mighty nation in Egypt, they also took upon themselves the gods of
Egypt. They failed to maintain their covenantal relationship with the
Lord and eventually found that they were in bondage (Ex. 1:7-12;
Josh. 24:14; Eze. 20:5-9).
2. To show God's holy standard for living
B. The relationship between the Mosaic and Abrahamic
Covenants
In the early church there was much disputing about the
relationship between the Abrahamic Covenant, the Mosaic Covenant, and
the New Covenant. The Apostle Paul addressed this by showing the
relationship between the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic
Covenant.
1. The Abrahamic Covenant did not replace the promises of God made or
annul them. The Abrahamic Covenant had been given with an oath that
was impossible to revoke.
a. Gal. 3:8,9,14-18
b. Heb. 6:13-20
2. The Mosaic Covenant was added to or placed alongside the Abrahamic
Covenant because of Israel's sin. The Mosaic Covenant was therefore
to run alongside the Abrahamic Covenant.
a. Gal. 3:15-19 -- "Brethren, I speak after the manner of men; Though
it be but a man's covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man
disannulleth, or addeth thereto. Now to Abraham and his seed were the
promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one,
And to thy seed, which is Christ. And this I say, that the covenant,
that was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law, which was four
hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make
the promise of none effect. For if the inheritance be of the law, it
is no more of promise: but God gave it to Abraham by promise.
Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of
transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was
made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator."
b. Deu. 29:12,13 -- "That thou shouldest enter into covenant with the
LORD thy God, and into his oath, which the LORD thy God maketh with
thee this day: That he may establish thee to day for a people unto
himself, and that he may be unto thee a God, as he hath said unto
thee, and as he hath sworn unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac,
and to Jacob."
3. The Mosaic Covenant was given to Israel to prefigure the work and
person of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was temporary until Christ, the
seed of Abraham would come and institute the New Covenant that all
the forms of the Mosaic Covenant looked toward.
a. Heb. 9:9,10 -- "Which was a figure for the time then present, in
which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him
that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which
stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal
ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation."
The Abrahamic Covenant, which was an everlasting covenant, was not
done away with by the Mosaic Covenant, which was temporarily given to
Israel until the New Covenant would come and fulfill the Abrahamic
Covenant and do away with the Mosaic Covenant. The Mosaic Covenant
was a temporary covenant and the Abrahamic Covenant was the eternal
covenant of faith and obedience.
The natural question concerning the Mosaic Covenant is, "What was the
relationship of those who served God before and during the tenure of
the Mosaic Covenant? How could they be saved?" The answer is that
they were saved by grace through faith the same as Abraham (Gen.
15:6; Rom. 4:1-3; 6:7-10). Being the natural descendants of Abraham
did not save them (1 Ki. 19:14,19; Rom. 11:4,20-23). Old Testament
saints who died in faith were gathered together in a place called
Abraham's bosom, a portion of Sheol, the place of the dead. The Lord
brought them out and into heaven at the time of His resurrection.
By accepting the Law, Israel covenanted to walk with God. The people
were in slavery in Egypt and without the clear direction of the Ten
Commandments. God led them out of Egypt and through the wilderness,
fed them with bread from heaven, and sheltered them with a pillar of
fire by night and a cloud by day. The Mosaic Covenant was a greater
opportunity to know God and to know His ways. The Law was the grace
of God to lead them to Jesus Christ their Messiah. Through the animal
sacrifices that were a part of the Mosaic Covenant, the people
expressed their faith in the One who was to come and to save them
from their sins. They had to walk in faith and live in obedience just
as their father Abraham had done.
The Mosaic Covenant contains more words than any other covenant
given in the Old Testament times. We find the words of the covenant
in Exodus 20-40, Leviticus 1-17, Numbers 1-10,15,18,19,28,29,30-36
and Deuteronomy 1-34. We can group the words of this covenant under
three main headings: The Moral Law, The Civil Law, and The Ceremonial
Law.
The moral law consisted of the Ten Commandments written on the two
tables of stone. The are called "His Covenant" and "The Ten Words"
(Deut. 4:13,23; 10:1-5). This moral law set forth God's righteous
standards for behavior between man and God as well as between man and
man (Ex. 20; 34:27,28). We find these given in Exodus 34:27,28:
"And the LORD said unto Moses, Write thou these words: for
after the tenor of these words I have made a covenant with thee and
with Israel. And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty
nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon
the tables the words of the covenant, the ten
commandments."
The civil law was an amplification and clarification of the Ten
Commandments given to Moses. These governed Israel's life civilly,
socially, economically, personally, and legally. This was especially
needed because a new nation was forming. No longer would they be
under the rules of the Egyptian nation, but now they would be the
people of God under God's Divine laws for a nation.
The Ceremonial law was a detailed description of how they should
worship the Lord God. It covered the sacrifices, the priesthood,the
sanctuary, and the festive occasions when Israel should gather
together. It provided for the atonement of sin for the individual as
well as for the whole nation. It was a picture of the work that Jesus
Christ would do as our final sacrifice for sin.
A. The Promises of the Covenant
1. Blessings
The blessings of the Mosaic Covenant were primarily additions and
expansions of the blessings of the Abrahamic Covenant. These
blessings were given at Mt. Sinai but were expanded throughout the
period of Israel's journey to the promised land. Just as the promises
given to Abraham were expanded and highlighted as he continued on his
journey with the Lord, so we find that the promises to Israel were
revealed more and more as they went on. These promises involved
personal, national, geographical and spiritual blessings.
Some scholars fail to see this and give the expansion of the covenant
blessings given through Moses in the plains of Moab an entirely
different name, The Palestinian Covenant . This is
just an expansion of the blessings and cursings of the Mosaic
Covenant. These promises concerning the land were given just before
Israel crossed the Jordan River and took possession of the land. What
the book of Deuteronomy does is give a graphic description of the
promised land. This land had already been promised in Leviticus 25 as
well as in other places:
a. Deut. 28:1-14
b. Ex. 23:25-33
c. Lev. 25,26
d. Ex. 34:10 -- " I will do marvels, such as have not been done in
all the earth, nor in any nation: and all the people among which thou
art shall see the work of the LORD: for it is a terrible thing that I
will do with thee."
e. Ex. 15:26 -- " I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which
I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the LORD that healeth
thee."
f. Ex. 19:1-8
This is the greatest blessing of all. It is an extension of the
conditional promise to Abraham in Genesis 17:1ff, where the Lord told
Abram to walk before Him and be perfect, and God would make His
covenant with him. This condition of a perfect heart is seen to be a
condition of each covenant. Here in Exodus 19, Israel was freed from
Egypt's bondage. They were camped before Mt. Sinai, and God called to
Moses and said:
Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the
children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and
how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto myself. Now
therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant,
then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for
all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests,
and an holy nation.
The greatest blessing of all was given here. The promise to be
God's special treasure is ultimately fulfilled in the New Covenant.
The promise was given to Israel that they could become priests and
kings unto God, but it would have to wait for the New Covenant, for
the Law provided that anyone who presumed to be a priest that was not
of the line of Aaron was to be put to death. The promise to become a
holy nation unto God was completely beyond the capability of the Law.
Old Testament holiness was only a shadow of actual holiness (Heb.
9:1-15; 10:14). True holiness is the fruit of the cross of Calvary.
These promises, although given to Israel, would never be fulfilled
under the Old Covenant because the people were unable to keep the
terms of the covenant. All three of these promises speak of an
intimate relationship with the Lord. They speak of being rather than
doing. They are prophetic of the New Covenant under Christ. The heart
condition required to fulfill the terms of keeping God's commandments
out of loving obedience was not within Israel's reach because the law
of sin was at work within their hearts (Deut. 5:28,29; Rom.
7:7-22).
2.Cursings
a. Deut. 28:15-68
b. Ex. 22:22-24
c. Lev. 26:14-26
B. The Terms of the Covenant
1. The Ten Commandments
a. Man's relationship to God's authority
2. Obedience
a. Deut. 11:26-28 -- "Behold, I set before you this day a blessing
and a curse; A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your
God, which I command you this day: And a curse, if ye will not obey
the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way
which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have
not known."
b. Deut. 13:4 -- "Ye shall walk after the LORD your God, and fear
him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and ye shall
serve him, and cleave unto him."
c. Jer. 11:1-10
3. Love
a. Deut. 6:4-6
b. Deut. 10:12,13,16
c. Deut. 30:6-8
In Exodus 19:8, Israel had arrogantly said that all that the Lord
required of them they would do. They did not know their own hearts or
their own sinful nature. When they boasted of their own fleshly power
to live right before God, they moved themselves from the ground of
faith to the ground of law and works. In doing this, Israel showed
that they really did not understand God's holiness and righteousness.
During the 1,500 years of the law, they never fulfilled God's
righteousness, for they refused to submit to the righteousness that
comes through faith under the Abrahamic Covenant (Rom. 10:3; Php.
3:6-9; Isa. 64:6).
Israel needed a changed heart. They could not walk in obedience and
love through self-effort. Their failure was intended to show them the
need for the New Covenant which would bring them a new heart and a
new spirit (Eze. 36:24-27). They needed the law of God written
internally on the fleshly tables of their hearts (Jer. 31:31-34), not
on external tables of stone.
C. The Oath of the Covenant
There was no oath given with this covenant, for it was not
intended to be a permanent, everlasting covenant like the Abrahamic
Covenant.
D. The Book of the Covenant
1. Ex. 24:7 -- "And he took the book of the covenant, and
read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD
hath said will we do, and be obedient."
2. The book of the covenant was sprinkled with blood and read before
the people.
A. Five Offerings (Lev. 1-7)
1. Burnt Offering
2. Meal Offering
3. Peace Offering
4. Sin Offering
5. Trespass Offering
B. Daily Sacrifices (Num 28:1-8)
C. Sabbath Day Sacrifices (Num 28:9,10)
D. Festival Sacrifices
1. Num. 28,29
2. Lev. 16:23
E. Purification Sacrifices
1. Red Heifer
2. Leprosy purification -- Lev. 13,14
There are very specific regulations and teachings concerning the
blood. God was very exacting concerning how each sacrifice was to be
made. Everything in the temple was cleansed by the blood. The problem
with these sacrifices was that they had to be continued year after
year. No amount of animal sacrifices could take away man's
sinfulness. It would take the perfect, sinless blood of Jesus Christ
shed on the cross of Calvary to do that. All the rituals of the
Mosaic Covenant found their fulfillment in the blood of Jesus (Mt.
26:26-28; Heb. 9; 13:11-14).
The sign or seal of the Mosaic Covenant was the keeping of the
Sabbath. The Lord reminded Israel that He had made the world in six
days and rested the seventh. He then sanctified the seventh day and
made it holy. The Sabbath was to be observed perpetually throughout
their generations. Anyone who violated the Sabbath would be put to
death (Ex. 31:16).
A. The Sabbath as a sign between God and Israel
1. Ex. 31:12-17
2. Eze. 20:10-26
3. Lev. 19:30
4. Neh. 9:14
5. Lev. 23:3
B. The Sabbath in the Old Testament
1. No mention of keeping the Sabbath day from Adam to Moses,
that is, under the Adamic, Noahic,and Abrahamic Covenants.
2. The first specific mention of keeping the Sabbath is in connection
with the daily gathering of manna in Ex. 16:23-26.
3. It was the Fourth Commandment (Ex. 20:9-11; 31:18).
4. This was actually a part of the ceremonial law even though
included in the moral law of the Ten Commandments.
5. There were other special Sabbaths given to Israel at their feasts
(Lev. 23:7,8,21,24,27-39).
6. There were Sabbath years also (Lev. 25:1-22).
7. Israel failed to keep the Sabbath, thus, breaking the sign and
seal of the Mosaic Covenant. The Babylonian Captivity was a direct
result of their failure to keep the Sabbaths.
a. 2 Chron. 36:21
b. Eze. 20:1-26
c. Neh. 13:15-22
d. Jer. 17:21-27
C. The Sabbath in the New Testament
1. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man and not man
for the Sabbath. The man was more important than the day, which was
made as a day of rest and recuperation, as well as for spiritual
renewal (Mk. 2:27,28).
2. Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath. He is the only one who can give true
rest (Mk. 2:27,28).
3. Holy days were mere shadows of things to come and were abolished
at the cross (Col. 2:11,16,17).
4. All the moral laws of the Ten Commandments were repeated in the
New Testament except this one. This ceremony was not stated as a
requirement for New Testament believers.
5. True rest is ceasing from one's own works and finding rest in the
finished work of Christ. Keeping the Sabbath is not just keeping a
day, but receiving a person (Mt. 11:28-30).
The Mosaic Covenant points to the Lord Jesus Christ. Every aspect of
this covenant finds its fulfillment in Jesus Christ: the offerings,
the blood, the priesthood, the tabernacle, the Sabbath, etc. The
purpose of the Mosaic Covenant was to point us to Jesus Christ. God
created visible forms and patterns to express and convey the gospel
of Jesus Christ, and the spiritual riches of the New Covenant are
found concealed in the imagery of the Mosaic Covenant.
Everything that God does is to turn our eyes on Jesus, the Author and
Finisher of our faith. Let us not get bogged down in form and
tradition so that we take our eyes off of Jesus. Let us not get so
involved in our programs and institutions of religion that we fail to
see the One for whom we are laboring. Let us walk in faith and
obedience out of a heart of love for our wonderful Lord and Savior.
This is the blessing and wonderful advantage that we who are under
the New Covenant have--a heart that has been changed by the Holy
Spirit dwelling inside.
This covenant was made with David through the prophet Nathan around
the year 1000 B.C. David was the king of Israel by God's choice and
purpose. He was a man after God's own heart. Though, not perfect, he
always returned to God with all his heart after he had sinned.
David reigned seven years at Hebron over Judah. When the house of
Saul surrendered, David drove the enemies of God out of Israel, took
Mount Zion, and set up a new tabernacle to replace the old worn out
remains of the wilderness tabernacle. In this new tent, David brought
the ark of the covenant and reestablished worship of God. This
worship was much different from that of the Mosaic Covenant, for in
this tent David would go and sit in the presence of God.
As David thought on the place "where God dwelt" and compared it to
his own palace, he determined to build a house, or a temple for the
Living God. Why should God live in a tent, when David lived in a fine
palace?
The Davidic Covenant is an extension of the Abrahamic Covenant. In it
we see the major promises of the Abrahamic Covenant confirmed and
amplified. It also confirmed the Mosaic Covenant. The chief promise
of the Davidic Covenant is the promise of kingship. Kingship had been
alluded to in the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant, but in
the Davidic Covenant it is made clearer as Christ is seen clearer
than in the previous covenants.
A. Kingship in the Abrahamic Covenant
1. To Abraham (Gen. 17:6) -- " and kings shall come out of
thee."
2. To Sarah (Gen. 17:16) -- " kings of people shall be of her."
3. To Jacob (Gen. 35:11) -- " and kings shall come out of thy
loins."
4. To Judah (Gen. 49:8-12) -- "The scepter shall not depart from
Judah."
B. Kingship in the Mosaic Covenant
1. Deut. 17:14-21 -- Law given for when Israel would choose
a king.
2. Num. 23:21 -- "He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither hath
he seen perverseness in Israel: the LORD his God is with him, and the
shout of a king is among them."
C. Kingship in the Davidic Covenant
1. 2 Sam. 7:15,16 -- "But my mercy shall
not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away
before thee. And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established for
ever before thee: thy throne shall be established for ever."
2. Ps. 132:11,12 -- "The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will
not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy
throne. If thy children will keep my covenant and my testimony that I
shall teach them, their children shall also sit upon thy throne for
evermore."
3. 1 Chron. 17:12 -- " I will stablish his throne for ever."
4. Ps. 89:3,4 -- "I have made a covenant with my chosen, I have sworn
unto David my servant, Thy seed will I establish for ever, and build
up thy throne to all generations."
We have the historical accounts of the Davidic Covenant in Second
Samuel 7 and First Chronicles 17. We also find the covenant referred
to in Jeremiah 33, Psalm 89 and Psalm 132 as well as in many other
Psalms. All the Messianic Psalms are amplifications of the covenant
made with David. These are Psalm 2, 3,16, 22, 24, 40, 41, 45, 55, 59,
66, 68, 69, 72, and 89. You might say that the Davidic Covenant is
found in brief outline form in Second Samuel 7 and in First
Chronicles 17. At the end of each outline, we find these words:
"According to all these words, and according to all this vision, so
did Nathan speak unto David." In other words, much more was said, but
this is the tenor of it all. The details are found in the Messianic
Psalms.
A. Promises of Blessing
There are thirteen promises to consider in the Davidic
Covenant that are seen in outline of the Davidic Covenant in Second
Samuel 7 and in First Chronicles 17.
1. I will appoint a place for my people Israel (7:10).
Even though Israel was dwelling in the Abrahamic Covenant land that
God had promised, here in 7:10, David received a promise that God
would yet provide a place for the people of Israel. Canaan had been
their promised rest from Egyptian bondage and from the weary
wandering through the wilderness. Joshua had brought them into this
rest (Josh. 21:43-45; 23:1). Now, in the Davidic Covenant, God
promised a future place of rest. We read of this rest in Hebrews 4:8,
where we are told that if Joshua had truly given Israel rest, then
God would not afterward have spoken of another day.
God had given Abraham a promise of the land, yet, Hebrews 11:8-16
tells us that Abraham looked for a city whose builder and maker was
God. He looked for a heavenly city. This city is the heavenly Mount
Zion and Jerusalem to which the saints of God have now come (Heb.
12:22-28; Eph. 1:3,4; 2:10; Gal. 4:26).
2. "I will plant them" (2 Sam. 7:10).
Isaiah 60:21 uses this language as well, "Thy people also shall be
all righteous: they shall inherit the land for ever, the branch of my
planting, the work of my hands, that I may be glorified." This is
like the language used by Christ in Luke 4:18 when He quoted Isaiah
61:1-3. Jesus said that He came " that they might be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that he might be glorified."
Israel had constantly failed. They could not keep the Mosaic law. But
Christ would plant them and give them the new birth.
Amos 9:9-15 is another picture of God's people being planted. In
verse 15, we read, "And I will plant them upon their land, and they
shall no more be pulled up out of their land which I have given them,
saith the LORD thy God." In Acts 15:16,17, James used this passage of
scripture relating to the tabernacle of David and this promise of
being planted to mean more than just a physical return to the land of
Israel, but to justify the reception of the Gentiles into the
church.
3. "They shall not be moved" (2 Sam. 7:10; 1 Chron. 17:9).
God promises that when He plants His people they shall no longer be
moved. They were at the time enjoying the reign of David. Yet, they
would be moved from that land to Babylon. Yet there is a deeper
promise here than that of an earthly city. There is a heavenly Zion
which cannot be removed but abides forever (Ps. 125:1). Our present
position in the kingdom of God is from Mount Zion (Heb. 12:22-28),
and we cannot be moved. As David sings of in Psalm 132:11-18:
The LORD hath sworn in truth unto David; he will not turn from
it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set upon thy throne For the LORD
hath chosen Zion; he hath desired it for his habitation. This is my
rest for ever: here will I dwell; for I have desired it There will I
make the horn of David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine
anointed.
4. Victory over enemies (2 Sam. 7:11-16; 1 Chron. 17:10)
God had promised Abraham that he would possess the gate of his
enemies (Gen. 22:17; 24:60). David had conquered all the land
promised to Abraham (2 Chron. 9:26). David's victories, however,
point to the spiritual victory of Christ and to that of the church
(Rev. 5:5; Mt. 16:18). Christ won the victory over Satan and over
death. We have that victory in Christ. Psalm 110 gives the details of
the promise of Christ's victory as well as the victory promised to
the church in Christ. Paul developed this theme in First Corinthians
15:25-28, 54-58, where he stated "For he must reign, till he hath put
all enemies under his feet." In 15:57, we have the tremendous
promise, "But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ!" Romans 16:20, Luke 10:19, and James 4:7
continue the thought of victory over the enemy. That which was
promised to David is fulfilled under the reign of Jesus Christ. When
we allow Him to reign in our life, we have the victory of Jesus
Christ!
5. "The Lord will build thee a house" (1 Chron. 17:10).
This is the promise of a dynasty. David desired to build the Lord a
house, and the Lord responded by saying that He would build David a
house. This house would be his dynasty. The dynasty of David went
from Solomon right through till Zedekiah, who was the last king to
reign over the house of Judah in the land of Canaan. Christ came and
spiritually fulfilled this promise and will indeed naturally fulfill
this promise in the future.
6. "I will raise up thy seed" (2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Chron. 17:11).
When the revelation of the Davidic Covenant came to David through
Nathan the prophet, much more was spoken of then first meets the
eyes. God promised to raise up David's seed. This is the first clear
promise of the resurrection. David and Nathan conversed about it when
God gave David this covenant. David wrote of it in Psalm 16:10, "For
thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine
Holy One to see corruption." David knew what this meant. From Acts
2:29-32, we read,
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch
David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us
unto this day. Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had
sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according
to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne;
He seeing this before spake of the resurrection
of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell,
neither his flesh did see corruption. This Jesus hath God raised up,
whereof we all are witnesses.
Psalm 16 speaks directly and plainly of the death and
resurrection of Christ. Psalm 22 is the story of Calvary. Psalm 35,
41 and 55 tell the sad story of the rejection of Christ and of His
betrayal by Judas Iscariot. Psalm 118:22-24 speaks of the death of
Christ as well as His exaltation (Acts 4:10,11). David knew more than
any other prophet concerning the details of Christ's death and
resurrection.
7. "I will establish his kingdom" (2 Sam. 7:12; 1 Chron. 17:11).
This is speaking of the offspring that would come forth from David,
namely Christ. God would establish the kingdom of Christ in the New
Testament age. This will be done before David is resurrected.
8. "He shall build an house for my name" (2 Sam. 7:13).
We know that Solomon naturally fulfilled this prophecy by building a
natural house. Yet, the real temple of God is the church (1 Cor.
3:16; Heb. 3:1-6). Jesus said that He would build his church (Mt.
16:18). As Solomon built the natural temple, so Christ is building
the church with living stones.
9. "I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever" (2 Sam. 7:14;
1 Chron. 17:12)
This is the eternal throne of Christ. David speaks of it in Psalm
45:6: "Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: the scepter of thy
kingdom is a right scepter." Hebrews 1:8 shows that this refers to
Christ's present reign and enthronement. The throne speaks of
authority. Christ has been given a name above all other names. Every
knee shall bow and recognize the authority of Jesus Christ as Lord.
In Luke 1:30-33, Gabriel spoke of the throne of David in relationship
to Jesus, "He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of
the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his
father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever;
and of his kingdom there shall be no end."
10. "I will be his father and he shall be my son" (2 Sam. 7:13; 1
Chron. 17:12)
Jesus was conceived in the womb of a virgin. The seed had been
planted by the Holy Spirit. Thus, God was truly the father of Jesus
Christ. Joseph was his foster father, the guardian of the child
Jesus.
11. "If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men"
(2 Sam. 7:14,15)
This provision seemingly points to Solomon and the kings of Judah
after him. What God was saying was that no matter how bad they
sinned, they could not annul this covenant. Christ would come in any
case and fulfill it. Yet, this also refers to Jesus. He was tempted
to sin in all points like we are and yet did not sin. Therefore,
Jesus was found worthy of the throne in heaven (Rev. 5:1-10).
12. "My mercy shall not depart away from him" (2 Sam. 7:15; 1 Chron.
17:13)
God promised David that if his seed committed iniquity He would
chastise them, but He would not take away His mercy from them as He
did to Saul. David continually spoke of this mercy that was upon him
(Ps. 51:1; 56:1; 57:1-3). The Davidic Covenant as revealed in Psalm
89, also speaks much of the mercy of the Lord (vs. 1,2,14,28-34).
The ultimate fulfillment of the sure mercies of David comes to us
through Jesus Christ. In Acts 13:34, we read, "And as concerning that
he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption,
he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David."
Here it is referring to the resurrection of Christ. It also is
fulfilled in our lives by the resurrection that we shall experience
(Rev. 20:6).
13. "But I will settle him in mine house and in my kingdom for ever"
(2 Sam. 7:16; 1 Chron. 17:14)
Christ would be over God's house, the church, and the kingdom of God
forever. Christ will continually reign. Christ's exaltation is in
Peter's sermon in Acts 2:23-36. Note that he quotes directly from the
Davidic Covenant in this first sermon ever preached after
Pentecost.
B. Terms of the Covenant
1. Faith
David had a heart full of faith that was responsive to the Word of
God. After David received the covenant words, he worshiped the Lord
and expressed his covenant faith (2 Sam. 7:18-29; 1 Chron.
17:16-27).
2.Obedience
God's testimony concerning David was that he was a man after God's
own heart who would fulfill God's will (Acts 13:22). This covenant
required obedience (2 Sam. 7:14; Ps. 89:30-33; 132:11,12). If one of
the seed of David was disobedient, God could transfer the throne to
another of the seed of David as he warned Solomon in Second
Chronicles 7:12-22.
David, as a man, came under three covenants: the Abrahamic, the
Mosaic,and the Davidic. According to the Mosaic Covenant, David could
not offer the compulsory offerings. However, under the Davidic
Covenant he offered sacrifices of thanksgiving and praise as well as
voluntary offerings.
Under the Mosaic Covenant, David could not go into the holy of holies
or the holy place, but David went beyond the regulations of the
Mosaic Covenant. He ate the holy bread when fleeing Saul and set up
the tabernacle of David where he would go in and sit in the presence
of God before the Ark of the Covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant said that worship was to be at the Tabernacle of
Moses. This tabernacle however was without the Ark of the Covenant.
David realized the important thing in worship was the presence of God
a ritual of the blood of rams and goats. He built the tabernacle of
David.
A. Burnt offerings and peace offerings
1. 2 Sam. 6:17,18
2. 1 Chron. 16:1-3
B. David's new order of worship
1. David's role as a priest
David was not a priest after the Levitical order, but he did act in
the role of a king-priest after the order of Melchizedek. David ate
of the holy bread reserved for priests when running from Saul. David
offered priestly sacrifices before the Lord (2 Sam. 6:17). When King
Saul and King Uzziah presumed into priestly functions, God judged
them for seeking to combine the king and priestly ministry (1 Samuel
15; 2 Chron. 26). However, God did not judge David in this, but
allowed David to foreshadow Jesus Christ as the Priest-King.
2. Tabernacle of David
While leaving most of the Levitical priests at the Tabernacle of
Moses to fulfill the conditions and sacrifices of the Mosaic
Covenant, David also appointed a number of priests to minister
according to the Davidic order of worship at the Tabernacle of David.
Thus, there were two different companies of priests ministering at
two different places according to two different covenants. The Mosaic
order of worship was done away with and the Davidic worship pointed
the way to the ultimate fulfillment of the New Covenant worship (1
Pe. 2:5; Acts 6:7; Rev. 1:6; 5:9,10).
The Tabernacle of David is of great importance to the worship and
life of the Church. Many psalms of praise and worship were born here
in the presence of God. Zion was a place where spiritual sacrifices
of praise, worship, and thanksgiving were offered (Ps. 65:1; 87:1-6;
99:1,2; 102:13-21; 134:3).
A. Ps. 89:34-37 -- The sign and seal of the Davidic
Covenant are the sun, moon and stars.
"My covenant will I not break, nor alter the thing that is
gone out of my lips. Once have I sworn by my holiness that I will not
lie unto David. His seed shall endure for ever, and his throne as the
sun before me. It shall be established for ever as
the moon , and as a faithful witness in heaven.
Selah."
B. Jer. 33:20-26
"Thus saith the LORD; If ye can break my covenant of the
day , and my covenant of the night
, and that there should not be day and night in their season; Then
may also my covenant be broken with David my servant, that he should
not have a son to reign upon his throne; and with the Levites the
priests, my ministers As the host of heaven cannot
be numbered, neither the sand of the sea measured: so will I multiply
the seed of David my servant, and the Levites that minister unto me
Thus saith the LORD; If my covenant be not with day
and night , and if I have not appointed the
ordinances of heaven and earth; Then will I cast away the seed of
Jacob and David my servant, so that I will
not take any of his seed to be rulers over the seed of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob: for I will cause their captivity to
return, and have mercy on them."
Just prior to Jesus' death on the cross, Jesus took His twelve
disciples and incorporated the New Covenant. The cycle of Covenant,
probation, failure, and judgment had fulfilled itself in relation to
the Mosaic Covenant with the nation of Israel. The history of the
nation of Israel shows that they failed time and time again under the
Old Covenant. They needed more than that which the Mosaic Covenant
could supply; they needed the New Covenant with its enabling grace to
live the kind of life that God required that they live.
A. God used the Old Covenant prophets to prophesy of the New
Covenant
The New Covenant fulfills the promise of Genesis 3:15. Jesus
is the "Seed of the woman" that crushed the serpent's head. The
Abrahamic and the Mosaic Covenants also looked forward to the Messiah
that would come. When God gave the Old Covenant, He promised
something better. This was fulfilled by Jesus.
1. A Prophet was promised like Moses (Deut. 18:15-19).
a. God put His words in his mouth, and he spoke them all (Jn.
12:47-50; 17:6-9, 15-18, 20-23).
b. God would judge all who failed to hear His words (Acts 3:23; Jn.
12:49; Acts 4:12).
2. Isaiah foretold the New Covenant.
a. Isa. 42:6 -- "I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and
will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a
covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles."
b. Isa. 59:20,21
c. Isa. 61:8 (w/ Rom. 11:26.27)
3. Jeremiah foretold of the New Covenant (Jer. 31:31-34)
Isaiah is often called the evangelistic prophet because of his
announcement of the coming Messiah, yet it is Jeremiah who gives us
the work and outcome of the Messiah's New Covenant. Isaiah told of
his coming, but the New Testament writer in Hebrews 7 takes us back
to Jeremiah 31:31-34 when he wants to explain what it is that Jesus
the Mediator of the New Covenant came to accomplish.
a. Not according to the Old Covenant (Jer. 31:32)
The Old Covenant was written on tables of stone. The writing and
the stone were inseparable. In the New covenant, God writes on our
hearts. The blessing of the New Covenant is that God makes the heart
right with Him and fits it to know Him. As Jeremiah 24:7 states:
"And I will give them an heart to know me, that I am the LORD:
and they shall be my people, and I will be their God: for they shall
return unto me with their whole heart."
c. God will be their God (Jer. 31:33)
We may be tempted to just pass over these words and not really see
how important they are. These words express the very highest
experience of the Covenant relationship. The fullest meaning of these
words is something like this, "I, the Omnipresent, will be ever
present with you. I, the Omnipotent, will work in you every moment of
your life by my mighty power. I, the Omniscient, will teach you and
guide you through each day. I, the Holy One, will work in you to
sanctify and make you holy as I am holy." What a tremendous promise
this is to the heart that has been rightly turned to God! Let us make
sure that we are the people of God and allow Him to be all that He
desires to be in our lives.
d. Under this Covenant everyone would know God (Jer. 31:34)
Individual personal fellowship with God, from the least to the
greatest is the privilege of every member of the New Covenant family.
Each will know the Lord. This is heart knowledge, not a mental
knowledge. There are those with great knowledge of the mind and yet
find that the man with a sixth grade education knows God better than
the one with the long list of degrees who never really entered into
the New Covenant through the New Birth.
Jeremiah also states that in this knowing God everyone will be taught
of God. This is fulfilled by the Holy Spirit's teaching. God speaks
out of His Word what each man needs to know
h. Their sins would be forgiven, never to be remembered any more
(Jer. 31:35-47).
Jeremiah begins this statement of the blessing of the New Covenant
with the little word, "for." This shows that this is the reason for
all that has preceded this blessing. The promise of a heart of flesh,
of God being our God, of knowing God is so that God can blot out our
sin. It is this blotting out of sin that makes it possible for us to
approach God and meet with Him. It is the blotting out of sin that
cleanses us and sets us free from the power of sin so that God can
write His law on our hearts and show Himself in power to be our God,
and by His Spirit teach us and show us the depths of His love.
The Old Covenant had the demand that we obey God's voice and God
would be our God. Now that condition is met for the law is written in
the heart. God can be our God and we can be his people. The New
Covenant gives us power to turn to God with our whole heart. When we
look around at God's people we see so very little of what is promised
in the New Covenant.Why is this so? It is because we do not believe.
In the New Covenant all we do is by faith. Let us not look at our sad
experiences in the past when we did not operate by faith and believe
that God was able to do exceedingly abundantly above all we could ask
or think. It is by faith that we appropriate the promise of God. We
need God to teach us so we can believe what God wants to do. Let not
our hearts be turned away by past failures. It is not the inability
of the New Covenant to redeem completely, but let us confess our
unbelief and admit what our failures have taught us: namely that even
a born again Christian walking in his own strength will find it
impossible to walk in the law of God. Let us turn our heart to
trusting in our Covenant God. Let us hear and believe what He will do
for us. Let us rest on His unchangeable faithfulness, on the absolute
surety of the covenant, and on the ability of the Holy Spirit working
with in us. As we do this, we will find that the promises of God in
the New Covenant will become a reality in our hearts and in our
lives.
4. Ezekiel foretold the coming of the New Covenant.
a. Eze. 16:60-62
b. Eze. 11:16-21
c. Eze. 20:37
d. Eze. 36:26,27 -- "A new heart also will I give you, and a new
spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart
out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will
put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and
ye shall keep my judgments, and do them."
The Old Covenant could be summed up in one verse.God had said in
Jeremiah 7:23: "Obey my voice, and I will be your God."
The fact that Israel could not obey was not addressed or taken into
consideration. Disobedience forfeited the privileges of the Covenant.
For the New covenant to be better this inability to obey the Lord had
to be remedied. God must be obeyed. The New Covenant had to take care
of this problem in order to be an everlasting covenant that could not
be broken. This is what Ezekiel 36:26,27 addresses. This is the glory
of the New Covenant. God not only provided for His faithfulness in
the New Covenant, but He also provided for the faithfulness of man as
well! God undertook to secure man's part in the covenant as well as
His own.
The fact that God would do this is very hard for the human rationale.
At times the glory of the New Covenant is so great that man has a
hard time to see the beauty of it all. Man has thought that human
unfaithfulness was such a factor in the covenants that it was
unconquerable and incurable. But God has promised that He will cause
us to walk in His statutes. He will make our heart right. The promise
is that we will keep His judgments and will do them. The Old Covenant
never had this promise. They continually departed from the Lord. IN
Deuteronomy 5:29 we read the cry of God's heart:
O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear
me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with
them, and with their children for ever!
It is only at the end of the threats of violating the Mosaic Covenant
that God gave the promise of the time when the remedy would come
(Deu. 30:6):
And the LORD thy God will circumcise thine heart, and the heart
of thy seed, to love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with
all thy soul, that thou mayest live.
The Old Covenant depended on man's faithfulness. The Lord
promised to keep covenant with them that kept His commands. The fact
that God kept His end of the covenant did very little if man did not
keep the terms of the covenant. The New Covenant has the promise that
God would cause us to walk in His statutes and would give us what we
need to keep His judgments. This is done through the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit.
We all want to make sure that this is fact in our lives and not just
a good idea. We must be careful that we do not do like the children
of Israel who limited the Holy One of Israel. How can we limit the
Holy One of Israel and fail to enter into the blessedness of the New
Covenant? When we fail to cherish every whisper of the conscience and
of the Spirit that convinces us of sin. We need to learn to be
sensitive to the indwelling presence of the Lord. It is the Holy
Spirit that gives us power to not sin. We must be careful to let Him
have free reign in our hearts so that the prophesy in Ezekiel 36
truly becomes our experience.
B. God used Old Covenant types to portray the New
Covenant
1. In Abraham's two sons
These two sons are an allegory to explain the two covenants. Ishmael
represented the Mosaic Covenant of law and works while Isaac
represented the New Covenant of faith and grace.
2. The Law of Moses
The Ten Commandments were written on stone, whereas in the New
Covenant the words would be written on the hearts of man. These are
more glorious and will last forever (Eze. 20; 31:18; Heb. 8:6-13;
10:16,17).
C. The New Covenant Supplants the Old
1. Col. 2:10-13,14-17
2. Heb. 10:9 -- "Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He
taketh away the first, that he may establish the second."
3. Rom. 7:4,6
4. Rom. 6:14
5. Gal. 4:21-30
6. Gal. 5:1-4,13,18
D. Jesus fulfilled the Prophecies of a New Covenant
1. Heb. 8:6-13
2. Heb. 9:13-17
3. Heb. 10:1-17
4. Mt. 5:17-18
5. Jn. 17:4; 19:30
6. Gal. 3:19,23-25
E. The nation of Israel rejected the New Covenant.
1. The Jewish Sanhedrin condemned Jesus to be crucified and
under Roman authority put Him to death. Thus, the nation filled up
their cup of iniquity (Mt. 23:32).
2. There is no hope for Israel outside of Christ and the New Covenant
relationship with God through His shed blood. The New Covenant is the
last covenant ever to be made with the house of Israel and the house
of Judah (Jer. 31:31-34). Now there is a new Israel made up of those
that receive Jesus Christ through faith.
Gal. 6:15,16 -- "For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth
any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. And as many as
walk according to this rule, peace be on them, and mercy, and upon
the Israel of God."
The Words of the Covenant are the words of Jesus. These are in the
gospels and then throughout the rest of the New Testament as Jesus
spoke through the Holy Spirit. The Words and blessings of the New
Covenant are many but may be summed up in the outline below.
It is very important to remember that Jesus is the Word (Jn. 1:1).
Therefore, He not only gave the words of the New Covenant, but He is
the Word of the New Covenant. You cannot separate the words of Jesus
from the person of Jesus. In the same way, you can not separate the
New Covenant from the person of Jesus. Jesus is the New Covenant. He
is the Word of the Covenant, He is the Blood of Covenant; and He is
the seal of the Covenant through the Holy Spirit's indwelling. To
enter into the New Covenant is to enter into a relationship with
Jesus Christ. One cannot enter the blessings of the New Covenant
without a Divine encounter with the living Christ.
The great lack in our lives is that we need more of God. We often
accept salvation, not realizing that the chief purpose of our
salvation is to bring us into a closer relationship with the Lord who
created us and in whom we find our purpose for living and in which
our glory in eternity will be found. God's purpose through the
covenants and especially seen in the New Covenant is to bring His
people to Himself so they can see Him as their only source of
blessedness, glory, fulfillment, joy, and peace. What we need is more
of His presence, more of His ruling in our lives, more of our
conforming to His will, more of being engaged in His service, for in
Christ we find fulfillment.
God is the author and the provider of all life, strength, holiness,
joy, and peace. If that be true then the more that we wait on Him,
depend on Him, and trust in Him, the stronger, holier, and happier we
will be. Once we catch a vision of what God has been after through
the ages, we can see that anything to draw us closer to him is well
worth the sacrifice. No obedience can be too strict, not dependence
too absolute, not submission too complete, to the person that has
learned that God is the chief source of all that is good and
wonderful.
It is for this reason that the New Covenant was made. God's one
object is to draw us to Himself and render us entirely dependant upon
Him so that He can fill us with Himself, His love,and His
blessedness. The New Covenant was made and the veil has been rent.
Let us make sure that we fully partake of what God has made available
in our relationship with Him so that we might be able to fully enjoy
its promises and its blessings.
A. Promises of the Covenant
1. Promises of Blessing
a. Salvation -- The Word "salvation" means "safety, security,
preservation, deliverance, and wholeness" for man in spirit, soul,
and body. This salvation includes many benefits made possible through
Jesus Christ:
Jesus began His ministry preaching the good news of the kingdom of
God (Mt. 4:23-25). After His Ascension, the church was given the
ministry of preaching the gospel of the kingdom to all the nations
(Mt. 24:14; 28:18-20). The teaching of the gospel of the kingdom is
essentially the teaching of the laws of living that one operates
under when he is under the rule of God. It covers everything from the
New Birth, the Beatitudes, the Parables, etc. All of Jesus' teaching
is the unfolding of the gospel of the kingdom of God.
c. Blessing on the Gentiles
Abraham had been promised that he would be made a blessing to all
nations. This reaches its fulfillment in the New Covenant when the
door was opened to the Gentiles to receive the gospel. Jesus
commissioned His apostles to take the gospel to all nations. This was
to fulfill the mystery of the Gentiles coming into the Messianic
blessing and becoming one with the believing Jews (Eph. 2:11-22;
3:1-12; Rom 9-11; Ps. 18:49; 117:1; Isa. 11:1-10; 60:1-3;
65:1,2).
d. The Holy Spirit
Jesus taught much of the coming of the Holy Spirit. Old Testament
prophets had also looked ahead to the time of the Messiah and had
predicted the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon all flesh (Joel
2:28-32; Isa. 44:3; Eze. 36:25-27; Zech. 12:10). This fulfillment
began in the book of Acts on the day of Pentecost when those in the
upper room were baptized with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:10,11)
e. Healing
2. Promises of cursing
a. On the nation of Judah
B. The Terms of the Covenant
All of the covenants, whether revocable or irrevocable have
certain terms. We have seen that faith and obedience are throughout
the covenants as terms for the blessing of the covenant. The New
Covenant is no different. Though this covenant is irrevocable, it is
not unconditional. We must be willing to accept the sacrifice of
Jesus Christ by faith and receive the grace to walk in obedience and
faith. The big difference between the New Covenant and the other
covenants is that in the New Covenant there is grace to keep the
commands of Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. Though
Jesus came and gave higher commands than there was under the Mosaic
law, He also gave the grace and power to walk in obedience. This all
starts with repentance coupled with faith in the finished work of
Jesus Christ. We then receive Him into our hearts by faith and
receive the power of God to walk in His ways.
1. Repentance
a. Mt. 3:1-18
b. Mt. 4:17
c. Acts 2:37,38
d. Acts 17:30
e. Acts 26:20,21
f. Heb. 6:1,21
g. Lk. 24:49
2. Faith
a. Heb. 11
b. Acts 16:31
c. Mk. 1:15
d. Acts 20:21
e. Eph. 2:8
3. Obedience
a. James 2:17-26
b. Jn. 14:15; 15:10
c. Heb. 5:8,9
d. 1 Cor. 9:20,21
e. 1 Jn. 3:22-24
C. The Book of the Covenant
This is of course the New Testament which includes
twenty-seven books that give the words and sacrifice of the New
Covenant in the gospels and the sign and seal of the covenant in
Acts. In Revelation we see the full realization and consummation of
the New Covenant.
A. Fulfilled the Mosaic Sacrifices
1. Heb. 9,10 -- The Sacrifice of Jesus fulfills all of the
previous covenants' sacrifices, for it is the only sacrifice that can
cleanse man from sin. All the others merely pointed to this one and
final sacrifice for sin.
B. The Blood of Jesus
The blood is at the root of all the covenants, but
especially of the New Covenant. The big difference is that the other
covenants were ratified by the blood of animals,but the New covenant
was ratified by the precious blood of the Lamb of God. The power of
the New Covenant lies in the worth of the blood of the Son of God.
All the other blood sacrifices were merely pointing to this precious
blood. In Hebrews 9:15 we read:
"And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by
means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were
under the first testament, they which are called might receive the
promise of eternal inheritance."
All the sins that had been figuratively atoned for through the blood
of animals were gathered together and the death of Jesus on the cross
broke the power of all sin forever.
When the worth of the blood of Christ is truly seen, we can see its
power to break the powerful hold that sin had upon our lives. Sin
does not even have the slightest claim upon our lives. It has no
power over us, except as our ignorance or unbelief or
half-heartedness allows it to rule over us.
There is nothing as important or as precious to the believer as the
blood of Christ. It is the only way to be cleansed from our sin and
to approach our holy God. We must have faith in the power of the
blood of Jesus that was shed for our sin. Let us ask God to show us
how it works and what all it can do in our lives.
1. 1 Jn. 1:7 -- Cleanses from sin
2. Rom. 5:9 -- Justifies
3. Eph. 1:7 -- Redeems
4. Col. 1:20, Rom. 3:25 -- Reconciles us to God and one another and
gives peace with God
5. Eph. 2:13 -- Gives access to God
6. Heb. 9:13 -- Purges our conscience
7. Heb. 13:12 -- Sanctifies
8. 1 Cor. 10:16 -- Gives communion
9. Heb. 13:20 -- Enables us to enter covenant relationship with
God
10. Rev. 1:5; 5:9,10 -- Enables us to become kings and priests unto
God.
11. Rev. 12:11 -- Enables us to have victory over Satan
12. Jn. 6:53-63 -- Gives eternal life
13. Heb. 6:1,2; 7:11-19 -- Provides the way to perfection
C. Communion
1. Mt. 26:26-28
2. Lk. 22:19,20
A. The Holy Spirit is the Sign and Seal of the New
Covenant
1. Spoken of as the seal
a. Eph. 1:13,14;
b. Eph. 4:20
c. 2 Cor. 1:22
2. His work is spoken of as a sign
a. Mk. 16:15-20
b. Acts 2:14
B. The Holy Spirit Makes the Blessings of the Covenant
Possible
Without the power of the Holy Spirit in our life, we could
never keep the demands of the New Covenant, much like those under the
Mosaic Covenant could not keep its commands and laws. Though Old
Testament saints were temporarily empowered by the Holy Spirit for
specific tasks, they did not know the indwelling and abiding presence
of the Holy Spirit like we know it today (Jud. 6:34; 14:6; Jn.
14:16,17; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 3:16; 1 Jn. 2:20,27).
Jesus received the Spirit of God without measure and therefore gave
us the gift of the Holy Spirit as the seal of the New Covenant. As
one looks at the blessings of the New Covenant, one sees that it is
the Holy Spirit that brings all these blessings to us!
1. New Birth (Jn. 3:5,6; Tit. 3:5)
2. Indwells the spirit of the believer (Rom. 8:9; 1 Jn. 2:27)
3. Teaches and abides within (1 Jn. 2:20,27; Jn. 16:13)
4. Assurance of salvation (Rom. 8;16)
5. Fills the believer (Acts 2:4; Eph. 5:18)
6. Unknown tongues to edify himself (1 Cor. 14:2,4,18)
7. Enables one to pray (Jude 20; Rom. 8:26-28)
8. Enables worship in spirit and in truth (Jn. 4:23,24; Php 3:3; 1
Cor. 14:15)
9. Enables us to put to death the deeds of the flesh (Rom. 8:13)
10. Produces Christ-likeness (Gal. 5:22,23; 2 Pe. 1:4)
11. Empowers for witnessing (Acts 1:8; Lk. 24:49)
12. Gives spiritual gifts (1 Cor. 12:7-13)
13. Provides power for resurrection and immortality (Rom. 8:11; 1
Cor. 15:47-51; 1 Th. 4:15-18)
A. The Old Covenant was a schoolmaster.
The Mosaic Covenant was necessary in that it was important
that man had the opportunity to prove either what he could do, or
needed to have done for hem. The Old Covenant was necessary to waken
man's desires, to call forth his grandest efforts to please God, to
deepen his sense of dependence on the Lord, to convince him of sin
and in doing so, to prepare him to feel the need for the salvation
from sin that Christ would supply in the New Covenant. In this way,
the Old Covenant was absolutely indispensable for the working out of
God's purposes, and yet, it was only a preparation for something
higher and absolutely insufficient for giving the full salvation that
man needed.
We find over and over again throughout the Old Testament that the
condition for blessing under the Mosaic Covenant was obedience (Ex.
19:5; Deut. 4:13; 7:12). The book of Deuteronomy especially outlines
complete obedience as the condition for blessing under this covenant.
In this, God took Israel into a training process. There was a
conscience inside of man that had to be awakened and challenged. The
law did this by giving man a knowledge of sin. Yet, the law promised
life, but could not give it.
1. Deu. 4:1 -- "Now therefore hearken, O Israel, unto the statutes
and unto the judgments, which I teach you, for to do them, that ye
may live, and go in and possess the land which the LORD God of your
fathers giveth you."
2. Gal. 3:21 -- "Is the law then against the promises of God? God
forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given
life, verily righteousness should have been by the law."
The Law showed what sin was, how much God hated it, what a dreadful
power it had on man, and the death and misery that it brought, and
the need for Divine intervention into the heart of man. The Law can
be likened to an elementary school to prepare for the grace and
salvation of Jesus Christ. Although it had its own glory (2 Cor.
3:10-12), the death and condemnation that came with it was the
predominating factor.
The lesson that the Old covenant teaches us is one that we all need
to learn. It teaches us about sin and holiness. Until we have come to
a point in our lives where we sin our utter sinfulness and
hopelessness to deliver ourselves out of it, we cannot come into the
blessing that Jesus Christ has died to give us. We are still living,
so to speak under the law of the Old Covenant. We need an intense
longing for deliverance from sin or else we will constantly fall back
into trusting and relying on the flesh under the power of the
law.
There are many Christians who are scared of the holiness that the New
Covenant offers instead of being irresistibly drawn and full of
longing and desire for the holiness of God. At our conversion we were
drawn to Christ and shown our guilt for our sins. We did not have a
complete hatred for the sinfulness in our hearts, or a potent
knowledge of the destructive power of sin. We must have a great
awareness of our inability to cast out sin or to do good in our own
flesh. Until we have learned this we cannot enter fully into the
blessing of the New Covenant. Many believers are stumbling about,
never entering into the promises of the New Covenant because they
have never diligently learned the lesson that our schoolmaster, the
law of the Old Covenant had to teach us.
The New Testament epistles, especially Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews
teach us how it is still possible to be held fast in the bondage of
the Old Covenant while living within the New Covenant. One of the
great causes of feebleness in many Christians is that they are still
under a spirit of bondage that governed the Old Covenant. We need a
real meeting with God so that we can see that Christ working in us is
the way to spiritual life and liberty, not us working for Christ.
That is the spirit of bondage stemming from the Old Covenant.
B. In Paul's letter to the Galatians
1.The bondage of law or the freedom of faith.
The household of Abraham was the church of his age. In his house he
had two sons.One was born after the flesh and the other was born
according the the promise. Galatians 4:22 - 5:1 tells us that this
was a divinely-ordained manifestation of the children of God. There
would be those who would serve God according to the law in the spirit
of bondage and there would be those who were free who served God
after the Spirit. The Galatian church had been born again, but
instead of living according the the freedom of the New Covenant, they
were reverting to living under the law and bondage of the Old
Covenant. This passage in Galatians proves that a man who has a
knowledge of God and has experienced the grace of God in salvation
may have a legal spirit that to a large extent keeps him in bondage
under the Old Covenant.
Almost every believer makes the same mistake that the Galatians did
at some point in his Christian walk. Very few learn at conversion
that it is by faith and faith alone that we stand. Few know what Paul
really means when he talks about being dead to the law or free from
the law. Many don't understand what Paul was trying to say in
Colossians 2:14: "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way,
nailing it to his cross."
In Galatians 3:23 Paul said, "But before faith came, we were
kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be
revealed." Many Christians do the exact opposite of what Paul
said. After receiving Christ by faith, they try to come under the
law, not realizing that it is faith that sets us free from the law,
not puts us under the law. We need to realize that in the New
Covenant the law written on the heart needs a faith in God's divine
enabling to enable us to keep. It is not to the law, but to Jesus
Christ that we are now bound. Any obedience and holiness that we have
is only possible through faith in the power of God working through
us.
2. The religion of the flesh or the crucifixion of the flesh.
Paul not only refers to the law as a mark of one living under the Old
Covenant, but he also refers to one living in the flesh instead of
the Spirit. In Galatians 3:3 he said: "Are ye so foolish?
having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the
flesh? " Flesh refers to our old sinful Adamic nature. At our
conversion we generally have no idea as to how terrible our human
nature is.
The human nature is very subtle and will often offer its service to
the Lord. It can invent an infinite number of religious observations
or practices. Religious flesh is one of the great marks of the Old
covenant religion and completely misses what God was offering in the
New Covenant. The Galatians were making a fair show of the religious
flesh. They were glorying in it and yet they were full of envy and
hatred, biting and devouring one another. Always remember that
religious flesh is just plain sinful flesh!
God is not interested in our religious flesh. He is interested in
crucified flesh. Flesh under the New Covenant is crucified. Under the
Old Covenant it is religious. For those who are walking in the
blessing of the New covenant, there is no place for the flesh except
upon the cross. Those who take up their cross daily will enter into
the blessings of the New Covenant.
Just as the death of Christ was needed to inaugurate the New
Covenant, and the resurrection gave power to it, so also the
crucifixion of the flesh and the resurrection power of the Spirit are
necessary for the believer who wants to fully walk in covena