Tuesday, January 06, 2009
The New Covenant (point 3)
We must not miss the depths of this third point. This unconditional statement comes right out of the midst of the old covenant:
"I will make my dwelling [tabernacle] among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people." (Leviticus 12:11-12)
as well as
"I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God." (Exodus 29:45)
After Jeremiah, God inspired Ezekiel to write:
"I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. It will set them __ and multiply them, and will set my santuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." (Ezekiel 37:26-28)
This phrase of man's submission to God and God's ownership of man is connected to this idea of God dwelling [tabernacle] with man. As we saw in point 2, it is the Holy Spirit that now dwells in the hearts of man forevermore under the new covenant.
"I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7)
"And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:27-28)
"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me." (Jeremiah 32:38-40)
A special aside needs to be addressed concerning "the good of their children after them." While it is true throughout Scripture that blessings are bestowed on the children of the righteous, a key difference between the old and new is seen here with the children. For in the old, the old covenant passed on biologically. Those born into the nation of Israel were accepted into the old. However, in the new, the Spirit cannot be passed on biologically. The heart has to be changed. With this in mind, the statement following point 3 (and in my mind connected to this point) is a little more clear:
"And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 31:34)
All of those under the new covenant will know him, unlike in the old where foreigners and infants were brought into the old and were taught to know him. Hence, it makes little sense to allow the new covenant symbols--baptism and the LORD's supper--to have any meaning to the foreigner of God's people, as well as, to the infants.
Yet, I end with this: "I will have mercy on No-Mercy, and I will say to Not-My-People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'" (Hosea 2:23)
Note: In Hosea these words are applied to the Jew, in Romans 9:26 Paul applies it to the Gentiles, and in 1 Peter 2:10 Peter appears to be applying it to all "people belonging to God."
"I will make my dwelling [tabernacle] among you, and my soul shall not abhor you. And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people." (Leviticus 12:11-12)
as well as
"I will dwell among the people of Israel and will be their God." (Exodus 29:45)
After Jeremiah, God inspired Ezekiel to write:
"I will make a covenant of peace with them. It shall be an everlasting covenant with them. It will set them __ and multiply them, and will set my santuary in their midst forevermore. My dwelling place shall be with them, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I am the LORD who sanctifies Israel, when my sanctuary is in their midst forevermore." (Ezekiel 37:26-28)
This phrase of man's submission to God and God's ownership of man is connected to this idea of God dwelling [tabernacle] with man. As we saw in point 2, it is the Holy Spirit that now dwells in the hearts of man forevermore under the new covenant.
"I will give them a heart to know that I am the LORD, and they shall be my people and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole heart." (Jeremiah 24:7)
"And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. You shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, and you shall be my people, and I will be your God." (Ezekiel 36:27-28)
"And they shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear me forever, for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me." (Jeremiah 32:38-40)
A special aside needs to be addressed concerning "the good of their children after them." While it is true throughout Scripture that blessings are bestowed on the children of the righteous, a key difference between the old and new is seen here with the children. For in the old, the old covenant passed on biologically. Those born into the nation of Israel were accepted into the old. However, in the new, the Spirit cannot be passed on biologically. The heart has to be changed. With this in mind, the statement following point 3 (and in my mind connected to this point) is a little more clear:
"And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD." (Jeremiah 31:34)
All of those under the new covenant will know him, unlike in the old where foreigners and infants were brought into the old and were taught to know him. Hence, it makes little sense to allow the new covenant symbols--baptism and the LORD's supper--to have any meaning to the foreigner of God's people, as well as, to the infants.
Yet, I end with this: "I will have mercy on No-Mercy, and I will say to Not-My-People, 'You are my people'; and he shall say, 'You are my God.'" (Hosea 2:23)
Note: In Hosea these words are applied to the Jew, in Romans 9:26 Paul applies it to the Gentiles, and in 1 Peter 2:10 Peter appears to be applying it to all "people belonging to God."
Saturday, January 03, 2009
The New Covenant (point 2)
"I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts." (Jeremiah 31:33)
Or as Ezekiel writes:
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." (36:26-27)
Paul writes the following lengthy passage I will copy in whole:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:1-11)
Under the old, David cries out, "Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11) just as "the Spirit of the LORD departed Saul." (1 Samuel 16:14) Yet as with the new, "the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward." (1 Samuel 16:13)
"But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them." (Isaiah 63:10)
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
And Jesus said: "I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:31-32)
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you." (Acts 7:51)
"But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter." (Romans 2:29)
"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn." (Deut. 10:16)
Or as Ezekiel writes:
"And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules." (36:26-27)
Paul writes the following lengthy passage I will copy in whole:
"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. For those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you." (Romans 8:1-11)
Under the old, David cries out, "Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me" (Psalm 51:11) just as "the Spirit of the LORD departed Saul." (1 Samuel 16:14) Yet as with the new, "the Spirit of the LORD rushed upon David from that day forward." (1 Samuel 16:13)
"But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them." (Isaiah 63:10)
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." (Ephesians 4:30)
And Jesus said: "I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:31-32)
"You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you." (Acts 7:51)
"But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter." (Romans 2:29)
"Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn." (Deut. 10:16)
