Today we are more familiar with the term Contract, rather
than covenant; a contract outlines the responsibilities and undertakings of
those parties involved in a relationship.
Over the great spans of time God has established covenants
(contracts) between Himself and His people to govern the relationship
between them and, just as a modern day contract seeks to do, outline to each
party their individual responsibilities and undertakings.
So, let’s have a look at one of God's main covenants from
the Old Testament age:
Genesis 17: 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 & 9; ''And I
will make my covenant between me and thee, and will multiply thee
exceedingly. And Abram fell on his face: and God talked with him, saying,
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many
[multitude of nations] nations.
Neither [no longer] shalt thy name anymore be called
Abram [Lit. Exalted Father], but thy name shall be Abraham [Lit.
Father of a Multitude]; for I have made thee a father of many nations have I
made thee. And I will make thee exceedingly fruitful, and I will make
nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish my
covenant between me and thee and thy seed [descendants] after thee in their
generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed
[descendants] after thee.
And I will give unto thee, and thy seed after thee, the
land wherein [land of your sojournings] thou art a stranger, all the land of
Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. And God
said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed
after thee in [throughout] their generations.''
So, God has outlined His responsibilities and
undertakings; and now he goes on to outline what he expects from Abraham
and his descendants:
Genesis 17: 10, 11, 12, & 13; ''This is my
covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee;
Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the
flesh of your foreskin; and it all be a token [sign] of the covenant
betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among
you, every man [male] child in your generations, he that is born in the house,
or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He
that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be
circumcised; and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting
covenant.''
In requiring Abraham and all his male descendants to be
circumcised, God established an outward sign that an initial inward
commitment to the contract, or covenant, had been entered
into. This sign indicated that the offspring were uniquely
dedicated to God himself.
In most contacts there are penalties should there be a
breach of undertakings of responsibilities. This 'Abrahamic Covenant' was
no exception:
Genesis 17: 14; ''And the uncircumcised man child
whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul [person] shall be cut
off from his people; he hath broken my covenant.''
As the years rolled by Abraham begat Isaac and Isaac begat
Jacob; Jacob begat 12 sons who would in turn found the twelve
tribes of the nation Israel.
We will recall that one of Jacob's 12 sons, Joseph was
sold to slave traders by his brothers and ended up in Egypt.
As part of God's plan and protection for Joseph he was
elevated from slavery to become Pharaoh's number two due to his ability to
interpret Pharaoh's dreams and consequently avert a national disaster by
being able to plan ahead and avoid the catastrophic effects of a seven
year famine.
Due this region wide famine, and on hearing that Egypt had
stored up grain Joseph's 11 brothers journeyed from Canaan to Egypt in
order to acquire life saving provisions for themselves and their families.
In Egypt God enabled reconciliation between the
brothers to occur. So with the family reunited and with food a
plenty in a region beset by a great famine the brothers and their families
decided to stay and settled in Egypt.
At first the Hebrews, or Israelites as they were also
known, were welcomed in Egypt and, because of Joseph's senior position,
held in high regard. But as the years continued to roll by the Pharaohs
changed and the country’s leaders forgot that one of the Israelites in
former times had helped Egypt to avoid a national disaster.
And, as God's covenant with Abraham was being realised and
the descendants of Abraham in Egypt increased in number the leaders
became more and more fearful that the Israelites would become the dominant
peoples and take over the control of Egypt.
So, nearly 450 years after Joseph had saved their nation
from starvation successive Pharaohs had begun to increasingly oppress the
Israelites by putting them under slavery and making their living and working
conditions both miserable and intolerable.
But things were about to get even worse.
In an endeavor to halt the rise of God's people in Egypt,
Egypt's Pharaoh commanded that every Israelite baby boy be drowned:
Exodus 2: 22; ''And Pharaoh charged
[commanded] all his people, saying, Every son that is born ye shall cast into
the river and every daughter ye shall save a live.''
At this time Moses was born. He was the first born of
an Israelite family from the tribe of Levi. His mother, in an
attempt to save the little baby's life, hid Moses safely in a basket in
the bulrushes of the river Nile. Moses was found and taken to
safety by Pharaoh’s daughter and, once he had grown up, was chosen by God
to lead His covenant people out of slavery and misery and back to the land
of Canaan God had promised to Abraham and his descendants all those generations
before.
As we know from our Bible history Pharaoh refused
Moses and would not comply with God's wishes ''to let His people
go''. The nation of God's people, the nation Israel, subjected to slavery
provided Egypt with a readymade and biddable workforce to enable it to
maximise its economic advantage - no leader was going to let this slave
workforce go anywhere in a hurry!
So one by one, God sent ten plagues to ridicule the Egyptian
gods and, at the same time, encourage Pharaoh to set at liberty His
chosen people. Even after nine terrible plagues had brought suffering and
hardship for citizens of Egypt stubborn 'old' Pharaoh still would not free
God's people; so God instituted the tenth and most dreadful plague.
Exodus 4: 22 & 23; ''And thou [Moses]
shall say unto Pharaoh, Thus saith the LORD, Israel is my son, even my first
born: And I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me: and if thou
refuse to let him go, behold, I will slay thy son, even the first-born.''
In antiquity all the plans and dreams of a family were bound
up in the first born son. This tenth plague would spell the ultimate
disaster for all those affected by it as it would wipe out in an
instant all the first born sons in the land of Egypt.
But before God enacted this terrible event he needed to put
a difference - a distinction - between the people of Egypt and
Abraham's descendants who had become the 'nation' (or
People) of Israel - His covenant people.
Therefore, he gave Moses and his brother-in-law Aaron
specific instructions they must adhere follow to avoid the first born of
the Israelites suffering the same fate as the first born of the Egyptians:
Exodus 12: 1a, 3, 5a, 6, 7, 8,9,10 &11; ''And
the LORD spake unto Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, Speak ye unto
the congregation of Israel, saying, In the tenth day of this month they shall
take to them every man a lamb, according to the house of their fathers, a lamb
for a house: Your lamb shall be without blemish [perfect], a male
of the first year: And ye shall keep it unto the fourteenth day of the
same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it
in the evening.
And they shall take the blood , and strike it on two
side posts and on the upper door post of the houses wherein they shall eat it.
And they shall eat of the flesh in that night, roast with fire, and unleavened
bread; and with bitter herbs they shall eat it. Eat it not raw nor sodden
[boiled] with water, but roast with fire; his head with his legs, and with the
purtenance [entrails] thereof.
And ye shall let nothing of it remains until the morning;
and that which remaineth of it until the morning shall burn with fire. And thus
shall ye eat it; with your loins [a belt on your waist] girded, your shoes on
your feet, and your staff if your hand; and ye shall eat in haste for this is
the LORD'S passover''
God went on to further explain the significance of the blood
in sparing Israel's first born and protecting His people from the effects of
this terrible event:
Exodus 12: 12 &13; ''For I will pass through
the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the first-born in the land of
Egypt, both man and beast; and against the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgement: I am the LORD. And the blood shall be to you a token [sign]
upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you,
and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land
of Egypt.''
God made further instruction:
Exodus 12: 24, 25, 26 & 27; ''And ye
shall observe this thing for an ordinance to thee and to thy sons for
ever. And it shall come to pass, when ye become to the land which the
LORD will give you, according as he hath promised, that ye shall keep this service.
And it shall come to pass, when your children shall say into you, What ye mean
by this service? That ye shall say, It is the sacrifice of the Lord's Passover,
who passed over the houses of the children of Israel in Egypt, when he smote
the Egyptians, and delivered our houses. And the people bowed the head
and worshipped.''
... still further instruction as to how the feast of
Passover was to be conducted and who could take part:
Exodus 12: 43, 44, 45, 46, 47 & 48; ''And the
LORD said unto Moses and Aaron, This is the ordinance of the passover: There
shall no stranger eat thereof; But every man's servant that is bought with
money, when thou has circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof. A
foreigner and a hired servant shall not eat thereof: In one house shall it be
eaten; thou shalt not carry forth aught of the flesh abroad our of the house;
neither shall ye break a bone thereof.
All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. And
when a stranger shall sojourn [stay for a while] with thee, and will keep the
passover of the LORD, let all his males be circumcised, and then let him come
near and keep it; and he shall be as one that is born in the land: for no
uncircumcised person shall eat thereof.''
So the annual feast of the Passover was to commemorate
in perpetuity the birth of Israel as a nation as God delivered
freedom for his covenant people; taking them away from Egypt,
captivity, and misery and leading them towards the land he had promised
them in the contract he established with Abraham.
Abraham and his descendants who over time were to become the
God's covenant people known as the Children of Israel.
Now, we pick up the journey just 3 months after God had
rescued the fledgling nation Israel from grueling oppression and slavery
in Egypt. Under the leadership of Moses and Aaron the 'new' nation
were in the early stages of their journey from Egypt back to
their homeland; the land promised by God to Abraham and his 'seed' -
the land of Canaan.
At this point in time God was in the process of setting up
an additional contract with His people:
Exodus 19: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8; ''And Moses
went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain [Sinai],
saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob [Israel], and tell the
children of Israel; Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare
[sustained] you on eagles wings, and brought you unto myself.
Now therefore, if ye obey my voice indeed, and keep my
covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar [special] treasure unto me above all people:
for all the earth is mine: And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and a
holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of
Israel.
And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and
laid [set] before the faces all these words which the LORD had commanded him.
And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken
we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people to the LORD.''
Now, with the Abrahamic covenant very little was written down.
But in the case of this additional covenant entered into
between God and his chosen nation Israel (later known as 'The Law') the
essentials of the contract were was not only recorded, but were also ratified
through the ''blood of the covenant'':
Exodus 24: 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 & 8; ''And Moses
came and told the people all the words of the LORD, and all the judgments
[ordinances]: and all the people answered with one voice, and said, All the
words which the LORD hath said we will we do. And Moses wrote all the
words of the LORD, and rose up early in the morning, and builded an alter under
the hill, and twelve pillars, according to the twelve tribes of Israel.
And sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered
burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.
And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basins; and half of the blood
he sprinkled on the alter. An he took the book of the covenant, and read
in the audience of the people: and they said, all that the LORD hath said we
will do and be obedient.
And Moses took the blood and sprinkled it on the people,
and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made
with you concerning all these words.''
This covenant, known as 'the Law', contained a number
of elements:
- The
Ten Commandments,
- God's
demands for exclusive worship,
- Law
concerning acts of violence and associated penalties for perpetrators
of violence,
- Laws
concerning responsibilities of owners,
- Law
concerning restitution,
- Laws
governing human relations; and
- Ordinances directing the religious
life of Israel
In relation to 'ordinances directing the life of Israel' the
most important day in the Hebrew calendar was Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement,
which was on the 10th day of the 7 month, Tishri (around
September/October).
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement was an annual holy
day which celebrated the covering of the national sins by the
offering of two goats, one killed and the other (scape goat) driven into the
wilderness.
The need for this atonement of sin was required due to a
number of factors:
- firstly,
the universality of sin (1 Kings 8:46b ''...for there is no man that
sinneth not...'')
- second,
the seriousness of sin - sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2
''But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your
sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.''); and
- third,
man's complete inability to deal with sin, he in not able to keep his
sin hidden and cannot cleanse himself of it (Proverbs 20:9 ''Who can
say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?'')
So, it would appear that God and man are hopelessly
estranged - separated by man's sin, and there is no way back from man's
side. But through this annual holy Day of Atonement God
provided a way back.
The atonement, reconciliation - call it what you will - was
secured not by any value inherent in the sacrificial victim, but because
sacrifice was the divinely appointed way of securing atonement. Furthermore,
God required that the sacrificial victim must always be unblemished, indicating
the necessity for perfection.
The annual Day of Atonement served as a reminder that
the daily, weekly, and monthly sacrifices made at the alter of burnt
offering were in themselves insufficient to atone for sin. Even at
the altar of burnt offering the worshipper stood 'afar off', unable to approach
the holy Presence of God, who was manifest between the cherubim in the holy of
holies (also know as the 'Most Holy Place').
But on this one day of the year, the Day of Atonement,
atoning blood was brought into the holy of holies, the divine throne-room, by
the high priest as the representative of God's people. Atonement was
first made for the priests because the mediator between God and His people had
to be ceremonially clean. The sanctuary was also cleansed, for it too was
ceremonially defiled by the presence and ministration of sinful men.
To prepare for the sacrifices of the day, the high priest
put aside his official robes, cleansed himself and dressed in a simple
white garment. He then offered a bullock as a sin-offering for himself
and the priesthood. After filling his censer with live coals from the
altar the high priest then entered the holy of holies, where he placed incense
over the coals.
The incense sent forth a cloud of smoke over the mercy seat,
which served as a covering for the ark of the covenant. The high priest
took some of the bullock's blood and sprinkled it on the mercy seat and on the
ground in front of the ark. In this way atonement was made for the
priesthood.
Next the high priest sacrificed a he-goat as sin offering
for the people. Some of the blood was taken into the holy of holies, and it was
sprinkled in a manner in which the sin offering for the priests had been
sprinkled.
After purifying the Holy Place and the alter of burnt
offering with the mingled blood of the bullock and the goat the high priest
took a second goat, laid his hands of its head and confessed over it the sins
of Israel. This goat, commonly called the scape goat, was driven into the
desert, where it symbolically carried away the sins of the people.
The carcasses of the two burnt offerings (bullock and
he-goat) were taken outside the city and burnt; the day concluded with additional
sacrifices.
Leviticus Chapter 16 describes the detail of the
rituals associated with the Day of Atonement in greater detail than my summary
above. But in this chapter God spelt out to Moses and Aaron that they,
and all generations hence, must ensure the day was observed each and every
year:
Leviticus 16: 29, 30 & 31; ''And this shall be a
statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the
month, ye shall afflict [humble] your souls, and do not work at all, whether it
be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you: For
on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye
may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It shall be a sabbath
[Sabbath of solemn] rest unto you , and ye shall afflict your souls, by a
statue for ever.''
This annual repetition of the sacrifices served as a
reminder that perfect atonement had not yet been provided
The Epistle to the Hebrews interprets the ritual of the Day
of Atonement as a prototype - that is a forerunner - of the
atoning work of Jesus.
For the Israelite, being part of the Passover
meal linked him/her with the Children of God that were
taken from slavery and misery in Egypt many, many generations before. The
Israelite too would remember the covenants God made with his/her forefathers
Abraham and Moses; the covenant with Moses being ratified the through
sacrifice and the ''blood of the covenant'':
Exodus 24: 8; ''And Moses took the blood and
sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold, the blood of the covenant,
which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.''
The Israelite would also remember the actions of his forbear
Adam and the consequences of the introduction of sin into the world, it's
impact in separating God from man.
He/She would therefore know the significance and
importance of the 'Day of Atonement'. On this day, instituted
by God as part of the covenant with Moses, Israel's High Priest was required to
enter the most Holy Place within the Tabernacle where the
presence of God dwelt in order to offer a sacrifice and sprinkle blood to
annul the affects of sin and enable for the Children of Israel an annual
reconciliation with their God:
Leviticus 16: 29, 30 & 31; ''And
this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the
tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict [humble] your souls, and do not work
at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth
among you: For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to
cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD. It
shall be a sabbath [Sabbath of solemn] rest unto you , and ye shall afflict
your souls, by a statue for ever.''
But, because
Israel regularly breached the covenant God established with
Moses in so many major ways, God proclaimed through Jeremiah, His
prophet that He would bring in a new covenant, an unconditional covenant of
grace:
Jeremiah 31: 31, 32, 33 & 34;
''Behold the days come saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: 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 a husband unto them, saith the LORD.
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the
house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their
inward [mind] parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and
they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his
neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all
know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for
I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.''
As we know now it was to be through the death of Jesus on
the cross, his sacrifice and shedding of blood that this 'New Covenant',
that is, a new basis for the relationship between God and His people,
would inaugurated and established.
But this time God's people were not to be a Peoples linked by
a common heritage, geography or culture - this time anyone could become a
Child of God.
John the Baptist had warned that to be Jewish, to rely
on their heritage through genealogy of Abraham down through the
ages was itself not a guarantee of salvation:
Matthew 3: 8, 9, 10, 11 & 12; ''Bring forth
therefore fruits meet [worthy of] repentance: And think not to say within
yourselves, We have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able
of thee stones to raise up children unto Abraham. And now also the axe is
laid at the root of the trees: therefore every tree that bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
I indeed baptise you with water unto repentance: but he
that cometh after me is mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy to bear:
he shall baptise you with the Holy Ghost and with fire: Whose fan [winnowing
fan] is in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor [threshing floor],
and gather his wheat into the garner [barn]; but he will burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire.''
After his resurrection Jesus instructed his disciples
to make disciples of all nations, to form a People of God drawn from all
corners of the earth:
Matthew 28: 19; ''Go ye therefore and teach [make
disciples] all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the
Son, and of the Holy Ghost.''
But what else did Jesus teach about this 'New Covenant'
where anyone can enjoy an everlasting personal relationship with God:
John 3: 5, 6 & 7; ''Jesus answered, Verily,
verily, I say unto thee, Except a man is born of water and of the Spirit
he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is
flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said
unto thee, Ye must be born again.''
So, here Jesus is telling Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a
ruler of the Jews who secretly came to Jesus during the night seeking out
answers to questions that must have been troubling him, what a person must do
to be saved from this world and to obtain everlasting life.
Jesus told him that to have everlasting life he must be
born again - though he could not return into his mother's
womb to be born once more into this physical and finite
world - or as I call it - the realm of the ''flesh''.
No, this time, Jesus tells Nicodemus, you (and everyone
else for that matter!) must be born again through the transforming power
of the Spirit to be able to enter heaven - or as I call it -
the realm of the ''Spirit''; the realm
where God will dwell with His people for ever, and ever, and ever.
Later in his earthly ministry, just before his sacrifice,
Jesus told his disciples that he would be leaving them and going back to
his Father; but for the anxious and bemused disciples he promised that he
would not leave them comfortless and would send them a helper - the Holy
Spirit:
John 14: 1, 17, 18, 19 20; ''And I
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter [Helper], that he
may abide in you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot
receive, because it seeth him not. neither knoweth him; but ye know him for he
dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless: I
will come to you. Yet a little while and the world seeth me no more; but ye see
me; because I live ye shall live also. At that day ye shall know that I
am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.''
John 14: 26; ''But the Comforter, which is the
Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all
things, and bring to your remembrance, whithersoever I have said unto you.''
This '' another Comforter'' (or another Helper,
from the Greek literally meaning 'one called alongside to help'),
would be sent to support and guide them in God's work once Jesus had returned
to his Father; ''another'' stresses that this Helper would be like Jesus
to them - a comforting fact in itself!
Jesus tells his apostles that:
- this
Comforter ''may abide in you forever''; in other words will
permanent
- this Comforter will
''dwelleth'' with them - literally means ''takes
up residence'' with them
- this
Comforter would provide them with a new spiritual form which would
enable them to become secure in Jesus, just as Jesus was in God
- ''I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you''.
Following his atoning 'Passover' sacrifice and
victory over death on the cross, Jesus once more assured his
apostles that even though he was about to leave this earthly, physical
realm of the flesh and return to his Father in the spiritual
realm of heaven, in his absence he would not leave them without help:
Acts 1: 4, 5, 6, 8 & 9;
''And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not
depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he,
ye heard of me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be
baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. But ye shall receive
power, after [when] that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: ye shall be witnesses
unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the
uttermost part of the earth.''
And sure enough, at Pentecost, just as Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit
came to his apostles:
Acts
2: 1, 2 & 4; ''And when the day of Pentecost was fully come,
they were all with one accord [purpose] in one place. And suddenly there
came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the house
where they were sitting. And they were filled with the Holy Ghost, and
began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.''
This ''speaking with other tongues as the Spirit gave
them utterance'' reinforced what Jesus said (below) would happen when his
believers were baptised in the Spirit; that is 'born again' in a spiritual form
through the transforming power of the Holy Spirit:
Mark 16: 16 & 17; ''He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned [condemned],
and these signs shall follow them that believe ; in my name they shall cast out
devils [demons]; they shall speak in new tongues.''
This speaking in tongues accompanied the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the
first Gentile converts at Corinth when listening to Peter preach the
Gospel:
Acts
10: 44, 45, 46 & 47; ''While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy
Ghost, fell on them which heard the word. And they of the circumcision
[The Jews] which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because
that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. For
they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered
Peter, Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptised, which have
received the Holy Ghost as well as we? And he commanded them to be
baptised in the name of the Lord.''
Paul explains the importance of the Holy Spirit for both Jew and
Gentile alike:
Romans 8: 15, 16 & 17a; ''For
ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye
have received the Spirit of adoption whereby we cry, Abba,
Father. The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the
children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God and joint
heirs with Christ;''
''The Spirit of adoption'', the Holy
Spirit gives the believer a status in God's family as an
(adopted) son/daughter. ''Abba'' (Aramaic) again used here to
denote the intimate name used only by members of the family.
''Joint-heirs with Christ'' conveys the promise that we as members
of God's Spirit filled family of believers shall all share in our
inheritance together.
This Spirit of adoption is really very, very important; for
me it is the crux of the status of our relationship with God in the New
Covenant Age going forward:
Romans 8: 2, 8, 9, 10, 11; ''For the law of the
Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and
death. So they then that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye
are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell
in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of
his.
And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin;
but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised Christ up from
the dead shall also quicken [give life to] your mortal bodies by his Spirit
that dwelleth in you.''
"...he is none of his" suggests that any
who lack the Spirit are not part of God's family. ''Quicken your
mortal bodies'' means that members of God's family will
receive a new physical form by the in filling (''dwelleth in you'') of the
Holy Spirit in order to be able to overcome death, just like Jesus.
And finally the last word this week with Paul:
2 Corinthians 3: 3; ''Forasmuch as ye are manifestly
declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered [cared for] by us, written not
with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables [tablets] of
stone, but in fleshy tables [tablets] of the heart.''
