As a Christian, I find the following Scriptures contain one of the most important messages of the Gospel of Christ, & yet one of the most ignored one by most churches. You cannot read these passages, without asking yourself: What do they mean?
How do I apply these Scriptures in my daily walk in life?
I have been finding out that it is extremely good, for spiritual growth, to read the Scriptures carefully, & loud enough so that we can hear what we are reading & ask the Spirit of the Lord, who duels within us, to help us understand what He means. Like Jesus said in Mat 13:15: see with their (our) eyes, and hear with their (our) ears, and should understand with (our) their heart.
First, let's examine how is the Covenant of God with us His Children, so we can understand what God has done and what are we to do about it.
More or less is like knowing what our rights are & what our duties in life are. How can we know what to expect if we don't know where we are at or what is our stand in life?
_______ Covenants of God with Us.________
Just in case, I share a brief definition of the word Covenant: A binding agreement or arrangement between two parties.
In other words, we are talking about the given agreement given by God, to explain HIS Covenant with Men.
Then...
_______ First Covenant or First Pact of God to Men _______
We find in the Bible that Yahweh (God) made a few covenants with men. I will mention the most outstanding ones I find. You should read the passages I am giving you in full context, if you want to understand this even more.
Covenant with Adam Genesis 1:26-29
Covenant with Noah, Genesis 9
Covenant with David, II Sam. 7:12-17; 23:5; Psalm. 89:3,28
For me, from the Old Testament, the Covenant with Abraham is most outstanding because through him all believing people in later times nations, both Hebrews & Gentiles will inherit the world. God told him, that because of his faith He would become father of nations. Through him God's covenant reached all nations of the world in our last days.
Rom 4:11-13 And he (Abraham) received a sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith while still uncircumcised; so that he might be the father of all those believing through uncircumcision, for righteousness to be imputed to them also; and a father of circumcision to those not of the circumcision only, but also to those walking by the steps of the faith of our father Abraham during uncircumcision. For the promise that he should be the heir of the world was not to Abraham or to his seed through the Law, but through the righteousness of faith.
Read more about the Covenant with Abraham in Gen. 15:8-18; 17:1-14
- The Covenant with the nation of Israel at Sinai, Exodus 24:4-8 Yahweh gave His Laws to the Hebrews & gave them a choice; this is detailed at length in Deuteronomy 28… In conclusion:
- The BLESSING OF THE LAW! If you obey, I will bless you with (basically) 3 things 1- riches, welfare & abundance, 2- Good health, freedom from sickness & disease, and longevity, 3- Peace & self-determination as people & a nation, besides being the nation leader of the whole world. - The CURSE OF THE LAW!
-If you disobey, 1- Cursed with poverty & misery in all areas of life, 2- Cursed with all existing sicknesses, diseases & madness.
3- Falling captives & slaves to their enemies, losing their homes & properties, & being exiled from their land.
Because Israel disobeyed they received all the curses listed in Deuteronomy 28, which are “devastating”, it hurts just reading them & imagining them falling on people.
Most of the world nowadays lives under these curses, poverty, sickness & diseases, crimes & wars, etc.
_______Promise of "New Covenant"_______
God gave us glimpses of His plan of introducing a New Covenant, which had been his plan from the very beginning, as He hinted it’s coming in Gen 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He will bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.
Prophets like Isaiah 55:3 (42:6; 49:6-8; 59:21; 61:8) Jeremiah 31:31-34 (23:5; 32:40; 50:5) & Ezekiel 37:26 (16:60,62; 34:23,25) wrote the Word of the Lord that came to them describing what the New Covenant will be like.
All those prophecies concerning the New Covenant are summarized in the New Testament in the letter to the Hebrews…
Heb 8:6-10 But now He (Jesus, our High Priest) has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much He is also the Mediator of a better covenant, which was built upon BETTER PROMISES. For if that first covenant had been without fault, then no place would have been sought for the second. For finding fault with them, He said to them, "Behold, days are coming, says the Lord, and I will make an end on the house of Israel and on the house of Judah; a new covenant shall be, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day I took hold of their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt," because they did not continue in My covenant, and I did not regard them, says the Lord. "For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I WILL PUT MY LAWS INTO THEIR MIND AND WRITE THEM IN THEIR HEARTHS AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE.
Heb 9:14-15 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? 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.
And Jesus declares it begins with the shedding of His Blood at the Cross. Mat 26:27-28 And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is my blood of the NEW TESTAMENT, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
In the New Testament we find the New Covenant, & both the Old & the New were sealed with blood. The Old Testament sealed with the blood of animals whose blood was presented before God's altar in the Tabernacle, and later in the Temple built by Solomon, as a covering for the sins of the people, & the Blood of Jesus before the Throne of God, as redemption for the sins of mankind.
________Under the New Covenant ________
… I will put My Laws into their mind and write them in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. So all those who accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives are in this New Pact with God;
In case you are reading this & have not yet given your life to Jesus, just take one minute & confess Jesus as Lord of your life, be filled with His Holy Spirit, & now all you read in this New Pact belongs to you too. Rom 10:9-10
__Under the New Covenant we have been redeemed from the CURSE OF THE LAW! __
Gal 3:13-15 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone having been hanged on a tree"); so that the blessing of Abraham might be to all the nations in Jesus Christ, and that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Brothers, I speak according to man, a covenant having been ratified, even among mankind, no one sets aside or adds to it. And to Abraham and to his Seed the promises were spoken. It does not say, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, "And to your Seed," which is Christ.
________What happened to us at the New Birth ________
Jesus explained we need to be born again in order to enter into the Kingdom of God.
Jn 3:3-6 Jesus answered and said to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter the second time into his mother's womb and be born? Jesus answered, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless a man is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. 3:16 For God so loved the world, that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Rom 10:9-10 That if you shall confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in your heart that God has raised him from the dead, you shall be saved. For with the heart man believes unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made to salvation.
So once we have believed in the Lord Jesus & we realize that we belong to Him, we understand that we have been reborn by the seed of the Word of God!
This is what the apostle Peter says... 1Pe 1:17-23 And if you call on the Father, who without respect of persons judges according to the work of each one, pass the time of your earthly residence in fear, knowing that you were not redeemed with corruptible things, silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot; indeed having been foreknown before the foundation of the world, but revealed in the last times for you, those believing in God through Him, He who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him glory, so that your faith and hope might be in God. Purifying your souls in the obedience of the truth through the Spirit to unfeigned love of the brothers, love one another fervently out of a pure heart, HAVING BEEN BORN AGAIN, NOT OF CORRUPTIBLE SEED, BUT OF INCORRUPTIBLE, through the living Word of God, and abiding forever.
So, having been born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, this is none other than God's Seed, the Seed foretold as Abraham's seed Rom 4:17-18(As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickens the dead, and calls those things which be not as though they were. Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations, according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be.
The nature within us is INCORRUPTIBLE... So then...
2Co 5:17-21 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.
In other words, WE ARE NOT ANYMORE OLD SINNERS SAVED BY GRACE, now WE ARE SONS OF GOD, we are reconciled with God, we are ambassadors of God & we are the righteousness of God in Him!
Gal 4:3-7 In the same way we also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, "Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.
We are Sons, then heirs with Jesus.
1Jn 4:16-17 We know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and he who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. In this love has been made perfect among us, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment, because AS HE IS, EVEN SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD.
We read that last passage & may think... what? AS HE IS, EVEN SO ARE WE IN THIS WORLD... no, that must have a different interpretation. This is how I see it. If God says that I am as He is, well I believe it, for God doesn't lie. I may not understand it but I say, THANK YOU JESUS!!! When I was born again, after giving my life to Jesus and accepting his Lordship over my life, God made me one of His Sons, with the same Spirit as Jesus.
The next passage helps us understand how this comes to pass, in the Words of Jesus...
Jn 17;20-23 And I do not pray for these alone, but for those also who shall believe on Me through their word, that they all may be one, as You, Father, are in Me, and I in You, that they also may be one in Us, so that the world may believe that You have sent Me. And I have given them the glory which You have given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one, I in them, and You in Me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me. : 26 And I made known to them Your name, and will make it known, so that the love with which You have loved Me may be in them, and I in them.
I have read that passage for years & years, but it didn't sink in... “I am one with the Father & Jesus, I have the glory that the Father gave to Jesus, & I am in perfect unity with God!
We can think, for sure Jesus must have been talking in parables. NO! He was praying to the Father, & not talking to us.
Read... Jn 14:18-20 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world does not see Me any more. But you see Me. Because I live, you shall live also. At that day you shall know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.
Then, a little before that prayer in chapter 14
Jn 14:11-14 Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the very works themselves. Truly, truly, I say to you, He who believes on Me, the works that I do he shall do also, and greater works than these he shall do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you may ask in My name, that I will do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask anything in My name, I will do it.
This passage confronted me every time I read it, because I didn't believe I could do the same works as Jesus, healing the sick, raising the dead, stopping the storms, multiplying the bread, etc. How do I read it now? I read it & I say to myself: I can do the same works of Jesus, because he said I would, & I believe in Him, it will not be me doing it, but the Spirit of God within me.
See … Heb 11:6 Without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
What happens if I don't see the works of Jesus in my life now? Well, I will keep reminding my soul of what Jesus said, everyday, when I fully believe it, it has to come true. Mar 9:23 Jesus said unto him, If you can believe, ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE to him that believes.
Rom 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. The more I hear His Words, the more my spiritual walk with God improves.
Some more passages of the many that reaffirm these ones, ...
Rom 8:28-32 And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined us TO BE CONFORMED TO THE IMAGE OF HIS SON, for Him to be the First-born among many brothers. But whom He predestined, these He also called; and whom He called, those He also justified. And whom He justified, these He also glorified. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? Truly He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, HOW SHALL HE NOT WITH HIM ALSO FREELY GIVE US ALL THINGS?
Eph 4:13 And this until WE ALL come into the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to A FULL-GROWN MAN to the measure of the stature OF THE FULLNESS OF CHRIST; 15-16 But that you, speaking the truth in love, MAY IN ALL THINGS GROW UP TO HIM who is the Head, even Christ; from whom the whole body, fitted together and compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the effectual working in the measure of each part, producing the growth of the body to the edifying of itself in love.
Col 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that you might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, that you might walk worthy of the Lord to all pleasing, being fruitful in every work and increasing in the knowledge of God, being empowered with all power, according to the might of His glory, to all patience and long-suffering with joyfulness, giving thanks to the Father, who has made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light. For He has delivered us from the power of darkness and has translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; in whom we have redemption through His blood, the remission of sins.
Jesus is the Head, we are his body.
Eph 1:20-23 Which He (God the Father) wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at his own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under his feet, and gave him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is his body, the fullness of him that fills all in all.
If Jesus is the Head & we the Church are his body & He is at the right hand of the Father, then we are also there with Him in the Spirit.
Eph 2:4-7 But God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love with which He loved us (even when we were dead in sins) has made us alive together with Christ (by grace you are saved), and has raised us up together, and MADE US SIT TOGETHER IN HEAVENLY PLACES in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.
_Last for now, Jesus promised us the Holy Spirit, the very same one who was within Him._
Jn 14:16-17 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it sees Him not, neither knows Him: but ye know Him; for He dwells with you, and SHALL BE IN YOU.
Jn 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 all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.
Jn 15:26-27 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me: And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
Jn 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will shew you things to come.
So then, the Holy Spirit which we received from God is our comforter, our guide, our helper, our teacher, & will let us know what is to come. That is clear, no?
More on the Holy Spirit anointing upon us...
1Jn 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things;
1Jn 2:27 But the anointing which ye have received of him abides in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teaches you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.
Well, do you know all things? No, but God's Spirit within us DOES! I understand that if someone is teaching me about the Word of God, or whatever else, the Spirit of God within me will confirm to me whether the teaching is correct or not. Jesus said we will not follow the voice of strangers. Sometimes we may for some time, but the Spirit of God will help us find the truth sooner or later.
Now one of the very important things that the Holy Spirit does for us, is to give us God's power so we can do God's work.
Act 1:8 But YOU SHALL RECEIVE POWER, when the Holy Spirit is come upon you. And you shall be witnesses to Me both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and to the end of the earth.
What is power? n. The ability or capacity to perform or act effectively. n. A specific capacity, faculty, or aptitude. Often used in the plural: her powers of concentration. Strength or force exerted or capable of being exerted; might.
The Holy Spirit Power is the POWER TO DO GOD'S WILL, or to do what Jesus sent us to do. Which is...?
Mat 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, All authority is given to Me in Heaven and in earth. Therefore go and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things, whatever I commanded you. And, behold, I am with you all the days until the end of the world. Amen.
Mar 16:15-20 And He said to them, Go into all the world, proclaim the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved, but he who does not believe will be condemned. And miraculous signs will follow to those believing in me: in My name they will cast out demons; they will speak new tongues; they will take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them. They will lay hands on the sick, and they will be well. Then indeed, after speaking to them, the Lord was taken up into Heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And going out, they proclaimed everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the Word by miraculous signs following. Amen.
Many churches do not have the “Power of the Holy Spirit”. To them that means, they have the power to understand their “theology” if they go to a seminar, or for the congregation to understand the sermons of their pastors. Or to abstain from sin if they try hard enough; Or to love one another in the church;
To me the Power of the Spirit is the same Power Jesus had because it is the same Spirit…
Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of the One who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the One who raised up Christ from the dead shall also make your mortal bodies alive by His Spirit who dwells in you.
I will bring up the Scriptures on the Gifts of the Spirit & the Fruits of the Spirit the next time & how it manifested within the Early Church.
Love in Jesus... Alejandro
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