The New Covenant
Bible Study Time 5-28-06
Church links:
Bible Study Time 5-28-06
We saw last week that the first man, Adam, was not born of the flesh, but he was born of the Spirit, for God blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and he became a living being. The life which is given by the Spirit of God is holy and pure. It is eternal in character, but Adam forfeited that life of the Spirit when he chose to eat of the forbidden fruit. All men since the time of Adam have been born of the flesh, cursed with mortal bodies and a nature which is opposed to God.
The book of Matthew gives the genealogy of the Lord Jesus from the time of Abraham and lists all the men who were begotten by other men, but then it says that:
Matthew 1:18
18 . . . the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the Lord Jesus entered into the curse by taking upon Himself a mortal body which was subject to death. However, He was born of the Spirit because the life which was in Him was the life of the Holy Spirit of God. Mary was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Where the first Adam failed to live by the Spirit of God, Jesus Christ, whom the Bible calls the last Adam, lived in complete submission to the Spirit of God. As a result, He was qualified to take upon Himself the curse of sin. He did so by shedding His blood upon the cross of Calvary so that He could give the life of the Spirit of God to all who believe in His name. Paul said in I Corinthians that the first man, Adam, became a living being, while the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
When Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus by night, the Lord told him that he had to be born again, or literally born from above, before he could see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Jesus told Nicodemus that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, the life that comes from the Spirit of God.
The Bible tell us that in the tribulation period, God will send two witnesses. They will be the prophets of God, and they will have the power to stop the rain from heaven. They will have the power to turn the water into blood. They will have the power to breath fire from their mouths to destroy anyone who tries to hurt them.
The Bible says that when these two witnesses have completed their work, the devil will make war against them and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in state for three and a half days while the people of the earth rejoice and send gifts one to another. In Revelation 11, the Apostle John looks into the future and says that:
Revelation 11:11-12 (NKJ)
11 . . . after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
Notice that it will be the breath of the life of God that will enter into them. They will stand on their feet, and then they will be called up into heaven. Well, just as surely as the Spirit of God will give life to the dead bodies of these prophets, the Spirit of God gives life to our dead spirits when we believe in Jesus Christ. And just as surely as the Spirit of God gives life to our dead spirits, God will someday give eternal life to our mortal bodies when God calls us up to be with Him in the glory of heaven. He shall change our vile body that it may be like His glorious body.
This promise of life from the Spirit of God was something that God promised in the Old Testament. It was to be the predominant feature of Israel’s promised New Covenant. In Jeremiah 31, the Lord spoke to the nation of Israel, saying:
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NKJ)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
This New Covenant will bring in the glorious kingdom which will bring blessing to all of the nations of the earth. Jeremiah said that in this kingdom, all men will know the Lord. There will be no need for anyone to go tell his neighbor about the Lord. There will be no need for anyone to go to the remote corners of the earth to tell the lost about the Lord, for in this kingdom everyone will know the Lord.
The Lord speaks through Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36 and expands upon the role of the Holy Spirit in this New Covenant Kingdom. In verse 24 the Lord speaks to Israel and says:
Ezekiel 36:24, 26-28 (NKJ)
24 " . . . I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
However, Isaiah spoke of the great tribulation and distress that the whole earth will go through before this kingdom is established. Isaiah 24 says:
Isaiah 24:1, 3 (NIV)
1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants--
3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.
Isaiah 24:19-23 (NIV)
19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls . . .
21 In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
23 The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.
Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom is going to come to the earth but only after much tribulation. Zechariah speaks more specifically of the tribulation that will come upon Jerusalem. In Chapters 12 and 14, the Lord says:
Zechariah 14:2-3 (NIV)
2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women (ravished). Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.
Zechariah 12:6-10 (NIV)
6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
7 "The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.
8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.
9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Notice that in this time of great tribulation, the Lord has David on His mind. In II Samuel, Chapter 7, the Lord promised David that one of his descendants would sit upon the throne in this everlasting kingdom, and all of this great tribulation is merely a precursor to the glorious New Covenant Kingdom.
David was so looking forward to this kingdom. We see his rejoicing in Psalms 47, where he sings:
Psalms 47:1-9 (NKJ)
1 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
2 For the LORD Most High is awesome; he is a great King over all the earth.
3 He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
9 The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
But as much as David loved to praise the Lord for the glory of the coming kingdom, he was also able to praise the Lord for His mighty display of power during the coming tribulation period. In Psalm 46, David again sings to the Lord:
Psalms 46:1-7, 10, 11 (NKJ)
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; he uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Through Zechariah the Lord said that the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will look on Him whom they have pierced, and they will morn, but He also said:
Zechariah 9:9-12 (NKJ)
9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 . . . his dominion shall be 'from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.'
11 " . . . because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Israel has seen her King lowly and riding on a donkey, but she has not yet seen His dominion which extends to the ends of the earth and is based in the blood of their covenant. What covenant was the Lord talking about? It was the New Covenant. What blood was the Lord talking about? It was the blood of Jesus. Jesus said at the Last Supper, “This is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many.”
After Israel rejected Christ throughout the Acts period, God temporarily set aside the New Covenant Kingdom program. He took the blood of the New Covenant which was shed for many and applied to the sins of the whole world so that any and all who believe in the finished work of Christ might be born from above with the everlasting life of the Spirit of God.
The believers of our present age are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Church which is the Body of Christ. Someday, we will be caught up to be with the Lord, and then the New Covenant Kingdom will once again be offered to the nation of Israel. After much tribulation, the nation of Israel will be saved, and the Lord Jesus will reign as King over all the earth.
I see our time is gone this morning. Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
The book of Matthew gives the genealogy of the Lord Jesus from the time of Abraham and lists all the men who were begotten by other men, but then it says that:
Matthew 1:18
18 . . . the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: After His mother Mary was betrothed to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, the Lord Jesus entered into the curse by taking upon Himself a mortal body which was subject to death. However, He was born of the Spirit because the life which was in Him was the life of the Holy Spirit of God. Mary was found with child of the Holy Spirit.
Where the first Adam failed to live by the Spirit of God, Jesus Christ, whom the Bible calls the last Adam, lived in complete submission to the Spirit of God. As a result, He was qualified to take upon Himself the curse of sin. He did so by shedding His blood upon the cross of Calvary so that He could give the life of the Spirit of God to all who believe in His name. Paul said in I Corinthians that the first man, Adam, became a living being, while the last Adam became a life-giving spirit.
When Nicodemus came to the Lord Jesus by night, the Lord told him that he had to be born again, or literally born from above, before he could see the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit. Jesus told Nicodemus that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life, the life that comes from the Spirit of God.
The Bible tell us that in the tribulation period, God will send two witnesses. They will be the prophets of God, and they will have the power to stop the rain from heaven. They will have the power to turn the water into blood. They will have the power to breath fire from their mouths to destroy anyone who tries to hurt them.
The Bible says that when these two witnesses have completed their work, the devil will make war against them and kill them. Their dead bodies will lie in state for three and a half days while the people of the earth rejoice and send gifts one to another. In Revelation 11, the Apostle John looks into the future and says that:
Revelation 11:11-12 (NKJ)
11 . . . after the three-and-a-half days the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and great fear fell on those who saw them.
12 And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, "Come up here." And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them.
Notice that it will be the breath of the life of God that will enter into them. They will stand on their feet, and then they will be called up into heaven. Well, just as surely as the Spirit of God will give life to the dead bodies of these prophets, the Spirit of God gives life to our dead spirits when we believe in Jesus Christ. And just as surely as the Spirit of God gives life to our dead spirits, God will someday give eternal life to our mortal bodies when God calls us up to be with Him in the glory of heaven. He shall change our vile body that it may be like His glorious body.
This promise of life from the Spirit of God was something that God promised in the Old Testament. It was to be the predominant feature of Israel’s promised New Covenant. In Jeremiah 31, the Lord spoke to the nation of Israel, saying:
Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NKJ)
31 "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah--
32 "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.
33 "But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.
34 "No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more."
This New Covenant will bring in the glorious kingdom which will bring blessing to all of the nations of the earth. Jeremiah said that in this kingdom, all men will know the Lord. There will be no need for anyone to go tell his neighbor about the Lord. There will be no need for anyone to go to the remote corners of the earth to tell the lost about the Lord, for in this kingdom everyone will know the Lord.
The Lord speaks through Ezekiel in Ezekiel 36 and expands upon the role of the Holy Spirit in this New Covenant Kingdom. In verse 24 the Lord speaks to Israel and says:
Ezekiel 36:24, 26-28 (NKJ)
24 " . . . I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.
26 "I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh.
27 "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.
28 "Then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers; you shall be My people, and I will be your God.
However, Isaiah spoke of the great tribulation and distress that the whole earth will go through before this kingdom is established. Isaiah 24 says:
Isaiah 24:1, 3 (NIV)
1 See, the LORD is going to lay waste the earth and devastate it; he will ruin its face and scatter its inhabitants--
3 The earth will be completely laid waste and totally plundered. The LORD has spoken this word.
Isaiah 24:19-23 (NIV)
19 The earth is broken up, the earth is split asunder, the earth is thoroughly shaken.
20 The earth reels like a drunkard, it sways like a hut in the wind; so heavy upon it is the guilt of its rebellion that it falls . . .
21 In that day the LORD will punish the powers in the heavens above and the kings on the earth below.
22 They will be herded together like prisoners bound in a dungeon; they will be shut up in prison and be punished after many days.
23 The moon will be abashed, the sun ashamed; for the LORD Almighty will reign on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem, and before its elders, gloriously.
Israel’s New Covenant Kingdom is going to come to the earth but only after much tribulation. Zechariah speaks more specifically of the tribulation that will come upon Jerusalem. In Chapters 12 and 14, the Lord says:
Zechariah 14:2-3 (NIV)
2 I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women (ravished). Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city.
3 Then the LORD will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights in the day of battle.
Zechariah 12:6-10 (NIV)
6 "On that day I will make the leaders of Judah like a firepot in a woodpile, like a flaming torch among sheaves. They will consume right and left all the surrounding peoples, but Jerusalem will remain intact in her place.
7 "The LORD will save the dwellings of Judah first, so that the honor of the house of David and of Jerusalem's inhabitants may not be greater than that of Judah.
8 On that day the LORD will shield those who live in Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them will be like David, and the house of David will be like God, like the Angel of the LORD going before them.
9 On that day I will set out to destroy all the nations that attack Jerusalem.
10 "And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and supplication. They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only child, and grieve bitterly for him as one grieves for a firstborn son.
Notice that in this time of great tribulation, the Lord has David on His mind. In II Samuel, Chapter 7, the Lord promised David that one of his descendants would sit upon the throne in this everlasting kingdom, and all of this great tribulation is merely a precursor to the glorious New Covenant Kingdom.
David was so looking forward to this kingdom. We see his rejoicing in Psalms 47, where he sings:
Psalms 47:1-9 (NKJ)
1 Oh, clap your hands, all you peoples! Shout to God with the voice of triumph!
2 For the LORD Most High is awesome; he is a great King over all the earth.
3 He will subdue the peoples under us, and the nations under our feet.
4 He will choose our inheritance for us, the excellence of Jacob whom He loves. Selah
5 God has gone up with a shout, the LORD with the sound of a trumpet.
6 Sing praises to God, sing praises! Sing praises to our King, sing praises!
7 For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with understanding.
8 God reigns over the nations; God sits on His holy throne.
9 The princes of the people have gathered together, the people of the God of Abraham. For the shields of the earth belong to God; he is greatly exalted.
But as much as David loved to praise the Lord for the glory of the coming kingdom, he was also able to praise the Lord for His mighty display of power during the coming tribulation period. In Psalm 46, David again sings to the Lord:
Psalms 46:1-7, 10, 11 (NKJ)
1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah
4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High.
5 God is in the midst of her, she shall not be moved; God shall help her, just at the break of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms were moved; he uttered His voice, the earth melted.
7 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
10 Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!
11 The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah
Through Zechariah the Lord said that the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem will look on Him whom they have pierced, and they will morn, but He also said:
Zechariah 9:9-12 (NKJ)
9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your King is coming to you; he is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey, a colt, the foal of a donkey.
10 . . . his dominion shall be 'from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.'
11 " . . . because of the blood of your covenant, I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Israel has seen her King lowly and riding on a donkey, but she has not yet seen His dominion which extends to the ends of the earth and is based in the blood of their covenant. What covenant was the Lord talking about? It was the New Covenant. What blood was the Lord talking about? It was the blood of Jesus. Jesus said at the Last Supper, “This is my blood of the New Covenant which is shed for many.”
After Israel rejected Christ throughout the Acts period, God temporarily set aside the New Covenant Kingdom program. He took the blood of the New Covenant which was shed for many and applied to the sins of the whole world so that any and all who believe in the finished work of Christ might be born from above with the everlasting life of the Spirit of God.
The believers of our present age are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the Church which is the Body of Christ. Someday, we will be caught up to be with the Lord, and then the New Covenant Kingdom will once again be offered to the nation of Israel. After much tribulation, the nation of Israel will be saved, and the Lord Jesus will reign as King over all the earth.
I see our time is gone this morning. Thank you for listening to Bible Study Time. I’ll look forward to being with you again next week at this same time.
Write me at: jimjoan77@juno.com
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