Message Transcript:
Last week we looked at The Big Picture of the OT Scripture through the thread of covenants. We summarized this thread in this way:
- God created man
- God’s creation rebelled against him
- God destroyed his creation
THEN, God showed what he really wanted, from the very beginning – a relationship with his creation.
- God made a promise not to destroy his creation
- God made a promise to bless his creation through Abraham
- God made a promise to free his creation through Moses
- God made a promise to rule over his creation through David
- God made a promise to one day return things back to the Eden ideal
The goodness of Yahweh and his faithful love were demonstrated by Him pursuing and being present among the people he created even though they rejected him time and time again.
The Messiah
God made a promise in Genesis 3:15 that one day He would provide a way for the curse to be lifted.
Genesis 3:14–15 CSB
14 So the Lord God said to the serpent:
Because you have done this,
you are cursed more than any livestock
and more than any wild animal.
You will move on your belly
and eat dust all the days of your life.
15 I will put hostility between you and the woman,
and between your offspring and her offspring.
He will strike your head,
and you will strike his heel.
Someday, there would be a descendant of the woman who would defeat the enemy and restore people’s relationships with each other and with God. Through further revelation and prophesy, that person became known and referred to as the Messiah.
After about 400 years of silence, the New Testament introduces a radical figure—Jesus. Jesus was the Messiah that Yahweh promised.
John 1:1–18 CSB
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 All things were created through him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of men. 5 That light shines in the darkness, and yet the darkness did not overcome it.
6 There was a man sent from God whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness to testify about the light, so that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but he came to testify about the light.
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was created through him, and yet the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, he gave them the right to be children of God, to those who believe in his name, 13 who were born, not of natural descent, or of the will of the flesh, or of the will of man, but of God.
14 The Word became flesh and dwelt among us. We observed his glory, the glory as the one and only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John testified concerning him and exclaimed, “This was the one of whom I said, ‘The one coming after me ranks ahead of me, because he existed before me.’ ”) 16 Indeed, we have all received grace upon grace from his fullness, 17 for the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God. The one and only Son, who is himself God and is at the Father’s side—he has revealed him.
Jesus was a descendant of Abraham, and a descendant of David, born to undo the effects of the fall and restore mankind’s relationship with God.
How could he do this? Jesus came as God incarnate. When Jesus arrived, mankind went from God dwelling in a temple, around us, to God dwelling WITH us. That was his name, “Immanuel”. This was the closest thing to Eden.
He existed as completely human and completely God—and he lived a perfect life, in total obedience to God. That is something that the Israelites, even with all their laws, could not do perfectly. Nobody, beginning with Adam and Eve, was ever able to do what Jesus did: he perfectly demonstrated the kind of life God desires.
Jesus showed how to successfully and perfectly carry the image of God, fulfilling the purpose for which God created humans. While he lived as an example, he also taught people how to understand scripture. He summed up the entire Old Testament in 2 commands:
- Love Yahweh with everything you are
- Love your neighbor as yourself
Jesus kept both of those commands completely.
But if Jesus was the only human capable of living a perfect life, is the rest of humanity still doomed to be separated from God and to live in broken relationships? Thankfully, no! The same God who loved Adam and Eve, covering their sin with a sacrifice, sent Jesus, his Son, into the world to take away sin by sacrificing Jesus for the sins of mankind.
John 3:16 CSB
16 For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.
Jesus lived a perfect life, then was put to death by crucifixion as an innocent man and was buried in a tomb. Three days later, he rose from the grave, proving he had conquered sin and death. He did this to enable the restoration of our relationships with God and each other. What was broken because of Adam and Eve, the first humans, can be restored because of Jesus, a new kind of human.
Romans 5:18–21 NLT
18 Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. 19 Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.
20 God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. 21 So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
No more animal sacrifices would be needed to cover over our sin, as was prescribed by the law. The blood of Jesus was offered to not just cover up, but wash away our sins, once and for all. The sacrifice of Jesus allows us to have a relationship with Yahweh that He refers to as “friendship”.
Romans 5:8–11 NLT
8 But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. 9 And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation. 10 For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son. 11 So now we can rejoice in our wonderful new relationship with God because our Lord Jesus Christ has made us friends of God.
The Jesus Covenant
If we are to continue on the thread of covenants, we now receive a new one… the Jesus Covenant.
Luke 22:15 CSB
15 Then he said to them, “I have fervently desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
Luke 22:19–20 CSB
19 And he took bread, gave thanks, broke it, gave it to them, and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 In the same way he also took the cup after supper and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
The author of Hebrews also refers to the work of Jesus as a new covenant that is the anti-Mosiac covenant.
This covenant provides forgiveness of sins and restoration of our relationship with Yahweh for those who will choose to enter into a covenant relationship with Jesus. Just as each covenant brought humanity closer to Yahweh, the Jesus covenant did that and even more.
However, just as there was a command to willingly obey God in the garden, and trusting him was the key to eternal life, God requires reciprocal love and obedient faith of those he has chosen for redemption and restoration. We cannot earn salvation by doing anything; however, we must respond to this great gift with confession and faith, which produces changes in our thoughts, actions and motivations.
Romans 6:23 CSB
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
While Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, it does not mean that everyone in the world is saved from the death that came through Adam. It is a gift that must simply be received. We cannot buy it. We cannot earn it. We must not ignore it.
Romans 10:9–10 CSB
9 If you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 One believes with the heart, resulting in righteousness, and one confesses with the mouth, resulting in salvation.
God provided the sacrifice for our sins, but we must choose to accept this gift. Those who believe in Jesus will be forgiven and have eternal life and restored relationship with God. Those who do not accept this Messiah, this Savior, are already condemned because of the sinfulness we inherited from Adam.
John 3:18 CSB
18 Anyone who believes in him is not condemned, but anyone who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the one and only Son of God.
The Jesus Covenant allows anyone regardless of education, gender, resources, ethnicity, or history to have a restored relationship with their Creator – if they will submit to Jesus as Lord.
Pentecost – God IN Us
Just before Jesus went up to heaven, after his resurrection from the dead, he appeared to his disciples. In the book of Acts we read that Jesus told his followers:
Acts 1:4–5 CSB
4 While he was with them, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for the Father’s promise. “Which,” he said, “you have heard me speak about; 5 for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit in a few days.”
So they waited… and the Holy Spirit came and filled the believers. The Jesus Covenant just moved the needle from God WITH us to God IN us! That is beyond Eden!
1 Corinthians 3:16–17 CSB
16 Don’t you yourselves know that you are God’s temple and that the Spirit of God lives in you? 17 If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him; for God’s temple is holy, and that is what you are.
God still lives in a temple… but WE are that temple. We have God IN us! And the Spirit of God helps the people of God do the will of God.
The people who were filled with the Spirit started telling the good news of forgiveness of sins through Jesus to thousands of people who were in Jerusalem for a feast. The Spirit enabled the disciples to speak in languages they had never studied so that the good news could be spread to people groups all over the world.
Peter, one of the apostles stood up in front of all the people and explained that the Messiah they were waiting for was Jesus. He told them that the death that came from Adam & Eve’s sin was now dealt with once and for all and they could be free from the punishment of the fall and be restored back to God.
Acts 2:37–39 CSB
37 When they heard this, they were pierced to the heart and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 For the promise is for you and for your children, and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call.”
The first church, located in Jerusalem, was born from this because God saved three thousand people that day alone!
Acts 2:41 CSB
41 So those who accepted his message were baptized, and that day about three thousand people were added to them.
And God kept adding to their numbers! Peter, of course, was the head of this new church. Jesus told him that would be the case:
Matthew 16:18 CSB
18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
Peter was the leader of the first Christian Church. But certainly not the last! The books of Acts is filled with new local churches forming as Paul, a former murderer of Christians, became the foremost missionary of his day and took the good news to many, many nations.
We call this the beginning of “The Church Age”.
This church movement would include both Jew and Gentile, and would create a new people, an new nation, that would be the people of God not by birth, but by new birth. People of the Jesus Covenant.
1 Peter 2:9–10 CSB
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his possession, so that you may proclaim the praises of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
This is the uber-Abraham act. ALL people’s are blessed through the descendant of Abraham. And ALL people who enter into the Covenant of Jesus have God dwelling within them, restoring our relationship with Yahweh.
So, if Jesus came to restore our relationship with God and undo the curse, why isn’t the earth a much better place by now? Well, because not everyone accepts Jesus, and even those who do still live imperfect lives. The enemy of God and humans’ innate sinful nature still draw people towards selfish desires, rebellion and hatred.
But it will not always be this way…
The FUTURE Covenant – Re-Creation
The end of the Bible, the book of Revelation, tells about a time when the enemy of God will be completely conquered and banished. It describes the restoration of all creation to an Eden-like ideal. Because of sin, there will be judgement on those who reject God, and they will be separated from his presence. Those who accept Jesus will be accepted by God and spend eternity in his presence. God’s family will live in a new, reborn creation, with Jesus as the sovereign king and high priest.
Revelation 21:3–7 CSB
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God. 4 He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away.
5 Then the one seated on the throne said, “Look, I am making everything new.” He also said, “Write, because these words are faithful and true.” 6 Then he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will freely give to the thirsty from the spring of the water of life. 7 The one who conquers will inherit these things, and I will be his God, and he will be my son.
We do not know when that day will come, but we believe it is coming. Jesus will come again to rule and complete the work of conquering sin & death forever. Those who follow him will ultimately rule with him in a recreated world where heaven and earth are reunited, and God’s glory permeates and sustains all things. All of this is a consummation of God’s plan for humanity, and a climax for Old Testament narrative and prophesy.
This will be the COMPLETION of the “Future Covenant” that Jeremiah prophesied about that we looked at last week.
Jeremiah 31:31–34 CSB
31 “Look, the days are coming”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 This one will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors on the day I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt—my covenant that they broke even though I am their master”—the Lord’s declaration. 33 “Instead, this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days”—the Lord’s declaration. “I will put my teaching within them and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will one teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know me, from the least to the greatest of them”—this is the Lord’s declaration. “For I will forgive their iniquity and never again remember their sin.
DID YOU NOTICE the big statement at the beginning of that Revelation passage?
Revelation 21:3 CSB
3 Then I heard a loud voice from the throne: Look, God’s dwelling is with humanity, and he will live with them. They will be his peoples, and God himself will be with them and will be their God.
God’s dwelling will be with humanity and he will live with them. THAT has been what God has desired from the very beginning. It WAS that way in the beginning and it WILL BE that way in the end.
The work of Jesus was part of God’s plan to ultimately undo the work of the serpent and to permanently restore his relationship with his fallen creation.
So, we have this time between the establishment of the Jesus Covenant and the Fulfillment of the Future Covenant. It is a time that is our NOW.
Why the delay?
The promise of the new heavens with Jesus as ruler will come, but God has delayed that time because of his patient and loving nature. He wants “all the peoples of the earth to be blessed” through Jesus.
2 Peter 3:9 CSB
9 The Lord does not delay his promise, as some understand delay, but is patient with you, not wanting any to perish but all to come to repentance.
The purpose for this time is for people to come to know their Creator and to enter into a covenant relationship with Him through Jesus. That is the reason for the delay. We will look at that in the next few weeks.
This TIME PERIOD, or this era called, “The Church Age”, is our space. In the great timeline of God, in the Narrative of the Scriptures, we live int his space, in the church age.
To understand the church we need to understand our place in God’s Grand Narrative.
We are people of the Jesus covenant, awaiting the future covenant, which God has delayed so that his Church can accomplish His mission or reconciling people to God through Jesus.
The OLD covenants pointed to a Messiah, Jesus. Jesus was the ultimate Noah, the faithful Abraham, the perfect Moses, and the obedient and humble David. Jesus FULFILLED the Law.
The Jesus Covenant allows people to be restored to the Father, have the Spirit of God dwell in them, to accomplish the mission of God until the Future and Final Covenant is established.
