2002-01-01
Good Morning Dear Ones,
Before a locked door can be opened for us to pass through, we must have the key for it. The key that was given to the people of the old covenant had its flaws. The forgiveness they could access from the ancient Jewish customs, beliefs, and practices (particularly animal sacrifices) could only open the door part way. We have seen this from examining the OT citations in recent messages. However, at the time of Christ’s first advent, God was fully aware that it was time to put a new key in the hands of the faithful, a better key that would throw the door to heaven open wide to as many as would come to faith in Him. That key is the Covenant of Grace followed by our repentance and faith in Christ. God directs me to take up the issue of death to self for life in Christ, our Covenant Partner, before introducing the portion of this series of messages on covenant that deals with the oneness of Covenant.
Once we have become believers faithful to Christ, we find ourselves in an arena of spiritual warfare we may have never expected. This warfare comes out of the clash between two belief systems that will never mix, that of the world and that of God. That is why Christ tells us in MT 10: 34-36 that He has “not coming to bring peace to the world, but to bring a sword.” This will even set members of the same family against each other. This is our Covenant Partner coming to lead us to victory over the devil. To be a part of this victory we must, as we are told in MT 10: 37-38, deny self by making Christ our first priority and taking up our crosses to follow Him. It is the only way for us to gain eternal life, the life God fitted us for when we came to faith. We see this message repeated and the cost of being a disciple of Christ’s discussed in LK 14: 25-27. This is a price well-worth paying, because of the blessings that come our way from doing so. LK 14: 28-30, which I hope you will read, is a parable about the cost of being a disciple which shows that the world has nothing but contempt for half-hearted Christians. Should we despair? Of course not! That is because we have been equipped for victory in this battle and any other the adversary directs. GA 2: 19b-20, “I have been put to death with Christ on His cross, so that it is no longer I who live, but it is Christ Who lives in me. This is the life that I live now, I live by faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave His life for me.”
The concept of a blood brotherhood arises out of the oneness of a covenant relationship. For a better understanding of this “oneness of covenant,” we should begin with examining some of covenant relationships of the OT. We have looked at many citations from 1 SAM 18-20 revealing the covenant between David and Saul’s son, Jonathan. In ancient Israel a covenant such as this meant one participant was adopted into the family of the other participant. The covenant was a “bond of troth” and a life-fellowship, locking in all the responsibilities of kinsmen. This was a life-long commitment and not something to be taken lightly. “Cutting the covenant” (a description that comes from cutting a sacrificial animal in half, the blood of which was shed) meant that once sealed, this covenant lead to a community of life, a oneness of covenant. Thus, David and Jonathan were not the only participants in this agreement. We have already seen that God was a part of it, and now we can see that both the houses of Saul and David were also in on it. In sharing this bond, the two become one.
Our examination of the Jewish disobedience which led to the Babylonian Captivity allowed us to see what happens when covenant promises are broken. God’s perspective on this can be seen in MAL 2: 10-16, “Do we not all have the same Father? Did not the same God create us all? Then why do we break our promises to one another, and why do we despise the covenant that God made with our ancestors? The people of Judah have broken their promise to God and done a horrible thing in Jerusalem and all over the country. They have defiled the Temple which the Lord loves. Men have married women who worship foreign gods. May the Lord remove from the community of Israel whoever do this, and never again let them participate in the offerings our nation brings to the Lord Almighty. This is another thing you do. You drown the Lord’s altar with tears, weeping and wailing, because He no longer accepts the offerings you bring to Him. You ask why He no longer accepts them. It is because He knows you have broken your promise to the wife you married when you were young. She was your partner, and you have broken your promise to her. Did not God make you one body and spirit with her? What was His purpose in this? It was that you should have children who are truly God’s people. So make sure that none of you breaks his promise to his wife. ‘I hate divorce,’ says the Lord God of Israel. ‘I hate it when one of you does such a cruel thing to his wife. Make sure that you do not break your promise to be faithful to your wife.’” We must spend more time examining these two issues, breaking of our covenant with God and our marriage vows, in another message. However, it can be clearly seen that others, including God, come into a oneness of covenant, with the main participants in a covenant. We should examine the covenant relationships in our own lives, considering which people are in it with us and how our willingness to keep our agreements impacts them.
PRAYER: O Lord, You have commanded us to “die to self and take up our crosses” to follow Christ. That calls on us to make major changes in our priorities and in our lives. We find ourselves in the arena of spiritual warfare, one that often divides families. Yet, this is a battle between those who follow Christ and those who follow the adversary that we can, with Your help and our faithful obedience, win. My personal experience is that the division between these two belief systems in my own family has brought considerable pain and suffering. However, You have given me and all of us who believe first-hand knowledge that You never put us up against a challenge we can’t overcome, if we will simply hold firmly to our faith in You. Why should we fight this battle? Because You perfect us through it and bless our lives abundantly when we demonstrate courage of faith. You have called us to a covenant community, a oneness of covenant, that is best described by the Greek word, “koininea.” The bond of this covenant relationship exists eternally between Yourself, us, and all those who confess faith in Jesus Christ. Along with its privileges comes responsibility to each other and unparalleled protection from second death that only You can provide. You have made Your wishes clear to us that we are not to break our covenant agreements. We dedicate ourselves today to not doing that and to expressing our eternal thanks that You loved us enough to call us into this very special, life-giving relationship. We humbly offer You our adoration, worship, loyalty, trust, obedience, glory, honor, praise and thanks. In Christ’s name, amen.
The Lord leads me to write about the oneness in the marriage covenant tomorrow. Rest assured that no matter what problems we face, our loving Abba is eager to have us place them on His ample shoulders. His Son told us the same thing in MT 11: 28-30. We are never alone, abandoned, or unloved because of the oneness of covenant that we share with Him. Take comfort in that love and know that it is constant. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn