What Is Covenant – Part 2

Here we go with part 2 of WHAT IS COVENANT?

Let me just start by saying that God always deals with us by covenant. As such, grace is a mystery to those who do not understand that. Grace is also a mystery to those who do not understand the Father’s nature. Grace is not justice because it’s above fair.

One of the problems today is learning to rightly divide the covenants (See the teaching “What Covenant Is Ours). We talked about them in Part 1. There’s the covenant with Abraham, the covenant of Moses or the law, and now the New Covenant of grace. Those are the three main covenants we are studying here.

If we don’t learn to rightly divide those covenants, we’ll get up every day trying to pick up our cross and follow Jesus, but we no longer have a cross to pick up, because Jesus took the cross for us. See the teaching “Deny, Take Up, Follow” for the complete explanation regarding the cross. We also died with Him and rose with Him, so we are dead to our flesh. We are a new creation in Christ Jesus. We now walk in the newness of life. The confusion that exists in the church today will cease to exist if we learn to rightly divide the covenants.

So many Christians today have this view of God as a tyrant who is keeping track of every one of their mistakes/sins. A God who is just waiting to beat us up and be angry at us for our failures. A God who is keeping record of how well we are performing all the rules of religion and legalism.

That’s not our Daddy. When Moses asked to see the Lord’s glory (Genesis 33:18), God answered (Genesis 34:6) and said “The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth”. That’s our Daddy. Yet religion has painted Him as sitting on His throne, scrutinizing every move you make in your life, checking up on you to make sure you’re behaving, like some daunting grandfather holding a Louisville slugger just waiting to clobber you.

Where did we get that false understanding of who God truly is. We got it because we have a hangover of the covenant of Moses. The law continues to be injected into the teachings of the New Covenant of grace, because we just can’t believe that Jesus has finished all the performance required and has taken all the judgement upon Himself. That causes us to wake up every morning with a sense of “have I done right”? But Jesus is the walking talking mercy seat of God. He is absolutely accessible at anytime. He’s as close as the mention of His name.

Let me interject these powerful truths from one of my grace mentors, Malcolm Smith.

“God’s love for us is so great and so vast, without condition, that it appears scandalous to those who are religious and works/performance oriented. God who is love refuses to be God without us. He is the one that must come where we are. (Remember John 1:14 and 1:17 – Grace and truth CAME). He is unalterably, unconditionally and unendingly for you.

God walks into our abomination and carries us out of it when religion says “condemn them” for their abomination.

God is not a God of “contract”. He’s a God of covenant. Contract is an “if/then” agreement. If I do things correctly, keep all the rules, perform just right, then You will reward me. If I don’t perform correctly, then you will punish me and judge me.

When those who believe in a contract God bump up against the truth of a covenant God, most will default to the contract God, because they are bound by performance and legalism. (Malcolm Smith)

Just look at this again from Galatians 3:17,18.

17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.

18 For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise.

The truth of a covenant God is that the covenant given to Abraham 430 years before the covenant of Law given to Moses, precedes and supersedes the covenant of Moses, or the law. The problem is that most of us have grown up being taught under the covenant of law and not grace.

People get confused by the many things that Jesus says in the gospels because they don’t rightly divide His sayings into the proper covenant. An easy way to determine if Jesus is speaking under the Old Covenant of Law or the New Covenant of Grace is to take what He says and lay it up against the truth in the Epistles. That will distinguish which covenant He’s speaking from and who He is speaking to.

It’s what I’ve said before. Make sure when you study that you use the before and after test. What was said before and what was said after the current word(s). Then ask the five “Ws”. Who is speaking and to whom? What are they speaking about? When are they saying this? Where are they at? Why is it being said? If you’ll do this, it will keep the truth in context and out of confusion. Don’t get in bondage to answer everyone of those five questions, because sometimes there is no need. Many times you will get your answer in two, or four, or three of the questions.

I’ve already said it in this teaching. The New Covenant of grace doesn’t start with Matthew 1 of the gospels. It starts when Jesus says “this is my blood of the New Covenant”. So there is much Jesus says throughout the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John that are written for us, but not necessarily to us. Again, take what He says and line them up with the Epistles. If what He says is confirmed in the Epistles then it’s a message to us of His New Covenant of Grace.

For instance, take up your cross and follow me. The Epistles don’t confirm that statement. That was said to the disciples, not us. We can’t take up something that is no longer there for us. Plus the Epistles say we are dead, dead, dead. How can a dead man take up anything? The only thing a dead person needs is life, and God gave us that through the Covenant of Abraham who is Jesus (the seed) who totally finished all the work of the cross.

So to try and complete this teaching on covenant, which in no way has even scratched the surface of covenant, let me put these scriptures here once again.

Galatians 3:15-17.

15 Brethren, I speak in the manner of men: Though it is only a man’s covenant, yet if it is confirmed, no one annuls or adds to it.

What is Paul saying here? He is saying, once a covenant has been made, no one can add change or delete any part of it, or annul it. Simply, it is set for good.

16 Now to Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. He does not say, “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ.

So here comes God’s covenant with Abraham again, and to us. He doesn’t say seeds, but He says the promise is to his seed. Then He says to us “And to your Seed” who is Christ. You see, Jesus was there when this covenant was cut. How do I know this? Because He says so in John 8:58 when He says “Before Abraham was, I am”.

17 And this I say, that the law, which was four hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect.

You see, the promise is to us and our seed, because we are heirs and joint heirs with Christ. Just like Abraham. We believe God and it is accounted to us for righteousness. No law given 430 years after the covenant of Abraham can change that. The problem is, we still try to apply the covenant of Moses, the law, to the covenant of Abraham, which is the covenant of grace.

Let me finish with Romans 5:17-19.

17 For if by the one man’s offense death reigned through the one, much more those who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.)

Does this line up with Galatians 3:16 where it says “And to seeds,” as of many, but as of one, “And to your Seed,” who is Christ”. I would say so.

18 Therefore, as through one man’s offense judgment came to all men, resulting in condemnation, even so through one Man’s righteous act the free gift came to all men, resulting in justification of life.

19 For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man’s obedience many will be made righteous.

How will many be made righteous? By believing God and receiving the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness. Those who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

Religion and legalism live in the influence of the Old Covenant of Moses or the law and just can’t get past it. Religion will always put controls or rules on the freedom found in the truth of the New Covenant of grace, because religion is nothing more than a shame-management system. Often with the best of intentions, but always with the worst of results.

Religion will always try to control what it cannot contain. That’s why others will find it threatening when you learn how to live free.

Hebrews 10:19-22

19 Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus,

20 by a new and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil, that is, His flesh,

21 and having a High Priest over the house of God,

22 let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

We have a better covenant. If you study the book of Hebrews and search out the covenant verses you will see how magnificent and wonderful this covenant of grace, the covenant of Abraham, truly is. You will find that it states over and over that it is a better covenant. It discusses the need for a “New” Covenant since the first covenant (law in this case) was flawed and with much fault.

The writer of Hebrews was only dealing with the Old Covenant of Law and the New Covenant of grace, different from the majority of this teaching which dealt with Abraham’s covenant. However, what is said in Hebrews concerning covenant is neatly tied together by what Paul wrote in Galatians and in other books of his. It is simply the Holy Spirit giving the writers a piece of subject matter fit for that particular revelation.

Finally this. 2 Corinthians 3:6 – “He has enabled us to be ministers of his new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death; but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.”

Grace and Peace. Mark Kunerth