The New
Covenant?
Not understanding the rationale
and the main objective for the institution of the New Covenant which Jesus
Christ instituted on the night before He was crucified and became effective
after His death since where there is a
testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a
testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while
the testator lives, seems to be the main catalyst in receiving the grace of God
in vain. The grace of God which comprise of Jesus Christ the Beloved Son of
God, the gift of eternal life, all of man’s gifts, talents and abilities; God’s
forgiving mercies and the gospel.
Before Jesus Christ suffered on
the cross, He made a New Covenant which became effective after His death and
the objective of this new covenant was to replace the old covenant which was
deemed unprofitable and useless, for we have been clearly instructed saying: “for
on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its
weakness and un-profitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other
hand, there is the bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to
God” (Hebrews
7: 18-19).
It is also stated quite
emphatically that; “... if that first covenant had been faultless, then no
place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He
says: "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” (Hebrews
8:7-8).
The New Covenant therefore
replaced the old covenant, which was un-profitable and incapable of fulfilling
its mandate, which was to present the worshiper perfect, blameless and irreproachable
before God, for it is said that; the Holy Spirit indicating this, that the way
into the Holiest of All was not yet made manifest while the first tabernacle
was still standing.
It is also stated that; For the
law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the
things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year
by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased
to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more
consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices, there is a reminder of sins
every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take
away sins (Hebrews 10: 1-4).
So here we see that the rationale
and main objective for establishing the old covenant was to serve as the medium
by which one could draw near to God, but it could not fulfill its mandate
because it is not possible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins,
and for this reason it could not present the worshiper holy, sinless and
perfect, in order that they could draw near to God.
It is stated clearly that, if the
sacrifices of animals could take away sins and present the worshiper sinless
and perfect before God it would not have ceased to be offered, denoting that presenting
to the Lord an offering is a basic requirement in order to draw near to Him and
therefore, animal sacrifices had to be replaced with a perfect sacrifice that
could present the worshiper perfect in order to draw near to the Father
And it is for this reason animal
sacrifices was replaced by the New Covenant instituted by Jesus Christ on the
night before His death when He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to
the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is My body." Then He took the
cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, "Drink from it, all of
you. For this is My blood of the New Covenant, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins” (Matthew 26:26-28).
Unfortunately, many who professed
to believe in Jesus Christ have not taken into consideration the fact that in
order to draw near to the Father one must be holy, perfect and blameless in His
sight and the only way this can be achieved is by presenting to Him the
offering which can present us holy, perfect and irreproachable in His sight
because, God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.
And so the apostle Paul made it
abundantly clear by stating; “Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the
Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for
us, through the veil, that is, His flesh, and having a High Priest over the
house of God, 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” (Hebrews 10:19-22).
This sentiment was also shared by
Jesus Christ who said to Thomas; “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one
comes to the Father except through Me.” The way is through His flesh which is
represented by the unleavened bread; the truth is the Word of God Jesus Christ
Himself our eternal High Priest and the life is the blood of Jesus Christ
represented by the wine, for the life of the flesh is in the blood, and God
has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is
the blood that makes atonement for the soul” (John 14:6;
Leviticus 17:11).
And so, the prerequisite by which
one can draw near to the Father is by presenting to Him the blood of His
Beloved Son Jesus Christ for the remission of our sins which is represented by
the wine, His flesh represented by the unleavened bread and Jesus Christ Himself
as our eternal High Priest interceding on our behalf.
This offering is our basic and
fundamental requirement for appearing before the presence of the Father at His
appointed time, as Moses was duly admonished saying; “Command the children of
Israel, and say to them, 'My offering, My food for My offerings made by fire as
a sweet aroma to Me, you shall be careful to offer to Me at their appointed
time' (Numbers
28:2).
Our failure to grasp and fathom the
rationale for the new covenant is one of the main reasons why the church which
is the body of Christ is experiencing so many divisions and confusions in their
midst and undoubtedly have received the grace of God in vain.
To be continued
With brotherly love
Lucius Joseph
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