Hebrews 9:14-15 (NKJV) -14 how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
15 And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.
In our Western culture, we are more familiar with a contract than a covenant. “A covenant is different from a contract because a contract is a legal agreement establishing rights between a group of people, while a covenant brings people together and unites them in a loving relationship. We would call this the Body of Christ today.”With a contract, if one agreeing party does something in violation of the contract then it is considered broken. “With a covenant, both parties agree to hold up their ends regardless of whether the other party keeps their part of the agreement. A violation of a covenant by one party doesn’t matter as far as the other party’s responsibility to continue to do what they agreed to do.”
A contract is limited to the giving of goods, services, and products to another party. These terms may be negotiated or canceled. What’s more, contracts are made with ink. They are rooted in mistrust. Covenants are made with blood and involve the giving of one’s complete self to another— much more than just goods, services, or products! It is Rooted in trust. A contract would involve two people while a covenant would involve three people. The Old Testament covenant was with the Israelites and God. It could be between two people like David and Jonathan. It could be between two representatives of two different tribes or nations. The New Covenant is between God and Christ, who is our representative. He is the perfect mediator between men and God. Jesus the Son of Man fulfilled the Old Testament Law perfectly. He kept His promise and held up his end perfectly.
The Blood Covenant introduces us to the heart of God towards us. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, there is forgiveness, mercy, unconditional love, etc. This is based on the work of the cross, not our performance. Jesus is the covenant. Isaiah 42:6-7 (NKJV) -6 “I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles, 7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison, Those who sit in darkness from the prison house.
God took the initiative and sought to cut a covenant so He could have a restored relationship with man. It wasn’t man’s idea but His. It was love-motivated. To understand covenant is to understand the true character and nature of God. The Blood covenant gives us a fuller understanding of redemption, communion, the New Birth, our identity in Christ, our authority as a believer, our inheritance in the kingdom of God, and things about the “End Times.” God has, in times past, established covenants that guaranteed security, protection, provision, and stability to His people. The sacrifices, laws, and priesthood of the Old Covenant were inadequate. However, through them, God was unfolding His mystery in a far better way. He was going to establish a New Covenant. “The Old Test covenant was a shadow of good things to come through Christ.” (Hebrews 10:1)
Covenant comes from a Hebrew word meaning “to cut.” (Hebrew word -Berith) -suggesting an incision from which blood flows. The Bible is the covenant book of promise. It is the will of God and testament of God ratified through the shed blood of Jesus! We become partakers of the covenant through the New Birth. It is activated in our lives through faith. By giving our lives to Christ our representative, we enter into the New Covenant. It is a covenant of grace not of works. It is the gift of God! When a blood covenant is cut, it is often the custom for blood brothers to exchange gifts, symbolizing that everything one has is at the disposal of the other if he needs them. Other components of a covenant: sacrifice, names, seals, oaths, vows, exchanges, weapons, armor, robes, identities, meals, and memorials. Also liabilities and assets. It is the wisdom of God that God made a covenant with Jesus rather than us. The reason is that we could never hold up our end. We could never perfectly keep the Law because of our sinful nature. All have sinned and have fallen short of the glory of God. Jesus did it for us. He is our blood brother. He obtained eternal redemption for us.
So because Jesus is our representative before the Father and He is our covenant partner what are the benefits? What have we inherited? What are the liabilities and assets?
- We receive salvation through Christ.
- We receive forgiveness of sin through the shed blood of Jesus.
- We receive the promise and sealing of His Holy Spirit.
- We receive the blessings of healing and prosperity.
- We receive the robe of righteousness.
- We receive His promises by faith.
- We receive His Armor.
- We receive the His belt of truth.
- We receive a new identity in Him.
- We have a covenant meal called communion. To celebrate what He has done for us.
- We have the authority to use His name, the Name of Jesus.
- We are heirs of God, joint heirs with Jesus.
Jesus took all our liabilities and all our debts and we are recipients of all His assets. All the promises of God are yes and amen! (2 Cor 1:20). We can rejoice in the New Covenant because Jesus did all the work at the cross. We are benefactors of all that Jesus has done for us. This is grace. It is the gift of God. It is not based on our performance but on Jesus’s performance. That is such great news. God sent Jesus and saw you and said:
- I love you. I want to be your friend.
- I want to be around you. I want to have a relationship with you.
- I want to protect you. I want to help you. I want to give you my blessings.”
- This wasn’t my idea; it was the Creator of the whole universe’s idea.
- He loves you so much that He wants to be around you.
- He wants to protect you. He wants to talk with you.
- He wants to sit down and fellowship with you.
- Not in a small way but in the form of a blood covenant. I have done everything, just believe in me!
Matthew 7:11 (NKJV) -11 If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!
James 1:17 (NKJV) -17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.
Romans 8:32 (NKJV)-32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?
1 Corinthians 2:12 (NKJV) -12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.
God remembers His covenant He made for Jesus of which we are partakers. Psalm 105:8 (NKJV) -8 He remembers His covenant forever, The word which He commanded, for a thousand generations. The Blood of Jesus has ratified that covenant. It is official. It is a done deal. It is available to all who call upon the Name of Christ and are Born Again.
The New Covenant is an agreement between God and Christ. God sets the terms, he makes the offer, and we respond to it with either cooperation or resistance. At its core, the New Covenant is Jesus Christ. He embodies everything the New Covenant is. He is the Word of God and the Son of God, made human for us. He is the Message of God, the Mind of God, the Meaning of God, the express image of God made flesh for us to see and know and love.
In Christ’s love;
Brent and Linda Bushen
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