A Covenant of Law or Grace?*

We are to be at a whole new level of understanding covenant. This includes the everlasting covenant, which is spoken of fifteen times in scripture. You can also find more information on this topic in my book "Law, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Godliness", available through Amazon. The following is the first mention of "covenant" in scripture, as God spoke to Noah after the flood: "I do set my bow in the cloud, and it shall be for a token of a covenant between me and the earth...And I will remember my covenant, which is between me and you and every living creature of all flesh; and the waters shall no longer become a flood to destroy all flesh. And the bow shall be in the cloud; and I will look upon it, that I may remember the everlasting covenant between God and every living creature of all flesh that is upon the earth....This is the token of the covenant, which I have established between me and all flesh that is upon the earth." (Gen. 9:13-17). Although the rainbow has been used in a profane manner in our times, it is really a sacred reminder of the mercy and grace that God sovereignly promises to all living on earth to assure them that He would not bring another destructive flood. In Gen. 6:8, we read that Noah found (attained) grace in the eyes of God. Grace is something attained between God and man. Jesus taught that the days of His return would be as the days of Noah (Lk. 17:26), so we need to understand now especially what it means to attain grace with God. The prophets wrote about the new covenant by which grace would be attained between God and man. Jeremiah wrote: "Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah: Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers...which my covenant they brake, although I was a husband unto them, saith the LORD. But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days...I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour..., saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest...for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." (Jer. 31:31-34). Ezekiel also wrote about a new work of grace by God: "Then I will sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them." (Ezek. 36:25-27). We know that we are washed with the water of the Word of God. The LORD desires a relationship with all flesh, and has desired it since the beginning, or Bereshiet in Hebrew, whose individual pictographic letters mean "the son of God crushed, His hand on the cross". Revelation tells us that Jesus is the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. This move of God in our hearts and spirits prophesied in Jeremiah and Ezekiel is repeated in the New Testament, in Hebrews 8:10-12, where the LORD God concludes His covenant promise: "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more." This work of grace is created by God within us. Jesus taught what is called The Sermon on the Mount, or The Beatitudes, to His disciples, not to the crowd at large (Mt. 5:1). Jesus didn't just choose disciples. He taught and trained them in discipleship by Word and Spirit. The blessings of the Kingdom of God that were taught by Jesus that day to His disciples, reflect the perfect unity of the Word, or the Law, and grace produced in the new heart and spirit by God. Those who are blessed by God according to this sermon are the poor in spirit, or the humble. The Kingdom of God belongs to them. Those whose soft hearts mourn are the ones who receive the comfort of God. The meek, strong in faith but self-sacrificing, who put themselves last in the earth, will inherit it. Those with a hunger and thirst for righteousness, which is created by a new heart and spirit, will have that hunger satisfied. Those whose hearts and spirits show mercy to others through grace and the love of God's Word in them, will receive mercy themselves. Those whose hearts have been purified in the manner promised by the prophets above, will see God. Those whose new hearts and spirits cause them to be peacemakers in the middle of strife, will be called the children of God. Those who have been persecuted and reviled because their hearts love righteousness, and love the Righteous One, Jesus, can rejoice in this life because they belong to the kingdom of heaven, and will receive their great reward in heaven (Mt. 5:3-12). These who have sought after the new heart and spirit promised by God, live these blessings, and are living according to Kingdom principles. The covenant of grace does not operate separate from the Torah, the Law. Jesus assured His listeners that He didn't come to destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. Heaven and earth will pass away, but the Word of God will not pass away until even the finest points of it are fulfilled (v. 17-18). In this context, Jesus told His disciples to be salt and light in the earth (v. 12-16). The Law of the Torah is not limited to the written letter, but it is joined with the Spirit of God, and the spirit and soul in man. This is grace. It is in this understanding that Jesus told us: "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." (v. 48). Paul wrote of a circumcision that was not outward, but inward, a circumcision of the heart, which makes one a Jew. It is Spirit, rather than letter, which receives praise from God, rather than men (Rom. 2:28-29). The letter of the written Word must become living Spirit within us. David, confronted by his terrible sin, sought this saving renewal that could only be attained by this work of God in him: "Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit. Then I will teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee...The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise." (Psalm 51, excerpt). This is the grace work within David of the LORD's Spirit through the Law, the Torah, that David had treasured in his heart. The Word, it is written, is quick and powerful, like a two-edged sword, cutting to our deepest parts and discerning the thoughts of our hearts. James the apostle wrote: "But whoso looketh into (stooping into) the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed." (James 1:25). *Based on Dr. Kenneth E. Stevenson's 12/11/2022 message to the church. To contact us, submit a prayer request, give a praise report, or to support this ministry: P.O. Box 154221, Waco, TX, 76705 OR Everlastingcovenant@ymail.com. You can also find us on Facebook, Twitter, theshroudofturin.org, and END TIME SCHOOL, also on Facebook.

Supremely Blessed

The public ministry of Jesus included miracles from the very beginning. He healed people of all manner of sicknesses and diseases. He brought deliverance to those who were tormented, lunatics, and possessed of devils. He taught and preached about the kingdom of God in the synagogues of the Galilee area, at first. This awesome ministry of Jesus filled with the truth, the power and the mercy of God drew great multitudes from that area and even from other parts of Israel, and beyond, such as Syria, and the land across the Jordan River. They followed Him wherever He went (Mt. 4:23-25). 

After choosing His disciples, He took them to the top of a mountain, and began to teach them and the great crowd that followed. That mountain is still known as the Mount of Beatitudes in Israel today, because of the great teaching Jesus brought forth there.

If you were to ask the religious leaders of that time how one could receive the blessing of God, they would probably give you several inadequate religious answers. The world would be able to offer only a very limited understanding of the blessing of God, if asked. However, the teaching of Jesus that day, brought such a depth of spiritual truth and revelation, that it would forever be identified with Him as the Sermon on the Mount. It lifted the cover off of the kingdom of God, and clearly revealed the very heart and understanding of our heavenly Father towards us (Mt. 5:3-12).

The term "Blessed" that Jesus used in His teaching means "happy, supremely blessed", as He brings us to the very root, and source of the blessings from God:

"Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."

Poor in spirit, a broken spirit. Would any of us seek that condition, or admit that we are "poor in spirit"-that we are nothing, have nothing, and know nothing apart from Him? Our Father answers this kind of spiritual poverty with the richness of His kingdom.

"Blessed are they that mourn (grieve, suffer, even associated with the passion): for they shall be comforted (beseeching, comforted, encouraged, strengthened)."

Do our hearts mourn for the spiritual condition we see round us, and within ourselves? Are we interceding with a grieving heart? Our Father answers this grief, and gives the remedy that comforts and strengthens.

"Blessed are the meek (gentle, humble): for they shall inherit the earth."

Humility has become a rare commodity, both in the world, and in the Church. All feel entitled, and deserving of honor, substance, and reputation. They do not seek the great (earthly) inheritance that the LORD has for those who remain "small" in His sight.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled."

We crave many things, but do we crave righteousness? Righteousness is not valued in the world. Religious righteousness, gathered by our own efforts is worthless, but the righteousness of God, the Person of His Son, is gained by our craving for Him. Our Father answers that sincere craving by filling us with His Son, the King of Righteousness.

"Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

The world has become a place without mercy. Do we have mercy for others? A heart that extends mercy to others will, in turn, receive the mercy of our Father. That mercy is the fountain that produces eternal life.

"Blessed are the pure in heart (the center of our being, purged and cleansed) : for they shall see God."

Romans 12:1-2 tells us not to be conformed to the world, but transformed, changed into something completely different, by the renewing of our minds. We are to align our thoughts with what God says, being living examples of His good, acceptable and perfect will. Those who have been so transformed will see (gaze with wide open eyes at something remarkable) God, see His face.

"Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children (mature sons) of God."

Where are the peacemakers of this generation? Are they in the divided, strife-filled Church, or in our divided families? Can we claim to be "mature" in the LORD, when we are not able to be peacemakers? Our Father gave His only begotten Son to make peace between Himself and men (Lk. 2:14). What sacrifice are we willing to make to bring the peace of reconciliation? A peacemaker of God makes peace without compromising truth.

"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven...for great is your reward in heaven..."

We hear the stories of those across the world who have been severely persecuted for their faith in Christ. Even in our own country, we see reviling directed toward those of faith. The righteousness of God is called evil, and reviled by those who have made up their own system of "righteousness".

The religious leaders of Jesus' time were so undiscerning of the kingdom of God, that they thought Jesus was teaching against the Law of Moses, and reviled Him as unrighteous. He assured all that nothing could be further from the truth. He, His teachings, the miracles that followed Him, were the fulfilment of the Law and the prophets (Mt. 5:17-18).

He told His disciples and us, that in knowing and becoming, being transformed, into these truths of the kingdom of God, we would also be the light, and the preserving and cleansing salt of the whole world (Mt. 5:13-16). We are to do these things, and teach them (Mt. 5:19). Our righteousness was to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisees (Mt. 5:20), the religious leaders of that day, and even this day, whose religious form of righteousness could not save themselves, or others.

Through this sermon of Jesus, not only is the heart of the Father and His kingdom revealed to us, but our own hearts are revealed as well. Jesus intended that we should be transformed by His teaching, and become the "supremely blessed". In turn, we would also be a supreme blessing to others in the earth.

 

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Soon to come!  "Nazah-White Linen and the Blood of Sprinkling"