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Showing posts with the label New Covenant

Arrival of the Spirit

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The Gift of the Spirit is part of the New Covenant, and the first fruits of the New Creation and the gathering of the nations .  The history of Israel includes national sins that caused her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. However, God foresaw her failures and determined to institute a new covenant, one energized and characterized by His Spirit. This covenant included the salvation of the nations and would culminate in the “ New Heavens and the New Earth ” at the end of the age. With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the Age of the Spirit had commenced in earnest.

Made Without Hands

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Jesus is the true Sanctuary of God that was foreshadowed in the ancient religious structures and worship rituals of the nation of Israel. He is the place where God’s presence and glory are found and the final High Priest who now mediates between Heaven and Earth for his people. The man from Nazareth is the real Tabernacle where Yahweh dwells and he was the Temple “ MADE-WITHOUT-HANDS ” destroyed by evil men but restored when God raised him from the dead.

The Spirit of Life

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The Gift of the Spirit is clear evidence that a person has been justified by God and made a part of His covenant people. In Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” one that claimed Gentiles must be circumcised to “ complete ” their faith. Paul would have none of it, and he appealed to the presence of the Spirit among uncircumcised Gentiles as proof positive of their justification and acceptance by God.

Covenant Heirs

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The “ Promise of the Father ” is the Gift of the Spirit, and Paul links it to the Abrahamic covenant in his letters. The promises made to the Patriarch find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by Jesus of Nazareth. The bestowal of the Spirit on his Assembly marks the commencement of the “ Last Days ,” the time of fulfillment. Because of his death and resurrection, Gentile believers are full heirs of the Abrahamic Covenant along with believing Jews.

Spirit and Covenant

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In the Letter to the Galatians , the Apostle Paul links the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ blessing of Abraham ,” the covenant promise that God would bless the Gentile nations in the Patriarch, namely, the Gift of the Spirit received by the Galatians “ through a hearing of faith ” rather than “ from the works of the Torah .” Thus, the bestowal of the Baptism of the Spirit is in fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant.

One Spirit, One People

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Paul is adamant. “ In Jesus ,” no longer can there be “ Jew or Gentile .” The old distinctions are wholly inappropriate for the One People of God. By his shed blood, he “ dismantled the middle wall of partition ” that separated Jews and Gentiles so “ he might reconcile them both in one body for God through the Cross .” In him, God is building Jews and Gentiles into one building, one habitation of God “ in the Spirit .”

Incomparable New Covenant

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The definitive “ Word ” that God now speaks “ in the Son ” surpasses all the past revelations made in “ the prophets ,” including Moses, the Great Lawgiver. Jesus of Nazareth went beyond all his predecessors. He alone “ achieved the purification of sins .” Consequently, he “ sat down ” at the right hand of God and inherited “ all things .” Among other things, his exaltation signaled the commencement of the promised “ New Covenant .”

From Shadow to Substance

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The eighth chapter of  Hebrews  highlights the incomparable benefits believers now receive under the New Covenant inaugurated by the death of Jesus. If the fulfillment of the promises of God arrived in him, especially in his death and resurrection, to return now to the incomplete revelations of the past “ spoken in the prophets ” would mean embracing the glimpses and “ shadows ” of the “ coming good things ” rather than the substance and abiding reality provided by the Son of God.

Priest Forever

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The  Letter to the Hebrews  is built on a series of comparisons that demonstrate the superiority of the word that God has “ spoken in ” His “ Son ” over every past revelation “ spoken in the prophets .” The former prophetic “ words ” were true but partial and preparatory. But now, “ upon the last of these days ,” God has unveiled His definitive “ word ” in one who is a “ Son .” That “ word ” is complete and superior to all others since Jesus alone “ achieved the purification of sins ” that is so vital to His people.