8.48 The promises of the New Covenant are unconditional
The promises in the New Covenant are unconditional. Unlike the Old Covenant, there is no “IF”. There is no “THOU SHALL DO…” God declares what HE WILL perform for us and all we need to do is to receive by believing (faith). God’s cry in the New Covenant is “I WILL”. Let us count how many times “I WILL” is used and consider what God promised.
(Heb 8:10-12)
For this is the covenant that I WILL make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I WILL put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I WILL be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I WILL be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I WILL remember no more.”
God made the unconditional promises because Christ has done all the work. The basis of the promises is revealed in the last verse – FOR I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more. Because Jesus went to the cross, today He has qualified us for the gift of righteousness and the blessings of the New Covenant.
Another expression that sticks out throughout the Epistles of the New Covenant is “in Christ”. This expression means that our promise is based on what He has done for us. We simply believe in Him and see ourselves in Him.
The book of Ephesians tells us many of our blessings in Christ. For example, it starts by declaring that we have [past tense] been blessed with every spiritual blessing “in Christ”.
(Eph 1:3)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST…
If you read the Amplified version, the above verse refers to all our blessings given by the Holy Spirit rather than limiting it blessings in the spiritual realm. The verse is in the past tense because the price was paid for 2,000 years ago. We are beneficiaries of His grace which still flows from the cross today.
Today we can come to the cross to receive freely. Don’t try to earn it. It is given unconditionally. It is the expression of His grace and love. The only way to receive is by faith. Nothing pleases God more than when we come in faith believing what Christ has accomplished on the cross.
(Heb 8:10-12)
For this is the covenant that I WILL make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I WILL put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I WILL be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them. For I WILL be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I WILL remember no more.”
God made the unconditional promises because Christ has done all the work. The basis of the promises is revealed in the last verse – FOR I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more. Because Jesus went to the cross, today He has qualified us for the gift of righteousness and the blessings of the New Covenant.
Another expression that sticks out throughout the Epistles of the New Covenant is “in Christ”. This expression means that our promise is based on what He has done for us. We simply believe in Him and see ourselves in Him.
The book of Ephesians tells us many of our blessings in Christ. For example, it starts by declaring that we have [past tense] been blessed with every spiritual blessing “in Christ”.
(Eph 1:3)
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places IN CHRIST…
If you read the Amplified version, the above verse refers to all our blessings given by the Holy Spirit rather than limiting it blessings in the spiritual realm. The verse is in the past tense because the price was paid for 2,000 years ago. We are beneficiaries of His grace which still flows from the cross today.
Today we can come to the cross to receive freely. Don’t try to earn it. It is given unconditionally. It is the expression of His grace and love. The only way to receive is by faith. Nothing pleases God more than when we come in faith believing what Christ has accomplished on the cross.
posted by Joshua Lye @ 11:10 PM
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