CHRISTIAN THOUGHT & LIFE: THE NEW COVENANT

Key Scriptures: 2 Corinthians 3:3-6; Galatians 3:15-25

Learning Objective: To grasp an understanding of the new covenant of grace in which we become living epistles -
God's law having been written on our hearts.

Introduction: Covenants are basically unfamiliar to us today, but the concept of covenant is absolutely basic to
our understanding of Scripture.
This complex concept was very important in Old Testament times. It was the foundation of social order and the
basis of social relations. It was also the foundation for an understanding of humanity's relationship with God.
Other cultures in early biblical times also used covenants. Between nations, a covenant was a treaty of peace.
Among individuals, a covenant was a pledge of friendship. Between a ruler and his subjects, it served as a
national constitution spelling out the responsibilities of both the ruler and the people. Covenants were also
business contracts.
It should not be surprising that in a world in which covenant was such a fundamental idea God would select the
concept of covenant to clarify the relationship that he sought to establish with his people.

Concepts Defined:

Covenant - a solemn agreement or pact between two parties

Biblical Covenant - a clear statement of God's purposes and intentions expressed in terms that bind God
by solemn oath to perform what He has promised

Key Points:

I. The nature of the Biblical covenant is seen in several ways.

A. As a statement of God's intentions

1. Abrahamic - Genesis 12, 13:14-17; 15:18-20

2. Davidic - 2 Samuel 7:12-17 (Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and
your throne will be secure forever.)

3. Mosaic - Exodus 19: 5-6a

“
Now if you will obey me and keep my covenant, you will be my own special treasure from among all the
peoples on earth; for all the earth belongs to me. 6 And you will be my kingdom of priests, my holy
nation.”
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4. The New - Jeremiah 31:31-34

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B. As something by which God binds Himself by solemn oath

1. Seen in the rituals followed in making the covenants

2. Usually involved the offering of a sacrifice

C. Stressed in the New Testament by the Apostle Paul (Romans 4:13-17; Galatians 3:15-18)

Galatians 3:15- 18, Dear brothers and sisters, here’s an example from everyday life. Just as no one can set aside
or amend an irrevocable agreement, so it is in this case. 16 God gave the promises to Abraham and his child. And
notice that the Scripture doesn’t say “to his children,” as if it meant many descendants. Rather, it says “to his
child”—and that, of course, means Christ. 17 This is what I am trying to say: The agreement God made with
Abraham could not be canceled 430 years later when God gave the law to Moses. God would be breaking his
promise. 18 For if the inheritance could be received by keeping the law, then it would not be the result of
accepting God’s promise. But God graciously gave it to Abraham as a promise.

1. Promises are not dependent on human reaction to them.

2. He will do what He has promised.
3. No action of man can thwart it.

II. In the concept of the biblical covenant everything is concentrated on:

A. The special bond between the Lord and His people.

B. On the virtues of God being revealed in the covenant.

III. The Abrahamic Covenant was a covenant of promise - Genesis 12:2-3

Genesis 12:1-3, The Lord had said to Abram, “Leave your native country, your relatives, and your father’s family,
and go to the land that I will show you. 2 I will make you into a great nation. I will bless you and make you
famous, and you will be a blessing to others. 3 I will bless those who bless you and curse those who treat you with
contempt. All the families on earth will be blessed through you.

A. It was a 4-fold promise

1. I will make you a great nation and I will bless you.

2. I will make your name great and you will be a blessing.

3. L will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you, I will curse; all peoples on earth will be
blessed through you.

4. To your offspring I will give this land (later added - Genesis 12:7 and confirmed, Genesis 15:7-21).

B. Abraham responded to God's revelation with faith and obedience thus Abraham personally experienced the
blessings that God promised.
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1. The failure of an individual to respond with faith and with obedience to the requirements of God's
covenant removes that individual from an experience of covenant blessing.

2. But the failure of an individual or an entire generation of Israelites did nothing to alter God's
commitment to do what He had announced.

3. Human disobedience affects human participation in a covenant but does not release God from His
covenant oath.

IV. The Mosaic Covenant - a law covenant

A. It was a constitution established for the nation-to-be

B. It was a performance code based on human effort

1. Regulated the personal, social, and civil life of Israel.

2. Spelled out religious obligation.

C. Unlike the other biblical covenants, it was not intended to be permanent.

1. It was not a gift offered and confirmed by promise.

2. It neither replaced nor modified the initial promise (Galatians 3:15-25).

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Why, then, was the law given? It was given alongside the promise to show people their sins. But the law was
designed to last only until the coming of the child who was promised. God gave his law through angels to Moses,
who was the mediator between God and the people. 20 Now a mediator is helpful if more than one party must
reach an agreement. But God, who is one, did not use a mediator when he gave his promise to Abraham.
21
Is there a conflict, then, between God’s law and God’s promises? Absolutely not! If the law could give us new
life, we could be made right with God by obeying it. 22 But the Scriptures declare that we are all prisoners of sin,
so we receive God’s promise of freedom only by believing in Jesus Christ.

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Before the way of faith in Christ was available to us, we were placed under guard by the law. We were kept in
protective custody, so to speak, until the way of faith was revealed. 24 Let me put it another way. The law was our
guardian until Christ came; it protected us until we could be made right with God through faith. 25 And now that
the way of faith has come, we no longer need the law as our guardian.

D. The Old Testament itself contains God's announcement that a day would come when a new covenant would
replace the Mosaic Law.

Jeremiah 31:31-34, “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of
Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the
hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband
loves his wife,” says the Lord.
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“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the Lord. “I will put my
instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my
people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You
should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I
will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”

1. The time is coming," declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant..."

2. The old covenant was replaced by a new covenant making it the only biblical covenant that still exists.

a. Needs to be an end to the rebellious person

b. Old, disobedient man needs to be crucified

c. A new birth is required to start over as a new creation

3. Part of our sin is pride.

a. Man makes an effort to make it on his own, but he cannot.

b. Must humble ourselves before God: "God, unless you do it, I won't make it!

E. Religious systems of the world are old-covenant type (a system of rules, even though they may say good
things).

1. The law is a continual condemnation when given to a person who cannot keep it.

a. The Ten Commandments outline a moral code that reflects the righteous nature of a holy
God.

b. However, the only thing that the Ten Commandments can do to us is minister
condemnation and death.

c. The purpose of law is to establish an awareness of need. It can diagnose the spiritual
disease, but it offers absolutely no hope for a cure.

2. Some churches produce only miserable sinners by preaching the letter that kills!

V. The New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:3-6)

Clearly, you are a letter from Christ showing the result of our ministry among you. This “letter” is written not with
pen and ink, but with the Spirit of the living God. It is carved not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts.
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We are confident of all this because of our great trust in God through Christ. 5 It is not that we think we are
qualified to do anything on our own. Our qualification comes from God. 6 He has enabled us to be ministers of his
new covenant. This is a covenant not of written laws, but of the Spirit. The old written covenant ends in death;
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but under the new covenant, the Spirit gives life.

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A. Although it was prophesied by Jeremiah 600 years before, it was actually made, and confirmed, at the Cross.

1. God saw it was impossible for man to keep the covenant so He promised a new covenant - a new
system of relationship between Him and His people.

Picture this: God was distressed over man's failure and sin. As a result, God has to kill them. But He
doesn't want to, because He loves them. But He has to!

The Son suggests a new covenant - a covenant in which nothing depends on man.

Father: "But it takes two sides to make a covenant."

Son: "I have an idea of an eternal covenant that cannot fail, because I will offer myself to make their
side."

Therefore, the Father and Son entered into a covenant. The new covenant depends on Jesus - not on
man. It’s a tremendous work of grace!

2. The Last Supper (Matthew 26:28)

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And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you
drink from it, for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured
out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many.

3. Made by a covenant - initiating sacrifice.

a. Both the one offering the sacrifice and the sacrifice Himself were one (Christ).

b. The blood that sealed God's commitment was that of His own Son.

4. Jesus died on the cross for us – as our substitute.

B. It is through faith that we can experience the blessing of God's new covenant.

1. The forgiveness of our sins

2. The Spirit's work of engraving righteousness on our hearts.

C. This was based on Christ's performance, not our human efforts. He died on the Cross.

1. To pay for our sin and failures

2. To make us die with Him

3. To fill us with His resurrection life

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D. This is a covenant in which nothing depends on us.

1. Based on a new system of relationship between God and His people.

2. Jesus Christ makes up our side of the covenant.

3. A tremendous work of grace "God's riches at Christ's expense".

VI. The New Covenant Promise

Ezekiel 36:26-27, And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony,
stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my
decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.

A. Grace is not permission to sin. It is God-given life not to sin.

B. Grace is God coming to cause us to do His will.

1. He makes us able to do His will.

2. He dwells within us and from within He gives us the grace.

3. He moves us to follow His decrees.

VII. Contrasting the Old and New Covenant

Old Covenant New Covenant

It is a written law that tells people what to do from the It is an urge, a flow of life from the inside that guides
outside and then leaves them alone to do it. people how to do what needs to be done.

It condemns, points out, and outlines the problem. It is the solution to the problem. Receive!
Thou shall not! “Thou shall not be blind.” “Thou shall receive sight.”

It is the letter of the law. It is a new spirit within us.

In the Old Testament, the Word of God is the Bible. In the New Testament, the Word of God is Jesus Christ.
God spoke through His prophets. God speaks through His Son.

We were married to the Law. We are married to Jesus.

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VIII. In the New Testament the "Word of God" is Christ.

A. Many evangelicals believe the letter of God to man is the Bible, or the written Word. It was the Bible until
Christ, the living Word of God, became flesh. (John 1:14)

1. In the past God spoke through the prophets but now through the Son.

Hebrews 1:1-3, Long ago God spoke many times and in many ways to our ancestors through the
prophets. 2 And now in these final days, he has spoken to us through his Son. God promised everything to
the Son as an inheritance, and through the Son he created the universe. 3 The Son radiates God’s own
glory and expresses the very character of God, and he sustains everything by the mighty power of his
command. When he had cleansed us from our sins, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of
the majestic God in heaven.

2. Colossians 1:25 - "to present the Word of God in its fullness - the mystery that has been kept hidden".

a. Paul explains the mystery: "Christ in you"

b. To give the Word is to give Christ Himself, not the letter which kills.

B. Don't confuse the New Testament and Old Testament with the Old Covenant and New Covenant.

1. You can read the New Testament in an old-covenant fashion.

a. If you take the letter of the New Testament, it is still old-covenant system.

b. Instead of taking the law of Moses, you take the law of Jesus, the law of Paul.

c. In the New Testament, the commandments become even stricter.

1) Moses - "Do not commit adultery"

2) New Testament - If you even look at a woman with that in your mind you've already
committed adultery

2. New Testament reveals a person who has come.

a. He says, "I will not leave you comfortless. I will come to you."

b. "When you are filled with my power you will be witnesses."

C. We ourselves are a letter known and read by everyone (2 Corinthians 3:3)

1. Written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God
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2. Written not on tablets of stone, but on human hearts

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D. We are witnesses

1. The evangelism of the early church was a continuous and spontaneous expression of Christ’s life
within them.

2. The church of this century may stress the need for an effective evangelism program, but the church
of the New Testament had no such concept.

3. Evangelism wasn’t a program to those Christians—it was a way of life. A Christian who didn’t
evangelize would have been like a farmer who didn’t plant, or a soldier who didn’t fight.

4. The church at Jerusalem didn’t need to be motivated to witness. On the contrary, it couldn’t be
stopped.

E. The goal of evangelism is not to obtain decisions for Christ, but to introduce people to Christ.

1. Effective evangelism doesn’t simply leave a person with the knowledge that he is a Christian.
Thorough evangelism leaves him in love with a Person named Jesus.

2. Our family and friends don't need tracts. They should watch us and learn about Christ. They should
see God's message of salvation.

3. Grace-based evangelism is nothing less than an excitement about Jesus that is contagious to others.
Grace motivates one to share a Person, not a plan.

F. Our friends, neighbors, and family need to see Jesus Christ in us.

1. They should see God's message of salvation. They should learn about Christ by watching us.

2. The New Testament model of a Christian is not one who dedicates his own work to God. Rather it is
the story of God Himself doing the work through a person totally yielded to Him.

3. The problem is that we ourselves often don't believe that it's possible to live as the Word says.

G. New Covenant is to transform the Old Covenant into a promise.

1. Old Covenant says "Thou shall not commit adultery." New Covenant says "I promise you will not
commit adultery, because now I am in you."

2. It's a matter of believing that.

a. I will not commit adultery.

b. I will love my enemies.
c. I will forgive those who offend me.
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3. The Just shall live by faith. Until we believe it, we cannot live it.

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H. Unless we can rid ourselves of a consciousness of the law, we cannot live in true holiness and purity.

1. The letter is the cause of why Christians cannot live in true holiness. It kills!

a. Because we are taught from the cradle to the coffin that we must obey the law, it is very natural
to transfer this system into the Christian life.

b. The law was given so that people might see their own absolute inadequacy to live in a way that
glorifies God.

c. Some of the most miserable people in the world are dying in a sea of religious activity.

d. Christianity is not rules and routine, but a relationship! God never intended for our focus to be
on performing and producing. Our focus is to be on Jesus.

e. Your sense of failure may be the catalyst God wants to use to bring you to a new understanding
of the meaning of the Christian life.

2. We live by the grace of God.

IX. Under Law or Under Grace?

Romans 7:1-4, Now, dear brothers and sisters—you who are familiar with the law—don’t you know that the law
applies only while a person is living? 2 For example, when a woman marries, the law binds her to her husband as
long as he is alive. But if he dies, the laws of marriage no longer apply to her. 3 So while her husband is alive, she
would be committing adultery if she married another man. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law and
does not commit adultery when she remarries. 4 So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You died to the
power of the law when you died with Christ. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead.
As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God.

A. This passage is not talking about divorce and remarriage per se. It is talking about our relationship with the
law. To illustrate Paul uses a marriage situation - a normal one. A normal situation is non-divorce. Divorce is an
emergency or an unexpected situation.

1. He's speaking to people who know the law.

2. Law has authority over a person only as long as he is alive. (Examples: Police are searching for a thief,
but he's dead. Or, a person is arrested and given 30 years, but during the 3rd year of his incarceration he
dies. He's released!)

a. We die at the cross. Law therefore has no more authority over me.

b. The law did not die; it is alive and well. It still has authority but not over me, because I died with
Christ.
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3. The married woman is bound to her husband only as long as he is alive.

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a. We also died to the law through the crucified body of Christ so that we may be bound to
another husband (the one that was raised from the dead).

b. We were made to die on the cross with Jesus. He died for us. He would have remained the
eternal Son of God whether He went to the cross or not.

c. We need to see ourselves hanging there. I am dead!

d. We are all born with a sinful nature, i.e. a nature that tends to disobey. Mr. Law is our natural
husband.

1) We need law because of our tendency to disobey. Therefore, there are laws everywhere —
home, school, society, church.

2) Mr. Law is a righteous husband — pure, holy, perfect and just.

3) This makes us an "odd couple' with constant problems. We live under condemnation,
because he is always right and we are always guilty.

4) Jesus saw that in that situation we were victims — "poor woman".

5) The woman doesn't love her husband, Mr. Law, she fears him. And he's unforgiving because
the law never forgives.

6) The loving husband would be successful in causing her to do right.

e. The cross is the end of me with a deliverance from the law.

1) On the cross, I die and Jesus raises me up so that I might be married to Him — in order that I
might bear fruit.

2) Christ’s love compels us to obey — 2 Corinthians 5:14

2 Corinthians 5:14-15, Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also
believe that we have all died to our old life. 15 He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no
longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

f. The law will stay until everything is fulfilled, but the law is a widower.

1) Watch out! He's looking for a girlfriend and he has lots of appeal — especially to the religious —
and especially to those who want to live in holiness.

2) He is looking for those who will accept his ordinances. But the law (legalism) makes holiness
impossible, not just difficult.
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g. Why would Jesus die on the cross for us if the law was sufficient?

1) The law is there for those who don't know Christ — and the religious!

2) They do not have a clear revelation on the grace of God.

3) Mr. Law lost me at the cross. But I was born again and I married Jesus Christ. He is now my
husband, my head. And He tells me what to do.

h. In the church, knowledge of grace exists, but the focus is not clear. People mostly live under the law.
They try to do what the Bible says.

1) People fear they will lose their salvation. When they break the law, they go to Jesus for
forgiveness, but then they go back to the law.

2) We are living with two husbands. This is spiritual adultery!

3) The greatest deliverance is from all consciousness of the law. We must place the cross between
us and the law.

i. The strength or power of sin is the law — 1 Cor. 15:56

1 Corinthians 15:56-57, For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives sin its power. 57 But thank God!
He gives us victory over sin and death through our Lord Jesus Christ.

1) "Do not open this door." — Everything within the person wants to know what is behind that
door.

2) Without a law, no one would be tempted to break in. People want what they cannot have.

3) May pass something every day and not touch it — until it says "Don't touch!" We are tempted
by "forbidden fruit.”

4) What if sex was forbidden in marriage? What a great time we'd have! There would be less
adultery and divorce.

j. The sting of death is sin and the power is the law.

1) Without the law, sin loses its power. That's why we cannot live in true holiness until we lose a
consciousness of the law.

2) Some feel this is dangerous. Even more dangerous is the notion that it is impossible to live in
holiness because it is impossible to keep the law.
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3) One died for all. We are "buried with Him through baptism unto death."
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Romans 6:3-4, Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his
death? 4 For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.

B. The only motivation in the Christian life that will consistently sustain a godly lifestyle is love.

1. There are two ways to view the commands of the New Testament. One is law-oriented; the other is
from the perspective of love that understands grace.

2. The real issue in disobedience is a love problem. If we wrestle with being consistently obedient, the
remedy for the problem is to love Him more!

a. A grace perspective lets us see the commands not as obligations, but as opportunities for
the life of Christ to be revealed through us.

b. The Christian who abides in Christ chooses to obey His commandments, and then acts in
faith. Every commandment is another way that Christ can be seen in us!

3. When asked which is the greatest commandment Jesus said that it is to love Him.

a. A person’s love for God is directly proportionate to their knowledge of Him. This is why
knowing Him intimately is of supreme importance.

b. The ministry of the Holy Spirit today is to reveal God’s nature, in order that we might enter
into a Divine love relationship.

4. As you move into the grace walk, you will see how grace elevates these same responsibilities to the
place of privilege and delight.

a. A legalistic approach to the Bible carries one to its pages for information; grace brings the
believer to the Bible seeking revelation. But biblical information without revelation is empty
religion!

b. I have often heard the Bible compared to a love letter. It’s a good comparison. A grace-
oriented method of Bible study creates a hunger to know Jesus and to hear His voice.

5. The Holy Spirit uses the inspired Word to reveal a loving God to us and to create within us a desire to
know Him more intimately.

6. Grace personalizes the Bible and causes it to become to us subjectively what it already is objectively—
the inspired Word of God to us as individuals.
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X. Understanding Grace Transforms Our Christian Walk

A. What you believe about your nature may be the single greatest factor in determining the level of spiritual
victory you experience.

1. Nature is “the essential character of something; inborn character or disposition.”

2. You were given a new nature. At the spirit level, you have a disposition that hungers to glorify God.

a. The pleasure of sinning doesn’t disappear when a person trusts Christ. But after the short-
lived pleasure is gone, sin leaves a Christian feeling empty and unfulfilled.

b. It isn’t your nature now to live a lifestyle of sin. That’s why you feel conflict when you sin.

3. When Paul said that he had “been crucified with Christ,” he spoke of a past event. The form of the
Greek word translated “crucified” indicates that it was a historical event that continues to have
present implications.

a. He went on to say, “It is no longer I who live.” He was referring to his sin nature. Our sin
nature died with Jesus Christ on the cross almost 2,000 years ago.

b. So the source of our old life has been cut away from us forever by the circumcision
performed on us by the Spirit of God.

1) God didn’t clear out the cobwebs; He killed the spider! When we sin we are acting in a
way that is unnatural for us.

2) Our conduct contradicts our character when we sin. That’s why Paul says, “Set your
mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God” (Colossians 3:2-3, emphasis mine). The “old you” is dead!

4. You may not feel that your sin nature is dead, but God says that it is. This in no way means that you
will live a life of sinless perfection. It does mean that it is not your nature to live a life of habitual sin
anymore.

a. The conflict between flesh and spirit will exist as long as you are in this world. However, saints
have the freedom to choose to sin or not to sin. By the life of Christ the new you has the desire
to resist sin and the power to live victoriously.

b. What you and I are called upon to do is to cease to live as if we were still in Adam.
Understand that the “old man” is not there. The only way to stop living as if he were still there is
to realize that he is not there.

c. While the old man, the sinful nature, is dead, the flesh is still an enemy to be reckoned with
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every day. Flesh won’t improve through Christian maturity, spiritual warfare, or anything else.
The only remedy for flesh is walking in the Spirit.
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B. The human spirit is the essence and core of our existence.

1. Before we trusted Christ, we had no meaningful identity because our spirit was dead.

2. But when we trusted Jesus Christ, the Spirit of Christ came into us and we gained an identity
grounded in Christ. Peter said that we became partakers of the divine nature.

3. Christian life is similar to breathing. In fact, the Greek word translated “spirit” is the word pneuma,
which can also be translated as “breath.” God never intended for the Christian life to be a struggle. The
Holy Spirit should flow from the life of the Christian as natural as breathing.

C. Jesus gave His life for us so that He could give His life to us and live His life through us. A believer has become
one with Christ.

1. The totality of the Christian’s life is contained in Jesus Christ! The Christian life is not about Christ. It
is Christ.

2. The tree of life is a picture of the Lord Jesus. A basic principle of biblical interpretation is that the
Old Testament is understood in light of New Testament revelation. The New Testament affirms
repeatedly that Jesus is Life.

3. Christ is not simply in my life; He is my life.

4. God never intended for you to live the Christian life—only Christ can live the Christ-life! He is willing
to live it through you any time you will allow Him to do it!

5. It is God’s purpose to bring every Christian to the place where he no longer lives for self, but where
Christ is allowed to live His life through us.

D. We are now accepted in the Beloved

1. It is not uncommon for a Christian to try to get his need for acceptance and approval met by what
he does at church.

Trying to do something for God may sound admirable, but it produces damaging consequences, i.e. Abraham &
Ishmael. Some Christians believe that God’s acceptance depends on how faithfully they serve Him. But God’s
love and acceptance are totally unconditional. Jesus makes a tremendous offer to every person who will accept
it. If you will give Him your life, He will give you His. What an exchange!

However, any approach to Christian living that focuses on keeping rules as a means of experiencing victory or
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growing spiritually is legalism. Legalism is a system in which a person seeks to gain God’s acceptance or blessings
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by what he does. People who live this way are called legalists.

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God’s concern with you isn’t about rules but relationship. When you properly understand your relationship to
God, the rules tend to take care of themselves. But when your focus is on the rules, spiritual failure is certain.

First Corinthians 15:56 says that the power of sin is the law (NASB). Focusing on rules will never lead to
obedience, but will stimulate a person to disobedience. Paul made this truth very clear.

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members
to bear fruit to death. But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so
that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit and not in the oldness of the letter (Romans 7:5-6, emphasis
mine).

One reason for inconsistency in the life of many Christians is that they don’t really understand that they are
dead to the law. The law says, “You must, you ought,” while grace causes a person to say, “I want to!”
The Bible and Christian experience both validate that trying to live by a list of rules can never bring a lifestyle of
victory.

Someone has said, “When I was a legalist, I was bound and determined to read the Bible because I should. Now I
am free to read it because it is what I want! I was not free to read the Bible until I discovered that I was free not
to read it.”

We should read the Bible because we want to know Christ in a more intimate way, not just to fulfill a religious
duty.

E. Grace transforms our service

1. The core of the Christian life doesn’t revolve around doing, but is grounded in being.

2. The key to experiencing supernatural, liberating strength is personal weakness. God’s power shows
up best in weak people.

a. In the spiritual world, trying harder is detrimental. Trying harder will defeat you every time.

b. Too many Christians are trapped in the motivation-condemnation-rededication cycle.

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There’s often a wide gap between where he ought to be and where he is. When he’s
motivated to do more for Christ, he feels the gap is narrowed.
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3. The key to enjoying success is not strenuous work, but spiritual rest. This is a paradox in Scripture –
we must rest while we work!

4. How do you suppose Mary would have responded if Jesus had asked her to bring Him a glass of
water? She would immediately have sprung into action. On the other hand, if He had asked Martha
for a glass of water, she might not have even heard Him because she was too busy making His bed—
and He wasn’t even sleepy!

5. Resting in Christ is the sole responsibility of the Christian. Everything else flows out of that.

a. A real barrier preventing Christians from enjoying the rest that Jesus promised is self-effort.

b. Many have been so conditioned to believe that they must “do something for God” that they
are constantly struggling to do more and more.

6. Jesus used words like “rest” and “easy” and “light” to describe the Christian life. If these words don’t
describe your lifestyle, you aren’t experiencing the quality of Christian life that God intends. I’m not
talking about your circumstances. I am referring to your spiritual perspective.

a. For the anxious Christian it is often easier to do something for God than to wait for God to
do something through us.

b. A life of grace is characterized by a calm confidence in a sovereign God whose love and
wisdom always causes Him to do what He wants when He wants to do it.

c. Inestimable damage may be done when we consciously or unconsciously try to move things
forward because God isn’t moving fast enough.

7. Life isn’t a test, it’s a rest. The test has already been given, and we have received a perfect score
because Jesus took the test for us.

a. God wants to bring us to the end of self-sufficiency.

1) One of the most liberating benefits in understanding grace is a freedom from the
self-imposed mandate to be productive in measurable ways.

2) Walking after the flesh is simply relying on your own ability instead of on God’s
resources. Don’t think of the flesh as skin but as personal techniques for meeting
your own perceived needs, apart from Christ.
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3) God will put burdens on us too heavy to bear. God’s purpose in the breaking process
is to bring you to end of your own resources so that you understand that He is the
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only resource you need in your life.

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4) God’s not interested in what we can do for Him. He wants to live in us. Good works
have a place, but they are to be the overflow of our relationship with Him.

5) Any spiritual service should be the result of the Spirit of Christ moving through you in
ministry. It is His responsibility to do the work of Christian ministry. It is your
responsibility to be absolutely surrendered to Him.

XI. The Promise of the Father

A. The promise of the Father was not tongues, but rather the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Acts 1:3-4, During the forty days after his crucifixion, he appeared to the apostles from time to time, and he
proved to them in many ways that he was actually alive. And he talked to them about the Kingdom of God.
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Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you
the gift he promised, as I told you before. 5 John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized
with the Holy Spirit.

Acts 2:1-4, On the day of Pentecost all the believers were meeting together in one place. 2 Suddenly, there was a
sound from heaven like the roaring of a mighty windstorm, and it filled the house where they were sitting. 3 Then,
what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on each of them. 4 And everyone present was
filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in other languages, as the Holy Spirit gave them this ability.

1. Ezekiel 36:26-27 happened on Pentecost and the evidence was that they spoke in other tongues.

a. Tongues was a "bell" to announce the coming of the Promise.

b. We need both the bells and the reason for the bells.

B. The Promise is the ability to overcome the main problem of human kind - sinfulness.

C. After Pentecost, they had a message.

XII. We have been made competent ministers of a new covenant.

A. A minister administers something.

1. There are two kinds of ministers.

a. Of the letter
b. Of the Spirit

2. Most of our ministry is the ministry of the letter - giving Bible verses.
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3. When we preach, it's not a matter of preaching the Bible. It's a matter of placing Christ in people.
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a. Life is what people want.

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b. The enablement to place Christ in people comes from God.

c. A seminary cannot give you this.

B. God gives us something to administer to others.

1. Recognize the importance of the laying on of hands. In the New Testament the practice represented
the "communication of grace." It was not the ceremony it often is today.

2. To minister to someone is to give him a solution.

a. It’s easy to give the homosexual all the verses on homosexuality. Then he goes home and kills
himself in despair.

b. Luke 10:5 - Jesus gave instructions to His disciples, "When you enter a house first say, 'Peace
be to this house'."

1) They were taking the peace - not the scriptures on peace.

2) A couple is fighting, but when they arrive, the atmosphere changes.

3) Who are you? We are the ones who brought the peace.

4) What do you want? We came to tell you that the Messiah has come and He wants to
stay in your home.

5) If they don't receive the message - "Peace come back."

c. Jesus didn't say “I'm going to give you a Bible study on the Holy Spirit.” No! He gave them the
Holy Spirit.

2. Any seminary can make us a minister of the letter. Only God can make us a minister of the Spirit.

3. We need a ministry of: salvation, solution, redemption, and the bringing of life.

a. The New Testament church didn't have all the materials and resources we have. The New
Testament was not written yet. They only had the Holy Spirit.

b. We have so much that we think we can do well without the Holy Spirit. We can get some
measure of success by following the Sunday School material.

4. All founders of religion die and leave a book in their place.

a. Ours didn't but sometimes we act like He did.

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b. Be careful! Even though we have a book, we also have an author who is alive.
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c. And He is the head of the Church so we need to give Him more liberty and freedom.

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Scripture Memorization: 2 Corinthians 3:3-6; Ezekiel 36:26-27

Questions for Homework:

1. What is a covenant?
2. What is the biblical covenant?
3. Discuss the Abrahamic Covenant.
4. How did Abraham respond to God's revelation?
5. How did the Mosaic Covenant compare to the Abrahamic Covenant? Contrast the differences.
6. What did Jeremiah prophesy concerning the new covenant?
7. Why was a new covenant needed? Please discuss.
8. What is the basis of the new covenant?
9. Please contrast the old and new covenant

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4Ekselans School of Ministry: Institute for the Formation of Christian Leaders 2017