READING GODS WORD IN THE LIGHT OF THE NEW COVENANT...PART 4 The Spirit had to come before we could be guided into all truth. This is why the Bible could not be fulfilled beforeafterthe Spirit had come, and the apostle Paul was commissioned to “fulfill the Word of God.” Jesus had many things to say that He did not get a chance to share while He was here, but now He has shared it by revealing Himself to Paul. At this time He has explained to us plainly and openly about the meaning of His life and His sacrifice, and not in figurative language (John 16:25). THE TESTAMENT IS IN FORCE AFTER DEATH In reality it is a revelation that makes the pieces fall into place. The revelation is to understand the significance of the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ! This is why the apostle Paul is saying “Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed among you as crucified,” and how he determined “not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.” And he will not boast “except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Look at what the Bible says: “For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives” (Heb. 9:16-17). So the New Covenant comes into force at the end of the Gospels. We get a glimpse of it in the Gospel of John, especially in the last chapters. There Jesus is prophesying about how it will be after the Spirit has come. The covenants of God are “covenants of blood,” so the New Covenant could not start before Jesus had died and given his blood. The Bible needs to be read in the light of this central issue: the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. It needs also to be read in the light of the fact that Jesus entered the Most Holy Place, into heaven itself, with His own blood, and sat down as High Priest for all the blessings of salvation we now live in. When He was seated in heaven, the Spirit was poured out. That is when “the covenant of the Spirit” could start. THE GLORIES AFTER THE CROSS OF JESUS The apostle Peter teaches the same thing as the apostle Paul, namely about the cross as a division in time. He writes: “Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searchingwhat, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand thesufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow” (1 Pet. 1:10-11). In other words, the time they saw was the sufferings of Christ (the cross) andthe glories that would follow. They prophesied about a certain time period and they searched what, or what manner of time, they were prophesying about. They saw in advance the glories that we now live in – we who live after Pentecost, in the time of the New Covenant. THE TIME FROM JOHN THE BAPTIST UNTIL PENTECOST If we read even more carefully, we will come to see that the time from John the Baptist until Pentecost is another division in time. At that time the Gospel of the kingdom of God was preached, and it was possible to “press into it” or “take it by force. “The law and the prophets were until John. Since that time the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is pressing into it” (Luke 16:16). “Assuredly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist; but he who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force” (Matt. 11:11-12). Some people read this and believe that the New Covenant started with John the Baptist, but then one is not “rightly dividing the word of truth.” Firstly, Matt. 11:11 shows that John the Baptist was not born-again and because of that he was lesser than the least in the kingdom. You need to be born-again to enter the kingdom of heaven (John 3:3-5), and it was impossible to be born-again before the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus had to rise from the dead, “that He might be the firstborn among many brethren” (Rom. 8:29 and Col. 1:18). However, in the time period from John the Baptist to Pentecost, one could take the blessings of the kingdom by force. This is why people at that time experienced forgiveness of sins and healing more than ever before. Even Gentiles, who were not among “the children” whom the bread belonged to, that is the Jews, took the kingdom by force – even though the Gentiles were called “dogs” (ref. Matt. 15:22-28). The time period from John the Baptist to Pentecost was a very important interim period. Jesus was walking on the earth and the kingdom of God was at hand. However, a totally new time started after Calvary. Now the enmity is abolished, the Gentiles are included, and He has conveyed us into the kingdom of God. JESUS PROPHESIED A LOT ABOUT THE TIME WE ARE LIVING IN. Watch out for Part 5 soon.
Posted on: Wed, 24 Dec 2014 10:03:37 +0000
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