Faith #6: The New Covenant

Number 6 on my top 10 reasons for faith in Jesus is the New Covenant - the covenant of Grace, sealed by the blood of Jesus, which provides the promise of redemption, forgiveness, and eternal life.

The Bible describes many covenants between God and men. Here are a few:

• The covenant with Noah (Genesis 9) - the promise of natural order based on Noah's faith and sealed by the shedding of blood.
• The covenant with Abram (Genesis 15) - the promise of land based on Abram's faith and sealed by the shedding of blood.
• The covenant with Abraham (Genesis 17) - the promise to make Abraham the father of many nations through faith and sealed by the shedding of blood in circumcision.
• The covenant with Israel  (Exodus 19) - the Law given through Moses that effectively became the constitution for the nation of Israel. This covenant was also sealed by the shedding of blood. This covenant promised blessings or curses conditioned by Israel keeping the covenant.
• The covenant with David (2 Samuel 7) - the promise of God to establish the Kingdom of David and the everlasting kingdom of his descendant, prophesying the Messianic age.
• The promised covenant of grace (Jeremiah 31) that would be fulfilled by the coming Messiah.

The fact that this ancient faith prophesied its own fulfillment in a way that its most ardent proponents did not even understand is testimony to the truth of the Gospel. The prophets of the Old Testament even prophesied the rejection of the Messiah and the obsolescence of the old covenant of blessings or curses. This mysterious ending was intentionally hidden until it was fulfilled and revealed by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost.

Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, and a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Spirit of the Lord will rest on Him... (Isaiah 11:1-2)

The covenant of faith remains, sealed for all time by the blood of Jesus and available to people of every nation because of His resurrection and enthronement at the right hand of God. The covenant with Israel and the Law of Moses with its Levitical priesthood was made obsolete at the same time by the priesthood of Jesus.

What we are left with from now until the end of this age is what all Christians trust and believe, which is the Kingdom of God and Jesus Christ at his right hand, ruling our hearts through the power of his Holy Spirit. The kingdoms of this world and our own sinful flesh remain to be destroyed at his coming. It is this promise, the hope of glory, that gives me faith to live in this present age.