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Understanding the 3 COVENANTS:
The
previous 3 lessons we looked at the various Covenants in the Bible between God
and man. Let?s conclude the
teaching on ?The Blessing-Favour Covenant?
tonight by looking once again at the 3 Major Covenants. If you understand these
3 Covenants, it will make the Bible much clearer.
1st Covenant: THE ?ABRAHAMIC?COVENANT.
God
appears to Abraham, and makes a covenant to be Abraham?s God and to multiply
& BLESS him.
Gen 17:3-7 ? ?Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked
with him, saying: v.4 ?As for Me, behold, My covenant is with
you, and you shall be a father of many nations. v.5 No longer shall your name
be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father
of many nations. v.6 I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I
will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. v.7
And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after
you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and
your descendants after you.?
No
strings attached. Abraham
didn?t do anything to deserve this, he didn?t keep any laws or live unusually
?holy?. Abraham
lied about his wife and said she was his sister, and even though Abraham was
clearly wrong here, God rebuked Pharaoh, not Abraham. This
was because God had a Covenant with
Abraham, and God always keeps His part of the bargain. So Abraham lied, but because
of God?s Blessing-Favour on his life
he came out of Egypt laden with slaves and cattle and wealth. The
law of Moses was only introduced 430 years later (so there weren?t any laws to
keep in any case), which brings us to the second covenant?
2ND Covenant: THE MOSAIC
COVENANT OF ?LAW?:
God
gave the LAW to Moses.
Israel
had continued to persist in unbelief and had kept on murmuring &
complaining since God had led them out of Egypt with mighty signs &
wonders. They also didn?t want to have a personal relationship with God, but
instead always asked Moses to speak to God on their behalf.
Ex 24:7,8 ? ?Then he (Moses) took the Book of the Covenant and read in the hearing
of the people. And they (Israel) said, ?All that the LORD has said we will do,
and be obedient.? v.8 And Moses took the blood, sprinkled it on
the people, and said, ?This is the blood of the covenant which the LORD has
made with you according to all these words.?
Israel should never have agreed to living under the law! God
would have accepted and loved them regardless of how holy (or unholy) they
lived, because they were Abraham?s descendants, and because of God?s amazing
covenant with Abraham (God declared Abraham to be righteous simply because he believed God ? Gen 15:6). But
instead, Israel in their pride said ?We
will obey ALL the laws that God has given us?, something they would never
be able to do! God called them a ?stiff
necked people? (Ex 32:9, Ex 33:3). God never originally meant for us to try to relate to Him in this
way! Just
after God?s commands were written on stone and He set the choice of curse (for
disobedience) or blessing (for obedience) before Israel, He said this to Moses
in Deut 31:16 - And the
LORD said to Moses: ?Behold, you will rest with your fathers; and this people
will rise and play the harlot with the gods of the foreigners of the land,
where they go to be among them, and they will forsake Me and break My covenant
which I have made with them.?
Does this look like God?s best plan for mankind? No!!! That brings us to God?s BEST plan for Mankind?
3rd Covenant: THE COVENANT
OF GRACE ? ?THE BLESSING-FAVOUR?:
The
most amazing NEW COVENANT
under which we now live! This
Covenant was cut within the Trinity, with no human influence or
intervention, but purely out of the heart of LOVE of God towards us. God took away the law of
Moses, cancelling the written code that stood opposed to us (Col. 2:14).
He
made Jew, Greek & Gentile equal ? God?s church has now become ?spiritual? Israel. Rom. 2:28,29 ? ?For he is not a Jew who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that
which is outward in the flesh; v.29
but he is a Jew who is one inwardly?? Now, because we have all become ?spiritual Israel?, we have all become children of Abraham, and have now also come under the covenant that
God made with Abraham, to be our God and BLESS
us: Acts 3:25 ? ?You are sons of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with
our fathers, saying to Abraham, ?And in your seed all the families of
the earth shall be blessed.?
Gal. 3: 13,14 ? ?Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a
curse for us (for it is written, ?Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree?),
v.14 that the BLESSING of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ
Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith.? Genesis
12:1-3 (AMP.) ? ?Now [in Haran] the Lord said to Abram, Go
for yourself [for your own advantage] away from your country, from your
relatives and your father?s house, to the land that I will show you. And I will
make of you a great nation, and I will BLESS you [with abundant increase of
FAVORS] and make your name famous and distinguished, and you will be a BLESSING
[dispensing good to others.] And I will BLESS those who BLESS you [who confer
PROSPERITY or HAPINESS upon you] and curse him who curses or uses insolent
language toward you; IN YOU will all the families and kindred of the earth be
BLESSED [and by you they will BLESS themselves].?
This
is the initial BLESSING-FAVOUR spoken to Abram.
Notice
the RESULT/EFFECT/FRUIT of THE BLESSING-FAVOUR:
Genesis 13:4 (AMP.) ? ?Now Abram was EXTREMELY RICH in
livestock and in silver and gold.?
InGalatians 3: 6 ? 9, 13 ? 16 & 26
? 29 Paul reveals the Awesome truth that we Gentiles are now Abraham?s
offspring and thus His Sons and spiritual heirs according to Promise THROUGH THE FINISHED WORK OF CHRIST JESUS
ON THE CROSS OF CALVARY. ThisBLESSING-FAVOUR initially promised
to Abraham now has come upon US, the Gentiles. God
will never again stop from doing good to us!
Jer.
32:40 ? ?And
I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from
doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not
depart from Me.?
YOU ARE DESTINED TO REIGN THROUGH HIM, BY THE GRACE
OF GOD! THIS
IS THE SECRET TO EFFORTLESS SUCCESS, WHOLENESS, AND VICTORIOUS LIVING!!
