RELIGION —
“Covenant” is a word that doesn’t seem to be used very often in speaking about our relationship with the Lord. That is unfortunate because there can be no relationship with the Lord apart from the new covenant Jesus inaugurated.
Covenant spells out the framework of our relationship with God through Jesus in the way marriage vows — based on and coupled with biblical teaching — spell out the relationship between husband and wife. Or to say it in a way that everyone understands, covenant spells out our relationship to the Lord in the way our phone carrier contract spells out our relationship with them. And as we all know, if you have no contract, you will have no phone service. It’s as simple as that.
The Hebrews writer speaks of those who “know the Lord” (8:11). People who “know the Lord” are those who have entered a covenant relationship with God.
What is involved in such a relationship?
Education is an element. In speaking of the new covenant to be made with the people of Israel and Judah (see Acts 2) and subsequently with the Gentiles (Romans 1:16), God says, “I will put my laws in their minds and write them on their hearts” (Hebrews 8:10). God doesn’t do this in some magical, mystical way — He does it through education. Christ said, “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws them, and I will raise them up at the last day. It is written in the Prophets, ‘They will all be taught by God’” (John 6:44-45). And while it’s true people can be self-taught, it is the exception rather than the rule (Acts 8:30-31). The overwhelming majority of people who come to Christ do so because someone taught them about the Lord. This is part of God’s plan in how we help each other to heaven.
A submissive heart is also involved. Becoming a disciple, though, is not an intellectual exercise. It is allowing your life to be shaped and transformed by truth to the glory of God. To submit your heart to God means that there is a change of management. We no longer call the shots; God does. We don’t decide what is right or wrong, good or bad, true or false; those things have already been determined by God, and our business is getting educated in His will and carrying it out in our lives. That’s why those who assure us that God is OK with something He has clearly spoken against in His word are simply not in touch with reality.
It is something gloriously new. The new covenant is just that — new. Now, there’s nothing new chronologically about the new covenant. It has been in existence for over two millennia. In fact, it is older than the old covenant was when it became obsolete. The Greek word for new in Hebrews 8:8,13 is kainos. Its emphasis is not on newness in terms of quantity or time, but rather newness in terms of quality.
This is why when someone enters the covenant by faith at baptism, they become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17). Unlike cars, houses and clothes, this newness doesn’t deteriorate or depreciate. Time has no effect on it. The newness disciples experience has nothing to do with chronology and everything to do with our relationship with Jesus (i.e., being “in Christ”). Life has changed radically, and as long as we remain in Him, we remain gloriously new.
You can find more of Green’s writings at his website: a-taste-of-grace-with-bruce-green.com