Re: Old Covenant or New Covenant - Old Adam or Last Adam?
Thanks.
The point is that the physical shadows gave way to the spiritual Reality in Christ, Who is our Perfect Sacrifice, Mediator, and permanent High Priest.
His Work is done; as the Perfect High Priest, He went into the Heavenly Tabernacle and SAT DOWN, something earthly priests were never permitted to do, as their were always more sins of the people that had to be dealt with - their work was never done.
Unlike under the Old Covenant, the in the New Covenant, the sin issue between God and man has been dealt with; the only sin left that can condemn man is the sin of unbelief:
So 'mediate' or 'administrate', and the better word there is 'mediate', the work is done, and mankind no longer relates to God on the basis of keeping Law, but on the basis of belief - faith in Christ.
-JGIG
Excellent post, JGIG.
Just a little clearing up of a few things.
Wasn't the covenant a bilateral contract based on the Mosaic law, rather than the law itself?
The contract was that God would be their God and they would be his people.
The conditions for fulfillment of the bilateral contract was obedience to the Mosaic Law (Ex 19:5-8,
24:6-8).
Granted, so closely were they linked that Covenant and Law were sometimes used interchangeably.
But the Covenant (contract) and the Law (conditions) are two separate things.
A bilateral covenant (to be their God) is separate from its conditions (obedience to the Mosaic law).
The laws given at Sinai were the conditions, not the covenant (contract) itself, to be their God.
A bilateral covenant is broken when one of the covenanting parties fails to fulfill the condition.
The Sinaitic Covenant was broken by the people.
God promised a different covenant, not like the bilateral covenant of Sinai conditioned on obedience to the Mosaic Law.
The new covenant would be a unilateral covenant (like the land promise) with no conditions required of the people.
God alone would fulfill the new covenant, a covenant of grace, not works.
Righteousness would not be by obedience to the Mosaic law.
Righteousness would be given freely (Ro 5:17, 3:21), poured as it were, right into their hearts.
Here, it needs to be clarified that the High Priest did not administer the covenant.
Covenants are not administered, they are mediated.
The High Priest administered the Mosaic Law, its sacrifices, ceremonies, cleansings, etc., etc., etc.,
Moses mediated the Sinatic Covenant.
So a New Covenant was put into place, not because the priesthood was changed, for the priesthood did not mediate the covenant.
Christ was made the Mediator of the New Covenant because it was made in his blood, in fulfillment of God's promise of Jer 31:31-34.
And Christ was made the eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, in fulfillment of Ps 110:4, and as High Priest offered the sin sacrifice (of himself), according to the Mosaic Law, for the sin of those who believe in him.
Christ Jesus is a greater mediator than Moses, for he is Mediator of a greater covenant with better promises.
And Christ Jesus is a greater High Priest than the Aaronic High Priest, for he is an eternal High Priest offering a once-for-all sacrifice of himself, for the sin of those who believe in him.
Here, the notions of no representation in the heavenly tabernacle and
no legal administration of the Sinaitic Covenant slip out of the Biblical and into the human.
Covenants are not administered, they are mediated.
And putting oneself under the Sinaitic Covenant rather than the New Covenant is not about
no representation in the heavenly tabernacle, it's about rejecting the only sacrifice for forgiveness
of their sin leaving them in the condemnation of their unbelief (Jn 3:18, 36).
An excellent post, nonetheless.
Just a little clearing up of a few things.
Wasn't the covenant a bilateral contract based on the Mosaic law, rather than the law itself?
The contract was that God would be their God and they would be his people.
The conditions for fulfillment of the bilateral contract was obedience to the Mosaic Law (Ex 19:5-8,
24:6-8).
Granted, so closely were they linked that Covenant and Law were sometimes used interchangeably.
But the Covenant (contract) and the Law (conditions) are two separate things.
A bilateral covenant (to be their God) is separate from its conditions (obedience to the Mosaic law).
The laws given at Sinai were the conditions, not the covenant (contract) itself, to be their God.
A bilateral covenant is broken when one of the covenanting parties fails to fulfill the condition.
The Sinaitic Covenant was broken by the people.
God promised a different covenant, not like the bilateral covenant of Sinai conditioned on obedience to the Mosaic Law.
The new covenant would be a unilateral covenant (like the land promise) with no conditions required of the people.
God alone would fulfill the new covenant, a covenant of grace, not works.
Righteousness would not be by obedience to the Mosaic law.
Righteousness would be given freely (Ro 5:17, 3:21), poured as it were, right into their hearts.
Here, it needs to be clarified that the High Priest did not administer the covenant.
Covenants are not administered, they are mediated.
The High Priest administered the Mosaic Law, its sacrifices, ceremonies, cleansings, etc., etc., etc.,
Moses mediated the Sinatic Covenant.
So a New Covenant was put into place, not because the priesthood was changed, for the priesthood did not mediate the covenant.
Christ was made the Mediator of the New Covenant because it was made in his blood, in fulfillment of God's promise of Jer 31:31-34.
And Christ was made the eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek, in fulfillment of Ps 110:4, and as High Priest offered the sin sacrifice (of himself), according to the Mosaic Law, for the sin of those who believe in him.
Christ Jesus is a greater mediator than Moses, for he is Mediator of a greater covenant with better promises.
And Christ Jesus is a greater High Priest than the Aaronic High Priest, for he is an eternal High Priest offering a once-for-all sacrifice of himself, for the sin of those who believe in him.
Here, the notions of no representation in the heavenly tabernacle and
no legal administration of the Sinaitic Covenant slip out of the Biblical and into the human.
Covenants are not administered, they are mediated.
And putting oneself under the Sinaitic Covenant rather than the New Covenant is not about
no representation in the heavenly tabernacle, it's about rejecting the only sacrifice for forgiveness
of their sin leaving them in the condemnation of their unbelief (Jn 3:18, 36).
An excellent post, nonetheless.
The point is that the physical shadows gave way to the spiritual Reality in Christ, Who is our Perfect Sacrifice, Mediator, and permanent High Priest.
His Work is done; as the Perfect High Priest, He went into the Heavenly Tabernacle and SAT DOWN, something earthly priests were never permitted to do, as their were always more sins of the people that had to be dealt with - their work was never done.
Unlike under the Old Covenant, the in the New Covenant, the sin issue between God and man has been dealt with; the only sin left that can condemn man is the sin of unbelief:
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God."
So 'mediate' or 'administrate', and the better word there is 'mediate', the work is done, and mankind no longer relates to God on the basis of keeping Law, but on the basis of belief - faith in Christ.
-JGIG