Lesson 11: Relationship to Three Covenants

The end has come! We made it through our study of covenant! This last lesson was an important one in bringing the whole study together. Rebecca did a fantastic job connecting all the dots and wrapping everything up. A special thanks goes out to the teachers, small group leaders, and goodie bringers for this past semester. I hope it was a heart-changing study and something you'll continue to look back upon as you continue in your study of Scripture. If you don't know, we'll be doing Esther starting next year (2013?? already?) so be looking for more information!

This was the diagram that we made contrasting all 3 covenants. NOTE THAT ALL OF THE COVENANTS pointed to the fact that we ARE SAVED BY FAITH! 

2 Corinthians 3:1-18

-Spirit and Law (Old and New Covenants) contrasted

- Old Covenant called Ministry of Death and Ministry of Condemnation

-New Covenant called Ministry of Spirit and Ministry of Righteousness

-Old Covenant was written on tablets of stone and New Covenant written on hearts of flesh.

Exodus 34:29-35

-Moses went to get the law and his face shone when he returned from being in the glory of God

-He spoke to the people while he was still "shining" and then put on a veil. 

-He takes it off in the presence of God

-Why did he put the veil on? To hide the fading glory; the glory of the Old Covenant faded because it wasn't everlasting. With the New Covenant, we can always be "shining" because we are always in the presence of God.

Galatians 3:1-29

-Galatians was written in response to Judaizers' teaching that it was salvation by faith plus perfection by law.

-Paul calls Galatians foolish because for believing false teaching after receiving the Spirit. He tells them, essentially, to use their testimony and we can do the same thing when faced with false teachings (3:1-5)

-Paul brings up the Abrahamic Covenant and reminds them that Abraham was saved by faith (alone!) in Genesis 15:6. (Remember that faith is defined by a firm conviction that brings about surrender). (3:6-9)

-He reminds them that the Old Covenant brought conditions that NO ONE could keep. Christ freed us from the Old Covenant by becoming the curse and redeemed us (bought us back) by His blood.

-Then Paul uses an example in every day life. You don't just change covenantal agreements! (3:15-18)

-Paul then explains why the law was given in verses 19-25. The law was given to give us a knowledge of sin and tell us that we are under its bondage. (Note there is a difference between knowing there is sin and realizing you are a slave to it.) The law also gave protection (the Jews received the law before entering into the Promised Land and God wanted them set apart as a people). Finally, the law teaches and guides.

-Finally, we see that the New covenant is written on our hearts, that we have the Holy Spirit, that our sin is forgiven and forgotten, that we can be in God's presence, that we are united as a body, and that we are heirs to the eternal inheritance.

The last thing we did was look at Galatians 4 and the follow chart:

And that's all folks! Hope you and your family have a Happy Thanksgiving and a Merry Christmas! We'll see you in January!

Lesson 10: The Mediator

This week in our discussion, we compared the Old Covenant (or The Law) with the New Covenant (Salvation).

• The Old Covenant had regulations and an earthly sanctuary (Heb. 9:1), but the New Covenant has a heavenly sanctuary (Heb. 9:11)
• The Old Covenant required "continual" work on the part of the priests (Heb. 9:6), but the New Covenant was finished "once for all." (Heb. 10:12)
• In the Old Covenant, the priest entered the presence of God with fear and trembling and only did so once a year for atonement of sins of ignorance (Heb. 9:7). Under the New Covenant, we are constantly in the presence of God, can be so with confidence, and are forgiven of our sins because Christ is our Mediator and High Priest. (Heb. 9:11)
• The Old Covenant cannot cover our conscience- it only worked on the outside (Heb. 9:9), but the New Covenant changed our heart and our insides (see last week's review!)
• The Old Covenant required the blood of animals (Heb. 9:12), but the New Covenant required Christ's blood (Heb. 9:12)

In our small groups, we went over the following handout:

Lesson 9 :: The New Covenant

To begin our lesson this morning, we listened to the song Without You performed by Shane and Shane.



We reviewed last week's lesson over what the Tabernacle was and what each thing stood for. See last week's post for a review (again, thanks to Kathy Drake for taking awesome notes in my absence.)

Next, we went back through the timeline.

• Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12, 15, 17, 21)
• Abraham is promised descendants, land and to be a blessing (through Christ)
• This covenant is everlasting
• Also note Abram's name change to Abraham and that they're in Canaan
• The covenant was confirmed to Isaac in Gen. 26 
• The covenant was confirmed to Jacob in Gen. 28 and his name changed to Israel in Gen. 32
• 430 years goes by and the Israelites are multiplying (around 2 million), the famine sets in and Joseph goes to Egypt and is forgotten by the new Pharaoh.
• We move into Exodus- enter Moses and Mt. Sinai and The Old Covenant
• The law was set out to give boundaries to stay in covenant
• This covenant had an if/then clause
• Obedience bring blessing (life)
• Disobedience brings curse (death)
• The people agree to obey
• They are disobedient and there is 40 years of wandering so a generation dies
• The Second Law (Given because there was a new generation coming up)
• Deuteronomy 28: 58-68
• Disobedience brought scattering, enslavement, despair and no land.
• Deuteronomy 29
• Blessings from obedience are that God will lead them, that they'll have life.
• Deuteronomy 30: 6
• Do we wear a sign that we are saved? Foreshadowing of New Covenant sign that is the circumcision of the heart. (More on that later!)
• The people agree to obey. Note that this covenant was not everlasting. Christ was promised in the Abrahamic covenant (remember it's everlasting) and the Old Covenant shows us why we need Christ (but it is not everlasting).
• A cycle sets in of obedience, disobedience, crying out to God, obedience, etc. etc. etc. Then, when Solomon takes kingship, the nation is opened up to idol worship through his many wives. 
• The kingdom splits into Kingdom of Israel (10 tribes) and Kingdom of Judah (2 tribes) in 722 BC. Israel goes into captivity and we are going to be focusing on Ezekiel and Jeremiah's prophecy in Judah around 586 BC.

Now we move into the Promises of the New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31-40, 32:37-44

• There is going to be a New Covenant for Israel/Judah
• The law will be written on their hearts and in their minds
• "I will be their God and they will be my people" (repeated twice)
• Forgiveness and forgetting of sin (Something the Old Covenant did, but only for a time until the next sacrifice)
• We can know God (and not rely on teaching of priests)
• The covenant is everlasting
• They'll return to the land and have safety
• They'll be united in heart and way
• Fear of God given for their own good and the good of their children (the "good" fear)

Next, we move onto Ezekiel 11:13-21 during the fruition of the consequences they were promised to the suffer.

• Ezekiel asks "Will Israel come to a complete end?"
• God says they'll get a new heart of flesh to replace their heart of stone and give them a new spirit so they'll be obedient to His statutes so they can be His people.
• This heart of flesh gives us the opportunity to obey God out of love for God, not just because we're fulfilling a law to Him. 
• A demonstration: Anne dropped a rock in a jar of water. Nothing changes about the rock and nothing penetrates it. Next, the heart of flesh (a sponge) was dropped it. The water (Word) changes the heart- it softens it, it absorbs the water and is changed inside and out because of it.

Finally, we move into the New Testament. The Gospel came first for the Jews, who did not accept it. The Great Commission sends the Gospel to the ends of the earth (to include Gentiles). 

And now the question: can you walk a sinless life? Am I motivated to not grieve the heart of God?

So, can we lead a sinless life? A few things to ponder on this issue:

• "Be holy, as I am holy." We have the Holy Spirit that enables us to be convicted of sin. We have the power that raised Christ from the dead. 
• David was a "man after God's heart," yet he was an adulterer and murderer. However, for a small slice of time, his heart was completely God's.
• The term "christian" means little Christ.
• God has given us the power to do it, but we don't tap into the power all the time, and based on the promise of the new heart and the Spirit, we can do it.
• Go back to the robe exchanging- we have Christ's identity on us.
• How is the power of God's Word changing your life?

Please feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section!!