6/7/2015
The Transformational Power Of The New Covenant
John 1:14 & 16-18 The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, Who came from the Father, full of grace and truth…From the fullness of His grace we have all received one blessing after another. For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has ever seen God, but God the One and Only, Who is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
The Call of the New Covenant Is a Call to Individuals
Matthew 9:9 As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.
The Communion of the New Covenant Is A Communion of Sinners Called to Him
Matthew 9:10-11 While Jesus was having dinner at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and “sinners” came and ate with Him and His disciples. When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and ‘sinners’?”
The New Covenant Calls To Those Who Admit Their Condition
Matthew 9:12-13 On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Old Covenant Focuses on Ritual New Covenant Focuses on Renewal
Matthew 9:14 Then John’s disciples came and asked Him, “How is it that we and the Pharisees fast, but Your disciples do not fast?”
The Fast of the New Covenant is The Lord’s Absence
Matthew 9:15 Jesus answered, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them: then they will fast.”
The New Covenant Requires New Structures
Matthew 9:16-17 “No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse. Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”
The New Covenant Was Meant To go Viral
Acts 15:5-7 …the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.” The apostles and elders met to consider this question. After much discussion, Peter got up and addressed them: “Brothers, you know that some time ago God made a choice among you that the Gentiles might hear from my lips the message of the gospel and believe.
The New Covenant Saves People From Any Culture
Acts 15:8-11 God, who knows the heart, showed that he accepted them by giving the Holy Spirit to them, just as he did to us. He made no distinction between us and them, for he purified their hearts by faith. Why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke that neither we nor our fathers have been able to bear? No! We believe it is through the grace of our Lord Jesus that we are saved, just as they are.”
The New Covenant Was Established By Jesus
Matthew 26:26-29 Jesus took bread, and blessed it, broke it, and gave it to the disciples, saying, Take, eat; this is My body. He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; For this is My blood of the New (everlasting) Covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.
The New Covenant Is New Forever!
The new things of the Gospel: a new covenant, Matt. 26:28; a new commandment, John 13:34; a new creature, Gal. 6:15; a new creation, 2 Cor. 5:17; a new man, i.e., a new spiritual and moral character, after the pattern of Christ, Eph. 4:24; A new body, 1st Cor 15:51-52. A new name for believer’s, Rev. 2:17; The Lord’s New Name, Rev. 3:12; a new song, Rev. 5:9; a new Heaven, a new Earth, Rev. 21:1; a new Jerusalem, Rev. 3:12; Rev. 21:2; He that sitteth on the Throne said, Behold, I make all things new,’ Rev. 21:5“