"Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."
(Luke 22: 20)
The above text in Hebrews deals with the effect of "the new covenant" on the Jewish people, and by extension, on all the world, and it has never yet been fulfilled in totality. It cannot be said to have been fulfilled now, nor has it ever been capable of being true, that everyone knows the Lord, either by every Jew or every Gentile. The final fulfillment of the New Covenant will come when Christ returns in glory and establishes his kingdom on earth and in heaven. That is the thesis of this chapter.
The other text above from Luke (it is also recorded in the other synoptic gospels) says that Jesus by his blood effected or inaugurated "the new covenant," the one foretold of by the prophets (as we will see). The new covenant is now in force, yet it is not as fully realized as it will be following the second coming of Christ and when the kingdom of God is on earth in its completeness.
The writer of Hebrews also says that Christ is now in the church age "the mediator of a new covenant."
"Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant." (Heb. 9: 15 esv)
There are several important things to notice and accept as premises from this text.
First, it affirms that the new covenant is now in effect, and that God is now working to fulfill his covenant promises. That is not to say, however, that its present effects are the sum total of its blessed effects, for it is clear that the totality of those blessings will come in the age to come following the present age. As stated above, all men do not know the Lord and so we Christians keep saying to our neighbors "know the Lord!"
Second, one of the blessings of the new covenant is to "receive the promised eternal inheritance"; And that, as all should know, does not occur in full until the age to come following the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the righteous dead and their glorification and the beginning of a new heavens and earth.
Saved people (those who belong to Christ) do receive a small part of that inheritance now in their lives, what the bible calls a "down-payment" (Eph. 1: 14; some translations use the word "foretaste"), a "taste (or foretaste) of the powers of the age to come" (Heb. 6: 5), or "firstfruits" (Rom. 8: 23; which is a small part of the whole). Paul says "and He has also set His seal upon us, and has put His Spirit into our hearts as a pledge and foretaste of future blessing." (II Cor. 1: 22 wnt) Also - "And He who formed us with this very end in view is God, who has given us His Spirit as a pledge and foretaste of that bliss." (5:5)
Third, the thing effected by the blood of the new covenant is remission of sins and redemption. Again, these two blessings are not fully realized by saints now, but will be fully realized in the glorious age following the second coming of Christ and the resurrection and glorification of the elect. As regards the first blessing, i.e. the forgiveness or remission of sins, we must see its fulfillment in two ways, the first of which occurs when one believes in Christ, and the second is only begun when one begins a Christian life but is not fully realized until the perfect day. When a person believes, he is instantly and forever justified from all sins, past, present, and future. So the apostle testifies:
"Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not." (Acts 13: 38-39 kjv)
"And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses." (Col. 2: 13nkjv)
But, though believers are forgiven of their sins, their sin debits being accounted as paid by their substitute, Jesus Christ, yet they still sin, sin being not eliminated in their being, in their psyche, in their actions. But, that will occur in the age to come and this will be because of the new covenant and its blessings. As we will see, elimination of actual sin and depravity, and any and all propensity or capability of sinning, has not yet occurred for the believer. He has no sin as far as the law of God and his judicial declaration (or verdict) are concerned but he still has sin in his nature that must be removed from his body, soul, and spirit and that new covenant blessing will not be realized unto Christ comes and the saints are glorified.
Fourth, redemption in one aspect of it has already occurred, and in another aspect is now occurring repeatably, and in another aspect is finally completed in "the day of redemption" (Eph. 4: 30) which is when Christ comes back again.
"Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption (rather "son placing"), the redemption of our body." (Rom. 8: 23 nkjv)
Though the souls or spirits of sinners are redeemed now when they believe in Christ, their bodies are not yet redeemed. Paul says that is being waited for. Christ has indeed "bought" the bodies as well as the souls and spirits of believers by his death on the cross (I Cor. 6: 20), yet they are not yet "delivered from the bondage of corruption." There is a legal aspect of redemption (or ransoming), where deliverance is effected by the payment of a price but actual freedom from enslavement is a separate act, following as a consequence upon the former. Not until there is complete deliverance is there complete redemption and there is not a full realization of the new covenant blessing of salvation until believers are saved forever from the very presence and possibility of sin.
Further, a crucial aspect of the salvation that is experienced by believers by the new covenant is not only a glorification of the body but a receiving of the promised new heavens and earth, which will not occur until the saints have had all sin and propensity for sinning taken away from their being. Notice this text:
"Your iniquities have turned away these things, and your sins have withholden good things from you." (Jer. 5: 25 kjv)
The above statement may be made to every believer in his life. Believers sin and their sin is the reason why so many good things are not presently enjoyed by them. Not until the sin nature, the depravity, has been forever removed, and when sin is impossible, that no longer will any good thing be withheld from saints. So, our thesis is upheld. The new covenant's effects will not be fully realized until the presence of sin has been forever removed from the nature and life of resurrected saints. Notice this text about this very truth:
"Therefore will I save my flock, and they shall no more be a prey; and I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up one shepherd over them, and he shall feed them, even my servant David; he shall feed them, and he shall be their shepherd. And I the LORD will be their God, and my servant David a prince among them; I the LORD have spoken it. And I will make with them a covenant of peace, and will cause the evil beasts to cease out of the land: and they shall dwell safely in the wilderness, and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and the places round about my hill a blessing; and I will cause the shower to come down in his season; there shall be showers of blessing. And the tree of the field shall yield her fruit, and the earth shall yield her increase, and they shall be safe in their land, and shall know that I am the LORD, when I have broken the bands of their yoke, and delivered them out of the hand of those that served themselves of them. And they shall no more be a prey to the heathen, neither shall the beast of the land devour them; but they shall dwell safely, and none shall make them afraid. And I will raise up for them a plant of renown, and they shall be no more consumed with hunger in the land, neither bear the shame of the heathen any more. Thus shall they know that I the LORD their God am with them, and that they, even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord GOD. And ye my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men, and I am your God, saith the Lord GOD." (Eze. 34: 22-31 kjv)
Surely this "covenant of peace" is the new covenant. Also, this covenant's effects will include all the things mentioned in the text. Further, no one can legitimately claim that these covenant blessings for Israelites have been realized, not even by Christian Israelites. The type of blessing to nature, to the heavens and earth, will not be realized until the age to come, until the new heavens and earth. Yes, there are present blessings that believers enjoy, be they saved Jews or saved Gentiles, but they are but a small portion of the whole, the whole being enjoyed in the millennial age. They likewise enjoy some safety now in their lives, but perfect safety and security will not be experienced until the ages to come.
In further proof that sometimes when the removal of sins is spoken of it refers not to justification or forgiveness, which occurs when Christ is believed and received, but at other times it refers to the time when the very presence of sin is removed, let us notice this conclusion of the apostle:
"And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob: For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins." (Rom. 11: 26-27 kjv)
Wrote John Gill in his commentary:
"...but the apostle's own words, explaining what is meant by "turning away ungodliness from Jacob", Romans 11:26; and as before; regards not the taking away of their sins by the sacrifice of Christ, which is done already, and is what the blood of bulls and goats could not do; but of the removing of their sins from themselves, from their consciences, by the application of the blood of Christ, and the imputation of his righteousness."
In the above text, "take away their sins" is a taking away of the very presence of sin and all propensity thereunto. As one can see, this truth is an opening to deal with the question as to whether saints in glory will be able to sin and lose their salvation. But, on that we will have more to say as we proceed.
Wrote Dr. John Walvoord (See here - emphasis mine) the following about Romans 11: 27 under the heading "When Will the Prophesied Deliverance Occur?":
"The amillennial viewpoint of Romans 11:25, 26 among other things does manifest injustice to the chronology of the passage. Whether the view of traditional amillennialism be followed, or the recent view of Professor Hendriksen that “all Israel” refers to elect Israel in all ages, the interpretation contradicts the order of events indicated in Romans eleven. The point of the entire chapter is that the present age is one of blessing to Gentiles and that this follows Israel’s fall. During this age some in Israel come to Christ and are saved, but the nation as a whole goes on in hardness or blindness and in unbelief. According to Romans 11:25, 26, the present situation is going to change when the fullness of the Gentiles, i.e., the present period of Gentile blessing, comes to its close. The terminus of Gentile blessing is the point in time when Israel’s blindness is lifted. When Israel’s blindness is lifted, the way is opened for the work of the Deliverer who will bring spiritual restoration as well as physical. The order of events is therefore: (1) Israel’s fall; (2) Gentile fullness of blessing; (3) Israel’s blindness lifted; (4) Israel’s Deliverer comes out of Zion; (5) Israel is turned away from ungodliness and her covenants are fulfilled. Now, manifestly, Israel fell as a nation. The reference is not to believing Israel or true Israel. Likewise, Israel is blind as a nation. Believing Israel is not blinded even in this age. So also “all Israel” refers not to believers in this age or in any previous age, but to the entire group which enter the millennium. To make “all Israel” “all believers” as Dr. Allis does, or “all Jewish believers,” as Professor Hendriksen does, is to blur the distinctions which are so carefully maintained in the entire passage. A study of the entire chapter including verses 28-32 reveals that the antithesis of “ye” and “they,” i.e., present believers as in contrast to “all Israel,” is carefully preserved throughout."
That is correct. The time when sin is removed from Israel as a whole, and I might add, from the resurrected saints and from the sheep nations is when Christ comes again.
Again he wrote:
"The deliverance of “all Israel” is not a process but an event. The time of the event is clearly when the Deliverer comes out of Zion, an event following the return of Christ in His second coming. The prophesied deliverance is, therefore, a future event and a single event. The great prophetic passages of the Old Testament upon which this prophecy is based do not have any harmony with the present undertaking of God. It is evident that it is not true today that everyone knows the Lord, that it is no longer necessary to teach our neighbors. This is not true for Gentiles and it is certainly not true for Israel. The future revelation of Christ to Israel will fulfill these predictions and bring the prophesied time of blessing for God’s ancient people." (from "Eschatological Problems IX: Israel’s Restoration")
Life in the ages to come will see that all know the Lord. That is when the new covenant will be fully realized. It is the same time prophesied by Isaiah in these words: "They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD, as the waters cover the sea." (Isa. 11: 9 kjv)
The new covenant, when it was confirmed and inaugurated by the blood of Christ, the sacrificial Lamb of God, effected the salvation of those who lived and died under the old covenant, or who lived before the death of Christ, and is now effecting those who live after his coming, but it also includes all the blessings that will be enjoyed by the saints and the sheep nations forever. Salvation from sin is one of the chief blessings of the new covenant, and salvation has three phases to it. In other words, we have as believers been saved (past tense), and are being saved (linear present tense), and will be saved in the future, yea, throughout eternity.
In "Modern Application and the New Covenant" (See here - emphasis mine) one author says:
"We all know that in his Last Supper with his disciples, Jesus held up the cup and said, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood." Also, Paul called himself and his companions "ministers of a new covenant." And the book of Hebrews refers to Jeremiah 31 and affirms that Christians live in the new covenant age. But when we compare what's happening in our day with the description of the new covenant in Jeremiah 31, we realize that we're yet to see the new covenant promises in their fullness. The law of God isn't perfectly written on our minds and in our hearts. People in church still need to be told to know the Lord. We're still commanded to ask for the forgiveness of our sins. So, how can we be in the new covenant age when so many of Jeremiah's expectations are yet to be fulfilled? The answer lies in the mystery God revealed in Christ, how he was going to unfold the fulfillment of the new covenant."
Exactly! The fact that all do not know the Lord and are not walking perfectly in the commandments of the Lord shows that the new covenant and its blessings are not yet fully realized.
Said the same article:
"The mysteries that God revealed to the apostles and prophets led to an outlook on the new covenant age that New Testament scholars often describe as "inaugurated eschatology" or "the now, but not yet." Whatever terminology we may choose, we can see that Jesus and the writers of the New Testament taught that in God's plan for the last days, the fulfillment of the age of the new covenant was to take place in three main stages."
We have already referred to this "now, but not yet" paradigm for many things in eschatology. That is true in regard to the kingdom of God or Heaven and it is true with regard to salvation and redemption and it is true with regard to the blessings of the new covenant.
Said the same article:
"As the New Testament indicates, Jesus inaugurated the new covenant in his first coming, he continues to reveal the new covenant through the worldwide church today, and the full judgments and blessings of the new covenant age will come when Christ returns in glory as king over all."
Again, that is what I think the bible clearly shows. We will see this to be true in the next chapter and show how it also answers the question as to whether glorified saints might sin in the afterlife or in eternity and thus lose their salvation.
No comments:
Post a Comment