NEW COVENANT IN MY BLOOD
May
3, 2015
1 Corinthians
11:25 In the same way he also took the cup,
after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do
this, as often as you drink, in memory of me.”
As often as we
partake of this, we should remember the covenant. That is, we should
remember God's part and our part, and for our part, we should confirm
our commitment to this covenant.
On God's part, he has sent his Son, his blood was shed, God gave us
his Holy Spirit (Hebrews 10:29). He has given us all things for life
and godliness that we may become partakers of the divine nature (2
Peter 2:3-4).
Remembering all this, we should be thankful. We should also have fear
and trembling as we consider “to whom much is given, much is
required” (Luke 12:48).
On our part, we have turned from sin, self and the devil, to now live
for God and the one who died and rose again on our behalf. We have
covenanted with God, to add with all diligence to our faith virtue,
and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge self-control, etc. (2 Peter
1:2-11). Doing this, we make our calling and the entrance into
eternal life sure.
Remembering this, we should judge ourselves rightly. If we have
sinned, we should repent and confess our sins. We should commit
ourselves once again to this covenant with God. We should humbly
reaffirm that we want to still live no longer for ourselves but for
him.
In our commitment, whether it is our initial commitment, or we are
reaffirming it, we must do so with humility. It is only with God's
help that we can fulfill our commitment faithfully to the end. Yet,
it is not a stifling humility, an immobilizing humility that prevents
us from making this commitment or reaffirming our commitment. We
remember that God has given us all things for life and godliness. We
remember that we may approach with boldness the throne of grace to
find grace and mercy. Let us reaffirm our commitment, with humility
and confidence, to no longer live for ourselves but for him who died
and rose again on our behalf.
If we choose to go on in sin, if we sin willfully, not repenting (but
hoping that it will not be a big deal on the judgment day), we are
treading under our feet the Son of God, treating him as dirt to walk
on; we are counting the blood of the covenant by which we were
sanctified an unholy thing, spitting on the blood of Christ; we are
insulting the Spirit of Grace, treating the Holy Spirit which God
gave us to help us live pleasing to him as a thing of no value to us,
as something that is useless and at best a waste of my time.
Considering this, is it safe to partake of the bread and the wine if
we are holding onto any sin? Let us first repent and confess our
sins. If we are unreconciled with others, especially because of our
own sin, let us go first and be reconciled before we partake of the
bread and the wine. The apostle Paul wrote of God's judgment coming
upon those who partake of the bread and wine unworthily. Some were
weak and sickly, and some had even died.
Jesus established this partaking of the bread and wine for our good.
God is for us. His own son died for us. Yet, there is always that
danger that we would take advantage of God's goodness, mercy, grace
and kindness. Let us not forget that the kindness of God leads us to
repentance (Romans 2:4).
Conclusion: When we
partake of the bread and wine, one thing to consider is this covenant
between God and us. Give thanks for God's part. Look forward to the
promised inheritance, remembering and reaffirming our commitment to
walk the path that leads to it, that is, that we would turn from sin,
self and the devil, and live for God and his son, Jesus Christ.
*****
NOTES:
THE BLOOD OF THE
COVENANT
Hebrews 9:13-20
[13] For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer
sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of
the flesh: [14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? [15] For
this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has
occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the
first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the
promise of the eternal inheritance. [16] For where a last will and
testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made
it. [17] For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is
never in force while he who made it lives. [18] Therefore even the
first covenant has not been dedicated without blood. [19] For
when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people
according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the
goats, with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the
book itself and all the people, [20] saying, “This is the
blood of the covenant which God has commanded you.”
Exodus 24:7-8
[7] He took the book of the covenant and read it in the hearing of
the people, and they said, “All that Yahweh has spoken will we do,
and be obedient.” [8] Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the
people, and said, “Look, this is the blood of the covenant,
which Yahweh has made with you concerning all these words.”
Both
the old and the new covenants were dedicated, or inaugurated, or
initiated, with blood. The old covenant was dedicated with the blood
of calves and goats. The new covenant was dedicated with the blood of
the lamb of God, Jesus Christ. Jesus explicitly connects the wine of
Eucharist (the Lord's Table) with the blood with which the new
covenant was dedicated.
Deuteronomy 4:23
Be careful, lest you forget the covenant of Yahweh your God,
which he made with you, and make yourselves an engraved image in the
form of anything which Yahweh your God has forbidden you.
Moses
warned the children of Israel to not forget the covenant. Forgetting
the covenant included turning away from the God of the covenant and
making other gods to worship and serve instead, or even along with.
Partaking
of the bread and wine, we should call to mind the new covenant and
our part in it. Just as the people of the old covenant should not
forget the covenant and so make, worship and serve other gods, cannot
and should not the same be said of the people of the new covenant? Do
we really think it good, or even acceptable, for the people of the
new covenant to make for themselves other gods to worship and serve?
While we seldom build physical idols like a golden calf, we are
tempted to worship and serve the god of mammon (money, possessions,
earthly treasure), the god of pleasure (worldly entertainment), the
god of sexual immorality, etc.
As
we partake of the bread and wine, and so remember the new covenant,
let us in that consider what it means that He is our God and we are
his people. Let us be careful, lest we forget the covenant, and in
that forgetting forsake our God and his ways to which he has called
us. If the transgressors of the first covenant died without
compassion, how much worse punishment can the transgressors of the
new covenant expect (Hebrews 10:28-29), who have trodden under foot
the Son of God, counted the blood of the covenant and unholy thing,
and insulted the spirit of grace?
As
we partake of the bread and wine, may God grant us grace to walk with
him faithfully in this new covenant he has established through the
blood of his own son.
“Blood in the
Bible.” Orthodox Wiki.
Use of Blood in Official Worship
The sacred character of blood calls, finally, for its diverse uses in
official worship.
A) The Covenant
The covenant between Yahweh and His people was sealed by a
blood-rite: half the blood of the victims was poured on the
altar which represented God, half on the people. Moses
explained the rite: "this is the blood of the covenant
Yahweh has made with you...".[18] Thus an indissoluble bond
was established between God and His people.[19]
RENEWING THE
COVENANT
“The Covenant
Renewed.” W. Strong D.D.
III. WHAT ARE THE TIMES AND SEASONS THAT THE PEOPLE OF GOD HAVE
SPECIALLY OBSERVED IN RENEWING OF THEIR COVENANT WITH THE LORD?
6. When a man doth receive the sacraments, any of the seals
of the covenant, it is his duty to renew the covenant, as
often as we set to the seal anew, we shall read over the obligation
anew.
“Eucharist.”
Orthodox Wiki.
Before the reception of Holy Communion the following prayer is
generally recited by all. It is each person's act of personal
commitment to Christ, their promise of faith in Him and the
Sacred Mysteries of His Church.
Renew the Covenant
(Google search)
*****
WE COVENANT WITH
HAND AND HEART
We covenant with hand and heart,
To follow Christ, our Lord;
With world, and sin, and self to part,
And to obey His Word;
To love each other heartily,
In truth and in sincerity,
And under cross, reproach and shame,
To glorify His name.
*****
Hebrews 8:6-13
[6] But now he has obtained a more excellent ministry, by so much as
he is also the mediator of a better covenant, which on better
promises has been given as law. [7] For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second.
[8] For finding fault with them, he said, “Behold, the days
come”, says the Lord, “that I will make a new covenant with the
house of Israel and with the house of Judah; [9] not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them
by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t
continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord.
[10] “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of
Israel. After those days,” says the Lord; “I will put my laws
into their mind, I will also write them on their heart. I will be
their God, and they will be my people. [11] They will not teach every
man his fellow citizen, and every man his brother, saying, ‘Know
the Lord,’ for all will know me, from their least to their
greatest. [12] For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness. I
will remember their sins and lawless deeds no more.” [] [13] In
that he says, “A new covenant”, he has made the first old. But
that which is becoming old and grows aged is near to vanishing away.
Hebrews 9:13-20
[13] For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the ashes of a heifer
sprinkling those who have been defiled, sanctify to the cleanness of
the flesh: [14] how much more will the blood of Christ, who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself without defect to God, cleanse
your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? [15] For
this reason he is the mediator of a new covenant, since a death has
occurred for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the
first covenant, that those who have been called may receive the
promise of the eternal inheritance. [16] For where a last will and
testament is, there must of necessity be the death of him who made
it. [17] For a will is in force where there has been death, for it is
never in force while he who made it lives. [18] Therefore even the
first covenant has not been dedicated without blood. [19] For
when every commandment had been spoken by Moses to all the people
according to the law, he took the blood of the calves and the goats,
with water and scarlet wool and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book
itself and all the people, [20] saying, “This is the blood of
the covenant which God has commanded you.”
Hebrews 10:26-31
[26] For if we sin willfully after we have received the
knowledge of the truth, there remains no more a sacrifice for sins,
[27] but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and a fierceness
of fire which will devour the adversaries. [28] A man who disregards
Moses’ law dies without compassion on the word of two or three
witnesses. [29] How much worse punishment, do you think, will he be
judged worthy of, who has trodden under foot the Son of God,
and has counted the blood of the covenant with which he was
sanctified an unholy thing, and has insulted the Spirit of
grace? [30] For we know him who said, “Vengeance belongs to
me,” says the Lord, “I will repay.” [] Again, “The Lord will
judge his people.” [] [31] It is a fearful thing to fall into the
hands of the living God.
Hebrews 12:22-29
[22] But you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city of the living
God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable multitudes of angels,
[23] to the general assembly and assembly of the firstborn who are
enrolled in heaven, to God the Judge of all, to the spirits of just
men made perfect, [24] to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant,
[] and to the blood of sprinkling that speaks better than that of
Abel. [25] See that you don’t refuse him who speaks. For if
they didn’t escape when they refused him who warned on the earth,
how much more will we not escape who turn away from him who warns
from heaven, [26] whose voice shook the earth then, but now he has
promised, saying, “Yet once more I will shake not only the earth,
but also the heavens.” [] [27] This phrase, “Yet once more”,
signifies the removing of those things that are shaken, as of things
that have been made, that those things which are not shaken may
remain. [28] Therefore, receiving a Kingdom that can’t be shaken,
let us have grace, through which we serve God acceptably, with
reverence and awe, [29] for our God is a consuming fire.
Hebrews 13:20-21
[20] Now may the God of peace, who brought again from the dead the
great shepherd of the sheep with the blood of an eternal covenant,
our Lord Jesus, [21] make you complete in every good work to do his
will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight,
through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.
2 Peter 2:1-11
[2] Grace to you and peace be multiplied in the knowledge of God and
of Jesus our Lord, [3] seeing that his divine power has granted to us
all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge
of him who called us by his own glory and virtue; [4] by which he has
granted to us his precious and exceedingly great promises; that
through these you may become partakers of the divine nature, having
escaped from the corruption that is in the world by lust. [5] Yes,
and for this very cause adding on your part all diligence, in your
faith supply moral excellence; and in moral excellence, knowledge;
[6] and in knowledge, self-control; and in self-control patience; and
in patience godliness; [7] and in godliness brotherly affection; and
in brotherly affection, love. [8] For if these things are yours and
abound, they make you to be not idle nor unfruitful to the knowledge
of our Lord Jesus Christ. [9] For he who lacks these things is blind,
seeing only what is near, having forgotten the cleansing from his old
sins. [10] Therefore, brothers, [] be more diligent to make your
calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never
stumble. [11] For thus you will be richly supplied with the entrance
into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
