Matthew 26:28 For
this is my blood of the new
(the freshness of
something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for
many for the remission of sins.
·
Testament
In the Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the word for testament
is more correctly translated as covenant. The idea of a covenant as defined by W.E.
Vine in “An Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words” is a “mutual undertaking between two parties or
more, each binding himself to fulfill obligation.”
·
Many saints
fail to realize that we are in covenant with the Lord Jesus and our ability to
experience all that He has already accomplished for us is conditional to our
obedience. The Lord took it upon
Himself to accomplish most of the responsibilities of this New Covenant. Our responsibility
lies in serving the Lord by the voice of His Spirit, with uncompromising obedience.
·
New : This
is a most interesting word. It is
defines as the freshness of something brand new, as is the case of a new
car. The New Covenant has the ability
to convert all things and make them brand new in quality, if we fulfill our
obligations in keeping covenant with the Lord through obedience.
2 Cor 5:17 Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new
creature (creation):
old (archaic)
things are passed away
; behold, all things are become new
·
Second
Corinthians five and seventeen utilizes this exact word for “new”. At the
instance of our becoming born again, every thing that was within us of the old
creation passed away. At that same
moment, the Lord made all things fresh and brand new. Of course, we all get old and die, but everything that pertains
to our spiritual life has become like the brand new car.
·
Paul uses the perfect verb tense to describe all
things as becoming new. The perfect
tense describes an event that has occurred in time but its results and impact
goes on forevermore.
·
Being in
Christ has caused all, which is not of Him to be abolished forever and to be
replaced with a fresh newness, which will never get old again.
·
Matthew
26:28 For this is my blood of the new (the freshness of something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission
of sins.
·
Shed Means to pour out lavishly and abundantly.
The blood of Christ is poured out for us in this way. I say, is poured out, rather than saying was poured out, because
the verb tense is in the present. In
Mark 14:24 and Luke 22:20, the Lord, likewise, uses this same present
tense. What was going through the mind
of Jesus when He described a future event in the present? The
New Covenant can only maintain its eternal “newness” through the blood, which
is eternally poured out to keep it new.
The question for you and me is, what happens when we start to disobey
and fail to keep covenant with the Lord?
The blood of Christ is found only in the New Covenant. If we willfully move out from the confines
of the New Covenant in disobedience, the blood is not available and we will
remain in the archaic condition of bondages and sins.
·
The next
scripture, First John 1:7 follows the same train of thought.
1 John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship ( sharing in common) one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.
·
Greek (my paraphrase): But if we
should conduct our life in the light, in the same manner as He (conducts
Himself) in the light, we associate one with the other.
This association allows for the Lord
and us to participate and share with one another. This sharing in common allows us to obtain the things of
God as the blood of Jesus Christ His Son continuously cleanses us (so
that we can obtain)
·
In
the measure that we order our lives in obedience to the Lord is to the same extent
that we will have fellowship with the Lord.
Fellowship, or the sharing in common, allows us to participate in the
things of God so that we can obtain from Him. The blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us in proportion to our obedience and we obtain proportionally to the cleansing
by the blood. Conduct, association, participation,
obtaining, and the blood of the New Covenant present with ever act of obedience
so that we may obtain.
Matthew 26:28 For
this is my blood of the new
(the freshness of
something new) testament, (covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins.
·
Remission
– Remission is
defined as the sending away of something. The blood belonging to the New
Covenant constantly sends away sins as we fulfill our obligations with the
covenant through obedience. Wherever we
step out of covenant, “the blood that sends away,” will not be present.
2 Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
·
Greek: That they may return to soberness out of the snare of the
devil, having being hunted down and caught alive by him, in order to do his
will.
·
Watchman
Nee, talked on the issue of passivity, the devil, and the Christian. Though the Word of God never uses the term
“passivity” in reality this ia Satan’s most effective method of lying against
the body of Christ. The Lord always seeks
to bring our will in conformity to His will.
Our will however still remains free. True freedom, is the freedom to
obey God. The devil likewise wants to conform
us to obeying his will. The Lord
allows our will to be free, as He lovingly compels us to obey Him. Satan, as “the one who hunts down and catches
alive,” wants to take us captive through our passivity to his will.
·
Any time
that we give ground to the enemy through disobedience, Satan immediately tempts
us with feelings of guilt, condemnation, oppression, passivity, and complacency
until we are captured alive by him if we continue in our disobedience. Much
of the body of Christ today is generally passive. We are passive in our study of the Word of God. We are passive in our prayer life. We are passive in our commitment to the
Lord. I can guarantee you that the
devil’s methods of passivity are at work upon us. Passivity to the Word keeps us in ignorance to the will and the
ways of God that is our only avenue to obtain the blessings of God.
·
Let me
expound a bit on this. Please look with
me at the following scriptures out of Ephesians one, six through eight.
Eph
1:6 To the praise of the glory of his
grace, wherein he hath made us accepted
(charming and
lovely) in the beloved.
7
In
whom we have redemption
(the ransom
payment of slaves that has freed us) through his blood, the forgiveness (sending away) of sins, according to
the riches of his grace;
Greek ( my
paraphrase) In whom we have the liberation of slaves brought
about by the Lord Jesus’ satisfactory ransom payment. This ransom payment is His blood. The blood serves as God’s ransom payment because it has the
ability to send our sins away.
·
Verse six and seven of Ephesians chapter one
tells us that because the blood of the Lord has sent away our sins away, we are
now (“accepted”) charming, and lovely, in the eyes of the Father.
8
Wherein(Greek: which) he hath abounded (caused
us to abound) toward
( into) us in all wisdom and prudence;
·
I am
uncertain in verse eight if what the Lord caused us to receive in abundance is
His grace and the riches that make it up, or if it is His redemption. It matters not much at this point. The importance of verse eight is that the
abundance of the Lord’s blessings to us is limited by wisdom and prudence. Wisdom is our understanding of the will and
the ways of God, and our submission of every part of our lives to that will. Prudence is our step-by-step, daily execution
of this will, as we are guided by the voice of the Holy Spirit. The abundance
of God’s riches and blessings are released in proportion to how much we conform
our daily conduct to God’s wisdom and prudence.
·
Toward
is a wonderful word. In reality it is the word “into.” The saints
who have become charming and lovely to God are now the receptacles “into” which
God desires to funnel all that He is, and all that He has. The more obedience, the more funneling!
·
The devil knows
that the more passive and complacent that he can keep us in our study of the Word,
the less that we will know of God’s wisdom and prudence, and the reduction will
be in the abundance of the blessings of the Lord to us. Remember, it is not what we think that we
are performing of the word of God but in reality are not, that releases the
riches of God. The Lord’s blessings are
only funneled upon what we do in accordance to accurate reality of the Word in
His wisdom and prudence. This is why we
witness so many ministries and churches that sow much and reap little. The Lord will not bless the doctrines of
men, which is our continuous and inaccurate performance of the Word of God; no
matter how good they sound or look.
·
Likewise,
the devil will take us alive and keep us complacent and lazy in our prayer
life. He knows quite well that only
what is accomplished through intercession in God’s dwelling place (in the
third heaven) that will have any eternal effect for us (in the first
heaven.)
·
Finally, a successful
Christian life that is a threat to the devil is one of spiritual athletic agony
and wearisome labor. Such a life is accomplished
by violent spiritual believers who take the kingdom of God by violence; never passivity!
Luke 22:20 Likewise also the cup after supper, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.
Acts
20:28 Take heed therefore unto
yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you
overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own
blood.
Romans
3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance
of God;
Ephesians 1:11 In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will:
Romans 3:25 Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the
remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
1 Corinthians 10:16 The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion ( “a” communion, not “the” communion)of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?
· Marvin Vincent, the Greek scholar translates the first part of First Corinthians ten and sixteen in the following way. “ The cup over which the familiar formula of blessing is pronounced.”
·
The communion of the blood Communion is the word for fellowship. As we have discussed in
First John one and seven, fellowship is defined as an association, participation, and a sharing
in common. In this case, the cup
represents our spiritual participation and sharing in all the benefits that the
blood of Christ has in store for us.
·
1
Corinthians 11:25 After the same manner
also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament
in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me.
·
We are told
that that the cup is likewise the New Covenant of the Lord. Let us see why.
26 For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord’s death till he come.
Greek: For at any time that you choose to eat this bread and drink this cup, you publicly proclaim and declare with thoroughness all that the death of the Lord Jesus signifies, until the time that He chooses to come.
· The New Covenant located in the blood of Jesus is inaugurated with the death of the Lord Jesus by the shedding of the same. Our partaking of the cup becomes a spiritual display of the New Covenant and the death of Christ, which it fully declares.
· We must receive all of these things by faith. The importance of this can be found in two scriptures that we studied; Romans 3:25 and 1 Cor.10: 16. Our faith in the blood of Christ releases our communion with it and allows us to obtain from it in proportion to our faith.
Ephesians 2:13 But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ
·
Greek paraphrase; you
were once far off, not only in distance but alienated from God and without
access to the things that belong to Him.
Now by His blood, you have become close to Him and enjoy full access to
Him and His things.
·
This
scripture is a good example of how we must commune with the blood of Jesus in
order to receive by faith its benefits.
Colossians 1:20
And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to
reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I
say, whether they be things in
earth, or things in heaven.
Greek ( paraphrase) He brought about the state of freshness and newness to the whole universe through the blood of His cross. He is able to harmonize all things back to
Himself whether upon the earth or in heaven through the blood of His cross.
· By “harmony” I mean that the all that pertains to the universe is subjected to Christ, under His headship, and can now be restored to its original condition and purpose, which God had for them prior to the fall. Christ shed His blood for the whole universe, partially in preparation for the eternal ages to come. We can therefore confess before Satan, that Jesus has harmonized everything in us to His original plan and state. Satan, therefore, cannot touch us.
· Hebrews 9:12 Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained ( to find, discover, or to meet upon) eternal redemption( loosening) for us.
Hebrews
9:13 For if the blood of bulls and of
goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the
purifying of the flesh:
Hebrews 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot (to be without moral stain or blemish.) to God, purge your conscience from dead works ( corpse like works) to serve the living God?
Hebrews 9:22 And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission.
·
Greek: And almost all
things with blood are cleansed according to the law. Apart from the blood shedding (through the giving up of a life) can
there be the sending away of sins.
Heb 9:23 ¶ It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
·
Greek: It is necessary that the earthly
copy of the things which are in the heavens themselves be purified with
the blood of bulls and goats, but the heavenly original with more
excellent sacrifices than these.
24 For Christ is not entered into the holy
places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven
itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us:
·
Greek: Christ did not enter into the holies
made with human hands which is merely a copy resembling the authentic. He entered into heaven itself to make Him
visible before the face of the God on our behalf.
·
For
one, Christ has done exceedingly above what the earthly high priest could do.
The high priest could only enter into an imperfect earthly copy of the
tabernacle that dwells in heaven. There, he could present the blood before the
glory of God, which dwelt on the mercy seat above the Ark of the Covenant. Jesus, however, when into heavens itself,
into the authentic tabernacle, and presented Himself before the very face of God,
not just His earthly glory.
·
This
has insured us with an absolute purging of our sins and an assurance of a
completely thorough salvation. As we
live in this imperfect world, we can still believe for total freedom in every
part of our lives, or at least our continual progress towards it.
Hebrews 7:25
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost ( completely, perfectly, utterly) that come unto God
by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them
Heb 9:23 ¶ It was therefore necessary that the patterns of things in the heavens should be purified with these; but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.
·
In
verse twenty-three we observe that the earthly tabernacle was cleansed with the
blood of bulls and goats so that priestly ministry could take place. How much more effective can our ministries be
if the authentic heavenly tabernacle has been cleansed with the blood of Jesus? There is no excuse for each of us to be
powerfully used by the Lord if we serve the living God and not dead works.
Galatians
5:25 If we live in the Spirit, let us
also walk ( military steps in rank and order) in
the Spirit.
· Greek: If we are living in the Spirit, let us march in the steps of a soldier with the Spirit’s wishes.
Heb 10:19
Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of
Jesus, Greek: We have at all times therefore a fearless confidence before God that gives us
an entrance into the holies by the blood of Jesus.
·
Boldness is one of my favorite New Testament
words. It simply means, “ to tell it
like it is.” Because
the blood of Christ has made us charming and lovely before the eyes of God we now
have boldness with Him.
·
Boldness urges us to come
before God, having nothing to hide from Him, without shame or guilt, fully
confident and assured, and with the ability to speak intimately, frankly and with
reverential bluntness.
Heb
10:22 Let us draw near with a true
heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil
conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
Greek: Let us
continuously approach God with a heart that is
genuine and real (not religious)
because we are fully confident. This
confidence comes through our faith in
all that Christ has done for us. We
base this faith on the fact that our
hearts were once in the past sprinkled from an evil conscience, but the impact
of this event has a lasting and eternal impact. Likewise, our bodies were once in the past washed with pure water
(the blood of Christ), but the impact of this event has a lasting and
eternal impact.
·
We
see the perfect tense used in Hebrews ten and twenty two. The salvation of the
Lord accomplished for us two thousand years ago continues effective now and
forevermore.
Hebrews 11:28 Through faith he kept the passover, and the
sprinkling of blood, lest he that destroyed the firstborn should touch them.
Greek: By faith he Moses
performed the Passover and the pouring of the
blood lest the destroyer of the firstborn might do them violence and cause them
injury.
·
This
is a very important scripture in spiritual warfare. Our claiming of the blood
of Jesus towards Satan will stop in part the violence and injury that he would
cause to our loved ones and us.
·
However
we must not forget to perform the Passover in conjunction with claiming the
blood of Jesus so that our protection will be complete.
·
For us to day, the Passover signifies our
complete exiting from the land of sin; our eating of the unleavened bread,
which is a holy life before God; our not fearing man or Satan, but stepping out
instead into a life of faith and obedience, which will take us into the
promised land of freedom and our spiritual vocation.
1
Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye
were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain
conversation received by tradition from your fathers;
·
Greek: Knowing that with things which perish
such as silver and gold (which cannot pay the sufficient ransom payment to
liberate slaves) you were bought, from your empty manner of
life handed down to you from your ancestors.
19
But
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish (internal purity) and without spot.(external
staining by sin)
·
Greek: But by the precious and highly honored
blood as of a lamb void of internal blemishes and thus unspotted externally by the world and Satan.
·
This is the
costly price of our deliverance that is ever before God and allows us to have
boldness with Him. Likewise this must
be our confession before the devil.
God Bless You,
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