To: Hebraic-Foundations@yahoogroups.com
From: "Pastor Buddy Martin" <Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org>
Date: Mon, 21 Apr 2003 14:42:32 -0500
Subject: [HF] Bible Study HF078
- A Covenant of Creation
Hebraics,
The new covenant is a covenant of 'Creation.' It is the only
covenant ever made directly with heaven. Earthly participants are
given a heavenly birth. Earthly participants are also given a
heavenly citizenship, with a promise that they will be given eternal
bodies at the proper time. Paul speaks of our groaning for our new
body. Peter speaks of our present life as a pilgrimage in which we
are strangers and aliens to this world.
Because the new covenant is a heavenly covenant of the Spirit, it
can be compared but with but little to former covenants. Former
covenants could only serve as types and shadows. They could
never provide the heavenly reality. This is why the apostle said,
"The old things have passed away; behold, new things have come."
And so, we have in the the new covenant the reality of a new
creation. This is why it is impossible to be born from above and not
know it. In the new covenant of the creation the reality of the life of
Jesus is poured into the spirit of the person born from above. Its
like the song which says, 'Signed, sealed, and delivered.'
Let's take a look at this interesting area.
This is Bible Study HF078 - A Covenant of Creation
I want to begin this study by sharing why the early believers took on
first day worship from the beginning. Although the apostle said that
we are not limited to certain days of worship, first day worship
became a distinguishing mark of new covenant Christianity early
on. The early Jewish believers knew that Jesus arose on the first
day of the week. But many folk today do not catch the significance.
The significance is that first day worship speaks to creation.
While this study is not simply about first day worship, I do want to
bring out why the early Jewish believers set aside the first day of
the week in honor of the resurrection. One argument you
occasionally find against first day worship is the idea that
Constantine changed seventh day worship to first day worship. Any
astute student of history knows this is not true. First day worship
began with the early Jewish Church. Even the Talmud speaks of
this. The Babylonian Talmudic writers spoke of it as 'the Nazarene
day.' Thus the Jewish peoples who had not yet received Jesus as
Messiah, were forbidden to worship in the Nazarene day.
Actually first day worship is deeply embedded in the ancient feasts
of Israel. Two feasts that occurred on the first day of the week are
the Feast of First Fruits (resurrection of Jesus), and the Feast of
Shavout (Pentecost; birth of the church).
The Feast of First Fruits always occurred on the first day of the
week following Sabbath after Passover. As a Spring festival, First
Fruits was a faith offering, pointing to a bountiful harvest to come in
the fall. The latter harvest was called the Feast of Ingathering. That
one was connected to the other is a given. It is a given in the new
covenant. We who have identified with the resurrection of Jesus
Christ, will never experience the second death. His resurrection is
accounted to us.
Exodus
34:22, says, "You shall celebrate the Feast of Weeks
(Pentecost), that is, the first fruits of the wheat harvest, and the
Feast of Ingathering (Tabernacles) at the turn of the year." Notice
how these two feasts are connected. It was at the feast of
Tabernacles that Jesus manifested His glory on the Mount of
Transfiguration. That full revelation will be realized when God's
people will be glorified together with Him. (Cf. Rom
8:17)
But back to Shavout (Pentecost). This feast always occurred on the
first day of the week, following the 7th Sabbath after Passover. So
we have these two feast days that occur on the first day of the
week, the resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the bringing in of the
new covenant, or 'the new creation.' This points to the fact that the
new creation would relate to the original creation of, "Let there be
light."
But my intention is not to become so detailed with the feasts that
we miss what our study is about. Let me simply draw attention to
our subject title, 'A Covenant of Creation.' The new covenant is an
entirely 'new creation.' That the new creation reflects on God's
original creation was known to the ancient Jewish church. What did
they connect the new creation with? They connected it with the
Light of the original creation. Then God said, "Let there be
light!"
(Gen
1:3)
The ancient sages also connected the light of the first day of
creation with Messiah. When Jesus said, "I am the light of the
world," He was drawing upon the Biblical record, and from what
had been handed down by the ancient writers. And when the Lord
said, "He who follows Me will not walk in darkness, but will have the
light of life," this was understood by the peoples as a connection to
the light of creation.
Here are a couple of quotes:
"And there I saw Him who is the Head [first] of Days, and His head
was white like wool..." (1st Book of Enoch - Written a couple
hundred hears before the incarnation.)
Connect this to the Revelation of John, where the apostle said, "I
was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud
voice like the sound of a trumpet." When John turn to look, he said,
"His head and His hair were white like white snow; and His eyes
were like a flame of fire."
Here is the a quite from the Talmud: "...'and the Spirit of God
hovered over the surface of the deep.' This is the Spirit of King
Messiah..." (Gen. Rab. 2:4)
The sages connected the light of the first day with Messiah. They
also said that the Spirit moving over the surface of the deep, was
the Spirit of Messiah. However, it was said that because of Adam's
sin, this supernal light of the first day was hidden from man. It
would only return with Messiah. And the Spirit would also be given.
Thus you can understand why Peter had such a response on the
day of Pentecost. The Messiah Spirit had come. The Light was with
us. It was Pentecost Sunday. God's glory was in the church.
This is why when an orthodox Jewish person today reads the New
Testament, they heard a Hebrew voice. They would recognize the
language. For example, when John wrote, "In Him was life, and the
life was the light of men," their minds would automatically go to
God's original light.
Let's continue on with the importance of understanding the new
covenant as a covenant of creation. Of course 'the' distinguishing
mark of the new covenant centers on the person of Jesus Christ
Himself. It is this distinguishing mark that separates the religious
person from the person who has truly been born from above.
Religion says, "We are the way, and the truth, and the life; no
one
comes to the Father but through us." Does this not stink to high
heaven? But a person born from above knows better. This person
knows that the new covenant is found only in Jesus Christ. Jesus
said, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the
Father but through Me."
So keep in mind that the very heart of the new covenant message
is the new creation message. If you lose this message, all you have
is one religion vying with another. Paul said, "For we do not preach
ourselves but Christ as Lord." In another place, he says, "But
may it
never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus
Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to
the world."
He went on to say, "For neither is circumcision anything, nor
uncircumcision, but a new creation. And those who will walk by this
rule, peace and mercy be upon them, and upon the Israel of God."
(Cf. 2
Co 4:5; Gal
6:14-16)
Paul's point is saying 'by this rule' is that there is no other
identifying mark for the people of the new covenant. We of the new
covenant of creation are a crucified people. We are now alive to
Jesus and are endued with the very life of Jesus. We have passed
through the cross, out of darkness, into light.. John said, "He who
has the Son has the life."
There is much to be said about the covenant of creation, but let's
leave the study open for now. Take your liberty in responding.
The Lord bless you,
Buddy
Lawrence E. (Buddy) Martin, HF Host
email: Bro.Buddy@ChristianChallenge.org
Web: http://www.christianchallenge.org/
"See to it that no one comes short of the grace
of God; that no root of bitterness springing up
causes trouble, and by it many be defiled." (Heb12:15)