The Covenants [1]: Introduction to the New Covenant
Copyright © BRI 2012 All Rights Reserved Worldwide by Les Aron Gosling, Messianic Lecturer
There is a great deal of current “Messianic” chatter about the New Covenant. In historic Christian terms the New Covenant is all about love, or all about Grace, and a theology of that love and that Grace differs from church to church, denomination to denomination, and from sect to sect. And among the modern "Messianics" confusion is rampant.
According to standard Christian theology, those who profess “Jesus Christ” are made participants in that New Covenant arrangement but how they define the “New Covenant” is subject to astonishing variations. Indeed, over the entire subject of this covenant there is disparity and occasionally vicious argument. People have actually killed one another over defining the New Covenant. One single thread is apparent in most theologies about this covenant. It is not about law. And, it is made with Gentiles.
So below I have listed a number of facts about the New Covenant which ought to be fundamental to every thinking believer. This lecture will take more of the form of a study. It's high time to remove the confusion that exists over the entire subject of the Covenants!
FACT 1. The New Covenant was to be Made with Israel – Not with Gentiles.
“Behold, days come, says Yehoveh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day of my taking them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, says Yehoveh. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says Yehoveh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and will write it in their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yehoveh; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says Yehoveh: for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
“This is what Yehoveh says, who gives the sun for light by day, the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that the waves roar – Yehoveh of legions is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, says Yehoveh, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever” (Jeremiah 31.31-36).
The new covenant was to be made with the people of Israel – not the Gentiles (Hebrews 10.16,17). The NC was never made with any other race, people, or nation. It was to be made with Israel. And, it was to do with the laws of God being placed within the human heart. It will therefore necessarily differ from the Sinai Covenant inasmuch as that covenant was written on tables of rock. The new covenant God wishes to make with Israel
involves the forgiveness (or pardon) of sins and transgressions of the law of God. God also grants that if the ordinances relating to the sun, moon and stars fail then and only then will God dismiss Israel from being a nation. We should also not overlook the fact that a covenant is a contract.
FACT 2. There was a Fault Found Relating to the Sinai Covenant. What was That Fault?
“If that first covenant was faultless, there would not have been a constant searching out of a place for a second. For finding fault with them, he says,
Behold, days come, says HaShem, and I will consummate a new covenant as regards the house of Israel, and as regards the house of Judah; a covenant new in quality not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day of my taking their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue true to my covenant, and I disregarded them, says HaShem. Because this is the covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days, says HaShem: Giving my laws into their mind, I will write them also upon their hearts; and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to me for people.
“And they shall not teach each his fellow-citizen, and each his brother, saying, Know HaShem experientially; because all shall know me in themselves
absolutely, from the little one among them unto the great among them. Because I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins and their
lawlessnesses I will never remember any more. In that he says new in quality, he has made the first permanently antiquated; but that which is becoming antiquated is near to vanishing away” (Hebrews 8.7-13).
Why then do some people insist on the observance of the Sinai Covenant with its terms and obligations if there is now a NEW covenant?
The fault was not with the Sinai covenant. The fault lay in the rapacious carnality of the Jewish people themselves. Therefore God took steps to initiate
a new covenant or agreement which would involve the placing of the laws of God into the human heart by the holy Spirit.
FACT 3. The Torah was to be Placed Within the Human Heart.
When the LAW was ratified [to give legality or approval to it] it was to be placed within the heart – that’s the Torah (Jeremiah 31.33)! That’s all of the Torah – not just some of it. That’s sabbaths, fasts, dietary restrictions – the lot! Can I prove this? Absolutely!
“God made you alive along with the Messiah by forgiving you all your sins. He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to his stauros. Stripping the rulers and authorities of their power, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by means of the stauros” (Colossians 2.13-15).
For clarification concerning the point Paul is making, look at the next verse. “Stop permitting anyone from sitting in judgment upon you in eating or
drinking, or in respect of festival observances, or in regards new moons, or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of things to come, but the reality [substance] is the Messiah” (Colossians 2.16).
Almost every commentary I have read, and almost every scholarly expository work, all tell us that these people had jettisoned the Torah and were being judged by the Jews around them for so doing! And they all add that none of us as Christians have to observe the Torah any more. They use these verses to justify their teaching.
But hang on a minute! Who were these people? Why! They were Christians in the city of Colossae. They were Gentiles. They had never been Jews! They had never been observers of the Torah. Indeed, Paul informs us that they had been idolaters – idol worshippers. They had been under the power of darkness (Colossians 1.13) previously alienated from God and enemies practising wicked and vile works (Colossians 1.21). And now here they were keeping the Torah, and Paul tells them to tell their Gentile idolatrous neighbours to “butt out” of their affairs!
In Colossians 3.5-9 we have a complete detailed description of the previous lifestyles and behavioural characteristics of the Colossians. We could hardly construe these attitudes to be Torah abiding! In Colossians 2.11 we are informed that they had been circumcised with the circumcision of Messiah!
Yes, the Gentiles MUST BE CIRCUMCISED in order to come under the terms and conditions of even the New Covenant! Yes, indeed they must! Its a necessity according to the Scripture. However, that particular circumcision is the circumcision experienced by the Messiah on the eighth day after his birth – a circumcision which is imputed and applied to Gentiles. This means they were now in a New Covenant relationship with Israel through the
circumcision of the Messiah.
There was also a temptation for these same Colossians to inculcate religious ascetic practices (perhaps borrowed from paganism, or from current ascetic Jewish religious orders: the text is not clear on this point) into their new lifestyle and Paul frowned on it (Colossians 2.20-23). There did exist roving teachers who were negatively influencing the Gentiles who followed Mashiach. These may well have been Essene sectarians from Qumran. There is evidence to support this view.
Whatever the case, these Gentiles at Colossae had been accepted into the New Covenant relationship having the Torah placed within their hearts precisely as had been accomplished in the converts to Yeshua in Greek Corinth (2 Corinthians 3.3).
FACT 4. Those of the New Covenant Would be Reckoned as Sin-Free.
The acceptance of Yeshua as the Mashiach made each convert a forgiven child of God (Jeremiah 31.34) and while this verse concentrates on Jewish believers the principle MUST apply to Gentile converts, too. In fact, I have never ever heard one instance of an objection about this stand by any person in the entire Christian world. Of course, the term forgiveness of sins really means (when we grasp the Greek) a “pardon of sins.” “Forgiveness” is an English word extracted from a Latin term. The Hebrew and Greek both mean “pardon.”
The next point is important because it involves inheritance.
FACT 5. Those of the New Covenant Were Promised, as Their Inheritance, Eretz Yisrael.
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not draw back from them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their heart, that they may not turn aside from me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land with my whole heart and with my whole soul” (Jeremiah 32.40,41).
Heaven was not promised under the terms and conditions of the New Covenant. Nowhere can you find one simple scripture pertaining to the NC about going to heaven. It’s just not there! Instead you have dozens of Scriptures relating to an earthly Messianic kingdom.
Let’s back track for an instance. Let’s look at the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17.1-8). Even the original covenant made with Abraham dealt with inheritance in the Land of Canaan. Paul went on to say that Abraham and his seed would eventually possess the entirety of the earth (Romans 4.13) and he based this on the Messianic Psalm 2.8. “Ask of me and I shall give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.”
The scroll of Revelation talks of a 1000-year earthly millennial reign, and Yeshua chose 12 apostles to rule over the 12 tribes of Israel (Matthew 19.28). Some Jews will rule over 10 cities, some over 5 and all of that (Luke 19.11-28). Paul’s writings to the Romans, Corinthians and Galatians all emphasise redeemed Gentiles as participating in the national life of Israel, and being accorded as “Abraham’s seed.”
Abraham was promised the world, not heaven (Romans 4.13).
The Corinthians were told they would judge the world, not heaven (1 Corinthians 6.2).
The Jerusalem of the NC is presently in heaven (Galatians 4.26) it’s destined to come to earth (Hebrews 13.14; Revelation 21.2).
Later in Paul’s ministry he writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, the Timothy epistles, and Titus. Here is a spiritually mature Paul, so much so that scholars do not believe he wrote these letters at all. In them God’s progressive revelation peaks. Paul goes from a biblical standpoint to a theological one.
“The mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations but NOW is made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1.25,26).
“Now” was in 61 CE when the rabbi penned this letter. See Ephesians 3.3,5 where we can now become co-bodied, coheirs, and co-partakers of the ultimate salvation which Messiah inherits!
I want you to notice that Paul’s language is not restricted to Israel any longer. “Messiah whom we preach warning every man [every human being, not just Jews], and teaching every man [every human being, not just Jews] in all wisdom, that we may present every man [every human being, not just Jews] perfect in Messiah Yeshua”(Colossians 1.27-29).
And in his message, Paul goes way beyond teaching a universal reconciliation into expounding a universal salvation! Even later still we can read the Gospel of John which is so unlike the synoptic Gospels, and which profoundly expresses God’s nature of Grace, justice and love.
Paul’s later epistles (and John) have Messiah at the centre of their message – not Israel. And this lecturer is in accord with this centrality of Grace, and not Israel.
In 61 CE Paul focused on the outer barrier that separated Jews from Gentiles. He said that wall, or central obstacle, was to be cast down so that Gentiles could approach the holy altar of God in the Temple of God, and their sins could be forgiven. Once Jews and Gentiles had that barrier removed we would “put on the NEW MAN...where there is neither Jew nor Greek, male or female...but where Messiah is ALL and in ALL”
(Colossians 3.10,11).
Notice it's a NEW man, not a hybrid mixture of Jew and Gentile! We are talking here of the resurrected Son of God. Resurrected from the dead in the
same body and yet in a NEW body – a body that was Uncircumcised. We are talking of the Cosmic Mashiach – a full and authentic Son of God.
Only in the Cosmic Mashiach can we attain to heaven. Notice that Paul’s references to heaven are only in his later letters! (Ephesians 1.3,10; 2.6;
Philippians 2.10,11; Colossians 1.20;2 Timothy 4.18).
Are we today under a covenant? If not what are our obligations to business principles, marriage relationships, obedience to God the Father?
Brethren, we began with the holy Spirit of Grace. And we conclude with Grace. There is no covenant of Grace. A covenant, or contract, exists because of sin. But, in the Mindscape of God we are set free from sin.
Under the Sinai Covenant Jews received mercy and pardon for their sins. But they were not promised eternal life.
Under the New Covenant we received mercy again, and pardon from our sins, and we were given the promise of eternal life.
But more so, in the Cosmic Mashiach we receive – not a mere pardon of sins – but justification.
Our sins – past, present and future – are all taken care of by God the Father. We are not merely given pardon. Rather, we are justified. So important
is this premise that I made it an introductory lecture of this current theme of the Covenants. I entitled it Grace & Mercy – Justification &
Forgiveness. All my students need to personally refresh their memories on the contents of that lecture. They all need to assess their understanding and grasp of this vital concept of GRACE. (Visitors to this IMCF site will also soon be able to access the above-mentioned lecture. Stay tuned!)
When Yeshua died he showed the world that he was just. We are in Messiah, and Messiah is in us. We are his image as he is the image of the Invisible God. We are the distinct image of Mashiach. If we are His image we are HIM.
By contrast however, there are sincere people attending synagogues (and some who are not) who remain under the terms and conditions of the Sinai covenant, for in their view it is still in effect. Whatever the case its entire emphasis is on Israel.
When we consider the New Covenant it doesn’t take too long to discover that it is merely the original Covenant with modifications incorporated – indeed, it could be legitimately referred to as theRenewed Covenant. It is the existing Torah (with essential adjustments) placed within the human heart, and the heart is empowered by the holy Spirit enabling men and women to keep it. The emphasis of the New Covenant is also Israel.
Then we look at the apostle Paul and find that he was the first Christian theologian, because he looked at the cross and asked “WHY?” Unlike the other apostles, Paul thought deeply about things, was trained in rabbinic thought-form and arguments and had a profoundly legal mind – he was not only Jewish, he was a Roman. The outcome of Paul’s enlightened approach was an entirely new theology – which matured Paul in his thinking.
His later letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, the Timothy epistles, and Titus) reveal a Paul entirely different from the man of his earlier letters.
In these later epistles, Paul ventures into entirely new territory developing a radical conception of the transformation of a resurrected Messiah. The community of Messiah was expected by Paul to radiate this same state of transformation.
The other apostles had concentrated on the scandal of the cross. Paul was keen to distance himself from it and in contradistinction he emphasises, not the cross so much as the empty tomb.
Paul’s theology was not riveted in the death of Mashiach, but in His resurrection which was much more than the resuscitation of a corpse.
We are dealing at once with the conceptualisation of the Cosmic Mashiach and the Christian Community (or, Messianic Christian Community) as the very Body of Mashiach (or, Body of Christ) – the corpus Christi.
The Christian Community is the mystical Body of Messiah. If we are the Body of Mashiach, then we are Mashiach. If Mashiach is free then we are free
indeed! We have liberty, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is there [in that place] is liberty.”
And what IS liberty? It is total and unrestrained freedom. God is free. He is not in any way subject to anything. All is subject to Him. God is at liberty to
do and to act and to think anything He wishes. That’s what makes God, God.
This is why Yeshua was raised from the dead UNCIRCUMCISED. If the Lord had been raised circumcised he would have been a debtor to Torah. The New Creation cannot be rooted in the Old Creation (see 2 Corinthians 5).
I have written that we too have that freedom. But as Paul mused, we are still in the human frame, and subject to human frailty. Our flesh and blood limits us. And while we are still in the flesh, we have certain obligations toward our God and our fellow human beings, for whom Messiah also died.
This is because – as Messianic believers – we are creatures of love. We are called to love. We are expected by our heavenly Father to express love. God is love. As the kids of God we all ought to reflect the character of God, the attributes of God as any child of the world also reflects the attributes of
their earthly father.
Yet, you see, “All things are lawful unto me.” I can have an affair with the woman next door, but she may not want to, and even if she did her husband may not like it at all. I would not be showing love to him, to even flirt with her behind his back, would I? I can steal my next door neighbours Mercedes. But that would not be showing love to my neighbour, no, not by any means. So while (as some argued with Paul) “all things are lawful unto me,” he responded, “yes, maybe so, but not all things are expedient.” And this is what Paul was arguing in his later epistles. He was arguing in relation to a higher law, a higher Torah, than the one written with pen and ink. I can prove that fact beyond doubt and one day I will share this with you all.
Look again at Paul’s advice to the Colossians -- “tell your pagan neighbours to butt out of your lives.” Paul taught that because we believe in Grace do we make the Torah “sin”? And he answered “Absolutely not! In no way!” Indeed “we establish the Torah.” The Christians had adopted certain obligations toward God in thankful response to the Gospel. They were now observing the Sabbath, dietary regulations, and other commandments. These were NC (New Covenant) expectations. Were these Gentile Colossians under the NC? These were the same believers whom Paul had taken pains to teach that they were now the very Body of Messiah. Why on earth had they adopted the NC instructions of the Torah?
The answer is so simple we sometimes miss it.
They were the Body of Mashiach in blueprint but they still had need of something called… character. We all have need of character. Don’t let any
teacher tell you that as converted Jews and Gentiles you have no need of character...that you do not need to obey God, that you don’t need to choose good instead of evil.
Every time we observe a commandment or perform a good deed (a mitzvah) we attain to God’s expectations of us. This is called character. God then is living His life over again in us. It’s really the secret life of God. That’s the point of holiness living, of sanctification – of the holy Spirit indwelling us.
That’s the point of faith. It’s a life of developing character, God’s character – in the depths of our being. Character cannot be just given – it has by nature to be developed. It must grow. It must be built, constructed, established until it is firmly ingrained. You cannot be given character.
I well remember my son Reuben wanting to own and ride a motor cycle. He felt he was ready and well-equipped for the job. He strongly believed that he knew how to perfectly balance himself on a bike and he had the one thing all motor bike riders possess –supreme unadulterated confidence. There was only one thing wrong with his perception of himself and his owning a motor bike. He was five years old. He believed in himself – and that was obvious. He had guts, I’ll say that much! But he lacked the essential physical, intellectual, emotional, and psychological capabilities – the maturity – to accomplish such a venture.
We are being spiritually amplified into the heavenly image of the Archetypal Man – the Adam Kadmon, Yeshua the Messiah! We are Mashiach’s image or reflection just as Messiah is God’s image and reflection. We are destined to possess the actual character image and the character likeness of Deity – Genesis 1.26.
Paul also came to comprehend an associated divine truth – that Messiah had died to reconcile all men to Himself. God is no respecter of persons. What goes for the goose goes for the gander. “For we are reconciled to God through the death of His son...” But then added, “much MORE, then being reconciled we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5.10).
First comes reconciliation, then comes salvation. There are other small organisations around the world that teach that man and the entire universe will
one day be reconciled to God. I go much further than my biblical colleagues – I go even beyond theology into the teaching of the Cosmic Mashiach, the One New Man. Its a universal salvation, not a mere universal reconciliation, that is God’s ultimate intent, purpose and plan. It is a universal salvation IN the Cosmic Messiah. The Fall consisted of the materialisation of spirit. All will finally return to SPIRIT as God is Spirit. That’s what the truth of the Gospel underscores.
Paul teaches us that all men were justified at the cross (really, the bloodied tree of Golgoleth), not just believers (Romans 5.18).
As a result of this justification which came upon all men, all men must ultimately be saved. That is the natural logical consequence of that action. That is the equation. “The gifts of God are without His repentance.”
“He is the kapparah [atonement] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2.2).
“And we have seen and we testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4.14) – not the mere provider of salvation for the world. My Mashiach is a VERY satisfied Saviour. The Messiah of the primitive early Messianic Movement was a satisfied Saviour for 300 years. Then he suddenly became a collectivist failure when the Roman church took the ascendancy.
For 300 years the early church taught a universal salvation. But then with the advent of Constantine the Roman church perverted God’s truth. But the
perversion of the Gospel began early with Simon Magus and I have articles that concentrate on that apostasy. However, the apostasy was helped along by a black African Canaanite theologian named Tertullian who Latinised the Hebrew Scriptures.
Despite the teachings of Tertullian in relation to the salvation procedure, we had no say in the matter of our salvation. Recall its God’s game of salvation in which we are all joyfully participating. Well, not always so joyfully. But in the words of Peter and James,“count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials and temptations.” JOY brethren, pure joy. See Romans 8.1, 37-39 where nothing can separate us from Messiah’s love. Nothing, not even sin. God does not hold our sins against us when it comes to His promises of eternal life. We have passed from death to LIFE.
In ancient times the heathen god Hermes Trismegistus died for the sins of his followers.
The Lord Yeshua, by contrast, died for the whole world.
The ancient writings tell us that the god Hermes proclaimed his deity, and accepted his disciples as a result of his not just dying for them, but also for
their participation in allowing Hermes to live his resurrected life within their hearts.
There is a great false church that teaches this very sentiment, but it is diametrically opposed to the Gospel of Mashiach.
We need to be reminded of the astonishing works of God and greatly rejoice in them. In lectures to come I wish to concentrate on the Covenants which God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so that our students and visitors might know what it is that God has in store for you. And I will answer the question: Are we really under ANY covenant once we accept the Messiah Yeshua as our Lord and Saviour?
The Covenants [2]: Was the Abrahamic Covenant Unconditional?
The Covenants [3]: The Abrahamic Covenant Exists at the End of Days!
The Covenants [4]: The Palestinian Covenant
The Covenants [5]: The Davidic Covenant
The Covenants [6]: The Sinai (Mosaic) Covenant
The Covenants [7]: Sinai (Part 2) Festival Illegitimacy
The Covenants [8]: Sinai (Part 3) Did Yeshua Always Obey the Torah?
The Covenants [9] The New Covenant (Part One) Genesis is Also Torah
The Covenants [10]: The New Covenant (2) You Cannot Salvage Anything from a Deficient and Failed Marriage Convenant!
The Covenants [11]: The New Covenant (3) Some Questions Answered
According to standard Christian theology, those who profess “Jesus Christ” are made participants in that New Covenant arrangement but how they define the “New Covenant” is subject to astonishing variations. Indeed, over the entire subject of this covenant there is disparity and occasionally vicious argument. People have actually killed one another over defining the New Covenant. One single thread is apparent in most theologies about this covenant. It is not about law. And, it is made with Gentiles.
So below I have listed a number of facts about the New Covenant which ought to be fundamental to every thinking believer. This lecture will take more of the form of a study. It's high time to remove the confusion that exists over the entire subject of the Covenants!
FACT 1. The New Covenant was to be Made with Israel – Not with Gentiles.
“Behold, days come, says Yehoveh, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day of my taking them by the hand, to lead them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they broke, although I was a husband unto them, says Yehoveh. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel, after those days, says Yehoveh: I will put my law in their inward parts, and will write it in their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know Yehoveh; for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, says Yehoveh: for I will pardon their iniquity, and their sin will I remember no more.
“This is what Yehoveh says, who gives the sun for light by day, the ordinances of the moon and of the stars for light by night, who stirs up the sea so that the waves roar – Yehoveh of legions is his name: If those ordinances depart from before me, says Yehoveh, the seed of Israel also shall cease from being a nation before me for ever” (Jeremiah 31.31-36).
The new covenant was to be made with the people of Israel – not the Gentiles (Hebrews 10.16,17). The NC was never made with any other race, people, or nation. It was to be made with Israel. And, it was to do with the laws of God being placed within the human heart. It will therefore necessarily differ from the Sinai Covenant inasmuch as that covenant was written on tables of rock. The new covenant God wishes to make with Israel
involves the forgiveness (or pardon) of sins and transgressions of the law of God. God also grants that if the ordinances relating to the sun, moon and stars fail then and only then will God dismiss Israel from being a nation. We should also not overlook the fact that a covenant is a contract.
FACT 2. There was a Fault Found Relating to the Sinai Covenant. What was That Fault?
“If that first covenant was faultless, there would not have been a constant searching out of a place for a second. For finding fault with them, he says,
Behold, days come, says HaShem, and I will consummate a new covenant as regards the house of Israel, and as regards the house of Judah; a covenant new in quality not according to the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day of my taking their hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue true to my covenant, and I disregarded them, says HaShem. Because this is the covenant that I will covenant to the house of Israel after those days, says HaShem: Giving my laws into their mind, I will write them also upon their hearts; and I will be to them for God, and they shall be to me for people.
“And they shall not teach each his fellow-citizen, and each his brother, saying, Know HaShem experientially; because all shall know me in themselves
absolutely, from the little one among them unto the great among them. Because I will be merciful to their unrighteousnesses, and their sins and their
lawlessnesses I will never remember any more. In that he says new in quality, he has made the first permanently antiquated; but that which is becoming antiquated is near to vanishing away” (Hebrews 8.7-13).
Why then do some people insist on the observance of the Sinai Covenant with its terms and obligations if there is now a NEW covenant?
The fault was not with the Sinai covenant. The fault lay in the rapacious carnality of the Jewish people themselves. Therefore God took steps to initiate
a new covenant or agreement which would involve the placing of the laws of God into the human heart by the holy Spirit.
FACT 3. The Torah was to be Placed Within the Human Heart.
When the LAW was ratified [to give legality or approval to it] it was to be placed within the heart – that’s the Torah (Jeremiah 31.33)! That’s all of the Torah – not just some of it. That’s sabbaths, fasts, dietary restrictions – the lot! Can I prove this? Absolutely!
“God made you alive along with the Messiah by forgiving you all your sins. He wiped away the bill of charges against us. Because of the regulations, it stood as a testimony against us; but he removed it by nailing it to his stauros. Stripping the rulers and authorities of their power, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by means of the stauros” (Colossians 2.13-15).
For clarification concerning the point Paul is making, look at the next verse. “Stop permitting anyone from sitting in judgment upon you in eating or
drinking, or in respect of festival observances, or in regards new moons, or of the Sabbath, which are a shadow of things to come, but the reality [substance] is the Messiah” (Colossians 2.16).
Almost every commentary I have read, and almost every scholarly expository work, all tell us that these people had jettisoned the Torah and were being judged by the Jews around them for so doing! And they all add that none of us as Christians have to observe the Torah any more. They use these verses to justify their teaching.
But hang on a minute! Who were these people? Why! They were Christians in the city of Colossae. They were Gentiles. They had never been Jews! They had never been observers of the Torah. Indeed, Paul informs us that they had been idolaters – idol worshippers. They had been under the power of darkness (Colossians 1.13) previously alienated from God and enemies practising wicked and vile works (Colossians 1.21). And now here they were keeping the Torah, and Paul tells them to tell their Gentile idolatrous neighbours to “butt out” of their affairs!
In Colossians 3.5-9 we have a complete detailed description of the previous lifestyles and behavioural characteristics of the Colossians. We could hardly construe these attitudes to be Torah abiding! In Colossians 2.11 we are informed that they had been circumcised with the circumcision of Messiah!
Yes, the Gentiles MUST BE CIRCUMCISED in order to come under the terms and conditions of even the New Covenant! Yes, indeed they must! Its a necessity according to the Scripture. However, that particular circumcision is the circumcision experienced by the Messiah on the eighth day after his birth – a circumcision which is imputed and applied to Gentiles. This means they were now in a New Covenant relationship with Israel through the
circumcision of the Messiah.
There was also a temptation for these same Colossians to inculcate religious ascetic practices (perhaps borrowed from paganism, or from current ascetic Jewish religious orders: the text is not clear on this point) into their new lifestyle and Paul frowned on it (Colossians 2.20-23). There did exist roving teachers who were negatively influencing the Gentiles who followed Mashiach. These may well have been Essene sectarians from Qumran. There is evidence to support this view.
Whatever the case, these Gentiles at Colossae had been accepted into the New Covenant relationship having the Torah placed within their hearts precisely as had been accomplished in the converts to Yeshua in Greek Corinth (2 Corinthians 3.3).
FACT 4. Those of the New Covenant Would be Reckoned as Sin-Free.
The acceptance of Yeshua as the Mashiach made each convert a forgiven child of God (Jeremiah 31.34) and while this verse concentrates on Jewish believers the principle MUST apply to Gentile converts, too. In fact, I have never ever heard one instance of an objection about this stand by any person in the entire Christian world. Of course, the term forgiveness of sins really means (when we grasp the Greek) a “pardon of sins.” “Forgiveness” is an English word extracted from a Latin term. The Hebrew and Greek both mean “pardon.”
The next point is important because it involves inheritance.
FACT 5. Those of the New Covenant Were Promised, as Their Inheritance, Eretz Yisrael.
“And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not draw back from them, to do them good; and I will put my fear in their heart, that they may not turn aside from me. And I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will assuredly plant them in this land with my whole heart and with my whole soul” (Jeremiah 32.40,41).
Heaven was not promised under the terms and conditions of the New Covenant. Nowhere can you find one simple scripture pertaining to the NC about going to heaven. It’s just not there! Instead you have dozens of Scriptures relating to an earthly Messianic kingdom.
Let’s back track for an instance. Let’s look at the Abrahamic covenant (Genesis 17.1-8). Even the original covenant made with Abraham dealt with inheritance in the Land of Canaan. Paul went on to say that Abraham and his seed would eventually possess the entirety of the earth (Romans 4.13) and he based this on the Messianic Psalm 2.8. “Ask of me and I shall give you the Gentiles for your inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for your possession.”
The scroll of Revelation talks of a 1000-year earthly millennial reign, and Yeshua chose 12 apostles to rule over the 12 tribes of Israel (Matthew 19.28). Some Jews will rule over 10 cities, some over 5 and all of that (Luke 19.11-28). Paul’s writings to the Romans, Corinthians and Galatians all emphasise redeemed Gentiles as participating in the national life of Israel, and being accorded as “Abraham’s seed.”
Abraham was promised the world, not heaven (Romans 4.13).
The Corinthians were told they would judge the world, not heaven (1 Corinthians 6.2).
The Jerusalem of the NC is presently in heaven (Galatians 4.26) it’s destined to come to earth (Hebrews 13.14; Revelation 21.2).
Later in Paul’s ministry he writes Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, the Timothy epistles, and Titus. Here is a spiritually mature Paul, so much so that scholars do not believe he wrote these letters at all. In them God’s progressive revelation peaks. Paul goes from a biblical standpoint to a theological one.
“The mystery which has been hid from ages and from generations but NOW is made manifest to his saints” (Colossians 1.25,26).
“Now” was in 61 CE when the rabbi penned this letter. See Ephesians 3.3,5 where we can now become co-bodied, coheirs, and co-partakers of the ultimate salvation which Messiah inherits!
I want you to notice that Paul’s language is not restricted to Israel any longer. “Messiah whom we preach warning every man [every human being, not just Jews], and teaching every man [every human being, not just Jews] in all wisdom, that we may present every man [every human being, not just Jews] perfect in Messiah Yeshua”(Colossians 1.27-29).
And in his message, Paul goes way beyond teaching a universal reconciliation into expounding a universal salvation! Even later still we can read the Gospel of John which is so unlike the synoptic Gospels, and which profoundly expresses God’s nature of Grace, justice and love.
Paul’s later epistles (and John) have Messiah at the centre of their message – not Israel. And this lecturer is in accord with this centrality of Grace, and not Israel.
In 61 CE Paul focused on the outer barrier that separated Jews from Gentiles. He said that wall, or central obstacle, was to be cast down so that Gentiles could approach the holy altar of God in the Temple of God, and their sins could be forgiven. Once Jews and Gentiles had that barrier removed we would “put on the NEW MAN...where there is neither Jew nor Greek, male or female...but where Messiah is ALL and in ALL”
(Colossians 3.10,11).
Notice it's a NEW man, not a hybrid mixture of Jew and Gentile! We are talking here of the resurrected Son of God. Resurrected from the dead in the
same body and yet in a NEW body – a body that was Uncircumcised. We are talking of the Cosmic Mashiach – a full and authentic Son of God.
Only in the Cosmic Mashiach can we attain to heaven. Notice that Paul’s references to heaven are only in his later letters! (Ephesians 1.3,10; 2.6;
Philippians 2.10,11; Colossians 1.20;2 Timothy 4.18).
Are we today under a covenant? If not what are our obligations to business principles, marriage relationships, obedience to God the Father?
Brethren, we began with the holy Spirit of Grace. And we conclude with Grace. There is no covenant of Grace. A covenant, or contract, exists because of sin. But, in the Mindscape of God we are set free from sin.
Under the Sinai Covenant Jews received mercy and pardon for their sins. But they were not promised eternal life.
Under the New Covenant we received mercy again, and pardon from our sins, and we were given the promise of eternal life.
But more so, in the Cosmic Mashiach we receive – not a mere pardon of sins – but justification.
Our sins – past, present and future – are all taken care of by God the Father. We are not merely given pardon. Rather, we are justified. So important
is this premise that I made it an introductory lecture of this current theme of the Covenants. I entitled it Grace & Mercy – Justification &
Forgiveness. All my students need to personally refresh their memories on the contents of that lecture. They all need to assess their understanding and grasp of this vital concept of GRACE. (Visitors to this IMCF site will also soon be able to access the above-mentioned lecture. Stay tuned!)
When Yeshua died he showed the world that he was just. We are in Messiah, and Messiah is in us. We are his image as he is the image of the Invisible God. We are the distinct image of Mashiach. If we are His image we are HIM.
By contrast however, there are sincere people attending synagogues (and some who are not) who remain under the terms and conditions of the Sinai covenant, for in their view it is still in effect. Whatever the case its entire emphasis is on Israel.
When we consider the New Covenant it doesn’t take too long to discover that it is merely the original Covenant with modifications incorporated – indeed, it could be legitimately referred to as theRenewed Covenant. It is the existing Torah (with essential adjustments) placed within the human heart, and the heart is empowered by the holy Spirit enabling men and women to keep it. The emphasis of the New Covenant is also Israel.
Then we look at the apostle Paul and find that he was the first Christian theologian, because he looked at the cross and asked “WHY?” Unlike the other apostles, Paul thought deeply about things, was trained in rabbinic thought-form and arguments and had a profoundly legal mind – he was not only Jewish, he was a Roman. The outcome of Paul’s enlightened approach was an entirely new theology – which matured Paul in his thinking.
His later letters (Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, the Timothy epistles, and Titus) reveal a Paul entirely different from the man of his earlier letters.
In these later epistles, Paul ventures into entirely new territory developing a radical conception of the transformation of a resurrected Messiah. The community of Messiah was expected by Paul to radiate this same state of transformation.
The other apostles had concentrated on the scandal of the cross. Paul was keen to distance himself from it and in contradistinction he emphasises, not the cross so much as the empty tomb.
Paul’s theology was not riveted in the death of Mashiach, but in His resurrection which was much more than the resuscitation of a corpse.
We are dealing at once with the conceptualisation of the Cosmic Mashiach and the Christian Community (or, Messianic Christian Community) as the very Body of Mashiach (or, Body of Christ) – the corpus Christi.
The Christian Community is the mystical Body of Messiah. If we are the Body of Mashiach, then we are Mashiach. If Mashiach is free then we are free
indeed! We have liberty, for “where the Spirit of the Lord is there [in that place] is liberty.”
And what IS liberty? It is total and unrestrained freedom. God is free. He is not in any way subject to anything. All is subject to Him. God is at liberty to
do and to act and to think anything He wishes. That’s what makes God, God.
This is why Yeshua was raised from the dead UNCIRCUMCISED. If the Lord had been raised circumcised he would have been a debtor to Torah. The New Creation cannot be rooted in the Old Creation (see 2 Corinthians 5).
I have written that we too have that freedom. But as Paul mused, we are still in the human frame, and subject to human frailty. Our flesh and blood limits us. And while we are still in the flesh, we have certain obligations toward our God and our fellow human beings, for whom Messiah also died.
This is because – as Messianic believers – we are creatures of love. We are called to love. We are expected by our heavenly Father to express love. God is love. As the kids of God we all ought to reflect the character of God, the attributes of God as any child of the world also reflects the attributes of
their earthly father.
Yet, you see, “All things are lawful unto me.” I can have an affair with the woman next door, but she may not want to, and even if she did her husband may not like it at all. I would not be showing love to him, to even flirt with her behind his back, would I? I can steal my next door neighbours Mercedes. But that would not be showing love to my neighbour, no, not by any means. So while (as some argued with Paul) “all things are lawful unto me,” he responded, “yes, maybe so, but not all things are expedient.” And this is what Paul was arguing in his later epistles. He was arguing in relation to a higher law, a higher Torah, than the one written with pen and ink. I can prove that fact beyond doubt and one day I will share this with you all.
Look again at Paul’s advice to the Colossians -- “tell your pagan neighbours to butt out of your lives.” Paul taught that because we believe in Grace do we make the Torah “sin”? And he answered “Absolutely not! In no way!” Indeed “we establish the Torah.” The Christians had adopted certain obligations toward God in thankful response to the Gospel. They were now observing the Sabbath, dietary regulations, and other commandments. These were NC (New Covenant) expectations. Were these Gentile Colossians under the NC? These were the same believers whom Paul had taken pains to teach that they were now the very Body of Messiah. Why on earth had they adopted the NC instructions of the Torah?
The answer is so simple we sometimes miss it.
They were the Body of Mashiach in blueprint but they still had need of something called… character. We all have need of character. Don’t let any
teacher tell you that as converted Jews and Gentiles you have no need of character...that you do not need to obey God, that you don’t need to choose good instead of evil.
Every time we observe a commandment or perform a good deed (a mitzvah) we attain to God’s expectations of us. This is called character. God then is living His life over again in us. It’s really the secret life of God. That’s the point of holiness living, of sanctification – of the holy Spirit indwelling us.
That’s the point of faith. It’s a life of developing character, God’s character – in the depths of our being. Character cannot be just given – it has by nature to be developed. It must grow. It must be built, constructed, established until it is firmly ingrained. You cannot be given character.
I well remember my son Reuben wanting to own and ride a motor cycle. He felt he was ready and well-equipped for the job. He strongly believed that he knew how to perfectly balance himself on a bike and he had the one thing all motor bike riders possess –supreme unadulterated confidence. There was only one thing wrong with his perception of himself and his owning a motor bike. He was five years old. He believed in himself – and that was obvious. He had guts, I’ll say that much! But he lacked the essential physical, intellectual, emotional, and psychological capabilities – the maturity – to accomplish such a venture.
We are being spiritually amplified into the heavenly image of the Archetypal Man – the Adam Kadmon, Yeshua the Messiah! We are Mashiach’s image or reflection just as Messiah is God’s image and reflection. We are destined to possess the actual character image and the character likeness of Deity – Genesis 1.26.
Paul also came to comprehend an associated divine truth – that Messiah had died to reconcile all men to Himself. God is no respecter of persons. What goes for the goose goes for the gander. “For we are reconciled to God through the death of His son...” But then added, “much MORE, then being reconciled we shall be saved by his life” (Romans 5.10).
First comes reconciliation, then comes salvation. There are other small organisations around the world that teach that man and the entire universe will
one day be reconciled to God. I go much further than my biblical colleagues – I go even beyond theology into the teaching of the Cosmic Mashiach, the One New Man. Its a universal salvation, not a mere universal reconciliation, that is God’s ultimate intent, purpose and plan. It is a universal salvation IN the Cosmic Messiah. The Fall consisted of the materialisation of spirit. All will finally return to SPIRIT as God is Spirit. That’s what the truth of the Gospel underscores.
Paul teaches us that all men were justified at the cross (really, the bloodied tree of Golgoleth), not just believers (Romans 5.18).
As a result of this justification which came upon all men, all men must ultimately be saved. That is the natural logical consequence of that action. That is the equation. “The gifts of God are without His repentance.”
“He is the kapparah [atonement] for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” (1 John 2.2).
“And we have seen and we testify that the Father sent his Son to be the Saviour of the world” (1 John 4.14) – not the mere provider of salvation for the world. My Mashiach is a VERY satisfied Saviour. The Messiah of the primitive early Messianic Movement was a satisfied Saviour for 300 years. Then he suddenly became a collectivist failure when the Roman church took the ascendancy.
For 300 years the early church taught a universal salvation. But then with the advent of Constantine the Roman church perverted God’s truth. But the
perversion of the Gospel began early with Simon Magus and I have articles that concentrate on that apostasy. However, the apostasy was helped along by a black African Canaanite theologian named Tertullian who Latinised the Hebrew Scriptures.
Despite the teachings of Tertullian in relation to the salvation procedure, we had no say in the matter of our salvation. Recall its God’s game of salvation in which we are all joyfully participating. Well, not always so joyfully. But in the words of Peter and James,“count it all joy when you fall into diverse trials and temptations.” JOY brethren, pure joy. See Romans 8.1, 37-39 where nothing can separate us from Messiah’s love. Nothing, not even sin. God does not hold our sins against us when it comes to His promises of eternal life. We have passed from death to LIFE.
In ancient times the heathen god Hermes Trismegistus died for the sins of his followers.
The Lord Yeshua, by contrast, died for the whole world.
The ancient writings tell us that the god Hermes proclaimed his deity, and accepted his disciples as a result of his not just dying for them, but also for
their participation in allowing Hermes to live his resurrected life within their hearts.
There is a great false church that teaches this very sentiment, but it is diametrically opposed to the Gospel of Mashiach.
We need to be reminded of the astonishing works of God and greatly rejoice in them. In lectures to come I wish to concentrate on the Covenants which God gave to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob so that our students and visitors might know what it is that God has in store for you. And I will answer the question: Are we really under ANY covenant once we accept the Messiah Yeshua as our Lord and Saviour?
The Covenants [2]: Was the Abrahamic Covenant Unconditional?
The Covenants [3]: The Abrahamic Covenant Exists at the End of Days!
The Covenants [4]: The Palestinian Covenant
The Covenants [5]: The Davidic Covenant
The Covenants [6]: The Sinai (Mosaic) Covenant
The Covenants [7]: Sinai (Part 2) Festival Illegitimacy
The Covenants [8]: Sinai (Part 3) Did Yeshua Always Obey the Torah?
The Covenants [9] The New Covenant (Part One) Genesis is Also Torah
The Covenants [10]: The New Covenant (2) You Cannot Salvage Anything from a Deficient and Failed Marriage Convenant!
The Covenants [11]: The New Covenant (3) Some Questions Answered
