QUOTES

The New Covenant Inaugurated for the Church

But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises…And the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us…"This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts"…Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way which He consecrated for us. ( Hebrews 8:6; 10:15-16, 19-20 ) This new covenant of grace (promised to Israel eventually) has already been inaugurated for the church now. The book of Hebrews documents this fact repeatedly. "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." Here in chapter 8, verse 6, the new covenant is referred to as "a better covenant." Then, the instituting of this new covenant is described in the past tense, "was established." It has already been put into operation for the church.

I believe the greatest threat to our reflection of a Christ-like image is worldliness (the desire to be like the world).

The Corinthians were a worldly bunch of Christians. They were a lot like us. Yet God continues to seek a relationship with us. We have been bought and paid for with the blood of His Son.

What is your most priceless possession? Your sports car, grandfather's watch, or wedding ring? None of it compares to the value of our Lord and Savior Jesus.

I once heard the story of a college freshman who went to the laundry room at his dormitory with his dirty clothes all bundled inside a sweatshirt. But he was so embarrassed by the filth of his clothes that he never opened the bundle. He just pushed it into a washing machine. When the washer stopped, he took the bundle of wet clothes and dropped them into a dryer. Finally, he took the still unopened bundle back to his room. Of course, he discovered the clothes had gotten wet, then dried, but were never cleaned.

As silly as this may seem, many of us think we need to guard our own dirty laundry. Keep it concealed and hidden away. After all, if we keep our sin bundled up, then no one will ever know -- right? Wrong! God knows our innermost thoughts. He knows the emptiness and destructiveness of our deception

We are all sinners. Our thoughts and strategies are futile. Have you fully rested in the Lord? Have you given over to Him all your little bundles of sin?

In her book titled, "The Whisper Test," Mary Ann Bird wrote, "I grew up knowing I was different, and I hated it. I was born with a cleft palate, and when I started school, my classmates made it clear to me how I looked to others: a little girl with a misshapen lip, crooked nose, lopsided teeth, and garbled speech. When schoolmates asked, 'What happened to your lip?' I'd tell them I'd fallen and cut it on a piece of glass. Somehow it seemed more acceptable to have suffered an accident than to have been born different. I was convinced that no one outside my family could love me. There was, however, a teacher in the second grade whom we all adored--Mrs. Leonard by name. She was short, round, happy--a sparkling lady. Annually we had a hearing test...Mrs. Leonard gave the test to everyone in the class, and finally, it was my turn. I knew from past years that as we stood against the door and covered one ear, the teacher sitting at her desk would whisper something, and we would have to repeat it back--things like 'The sky is blue' or 'Do you have new shoes?' I waited there for those words that God must have put into her mouth, those seven words that changed my life. Mrs. Leonard said, in her whisper, 'I wish you were my little girl.'"

God says to every person deformed by sin, "I wish you were my son," or "I wish you were my daughter."

If not saved by the blood of Jesus, we are crippled by sin. There is no way that God can live in a body that is contaminated with sin. But once we accept Jesus as our personal Lord and Savior, all the sin we have ever committed is forgiven by God. We are washed clean, re-born as a child of God, and become a new creation in Christ. If you haven't done so before, follow these steps:

1. Believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God (John 3:16, John 8:24).

2. Repent of your sin and ask forgiveness from God (Luke 13:3, 1 John 1:9).

3. Confess your faith, belief, and trust in Jesus (Matthew 10:32, Romans 10:9).

4. Live faithfully to the end (Revelations 2:10).

The basic manner in which Jesus fulfills the law of God for us is by justifying us "freely by His grace." He does this by offering us "the righteousness of God through faith."

In the gospel of Jesus Christ, "the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed." It is the same righteousness that is spoken of in the law, that is, "being witnessed by the Law."

1 Corinthians 3:16

Don't you know that you yourselves are God's temple and that God's Spirit dwells in your midst?

The word translated as "temple" is from the Greek word "naos" which references the part of the temple known as the Holy of Holies. This is where the visual perception of the presence of God dwelled. Paul is saying, "Don't you know that you are the Holy of Holies? In you is where the glory and reality of God are present, perceived, and enjoyed."

I have some good friends who are also very godly men. They work hard to serve the Lord and make their life a testimony to His grace. But sometimes they irritate me. In fact, we can grind against each other. Every time that happens, we individually and collectively experience a gigantic growth spurt. Is another living stone rubbing you the wrong way? Are you tempted to turn your back on a friendship, or another church member? Will you let God work in your life as He chooses to build His temple?

The church is not built upon the number of new small group formations, outreaches to un-churched families, door-to-door evangelism, or even the Apostle Peter. It is built upon Jesus Christ -- our Savior, our Friend, and our Lord.

The only way that we can live as God intends is by grace. Our God is the source of all grace. We draw upon God's grace through humility and faith. Prayer is the most appropriate expression of humility and faith. We pray because we need God's help (thereby, expressing humility). We pray because we believe God will help us (thereby, exercising faith). Consequently, praying without ceasing is simple, yet profound, way to relate rightly to the God of all grace.

Praying without ceasing 1 Thessalonians 5:17 is the way to relate rightly to the God of all grace. Jesus called His followers to live in this prayerful manner when He told a parable that contrasted a godless human judge with God, our righteous judge.

The primary message of this parable would be that men should persistently pray at all times. "Then He spoke a parable to them, that men always ought to pray and not lose heart."

The examples of Paul/Apollos and Ezra/Nehemiah give me great hope. Why? Because the Lord uses all kinds of different people, including our own individual perceptions of strengths and weaknesses, to accomplish His will. What does it mean to us personally? I can be who I am, and you can be who you are, and still labor together for one purpose: God's.

Paul refers to the Corinthians as "in Christ," so it reflects they were saved. However, rather than moving on in Christian maturity their spiritual growth was somehow impeded. We see the same thing in many of our churches today. Are you leaving the Word behind at church? Have you redefined your existence as a re-born child of God? If so, are you growing in maturity or are you stuck, not moving ahead -- still a spiritual infant? Sometimes that happens because of trying to fit the Word into the world. But that is not what God intended. Psalm 119:101-103: "I have kept my feet from every evil path so that I might obey your word. I have not departed from your laws, for you, yourself have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!"

Jealousy and quarreling are no more welcome in churches than in relationships. Neither leads to any positive result. In most cases, strife and division result.

I am certain the reason so many people are not filled with the Spirit is that they have never been emptied. They are still full of themselves. Not so Paul and Apollos. However, the Corinthians were guilty of judging Paul and Apollos by their own standards. They had lost their appetite for the Word and had replaced it with hero worship.

All too often we give credit to the man for the works of God. The correct perspective is our work for His glory, which can only be accomplished in and through Him.