YHWH is a God of covenants.
A covenant is an agreement which carries the terms and conditions of a union and invariably the penalties for breaking the agreement.
In the Bible, YHWH is recorded as making 3 well-known agreements (covenants) before Jesus came on the scene.
One with Noah:
''Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him:9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth.'' Genesis 9: 8 -10
Another with Abraham: ''On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram and said, “To your descendants I give this land, from the Wadi[a] of Egypt to the great river, the Euphrates—'' Genesis 15: 18
And yet a later second with Abraham: ''Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. The whole land of Canaan, where you now reside as a foreigner, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17: 4-8
And we also have this promised covenant:
“This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel
after that time,” declares the Lord.
“I will put my law in their minds
and write it on their hearts.
I will be their God,
and they will be my people.'' Jeremiah 31:33
Why is this important? Because this covenant is the bedrock, the basis, for any relationship we have with YHWH, Jesus or one another as God's family. It is everything.
We as the body of believers in Christ are called the Temple of the living God. We are where God lives - individually and collectively. We are synonymous with the temple in Jerusalem where God dwelt. However, they had the holiest place which contained the Ark of the Covenant and housed the Two stone tablets of the Covenant (agreement) between YHWH and Israel.[1 Kings 8:6,9].
The centre of the family of God now is the New Covenant we have with YHWH ratified in the blood of Jesus the Messiah.
‘’In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.’’ [Luke 22:20] It is this which legitimises the existence of the body of Christ: the Temple of YHWH.
You must understand that the basis of our Agreement and our relationship with Jesus, YHWH and one another is hinged on this. So, what is this agreement?
''Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day. For my flesh is real food and my blood is real drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me and I live because of the Father, so the one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Your ancestors ate manna and died, but whoever feeds on this bread will live forever.” John 6: 53 -56
This is the agreement. The new agreement is that you will have life by accepting the sacrifice of Jesus. This is what is meant by drinking his blood and eating his flesh. You will accept what He did on your behalf and on behalf of the human race and in exchange for this trust(faith) you will get into oneness with Him and his eternal life.
Do you agree to the terms of this covenant?
This is the Good news and the bedrock of our faith. This is the covenant/ agreement that is at the centre of our relationship as children of Yhwh through Jesus the Messiah.
This is the GOOD NEWS that must be accepted, lived and preached. This is the heart of the Most Holy Place in God's Temple.
PS
Ministers, please go to 3plycord for the blog post for leaders. Thank you
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