(Ex. 31:12-13; 2 Cor, 5:17; Heb. 8:6-13; 1 John 1:1-7) Blog 20-26 Jun. 2021
What practice is recommended for the healthy maintenance of a covenant?
Prepared by Richard A. Marin: Present Truth PO Box 700, Fallbrook CA 92088-0700 USA
REVIEW: God loves his creatures and desires to have intimate fellowship with them. In order to establish this relationship with his people he makes a covenant with them. God promises to be our God and we to be his people. It is only through God’s Son, Jesus, that we can be part of his everlasting covenant. By faith alone we are immersed into Christ and so are included in God’s covenant of grace. In Jesus, God receives, pardons, and justifies, the repentant, believing soul, treats him as though he were righteous, and loves him as He loves His Son.
New Life under a Covenant
1. How did Jacob’s life change after making a seven-year covenant with Laban? His time flew by rapidly because of the love & joy he experienced in anticipation of marriage to beautiful Rachel. (Gen, 29:20).
2. How did Ruth’s life change after she married Boaz? She changed from being a poor widow to being a wealthy mother of Obed, great-grandmother of David, & progenitor of Jesus. (Ruth 4:13-17).
3. How did David’s life change after Jonathan made a covenant with him? From being a little shepherd boy protecting his sheep, David became a mighty warrior using Jonathan’s weapons & when threatened by King Saul he had in Jonathan a true protector & friend whose love was greater than that of a woman. (1 Sam. 18:1-5; 19:1-2; 2 Sam. 1:25-27)
4. When Israel made an impossible covenant promise at mount Sinai how did her life change? By promising the impossible because she didn’t realize her own sinfulness, Israel fell right into Satan’s trap while thinking she was worshipping God. (Ex. 32:1-6).
New Covenant Life
5. Why does God make a covenant with his people? God makes a covenant with his people because he desires to have intimate fellowship with them (Jer. 24:7; 32:48-31; 2 Cor. 6:16-18; Eph. 3:1-9; Heb. 8:10-11).
6. How does the Apostle John describe the covenant fellowship we have with God? John says that our fellowship is with the Father & with the Son; that it brings light, joy, & fellowship with one another; & that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:1-7).
7. How does the Apostle Peter describe the joy we have in the New Covenant? Peter says that we “rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Pet. 1:8; Psa. 119:165).
8. In Romans 5 what blessings does the Apostle Paul say that those enjoy who have entered God’s covenant in Christ? Paul says that the person who is justified by faith has peace, love, & the Holy Spirit given to them (Rom. 5:1, 5).
9. What other covenant blessing does Paul mention in Galatians and Romans? Freedom from the Law’s condemnation of us as persons condemned to eternal death (Rom. 8:1; Gal. 5:1).
10. Since joy is not the same as happiness (which depends on earthly circumstances) how will the joy and unity of covenant life influence unbelievers? Unbelievers will see that God, the Father, sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world & that he has loved us, thus bringing unbelievers to faith in Jesus (John 17:13, 18-23; 1 John 4:13-14).
Maintaining Our New Covenant Life
11. Who was the administrator of the Sinai Covenant? Moses was the administrator of the covenant God made with his people at Sinai (2 Cor. 3:7).
12. Who is the administrator of the New Covenant? The Holy Spirit is the administrator of the New Covenant (2 Cor. 3:8-16).
13. What qualities must covenant partners possess in order to maintain a stable relationship? The parties to a covenant must be credible & able to live in harmony with the words of their covenant for it to be stable (Hos. 10:4; Deut. 5:26‑29; 10:4; 2 Tim. 2:13 RSV).
14. What do Ezekiel and Paul say that God gives New Covenant believers to aide in them in keeping the covenant? Ezekiel & Paul say that God gives New Covenant believers a new heart to aide in them in keeping the covenant (Eze. 11:19-20; 2 Cor, 5:17).
15. Besides credibility and ability what additional element is needed if fallen human beings are involved in a covenant? Imperfect partners need a covenant that provides for failures on their part if the covenant is to endure (1 Kings 8:31-53; Psa. 106:43-46).
16. Besides the “better promises” Jesus made to the Father in our behalf, what other advantages does the New Covenant give to believers? The New Covenant takes the Law written is stone & writes it on our hearts, gives us the unction of the Holy Spirit to aide us, & includes the forgiveness & blotting out of our sins for when we fail (Heb. 8:6-13; 1 John 2:20, 27).
17. What practice is recommended for the healthy maintenance of a covenant? For the healthy maintenance of a covenant a periodic renewal (or rehearsal) of the covenant is recommended (Ex. 20:8-11; Isa. 1:18-20; 66:22-23).
18. Name some forms of covenant renewal recorded in the Bible: The 7th day Sabbath acts as a renewal of God’s everlasting covenant, the marriage bed acts as a renewal of the marriage covenant, & the communion service acts as a renewal of one’s covenant baptism into Christ’s church & of the New Covenant in general (Ex. 20:8-11; Heb. 13:4; Luke 22:19).
19. What role should covenant witnesses play in the healthy maintenance of a covenant? Witnesses to a covenant should continually remind, encourage, & counsel the covenant partners regarding their promises to one another (Gen. 31:48-49; Isa. 1:2).
20. How does a covenant sign help maintain a covenant? A covenant sign acts as a constant reminder of the covenant that was made (Gen. 31:51-52; Ex. 31:12-13).21. According to Hebrews 3:6 what are we to “hold fast” in order to remain in God’s covenant? We are to hold fast our confidence (faith) & rejoicing in our hope of the inheritance Jesus has purchased for us – this keeps us inside God’s covenant sanctuary (Heb. 6:3; 1 Pet. 1:3-4).