“…But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be My people.” Jeremiah 31:33
There is no doubt from the testimony of Scripture that God is the great INITIATOR of all things good, and everlasting. In His dealings with sinful men, lost men, He is ever seeking to save them from the guilt and penalty for their sins, but also, to put within them His Spirit, so that by Christ’s power every man can overcome the downward, destructive pull of sin, the world system, and Satan. Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary was not only the most costly, perfect and complete provision by the Father to save men, but also the eternal, abounding, unchanging gift to “whosoever will come.” But what is this “gift,” and how immutable and powerful is it? We get some glimpse of it when we read in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans: “For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is IN Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:38,39) This is why Paul also declares, “In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us.” (8:37) How is this so? How can it be so eternally true, that the true believer in Christ, born of the Spirit, cannot and will not be separated from the love of Christ, regardless of what occurs on this earth? It has to do with the finished work of Christ on the cross which is unalterable by anything created, and then by the work of the Father by the Spirit, who places every individual believer IN Christ into an indissoluble, unalterable union with Christ. Again, Paul writes of this when he declares: “But of Him (the Father) are you IN Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.” (1 Cor. 1:30) The moment of the believer’s conversion to Christ, being born of the Spirit, he is placed into Jesus Christ, forever one with Him. The believer became a new creation IN Christ, a “new man,” by virtue of sins forgiven, but also, and equally true, by virtue of the living Christ indwelling the heart and life, imparting His power to live in a manner pleasing to the Father, for the glory of God. But what does the issue of “covenant” mean, and how does it apply to the believer today, not only in the realization of a new life lived as a new man in Christ, but a victorious one?
In the book of Jeremiah, the Lord made a promise to the people of Israel which would apply to them during, but primarily, after their deportation to Babylon, and the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by Nebuchadnezzar. To Jeremiah He would declare: “They shall be My people, and I will be their God; then I will give them one heart and one way, that they may fear Me forever, for the good of them and their children after them. And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good; but I will put My fear in their hearts so that they will not depart from Me. Yes, I will rejoice over them to do them good…” (32:38-41) Not only would God promise great blessing, but a specific work in the hearts of those willing to receive Him. He would speak of His law being put into their minds, written in their hearts. He would give them a new heart and way, creating in them a reverence of Him forever. These promises were fully realized in Christ, who is All IN ALL, the believer becoming complete in Him. All became available in the life when the Spirit was poured out at Pentecost.
Dear Father, Strengthen us to believe. In Jesus’ name, Amen.