The Two Covenants (Part 1)

Why does the Bible speak of the two covenants, or “testaments”?

Did God try one system and find that it didn’t work — so substituted another totally different system? Or did God give us an “Old Covenant” to show that man could not Live by His Law — then later substitute a new covenant of “grace” that required no obedience to law?

Is the “New Covenant” the very antithesis of all that the old Covenant stood for — as many assume?

Why did God give Israel the “Old Covenant”? Why did He later institute a “New Covenant”?

The true answers to these questions have been understood by very few — yet they are simple and plain.

Nothing is more essential to an understanding of true Christianity than a knowledge of the relationships between the two covenants. Millions have fallen prey to subtle satanic deceptions because they LACKED THIS UNDERSTANDING. Even some who have had a knowledge of true Christianity and have received the Holy Spirit have stumbled and FALLEN over a lack of understanding regarding this issue!

It may prove essential to your salvation that you gain a true knowledge and perspective of the relationship between the Old and New Covenants!

Because of the importance and complexity of this subject, this article presents the first in a series exploring the “two covenants,” that is, the Old and New Covenants, and the relationship between the two.

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What Is the Kingdom of God?

Is the kingdom of God, as many assume, merely a warm feeling in one’s heart, or a vague idea about someday ‘going to heaven’? Or is the kingdom of God more real, tangible and powerful than most people have imagined? Continue reading

Did Jesus Teach ‘Different Commandments’?

Are the commandments Christ taught different from the ones revealed in the Old Testament, as some allege? The Sabbath, tithing and certain other laws, the reasoning goes, are not included in the commandments Christ was referring to when he said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments” (John 14:15). This idea is hardly a new one. It was taught by second century teachers such as Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, and numerous others who followed down through the centuries. But what does God’s word say? Did Jesus teach a different set of commandments? Continue reading

Love in Action

After Jesus Christ returns to establish the Kingdom of God on earth, we’re told that his law will go forth from Zion to all the nations (Isaiah 2:2-3). God’s law will become the law of every nation on earth. What is the foundation of that law?

On an occasion during his ministry Jesus was involved in a discussion with some of the religious leaders among the Jews: “Then one of them [a Pharisee], a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?’ Jesus said to him, ‘ “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets’ ” (Matthew 22:35-40).

The very foundation of God’s law, it’s vital essence, the motivating principle which permeates it, is the principle of divine love. Those who are in the first resurrection will be teaching to all nations that law, founded on the principle of divine love (Isaiah 2:3-4; Matthew 5:19; 1 Corinthians 6:2; Revelation 20:4-6). It’s essential that we master the concept of divine love, not only intellectually, but in its application as well. Continue reading

Did Jesus Fulfill the Law?

Question: Didn’t Jesus fulfill all of the Law and all of the Feasts through His coming to earth, going to the cross, and being raised on the 3rd day? He has sat down at the right hand of God and continually makes intercession for us. He is our High Priest. Or am I not reading my Bible correctly?

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Answer: Jesus fulfilled the law in the sense of perfect obedience to it, as he did not sin (Matthew 3:15; cf. Acts 13:22; Romans 2:27; Galatians 5:16; 6:2; 1 Peter 2:22).

Note that Paul was sent as a steward of the gospel, with the responsibility to “fulfill the word of God,” in the same sense in which Christ fulfilled the law (Colossians 1:25). Robertson (Word Pictures in the New Testament) comments on the verse as follows: “to fill full or to give full scope to the Word of God.” Paul prayed for the Christians in Thessalonica, that they would “fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness and the work of faith with power” (2 Thessalonians 1:11).

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