Readings for today: Hebrews 9-12
God has always related to His people through covenants. In the Garden of Eden, God established a covenant of works with Adam and Eve. It was based on their perfect obedience. The reward was eternal life and blessing in the intimate embrace of the Triune God. We don’t know how long Adam and Eve walked with God. We aren’t told how many years or decades or even millennia they enjoyed perfect fellowship with Him. We only know the covenant was broken the minute they decided to break God’s command and eat the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil so they could become like God. The result of Adam and Eve’s fall was exile. Exile from the Garden. Exile from blessing. Exile from the presence of God.
Humanity may have broken their covenant with God but God had not broken His covenant with them. He instituted a new covenant. A covenant of grace based not on the will or actions of the human creature but based on the faithfulness of God Himself. The rewards of this covenant are redemption, justification, sanctification, and ultimately, restoration to eternal life and blessing in the embrace of the Triune God. This covenant is mediated through Christ, who takes our place as the 2nd Adam, fulfills the original covenant of works on our behalf, and thereby rightfully offers us the reward He Himself earned.
The covenant of grace has two administrations in the Bible. In the Old Testament, the covenant of grace looks forward to the fulfillment of the promise in Jesus Christ. All of the ceremonies and laws and prophecies are given to prepare God’s people for the coming of the Messiah. The worship ceremonies having to do with sacrifices and most holy places train us to respect and understand the difference between a holy God and a sinful people. The laws trains us not only about what it means to live righteously but also ultimately leads us to a holy despair in our own effort. The prophecies foretell a day when the Messiah will come and offer Himself as the perfect sacrifice in our place, as the perfect high priest offering the sacrifice on our behalf, and thereby fulfill all that is required to bridge the gap between us and God. Not only that, but those same prophecies declare the Messiah’s perfect obedience to the Law of God thus making Him uniquely qualified to offer Himself in our place, take the punishment we deserve, propitiate God’s righteous anger and judgment towards us, and extend us grace as a result. It’s simply breathtaking in scope.
This is what I love most about God. He is eternally consistent. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He never changes His plan. He never deviates from His course. He fulfills every single demand of the law and thus remains eternally faithful to His covenant. All so we can be restored to our rightful place at His side.
Readings for tomorrow: 2 Timothy 1-4