SEEKING BETTER THINGS

"By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament. . . . But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises." (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6)

Devotion 12 of 26

A BETTER COVENANT

Satan has been especially aggressive to distort our understanding of the New Covenant. Nearly all theological by-paths have resulted from a failure to comprehend the nature of the New Covenant. Too often it is approached as though it were a set of new laws, much like the Sinaitic code. But this is not the case at all. The "New Covenant" is precisely that, a "New Covenant." As it is written, "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah: not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt" (Heb 8:8-9). The covenant now in place is a different kind of covenant: "not according" to the manner of the Old Covenant. As is the manner of the kingdom, the covenant that replaces is a "better" one; superior in every sense.

"By so much was Jesus made a surety of a better testament" (Heb 7:22). "But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also He is the Mediator of a better covenant . . . (Heb 8:6). This covenant is "better" because of the manner of its writing and placement. "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts" (Heb 8:10a). The law now becomes part of those within the covenant. They are no longer estranged in their minds; God's law is "put" there. Their hearts are not at variance with the Lord; His law is written there. Truly, it is a "better covenant."

The New Covenant is "better" because of the relationship between the people and their God. The relationship is such that God is not ashamed of the people, and the people are not ashamed of their God. Although the children of Israel were God's people (Deut 27:9), they were unlike Him in character. They were His by Divine affirmation, yet remained a "stiff-necked" people (Ex 32:9; 33:4,5).

This is not the manner of the New Covenant, although many perceive this to be the case. Those in the New Covenant have received the "Spirit of adoption" (Rom 8:15), a term denoting spiritual identity with God. ALL the constituents of the New Covenant "know the Lord, from the least to the greatest." Truly, the New Covenant is a "better covenant."

This is a "better covenant" because it provides for the remission of sins. Under the first covenant sins were not remitted, and the conscience was not purged (Heb 10:1-4). How glorious the provisions of the New Covenant. "I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Heb 8:12). Those that are in Christ Jesus experience true blessing. "Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin" (Rom 4:6-8). It is gloriously true; we have a "better covenant!"

The New Covenant is called a "better hope." "For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God" (Heb 7:19). The objective of the New Covenant is realized in God's unreserved acceptance of those within it: it is a "better HOPE." It is "better" because through it we "draw nigh unto God," something strictly forbidden under the Old Covenant. Here the covenant is equated with the achievements realized through it-- "a better hope." The fruition of Divine objective and the desires of the regenerate are accomplished by means of the New Covenant. Therefore it is called "a better hope." As we focus upon that covenant, will soon find our hearts drawn toward the blessing of the Lord.

PRAYER POINT: Father, in Jesus' name, I thank You for a covenant that glorifies You, honors Jesus, and thoroughly provides for believers.

-- Tomorrow: BETTER PROMISES --