The Glory of Christ

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God’s New Covenant

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And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’

Luke 22:20

 

Long before Jesus was born, God promised the New Covenant: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the LORD” (Jer. 31:31-32).

He also outlined its benefits: “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD” (Jer. 31:33-34).

This includes our forgiveness: “For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” This is good news! The New Covenant is made with sinners—those who’ve rebelled against Him. With His blood, Jesus inaugurated the New Covenant and obtained all its benefits for His people. That’s why this covenant is sometimes referred to as the Covenant of Grace. It contains pure grace, justifying, sanctifying, and glorifying us. Let’s consider two major benefits.

First, it states that God will write His law on our hearts. The Old Covenant had the two tablets of stone, stating the Law. Man failed miserably to keep it. Now, God has promised He will write it on our hearts. He will do such a work within us that we’ll be conformed to His law: “And you show that you are a letter from Christ delivered by us, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts” (2 Cor. 3:3). Only God can do so!

Second, we will have God as our God and, consequently, we’ll be His people. To have Him is the greatest treasure and joy we can have. We’ll know Him, which is the essence of eternal life: “And this is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent” (John 17:3). By His blood, Jesus obtained all these eternal blessings, reconciling us and making us the eternal beneficiaries of God’s amazing grace.

 

Jan Blonk
The Devotional Writer
www.amazon.com/author/janblonk

 

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In Christ Alone – Fulfilled in Christ

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The main point of being “in Christ” is that we share–we’re partakers–of who He is and what He has done. We’re the eternal beneficiaries of His finished work. Another way of saying that is that Scripture is fulfilled in Him.

For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: “And he was numbered with the transgressors.” For what is written about me has its fulfillment.

Luke 22:37

While Jesus specifically referred to this verse in Isaiah as having to be “fulfilled in me,” He also stated that all Scripture stands in relation to Him: “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me” (John 5:39). What does it mean for a Scripture—or all Scripture—to testify of Him? It means that the true and ultimate fulfillment of Scripture is through Christ alone. He’s the essence of the Bible.

     Paul confirmed that: “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him. That is why it is through him that we utter our Amen to God for his glory” (2 Cor. 1:20). Every promise has its true and ultimate fulfillment in and through Jesus. We can never see a promise apart from Him.

     Isaiah’s fifty-third chapter is famous for its description of the Suffering Servant—Jesus. It foretold His coming, “like a root out of dry ground” (Isa. 53:2), and carrying our sins: “And the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). The last verse states: “And was numbered with the transgressors”—a reference to being treated as a criminal, having the two criminals next to Him.

     As stated earlier, the truth that Scripture is fulfilled in Jesus doesn’t only stand in relation to being “numbered with the transgressors,” but also refers to all of Scripture. For example, the psalmist wrote: “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart’” (Isa. 40:7-8). The author of Hebrews related these verses to Jesus: “Then he added, ‘Behold, I have come to do your will.’ He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all” (Heb. 10:9-10). All the Old Testament’s prescribed sacrifices have truly and ultimately been “fulfilled in me.”

     Lastly, all prescribed righteousness throughout the Bible, which God commands us, is also only fulfilled in Christ: “Only in the LORD, it shall be said of me, are righteousness and strength; to him shall come and be ashamed all who were incensed against him. In the LORD all the offspring of Israel shall be justified and shall glory” (Isa. 45:24-25). Indeed, “Christ is all, and in all” (Col. 3:11).

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Jan Blonk
The Devotional Writer
www.devotionalwriter.com

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A Glorious Sacrifice – The New Covenant

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This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.

Luke 22:20

In order not to violate Amazon’s “Terms of Service,” the content of this post has been removed. The post is now part of A Glorious Sacrifice – Seeing and Savoring God’s Matchless Love. Click this link to find out more: www.amazon.com/author/janblonk

     A Glorious Sacrifice contains 40 short devotionals on God’s infinite love, fully expressed in the death of His Son. Each devotional takes only 3 minutes and will be a great blessing and encouragement to your faith. Jesus said we’re to daily “feed on His flesh” and “drink His blood.” This book will help you do so! www.amazon.com/author/janblonk

     I encourage you to sign up for my blog. You’ll receive new devotionals, updates on upcoming books, and info on FREE promotions. You’ll also get a FREE copy of An Unfathomable Gift! God’s Astonishing Grace (4.8/5 stars on Amazon): www.thegloryofchrist.com/free-book

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Jan Blonk
The Devotional Writer

Christmas is about God’s Glory

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And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!”

Luke 2:13-14

There is a remarkable unity between God highest good and our highest good. They are never at odds. God has one goal: the glory of His name. While that might sound self-centered, it’s actually our greatest treasure. For example, let’s consider the world’s best piano player. As we listen to him, will it be beneficial for us if he decides to only play a minimal of his skill? Or will it be beneficial for us if he decides to give his best performance ever? Do we need to say anything else?

     Christmas is about God’s glory: “Glory to God in the highest.” We see the glory of His love, giving His Son. We see the glory of His humility, being born as a baby, far removed from any royal palace. We see the glory of His grace, coming to redeem and restore us. We see the glory of His mercy, not treating us like we deserve. Throughout Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension, we see God’s glory manifested and displayed for all to see.

     Paul captured that as follows: “Who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8). That‘s our eternal peace, comfort, and joy!

     Paul then continued with the end result, God’s glory: “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philip 2:9-11).

     Christmas is about our peace with God, which is synonymous with His infinite favor toward us. Thus, our greatest well-being is in full relation to Jesus’ exaltation and “the glory of God the Father.” At Christmas, and throughout the year, we’ve all the reasons in the world to join the “the heavenly host praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among those with whom he is pleased!’”

Jan Blonk
Author of “An Unfathomable Gift!“