The beginning of the Christian Church started on the day of Pentecost. The term Church means “the called-out ones” these are the believers in Jesus Christ. The Church started in a powerful explosive way with the Holy Spirit being released into the Believer. In the Old Covenant, the Holy Spirit was “on” or “with” a person. Now in the New Covenant the Holy Spirit “lives in” the Believer. 

The Church, as we know it today, did not start until the Day of Pentecost, 40 days after Jesus rose from the grave. Before the crucifixion, Jesus ministered in the synagogues as an Old Testament Prophet. He preached that the Kingdom of God was present in the hearts of Believers, which, as you can imagine, did not go over well with Jewish teachings. In the beginning, they tolerated Jesus, but as time passed and the followers of Jesus grew, the Jewish leaders felt threatened, and they looked for ways to expel Him.  

What Jesus taught was “new wine,” but it was received in “old wineskins” and, therefore, rejected. This means that God was doing a new thing, and the religious Jews preferred the old familiar ways! As Jesus said in Matthew 21:42, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” This verse was a reference to Psalm 118:22 and meant that the devout Jews who trusted in their religious practices stumbled over the message of Grace and Faith that Jesus taught. 

Prelude to the Baptism of the Holy Spirit

The gift of the Holy Spirit did not happen without prior notice. It was foretold in the Old Testament (read Jeremiah 31:31) and foretold by Jesus beginning in John 7:37, “On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water. 39 But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.”

Then in Acts 1:4, Jesus said, “And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” The term “promise of the Father” is found in Luke 24:49. Jesus said, “Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued (put on) with power from on high.” 

Let’s take a look at the term “Baptized with or in the Holy Spirit.” The word Baptized means to be totally immersed or submerged. In the case of Water Baptism, you are fully submerged in water. In Spirit Baptism, you are immersed in the Holy Spirit. In other words, you are surrendering to the work of the Holy Spirit in your life.

While Jesus ministered with His Disciples, He spoke of the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. After His resurrection, He mentions it again in Acts 1:9, “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

Baptism of the Holy Spirit

“you shall receive power”.

The word Power is Dynamis in the Greek and it means; force, miraculous power, a miracle itself: — ability, abundance, meaning, mighty deed, worker of miracles, power, strength, violence, mighty wonderful work. We get the word dynamite from Dynamis.

We are referring to supernatural works of God. No matter how talented or gifted you are, your natural ability can only take you so far.  When your natural ability has run-out, that is when the power of God takes over.

“when the Holy Spirit has come upon you”.

The word “eperchomai” in the Greek means; to arrive, come, occur, impend, attack, or influence. The Holy Spirit of God somehow invades the person and empowers that person to do supernatural acts. 

1 Corinthians 12:8-10 describes the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit, all of which are supernatural in origin. “The word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.” 

There are other gifts as well such as the ministry gifts of the Apostle, Prophet, Evangelist, Pastor, and Teacher.

The Baptism of the Holy Spirit is the commitment you make to God to allow Him to direct your path in your personal life and in your ministry life. An important part of that is the knowledge that all believers are called to the Great Commission, which is to make Jesus Christ known by words and deeds.

“You shall be witnesses to Me.”

Let’s continue by looking at the phrase, “you shall be witnesses to Me”. The word Witness comes from the Greek word martys; which means a witness, a “martyr,” to record or witness. Here are two scripture verses to help us understand the word witness.

• Luke 7:22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the Gospel preached to them.”
• Acts 4: the Jewish religious leaders commanded Peter and John not to teach in the name of Jesus. “19 But Peter and John answered and said to them, “Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. 20 For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.”

A witness is one who speaks what he or she has personally heard or seen! Boldness to speak out is what is required. To boldly speak as to what God has shown or done in us is to be a witness to Jesus Christ.

“in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria”.

We need a little geography lesson here. The Kingdom of Israel was one nation, but after King David passed away, the country was split into two parts. It was divided into Israel in the North and Judah in the South. Jerusalem was the capital of Judah, and Samaria was the capital in the north, Israel. Judea is the Roman/Greek name for Judah. 

So, the phrase “in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria” refers to everywhere Jesus ministered while on earth. While Jesus ministered to the nation of the Hebrew people first, He didn’t end there.   Jesus made it clear that the Gospel be preached to the ends of the earth. 

If we extend this model to our circumstances it means, we are responsible for our village, town, city nation first, then to take the message of the Gospel to the “ends of the earth!”

Conclusion:

Some try to teach that the Baptism of the Holy Spirit was for the Apostles only, and when they died off, so did the work of the Holy Spirit.  How can we believe that the power of the Holy Spirit is no longer available to us as believers when the scriptures say in Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.” God does not change! 

To overcome this kind of negative thinking requires faith. In the Kingdom of God, if you don’t believe it, then it will not be possible. You get what you believe for! The opposite of faith is doubt, distrust, or denial.

Faith is believing in the unseen faith is the key to unlocking what has already been provided for you by God’s grace. Remember, faith doesn’t create the supernatural; faith makes it available.

Keep in mind that God’s thoughts are higher than our thoughts, and His ways are not our way of doing things. It was His idea that faith should unlock the gifts of Heaven. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the assurance of things unseen!” That means it is not about figuring things out or human logic. To the natural mind, faith may seem foolish and unreasonable, but you are putting your trust not in logic but in the One who makes the promise. Don’t worry about how God will accomplish it; rest in the confidence that He will achieve it.

Let me close with the words of the Apostle Paul, probably the greatest of the Apostles of Christ. He said in          1 Corinthians 2, “And I, brethren, when I came to you, did not come with excellence of speech or of wisdom declaring to you the testimony of God. 2 For I determined not to know anything among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified. 3 I was with you in weakness, in fear, and in much trembling. 4 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, 5 that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.”

In episode or post 80, We said that the Bible teaches that Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness (2 Cor 5:20-21). We have been forgiven of our sins in the past, the present, and the future. While this is difficult to comprehend, we must accept by faith that Jesus is able and in fact, did forgive us of all of our sins.

In episode or post 81, we examined the fact that Jesus took our death that we might have His life; (Rom 5:10 Hebrews 2:9). Our death, which meant eternal separation from God, has now become eternal life with God.

We have received Heaven instead of Hell.

Today we will look at the truth that Jesus experienced Hell that we might experience Heaven. Before we were born-again, we deserved Hell, but because Jesus took our punishment, we have been given Heaven. That was the exchange.

As Jesus hung on the Cross and took on the sins of humanity, He cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). This moment represents His experience of what Hell was like, burdened with the sins of humankind and separated from Father God. However, this experience of Hell could not hold the King of kings and the Lord of lords!

How did this exchange take place?
The book of Hebrews was written to a Hebrew audience. In particular to  Jews who were very familiar with the Sacrificial System. It is in this context of the Law that Hebrews 13:11-12 are understood. “11 For the bodies of those animals, whose blood is brought into the Sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned outside the camp. 12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate”. 

What does this mean? Jesus was identifying with the Hebrew practice of making a “sin offering.” “Inside the sanctuary,” the Temple priest would take an unblemished animal and lay hands on its head (Jesus was unblemished by sin). This was done to transfer or impute the sins of the priest and the sins of the people to the animal. (As believers in Jesus Christ our sins have been imputed or transferred to Him). The priest would then kill the animal, drain its blood, (Jesus shed His blood for us) and then the sacrificial animal containing all the sins of the people was taken “outside the city” to be burned. (Jesus was taken outside the city not to be burned but to be buried).

Jesus stripped Satan of his power over believers in Jesus Christ and led captivity captive.

On the Cross, Jesus took our sins upon Himself and He accomplished two more important things for us. 

He stripped Satan of his power over those who are born-again. Remember, Hell is for those who are not in the New Covenant purchased by Jesus Christ.

• Colossians 2:15 Having disarmed principalities and powers (demonic), He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them in it.
• Luke 10:18-20 And He said to them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven. 19 Behold, I give you the authority to trample on serpents and scorpions (demonic), and overall the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20 Nevertheless do not rejoice in this, that the spirits are subject to you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in Heaven.”

Jesus also led “captivity captive.”
As a side note: Sheol (OT), Hades (NT), and Hell (NT) represent the same place. Old Testament theology believed that Hell had two areas, the place where the unrighteous dead went called Gehenna and a place where the righteous dead went called Paradise or Abraham’s bosom (The account of the Rich Man and Lazarus, Luke 16:19-31).

Ephesians 4:7-8 “But to each one of us grace was given according to the measure of Christ’s gift. 8 Therefore He says: ‘When He ascended on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts to men.’” 

Jesus led those who were in captivity in Paradise or Abraham’s Bosom. These would be the Old Testament saints who were righteous under the Law and awaiting the coming Messiah or Christ.

What the Devil intended to be a defeat for our Lord Jesus turned into a glorious victory for our God and the people of God!

Conclusion

You are (1) forgiven and (2) therefore have eternal life with God in Heaven, and (3) Satan with all of his demons have no power or authority over you!

God’s gifts are received by faith.

2 Corinthians 1:20 For all the promises of God in Him are Yes (the promise), and in Him Amen (the confirmation, so be it), to the glory of God through us. 21 Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, 22 who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee (or down-payment).

Remember all of the exchanges that the New Covenant provides are already present and available to receive as a result of God’s grace. However, they must be received by faith, that is we must believe it and then we must live our lives as if we believe. Not in doubt, fear, uncertainty or confusion. “For we walk by faith and not by sight”! (2 Corinthians 5:7).

Grace means that we receive that which we don’t deserve, and at the same time give to the Lord that which we do deserve. We receive His righteousness or right standing with God the Father and give to Jesus the punishment we deserve. The scripture tells us that none of us are righteous in our own merit or behavior, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”! (Romans 3:23)

Exchange

This is where the idea of exchange takes place. By our faith in Jesus, we receive all the blessings and pass on to Jesus all of our sins and the consequences of our sin. Now what is important to understand is that we are talking about spiritual things, not necessarily natural things. The spiritual realm is much more important than the physical because the spiritual is eternal, the physical is temporal or temporary (2 Cor 4:18). 

The Spiritual Kingdom

As Christians, we live in the Kingdom of God while still here on earth. Jesus’ encounter with Nicodemus in John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” Then in John 3:5, “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

His Kingdom is in us. 

In Luke 17:20 Jesus said, “The kingdom of God does not come with observation; 21 nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.”

Jesus took our sins and gave us His forgiveness

As we mentioned in the last post the first exchange of grace that we receive by faith, was that; Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness. The Apostle Paul states the following fact in 2 Cor 5:20-21, “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him”.

1. Sin vs. sin? – the symptom of sin vs. the root cause of sin! Instead of covering over sin as in the Old Covenant, Jesus took our sins and replaced our sin nature with the Holy Spirit who is righteous!

An Exchange; Life for Death

Today we will look at the second example of the gift of grace that we receive by faith and that is, Jesus took our death that we might have His life; “For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life” (Rom 5:10; see also Heb 2:9).

You see because we have been forgiven, we are reconciled with God. God’s intent is that we live forever with Him. That was His intention at the beginning with Adam and Eve. Remember Genesis 2:16 “And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, ‘Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; 17 but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die.’” What did God mean when He said, “you shall surely die”?

We are Spiritual Beings

When God created mankind, He created them as triune beings- spirit, soul and body (Genesis 2:7, 1 Thessalonians 5:23, Hebrews 4:12). In the Garden of Eden before sin, mankind was to live in fellowship with God for eternity, but when Adam and Eve sinned death crept in. Normally when we think of death we think of physical death, separation from the body, but Adam and Eve continued to live until they were 930 years old, (Genesis 5:5). So, what did God mean “you shall surely die? I believe God was speaking of spiritual death or separation from God! After all, doesn’t sin separate us from God? We learn that from Adam and Eve’s behavior after they recognized their disobedience, they separated or hid from God.

When we say that Jesus took our death and gave us life, we really mean that, spiritually, we are restored or reconciled with God and will live eternally with Him in heaven.

Now, why does Jesus make this gift of grace available to us? It is because we agree with Him when He said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me”. There is no other way. Others may claim they know the way, but you have decided and accept by faith that Jesus is the only way to the Father.

Because of our faith in Jesus and what He did for us, we can release the “fear of death” because it has been swallowed up by life in Christ which is eternal.

The Amplified Bible put it this way in 1 Corinthians 15: 

“53 For this perishable [part of us] must put on the imperishable [nature], and this mortal [part of us, this nature that is capable of dying] must put on immortality (freedom from death).

54 And when this perishable puts on the imperishable and this that was capable of dying puts on freedom from death, then shall be fulfilled the Scripture that says, Death is swallowed up (utterly vanquished forever) in and unto victory.

55 O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?

56 Now sin is the sting of death, and sin exercises its power [upon the soul] through [the abuse of] the Law.

57 But thanks be to God, Who gives us the victory [making us conquerors] through our Lord Jesus Christ”.

Conclusion:

Our trust is in one who is alive, for Jesus rose again! Because He lives, we can be confident that we will live too. 

Galatians 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me”.

The Lord chose and made a promise to Abram or Abraham, to be the father of the Hebrews known as the Israelites. Remember, Abraham had two sons, Ishmael and Isaac. Isaac also had two sons, Jacob and Esau. It is Jacob who is significant in God’s plan to fulfill the Covenant of Law. You may also recall that God changed Jacob’s name to Israel. This is where the term “Israelites” comes from. Israel had 12 sons and they became known as the sons or tribes of Israel. The book of Genesis gives an account of all of this.

Several generations later a child is born called Moses. He is the descendant of the third son of Jacob or Israel named Levi therefore, Moses was a Levite. It is Moses whom God fulfills the covenant of Law, which was promised to Abraham.

“The Pentateuch is the first five books of the Bible, called “Torah” in the Hebrew Scriptures. Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Though we often call these books “The Law,” Torah does not mean “law,” but “teaching.” Basic to the Torah is the idea of the covenant. A covenant is an agreement. In the Bible, covenants are special, because God is one of the parties to the covenant. Biblical covenants have three parts:

1. A statement about God’s saving act (what God brings to the agreement); (To make Abraham’s descendants a great nation called Israel.)
2. A statement about what God expects from humanity in response; (Obedience to the Laws or teachings that would produce blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience.)
3. A sign or symbol as a reminder of the covenant. (The sign of Circumcision.)” 

The Covenant of Grace

Biblical history shows that God fulfilled His promise to the people of Israel to make them a great nation. The Lord did this under the rule of King David. Despite God keeping His promise, the nation of Israel utterly failed at keeping the Lord Jehovah at the center of life, and government. 

This is an important lesson for us to understand. No one is able to keep the “Law” perfectly or completely. Because God knew in advance that mankind would fail and that they would see that they needed, not a system of rules and regulations to please God, but a Savior!

The Lord promised a New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31. What God promises He fulfills. He will always keep His promises.

1. Numbers 23:19 “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good”?
2. Titus 1:2 “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began”.
3. Hebrews 6:13-20 makes the case for God’s infallible purpose in Christ, “For when God made a promise to Abraham, because He could swear by no one greater, He swore by Himself, 14 saying, “Surely blessing I will bless you, and multiplying I will multiply you.” 15 And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise. 16 For men indeed swear by the greater, and an oath for confirmation is for them an end of all dispute. 17 Thus God, determining to show more abundantly to the heirs of promise the immutability of His counsel, confirmed it by an oath, 18 that by two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we might have strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us. 19 This hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which enters the Presence behind the veil, 20 where the forerunner has entered for us, even Jesus, having become High Priest forever according to the order of Melchizedek”.
   1. Two unchangeable things – God’s promise (covenant) and His oath. In other words, what God promised and what he vowed cannot change and thus will most surely happen.

The Better Covenant

Earlier I said that Bible covenants are special because God is one of the parties to the covenant. Biblical covenants have three parts: 

1. a statement about God’s saving act (what God brings to the agreement); (Salvation comes to those who put their faith in Jesus Christ)
2. a statement about what God expects from humanity in response; (To walk in and by the Holy Spirit in every area of life)
3. and a sign or symbol as a reminder of the covenant. (The sign of Baptism, which represents a circumcised heart.) 

In the words of the Book of Hebrews, the New Covenant is better than the Old Covenant because it is based upon better promises!

Looking at the first item in the Great Exchange we will look at the fact that Jesus took our sins and gave us His forgiveness! Jesus’s forgiveness is what should make us so grateful that we would not want to abuse His grace. It is this important truth that makes us want to change.

In all covenants with God, an exchange takes place. As covenants are made and kept, God, as the stronger party, gives blessing, provision, protection, wisdom and more to the weaker party, which is mankind. 

In our look at covenants, there is no better example of this exchange than the New Covenant. The exchange is so clear, and what we receive is so glorious and abundant, that it is known by some Bible teachers as “The Great Exchange.” 

Let’s look at the first example of the exchange provided by the New Covenant:

1. Jesus took our sin and gave us forgiveness; “Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ’s behalf, be reconciled to God. 21 For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Cor 5:20-21).
   1. Sin vs. sin nature – the symptom of sin vs. the root cause of sin! Instead of covering over sin as in the Old Covenant, Jesus took our sin away and replaced our sin nature with the Holy Spirit who is righteous!

Of all the exchanges and agreements that have taken place since the beginning of time, the most important exchanges by far are those we have received from Jesus. He truly provided us with The Great Exchange!

As believers, we gave Jesus our sins, failures, guilt, shame, and past. In return, Jesus: 

1. Extends His friendship to us (John 15:14); 
2. Makes us joint-heirs with Him (Rom 8:17); 
3. Wipes away our sins and our past (2 Cor 5:17); 
4. Gives us a hope and a future for this life and eternity (John 14:1-3; Col 1:27; 1 Pet 1:3). 

Let us thank God for Jesus and the New Covenant which is far better than any prior covenant!

Marriage, Covenant or Contract

Some look at marriage as a contract, but that isn’t how the Bible looks at marriage. The Bible looks at marriage as a covenant. The difference between contract and covenant is dramatic. 

Marriage is not a business agreement, in a business contract both parties in the contract agree to fulfill certain responsibilities. In a contract, if one party does not live up to the terms of the contract the contract becomes void. Divorce in modern society is so common because so many couples look at marriage as a contract.

Marriage is a covenant between the bride and the groom. The marriage covenant is an example of two becoming one. In marriage, the two parties become one, one flesh (Gen 2:24; Matt 19:5,6; Eph 5:31). In the marriage vows you are saying that you are taking your spouse as your flesh, to love your spouse even as Christ loves the Church, to protect your spouse and care for your spouse for the rest of your lives. There is no way to void a covenant! Our confidence in Jesus is because we are in a covenant relationship with Him.

In addition, in a marriage covenant there is an exchange, all that belongs to the bride including possessions, debts, and future potential – now belongs to the bridegroom. All that belongs to the bridegroom – possessions, debts, and future potential – now belongs to the bride. All the resources, power, and authority are now shared between the covenant-heads, in this case, the bride and bridegroom.

Covenants cannot be broken for any reason. A covenant implies faithfulness, loyalty, and commitment. If one side of a covenant does not fulfill its obligations, that doesn’t void the covenant. 

David and Jonathan

In a biblical covenant, one covenant-head is generally weaker in power, authority, or wealth. The weaker party would usually covenant with a stronger covenant-head. For instance, Jonathan, a prince and the son of King Saul, was a stronger party who formed a covenant with young David (1 Sam 18:1-4). At that time, David was just a common man from a small family of shepherds.

Just after David killed Goliath a conversation between Jonathan and David is revealed in 1 Samuel 18:1-4, “Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 2 Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. 3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant because he loved him as his own soul. 4 And Jonathan took off the robe that was on him and gave it to David, with his armor, even to his sword and his bow and his belt”. 

You see the more powerful Prince Jonathan gave to David, the emblems of his authority and power- the robe and his weapons. David had nothing to give except his loyalty. Doesn’t that sound like our covenant relationship with Jesus? 

David and Mephibosheth

Let’s go further to look at the relationship between David the King and Jonathan’s son, Mephibosheth. After both King Saul and Jonathan were dead and David was now King of Israel, David remembered the covenant he had made with Jonathan. Here is an important point about Covenants, the terms of a covenant apply to all members associated with the Covenant Heads (Jonathan’s family and David’s family).

For the details please read 2 Samuel chapter 9.  Mephibosheth was crippled in his feet and living in exile outside of Jerusalem. King David was reminded of his covenant with Jonathan and wanted to bless the family of Jonathan, even though he, Jonathan, was dead. David finds out that Mephibosheth is alive. David immediately sends for Mephibosheth. When Mephibosheth arrives in King David’s court, he comes as a pauper and slave, because that was how he saw himself. The King, on the other hand, sees Mephibosheth through the “eyes” of the covenant. David sees him as a prince in his court.

David restores all that was rightfully his as the heir of Jonathan, all the land and possessions. Then, listen to this, and I quote, “As for Mephibosheth,” said the king, “he shall eat at my table like one of the king’s sons.” This is the same promise Jesus makes to those who follow Him (Luke 14:12, Revelation 19:9)!

Abram and Lot

Another example in the Bible of a powerful person coming to the aid of a weaker one because of the covenant principle. This principle gives the weaker person the authority to call upon and receive the power of the stronger one because of the promises made in the covenant agreement. We find in Genesis 14, Lot, Abram’s nephew who is also called brother, chose to leave the physical protection and covering of Abram and move to the region of Sodom. Sometime later, a war broke out (v8, 9). The region in which Lot lived was conquered and of course “to the victor goes the spoils.” The cities, including Lot’s, were plundered of all their wealth (v11).

In this case, the conquering kings made a fatal mistake; they took Lot captive (v12). Abramdiscovered what had happened: “Now when Abram heard that his brother was taken captive, he armed his three hundred and eighteen trained servants who were born in his own house, and went in pursuit as far as Dan” (v14). Because Lot was of Abram’s clan, Lot’s captivity caused the entire clan of Abram to unite and fight against their now common enemy. “So he brought back all the goods and also brought back his brother Lot and his goods, as well as the women and the people” (v16). 

The weaker (Lot) received the power of the stronger (Abram) because Lot was covered as part of the body of people (covenant-body) under the covenant relationship.

This is a very important covenant principle for us as Christians. Because of the New Covenant we have with Christ, which was established by His own blood, we have the power and authority of Jesus released to us! All because, as believers, we are part of the Body of Christ! 

The Great Exchange

In all covenants with God, an exchange takes place. As covenants are made and kept, God, as the stronger party, gives blessing, provision, protection, wisdom and more to the weaker party, which is mankind. 

In our look at covenants, there is no better example of this exchange than the New Covenant. The exchange is so clear, and what we receive is so glorious and abundant, that it is known by some Bible teachers as “The Great Exchange.” 

I promise that in my next post we will look at some of the provisions provided by the New Covenant!