Author: David McKay

In important areas of life, we are familiar with the principle of representation.  Usually in a democracy citizens entrust decision-making to elected representatives, so that a government acts on behalf of its citizens.  What the government does commits the whole nation, as for example in the declaration of war.  The decision of their representatives implicates every individual.  The principle of representation lies at the heart of God’s dealings with the human race.  In The Bible’s Covenant Story, we consider 12. Romans 5:12-21 Adam and Christ.

1. Death in Adam

            (i). Representation.  Paul makes clear the relationship between Adam and the human race – ‘the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men’ (v18).  By God’s decree Adam represented the whole human race.  Adam in Eden stood in a covenant relationship with God.  In the Covenant of Works Adam was our covenant head.  We are ‘in Adam’.

            (ii). Disobedience.  Paul speaks of ‘the trespass of the one man’ (v15).  The nature of Adam’s sin, according to Genesis 3, was refusal to submit to his covenant Lord in his thinking and his acting.  Refusing the place assigned him in the Covenant of Works, Adam fell to Satan’s temptation (‘You will be like God’) and became a covenant breaker.

            (iii). Consequences.  ‘The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation’ (v16).  The whole race was implicated in covenant breaking.  The result is ‘death through sin’ (v12) and ‘the many were made sinners’ (v19).  The result is death of soul and body, leading to eternal death in hell.  We are covenant breakers under the holy wrath of God.

2. Life in Christ

(i).  Representation.  Our relationship to Christ is based on the same principle of representation.  Thus ‘through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous’ (v19).  Christ acts as the representative of his people, the head of his elect in the Covenant of Grace (see Genesis 3:15 for the foreshadowing of his work).  His people are beneficiaries of all he does.  By God’s grace, we are ‘in Christ’ (1 Corinthians 15:22).

            (ii). Obedience.  The heart of the work of Christ is obedience – ‘through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous’ (v19).  He supplies the obedience that we have not rendered: he keeps the covenant.  There are 2 elements in his obedience:

            He lived the life of perfect obedience to God’s law that we have not lived.

            He died the death on the cross that is the penalty for our covenant breaking.

This is the ‘one act of righteousness’ (v19) that supplies all we need for salvation.

            (iii). Consequences.  The results of Christ’s work for us can be summed up as ‘life’ (v18).  It is a wide-ranging blessing that includes both body and soul, salvation in all its richness.  Here Paul focuses on justification – our righteous status before a holy God.  It is in this sense that we are ‘made righteous’.  The ‘gift’ (v17) we receive is the very righteousness of Christ.  Alive in Christ, by the Spirit’s working we may now live as covenant keepers.

The speech of Stephen when on trial before the Sanhedrin (Acts 7) is a deeply significant survey of the history of Israel.  It provides a theological interpretation of the historical unfolding of God’s plan of salvation from Abraham right through to the arrival of the Messiah.  In the course of his speech Stephan also provides many inspired insights into the people and events of the Old Testament, such as Moses (v20ff).  Consider Acts 7:22 Powerful in speech and action.

1. Moses – powerful in speech and action

The OT shows that, as God’s appointed leader, Moses was a man who exercised great power:

            (i).  In speech.  He was the channel of God’s revelation, chiefly the one who brought God’s law to Israel (Exodus 32, 34).  He was the pattern for how later prophets were to minister, and God promised one day he would raise up a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15).

            (ii).  In action.  By the power of the Lord Moses did many mighty acts, beginning with the plagues in Egypt (Exodus 7-11).  Powerful physically, mentally and spiritually, he did ‘wonders and miraculous signs’ as Stephen says in v36.

2. Jesus – powerful in speech and action

It is Jesus, the anointed Messiah, who fulfils all that the ministry of Moses foreshadowed.  To a degree impossible to a sinful mortal like Moses, Jesus was ‘powerful in speech and action.  Note:

            (i).  In speech.  Note the testimony of the temple guards – ‘No-one ever spoke the way this man does’ (John 7:46).  He was the final perfect Prophet, speaking with authority (Mark 1:22).  With his powerful words he could still a storm (Mark 4:39), raise the dead (John 11:43) and forgive sins (Mark 2:5).  His word is life-transforming.

            (ii).  In action.  He performed ‘miracles, wonders and signs’ (Acts 2:22) as testimonies to his identity.  His most powerful works relate to his death on the cross by which he provided salvation (2 Corinthians 5:21) and defeated the powers of evil (Colossians 2:15), and also to his resurrection which testifies to his victory and places him at the Father’s right hand (Romans 8:34).

3. Believers – powerful in speech and action

Believers are not called to repeat those actions of Jesus that relate to salvation, but they are called to serve him, above all as his witnesses.  Thus, we are to be ‘powerful in speech and action’:

            (i).  In speech.  We are to speak only what will build others up (Ephesians 5:29).  Above all speech is to be used to communicate the gospel, as in Acts 8:4.  A ‘silent witness’ is not enough – sinners need to hear ‘the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17).

            (ii).  In action.  We must put the Word into practice (James 1:22).  If godly living is not evident, a profession of faith is empty.  This is linked to gospel witness, where care for bodily needs expresses genuine love, that also requires sharing the gospel.  Word and deed go together.

Imagine a prisoner who has served a long sentence in harsh conditions.  Finally, he is pardoned and released.  What will he want to do?  He will not walk back to prison and ask to be readmitted.  To return would be utter folly.  The Galatian Christians had been set free.  The bondage they had been living under was broken, yet they were beginning to return to the old ways.  Paul was deeply concerned about them and wrote to address their problem.  We consider Galatians 5:1 Freedom in Christ.

1. Freedom from

We begin with the negative aspect of freedom.  Paul refers to a ‘yoke of slavery’ to which Christians are not to become subject again.  In the context of Galatians, it is freedom from:

            (i).  The law.  It is not that we have been freed from an obligation to love God and our neighbour (Mark 12:30-31).  We are, however, freed from the curse of God that rests on the breakers of his law (3:13).  The Saviour has paid the price for our release.  We are also set free from the ceremonial law of the Old Covenant which Christ has fulfilled.  We are also freed from trying to establish our righteousness by law-keeping.

            (ii).  Sin.  In Christ we have redemption from sin in all its aspects: the guilt of sin, since the atonement he made at the cross deals with our debt of sin (Ephesians 1:7), and the power of sin, since we have died to sin in our saving union with Christ (Romans 6:11).

2. Freedom for

Freedom in Christ has also a wonderful positive aspect.  We have been set free to enjoy life ‘to the full’ (John 10:10).  We are under the light ‘yoke’ of Christ (Matthew 11:29-30).  We are freed for discipleship, following the king who freed us.  Note 2 key elements:

            (i).  Holiness.  We are to ‘strive’ for holiness (Hebrews 12:14), because our God is holy (1 Peter 1:16).  Holiness is likeness to Christ, best summed up in the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ (v22-23).  Where the Spirit is, there is true freedom (2 Corinthians 3:17).

            (ii).  Service.  Freedom is never an excuse for idleness.  The Lord gives gifts to his people that are to be used (like the talents of Matthew 25:14).  Whatever the gifts entrusted to us, our responsibility is to use them fruitfully, in his service, by the enabling of the Spirit.

3. Freedom preserved

It is possible to lose our freedom, not in principle, but in practice.  We may not realise its value or we may regard it as restrictive since it prevents indulgence in sin.  To forsake freedom in Christ is to return to the ‘yoke of slavery’ which is nothing but a burden.  We must ‘Stand firm’ – holding fast to freedom.  We have the responsibility to preserve the freedom – ‘do not let yourselves be burdened’ – of course with the help of the Spirit.  In the context of Galatians, Paul sees 2 threats:

            (i).  The law.  We may begin to think our obedience earns God’s favour.

            (ii).  Tradition.  We may add manmade rules to try to enhance our merit with God.

Both produce bondage since we never obey well enough.  We are to live free in the saviour who promises, ‘I will give you rest’ (Matthew 11:28).

The core of the Christian faith is that God has revealed himself finally and perfectly in Jesus Christ, who is himself God (John 1:18).  Our faith is based on historical events which are themselves miraculous.  Without the person and work of Christ there is no Christian faith.  The coming of Jesus into the world is often sentimentalised, but it is one of the greatest events in history and full of meaning.  We want to consider John 1:14 The Word became flesh.

1. A new nature

‘The Word became flesh’ is one of the most amazing statements in the Bible, full of wonder and mystery.  Who is ‘the Word’?  We have a magnificent description in v1ff.  He had no starting point – he simply ‘was’.  The doctrine of the Trinity is clearly present here – the Word ‘was with God, and the Word was God’ (v1).  The early church took much debate to establish the language to be used to describe God’s being, but concluded that there is one God in three eternally existing, equal persons.  The Word is the Son, who exists eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit.  He is also the Creator (v3), involved in all that God has made.  The eternal Son ‘became flesh’ – God shares our nature.  The use of ‘flesh’ indicates human nature in its weakness, such that Jesus became tired and hungry and was subject to death.  He ‘became’ flesh – without ceasing to be God, he took a new nature into union with his divinity and is God and man in one person.  In Jesus we have a Saviour who shares our nature.  In him God has come as close as possible to us, a testimony to his love and compassion.

2. A new dwelling

In Jesus God ‘made his dwelling among us’.  Literally John says that he ‘tabernacled’ among us.  The tabernacle was the place where God in a special sense dwelt among his people.  This echoes the covenant promise of Leviticus 26:11-12 and Jeremiah 31:33.  God had previously visited men in visible form (eg Genesis 18), but the tabernacling of the Incarnation is final and permanent.  In his coming ‘among us’ we see God’s condescension, coming into a world of sinners.  Thus ‘his own did not receive him’ (v11).  He came knowing that the path he was to walk required humiliation, suffering and death (Philippians 2:8).  The tabernacle was the place where offerings were made and Jesus is the perfect offering who brings full salvation – he is ‘the Lamb of God’ (v29).  His dwelling among us opened the way into God’s kingdom and ensures the fulfilment of Revelation 21:3 ‘the tabernacle…is with men’.

3. A new revelation

The tabernacle was associated with God’s glory (Exodus 40:34).  Hence we read in relation to Jesus, ‘we beheld his glory’, a glory he shares with the Father.  It is to the incarnate Son that John refers, the One who suffered and died.  Those with the eyes of faith could see his glory.  His true nature was evident in the miracles (eg at Cana, John 2:11), at the transfiguration (Mark 9), but especially at the cross.  We see ‘grace’ – free favour providing salvation, and ‘truth’ – the final revelation of the trustworthy God.  Note ‘we beheld’ – close scrutiny, either to seek a saviour or to learn more of him and so obey and love him more.

Jeremiah is usually thought of as a prophet of doom and sorrow, and he did have a message of judgment to deliver which caused him deep anguish.  He had to tell the people of Judah that the nation would be conquered and the people exiled because of sin.  But the gloom was not unrelieved.  Jeremiah also had a message of restoration and forgiveness that looks forward to Christ.  He brings us the promise of the New Covenant.  In The Bible’s Covenant Story, we consider 11. Jeremiah 31:31-34 The New Covenant.

1. The need for the New Covenant

Much of Jeremiah’s preaching aimed to make the people of Judah conscious of sin.  That sin was the breach of the Sinai covenant – ‘the covenant that I made with their fathers’ (v32) – the ‘old’ covenant to which succeeding generations were bound.  God pledged himself to the nation as a ‘husband’ and gave his law as their guide for life.  Nevertheless, the nation turned away and forsook their covenant obligations, bringing God’s covenant curse upon them (Jeremiah 11:8).  A replacement for the old covenant was needed.  The fault was not in the covenant, but ‘God found fault with the people’ (Hebrews 8:8).  The written law showed the right way to live but could not change the hearts of the people (Jeremiah 13:23).  Our need for the New Covenant is just as great.  In Adam we are covenant breakers and we die ‘in Adam’ (1 Corinthians 15:22).  God’s law simply condemns us: we need a change of heart.

2. The basis of the New Covenant

Note that this is still the same Covenant of Grace, made, for example with Abraham.  Its basis is stated in v34 ‘I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more’.  It is the forgiving grace of God to undeserving sinners who could not merit such kindness.  It is a promise of grace that includes us.  God is sovereign in salvation – ‘I will make a new covenant’.  He decrees the terms and even our response is the fruit of regenerating grace.  Our sin is dealt with by Christ paying the penalty at the cross (1 Peter 2:24).  The death of Christ establishes the New Covenant: ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’ (Luke 22:20).  Thus ‘Christ is the Mediator of a new covenant’ (Hebrews 9:15).  Forgiveness was mediated in the old Covenant through sacrifices which pointed to the future Saviour.  Entrance to the New Covenant is by the grace of God changing the heart.

3. The content of the New Covenant

In v33-34 we have a summary of covenant blessings.  The promise is of a deep personal relationship between God and forgiven sinners (v34).  Knowing the Triune God is the essence of covenant life (John 17:3).  Members of the New Covenant are adopted into the family of God.  He is a Father, loving, caring for, protecting, and disciplining.  Note the place of God’s law – I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts’.  The law is an internal principle, with the Lord giving the desire and power to obey.  This is the work of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Philippians 2:13).  Past guilt is dealt with and we are given a new orientation towards obedience (1 John 5:3).  All in the New Covenant will exercise saving faith and have the Lord’s promise of ongoing cleansing.

The exile in Babylon was a traumatic experience for the people of Judah, brought about by their own sin.  It was, however, temporary, as the Lord in grace restored many of the people to their homeland.  They returned to a devastated city.  Under Ezra the temple was rebuilt and under Nehemiah the walls were rebuilt.  The people had their identity once again and it was a time of spiritual renewal.  In Nehemiah 8 the nation gathers to hear Ezra read the law of God.  For seven days a feast is celebrated, then the people renew their covenant with the Lord.  In The Bible’s Covenant Story, we consider 10. Nehemiah 9-10 Adoration and confession.

1. Adoration of God

The prayer of 9:5-38 is offered on behalf of all the people of God.  At its centre is the Lord, the God of Israel.  The people bow in adoration of such a glorious God.  We will never be concerned about our covenant commitment unless we have a high – biblical – view of our God.  He is worthy of our wholehearted dedication.  Note:

            (i).  ‘You alone are God’ (v6).  This is the core of true faith: one true God.  Such a confession implies that this God is to be the centre of life, directing all we do.  Our lives are to be shaped by the fact that ‘Jesus Christ is Lord’ (Philippians 2:11).

            (ii).  You made the heavens…you give life to everything’ (v6).  The universe is God’s handiwork, showing his power and glory.  Our every breath is by his permission.

            (iii).  He is a God of grace.  That is a constant theme of the covenant, e.g. with Abraham (v7-8).  Saved by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9), we live by grace (1 Corinthians 15:10).

            (iv).  He is a forgiving God – ‘a God of pardons, gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love’ (v17).  He is able to forgive because of the sacrifice of his Son (1 Peter 2:24).  We are cleansed by the blood of Christ, many times (1 John 1:9).

            (v).  He is a God who ‘keeps his covenant love’ (v32).   Though he could cast us off, for our sins, his grace keeps us in the covenant.  It is an awesome truth.

2. Confession of sin

If we have a biblical view of God, we will also have a profound sense of our sin.  We have here a frank exposure of the sins of the people (e.g. v16).  There is also a willingness to accept that their sins contribute to the sin of the nation.  We need to come often to the point of confessing our sins to the Lord – ‘you have been just, you have acted faithfully, while we did wrong’ (v33).  Measuring ourselves against the perfection of God, we see how far short we fall, and we cannot hide our sin from him (1 John 1:8).  We need his gracious forgiveness.

3. Promise of obedience

The covenant is made (9:38), and a promise of obedience is given – ‘to obey carefully’ (10:29).  The principles still apply to us as we show love by obeying the Lord (John 14:15):

            (i).  10:30 – no marriage with unbelievers (see 2 Corinthians 6:14).

            (ii).  10:31 – honouring the Sabbath, a good indicator of spiritual health.

            (iii).  110:32-39 – supporting the worship of God.  To avoid the fellowship of the Lord and his people inevitably leads to spiritual weakness and decline.