A REVELATION ON OLD COVENANT VS NEW COVENANT
Today’s New Covenant nugget is from Hebrews 8:13
When God speaks of “A new covenant,” He makes the first one obsolete. And whatever is becoming obsolete (out of use, annulled) and growing old is ready to disappear.
Bible teachers and preachers that do not have a revelation of God’s different covenants with people will teach the Word in error. Yes, it is all God’s Word, but it is God speaking, teaching and instructing His people through different covenants. Ford released an owner’s manual for the owners of their 1903 Model A Ford, that owner’s manual will be of little use for their 2021 Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 with 760 horses of supercharged-V-8. In the same way, God’s owner’s manual for His New Covenant church is far different than His previous owner’s manuals for other dispensations.
Much of what Jesus said and taught was to the Jews under the Old Covenant, but some of what He said and taught was clearly New Covenant, or to prepare all people for the New Covenant. The Bible says that we need to rightly DIVIDE the Word. (2 Timothy 2:15) That means that as students of the Word, we need to get revelation knowledge and discernment on the different covenants, the context of scripture and what is literal vs figurative. (For example, Jesus did not literally command believers to pick up snakes… He was referring to our authority over powers of darkness.)
Some will teach, “Jesus said that if you do not forgive, you will not be forgiven.” Correct, Jesus did teach that, but He taught it ‘as a teacher of the Law, to Jews’, not to us as His Church. That teaching goes against the New Covenant of grace and brings fear, condemnation and bondage. (Remember, the Law was the Law was given to expose sin and to show the need for the New Covenant in Christ) Jesus also taught that ‘if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out!’ Sitting under such teachings will lead to a bunch of believers without eyes that believe that they may go to hell because they did not completely forgive someone.
Under the New Covenant of grace, we don’t pluck out our eyes to stop sinning, we receive an abundance of grace under the blood of Jesus to destroy sin at the root. Under the New Covenant, we forgive by grace through faith, not as a pre-condition for our own forgiveness.
Some teach ‘spiritual warfare’ they start in the book of Daniel (under the Old Covenant) and teach that our prayers can be hindered by spirits of darkness that are ‘dark princes’ over cities, and that we need to fast and pray until Michael the archangel comes to break through. They then go to Ephesians 6 (New Covenant) where they teach that we need to wrestle against powers of darkness. (Jesus already defeated all powers of darkness, so, no ‘mud wrestling’ needed). They then Link 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 and teach that we need to speak in ‘warring tongues’ and use spiritual weapons like flags, shofars and banners to defeat spirits of darkness. (1 Corinthians teaches that we overcome unscriptural thoughts by the Word of God, it is not talking about devils in the atmosphere!) They teach that if we do this we will open up portholes in the heavenlies, so that blessings can pour through.
In the example I just gave it demonstrates the chaotic bondage that the devil puts on people of God who sit under teachers and preachers who do not understand God’s covenants and who do not teach scripture in context. In the New Covenant we are seated in heavenly places in Christ, so we do not need a porthole, or an open window to be blessed, we are already blessed! Under the New Covenant, devils are not princes over cities, Jesus is the King of Kings and we as believers are the kings, priests and princes over cities, in fact, we are the portholes of blessings to a dark and lost world. In the New Covenant, our prayers cannot be hindered in the heavenlies, because we don’t pray ‘up’ to Jesus, He is inside of us, and we are seated in Heaven, with Him, next to the Father, and the devil is under our feet! Our spiritual warfare is to live by faith and by our confession of faith, not to fight devils with flags, shofars, banners and other paraphernalia. (1 Peter 5:9 (TPT) “Take a decisive stand against him and resist his every attack with strong, vigorous faith.” (Resist him by remaining fervent in your faith)” We speak the Word with authority in faith and then Jesus brings His Word to pass. When we see a devil, we bind it, in Jesus Name, or cast it out, in Jesus Name, just as Jesus did… do not get involved in long useless religious rituals that remind me of the prophets of Baal and Elijah… they leaped about, shouting and cutting themselves trying to get the attention of their dead gods. Our God is not dead, and we are His kids, Jesus conquered, now we are more than conquerors!
It is so very important to ‘take heed to what you hear’ as Jesus taught. Well-meaning teachers, preachers and believers get themselves and others into all kinds of bondage when they do not have a revelation of God’s covenants, or of the New Covenant of grace.
The Old Covenant is full of types and shadows, the New Covenant is full of Jesus, and He has fulfilled every requirement of the Old Covenant Law, now, those of us in Christ get to walk in total freedom where everything we do is by His power, strength and ability, His pain has resulted in our gain, now that’s freedom, thank you Jesus for grace!
In His amazing love, Nick
