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- Website: Ichthys.com
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Covenants in general in the ancient Middle East required two parties and a formal blood-sacrifice for ratification wherein both sides agree to abide by the terms specified. A biblical covenant is an agreement made by God on mankind’s behalf, wherein God undertakes to bless all those who faithfully follow Him. God’s part is two-fold: He supplies blessing (culminating in resurrection and eternal life), and He provides the blood-sacrifice (the gift of His Son, necessary to redeem us from sin so that we may be blessed). Our part is to keep faith with Him (i.e., accepting Christ and continuing to trust Him, believe Him, obey Him, follow Him: cf. Gen.15:6). God’s covenants are formalized promises that provide those who have set their hearts on following Him with a strong basis for confident hope, because God has not only promised the eternal life and concomitant blessings we eagerly await, but has irrevocably bound Himself to fulfill them. Therefore although part of these covenants’ fulfillment is yet future (requiring those who accept God’s gracious offer of salvation which is at the heart of both covenants to trust Him while waiting patiently for fulfillment after the pattern of Abraham’s faith and patience), fulfillment is absolutely certain for all who embrace the promises and persevere in faith.<!– — –> Both Old and New Covenants are ratified by blood: the Old through the shadow of animal blood, the New through the death of our Lord Jesus Christ on the cross (where the reality of His death on our behalf and in our place—and wherein He did not bleed to death: Jn.19:30-37—is symbolized by the phrase “the blood of Christ”: Heb.9:16-22). God promises, formalizes the promises, and pays the most severe price to fulfill the covenants He has established – the price being the sacrifice of His only beloved Son. We benefit from His unconditional and glorious act of grace, if we but trust in Jesus and stay faithful to Him. Whether it be present day believers who partake of the communion which proclaims the completed reality of salvation through the blood of Christ (Matt.26:26-29), or believers of the past who partook of sacrificial meals “of covenant” that foreshadowed the future reality of salvation (Ex.12:1-12; cf. Gen.31:51-54), our participation “proclaims the death of Jesus until He comes” (1Cor.11:26) and so pledges our continuing faith and faithfulness.<!– — –> The old, shadow covenant(s) (cf. Ezek.16:60 “covenant of youth”) and the memorial, “New” covenant (cf. Ezek.16:60 “everlasting covenant”) thus both proclaim the salvation to which we are heirs and partakers by the work of God through our continuing faith in Jesus Christ:
But Christ has already arrived [in heaven] as high priest of the good things to come, [having passed] through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, that is, the one which is not of this creation. Nor was it through the blood of goats and bullocks, but through His own blood (i.e., His death) that He entered once and for all into the holy of holies, having wrought eternal redemption. For if the blood of goats and bulls and the ashes of the heifer sprinkled upon the unclean render a person holy in respect to bodily cleansing, how much more will the blood of Christ, who offered Himself without defect to God through the eternal Spirit, cleanse our conscience from dead works so that we may serve the living God? And it is for this reason that He is the Mediator of a New Covenant, so that those who have been called might receive their eternal inheritance on the basis of the death He suffered to redeem us from the transgressions [committed] under the first Covenant.
I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and shall take You by the hand, and guard You, and appoint You a covenant for the nations and a light for the gentiles.
Summary points
Covenants in the ancient Middle East required two parties and a formal blood-sacrifice for ratification.
A biblical covenant is an agreement made by God on mankind’s behalf, wherein God undertakes to bless all those who faithfully follow Him. The duties of the two parties in biblical covenants are as follows:
- God supplies blessing (culminating in resurrection and eternal life), and He provides the blood-sacrifice (the gift of His Son, necessary to redeem us from sin so that we may be blessed).
- Our part is to keep faith with Him (i.e., accepting Christ and continuing to trust Him, believe Him, obey Him, follow Him: cf. Gen.15:6).
If we fulfill our part of the covenant, God is “legally obligated” (we might say) to fulfill His part. This ought to be a great comfort to us, and in fact, it is necessary for us to keep this firmly in mind as we struggle to wait upon future complete deliverance.
God promises, formalizes the promises, and pays the most severe price to fulfill the covenants He has established – the price being the sacrifice of His only beloved Son. All we have to do to benefit from His unconditional and glorious act of grace is trust in Jesus and stay faithful to Him.
Whether it be present day believers who partake of the communion which proclaims the completed reality of salvation through the blood of Christ (Matt.26:26-29), or believers of the past who partook of sacrificial meals “of covenant” that foreshadowed the future reality of salvation (Ex.12:1-12; cf. Gen.31:51-54), our participation “proclaims the death of Jesus until He comes” (1Cor.11:26) and so pledges our continuing faith and faithfulness.
- Communion is actually a formal reminder of the conditions of the covenant, and a physical means to demonstrate our commitment to our part in it.
Follow-on topics
I think probably the biggest takeaway here in my eyes is that it is proper for us to view communion as a physical representation of our side of the covenant. The Bible actually directly says this, more or less: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you” (Luke 22:20). But have you ever made this connection so directly? I’ll confess I hadn’t, at least not completely.
The hard part of all this is waiting. We know if we follow our side of the deal, God will come through on His part (not only because He promised to—which would be good enough all on its own given who God is—but because he has formally bound Himself to do so). But no part of this said that the deliverance will be immediate. Instead, we need to strive to cultivate the same faith Abraham had in His long years waiting for an heir, and and in the same way choose to wait confidently upon the Lord in our own circumstances.