God’s Design for New Men

GOLDEN TEXT: “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” —Ezekiel 36:27

JEREMIAH 31:31-34; I PETER 1:13-16,22,23

OUR Golden Text and the first Scripture passage of this lesson, pertain to God’s design for new men in the coming social order which will be the kingdom of Christ—God’s new world of tomorrow. The Golden Text applies particularly to the people of Israel restored to their Promised Land and enlightened to recognize Jesus as their Messiah and King. The precepts of the text will, of course, eventually be extended to the whole world of mankind who will desire to receive the blessings of Messiah’s kingdom.

Jeremiah 31:31-34 is a promise of a “new covenant” which is yet to be made “with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.” This promise contrasts the old Law Covenant which God made with the nation of Israel through their lawgiver, Moses, with the New Covenant, showing that in the case of the latter, divine law will be written in the hearts of the people, and in “their inward parts.”

It is this covenant that is referred to in Isaiah 42:6 where the promise is made that Christ will be given to the people “for a covenant,” that is, as a Mediator to establish a covenant of heart atonement between God and men. Isaiah 49:8-10 contains a similar promise, and, according to the Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 6:1,2, this includes the church of this Gospel age as associates with Jesus in establishing the promised New Covenant.

The New Covenant will be very far-reaching in its blessing, for the Lord tells us that when it is fully made with all the people it will no longer be necessary for one to say to his neighbor, “Know the Lord: for they all shall know him, from the least of them unto the greatest of them.” Surely all should be able to see that no such design of God has as yet been carried out in the earth; but it will be carried out during the thousand years of Christ’s kingdom.

In this original promise of the New Covenant it is shown to be first of all made with the people of Israel, but other promises of God reveal that it will not be limited to them. Ezekiel 16:6-63 is one of these promises. Here we are assured that certain wicked, non-Israelitish nations of the past will be given to Israel for “daughters,” and brought into the same covenant which God has promised to make with them.

II Corinthians 3:6 speaks of Christians as becoming “able ministers of the new testament,” or covenant. This does not mean that the New Covenant is now in force, but simply that its ministers, or servants, are being selected and prepared. The church will be associated with Jesus in the work of establishing and mediating that covenant. King Jesus will then rule the people; and, as Mediator, he will reconcile the people to God, and the church will participate with him in both of these works.

The mediating of the Law Covenant called for the offerings of sacrifice in advance of the time it was actually inaugurated. The same is true with respect to the New Covenant. This offering of the “better sacrifices” began with Jesus, and has continued throughout the entire age. To this end the footstep followers of Jesus are still presenting their bodies a “living sacrifice.”

Thus we might say that there are two parts, or aspects, of the work of mediating the New Covenant—the sacrificial phase, and the glory phase. Jesus and his followers have been servants of that covenant by laying down their lives in sacrifice; and, when exalted to glory will continue to serve until the covenant is actually made with all who will come under its terms of obedience to divine law, and that law is actually written in their “inward parts.”

Our lesson citation from Peter’s first epistle pertains exclusively to the followers of Jesus at the present time. We are to “gird up the loins of our minds,” “be sober, and hope to the end for the grace” that is to be brought unto us at the revelation of Jesus Christ. The blessings of the world under the New Covenant will be immediate and tangible, but Christians of this age must continue to “hope” for their reward.

Nevertheless, it is a Christian responsibility to practice “holiness unto the Lord.” And that holiness is to be “in all manner of conversation”—or conduct, as the meaning of the Greek word indicates. True, holiness accrues from obedience to the Word of truth. This is symbolized as a “washing by the water of the Word.” This purification leads to an “unfeigned love of the brethren.”

Verse 23 speaks of “being born again.” This would be more properly translated “begotten again,” and it is also accomplished by the “Word of God.” The word “begotten” suggests the beginning of a new life. It is the beginning of our life as a “new creature.” (II Cor. 5:16,17) Its completion, or birth, will be in the resurrection.

QUESTIONS

To whom does our Golden Text and the promise of the New Covenant apply?

What will be the difference between the New Covenant and the old Law Covenant?

How do we know that the church will share in the work of mediating the New Covenant?

To whom does Peter’s admonition to holiness apply?

Are Christians “born” of the Spirit in this life? Explain.

| Home Page | Table of Contents |