Wayne's World...(23Nov08)

How to read your bible part 3

Wayne Duncan

 

We are doing a series on "How to read your Bible". The reason we are doing this, is that the Bible is a dangerous book if incorrectly approached. The Bible can actually do harm and not good if it is incorrectly read or interpreted. So it becomes very important to as the bible says "correctly divide the word of truth".

 

Within the Bible there is contained an old covenant and a new covenant. Were going to look a little bit at these two covenants today. The one covenant releases death, and the other life. The one brings you into freedom, and the other bondage. It therefore becomes of the highest priority to live in the correct covenant.

 

Much confusion, pain and legalism comes through the terrible error of mixing the two covenants. This mixing of covenants has lead to a decrease in the glory of the church, a decrease in intimacy with Father, and a drying up generally of the supernatural and the miraculous in the church today. But praise God there is a Grace revolution and were coming back to the centrality of the cross. World wide the church is been shaken and only what's of Him will stand. So lets make every effort to ensure that all we are about, and all we hold to is Him.

 

Let us look at what Paul says about this.

2 Corinthians 3:1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you? 2You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody. 3You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts. 4Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God. 6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! 12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold. 13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 18And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

 

We see many comparisons here.

 

First of all we have this comparison of writing on stone tablets and , on hearts of flesh.

3b written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts

The old covenant was also written on stone and the new covenant is written on our hearts. On flesh.

 

Notice one is dead and one is living. Stone, dead. Flesh very much alive.

 

Secondly we see that under the law, when we do well we claim competence for ourselves.

 

:4Such confidence as this is ours through Christ before God. 5Not that we are competent in ourselves to claim anything for ourselves, but our competence comes from God

 

Under the new covenant our competence comes from Him. It's not about what we can do for Him, but what he has done for us and in us, and what he will do through us, if we let Him.

 

The old covenant of law produces self righteousness; the new covenant of grace sees the gift of righteousness freely given to us through Christ's perfect obedience on our behalf.(Rom 5:17)

 

Thirdly,

:6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant

 

Under the old covenant the only way to become competent was to fully obey the law. To become a preist, you had to qualify. You had to be born from the right tribe. You had tom memorize the bible. You had to be chosen as an apprentice if you wanted to advance. You had to be perfectly holy.

 

Under the new covenant He makes us all competent.

 

Under the old covenant only those who fully obeyed the law were qualified and competent to minister.

 

Now under the new covenant, we are all qualified through Jesus, and we can all minister the new covenant. All of us can. No-one is disqualified. Were all ministers. Every one of us, Jesus qualified us!

 

What do you have to do t be competent? Nothing. He has made you competent.

 

Now reading your bible, and studying and prayer and living morally correct can help you be more effective. But that is a lower level of competence. Many read their bibles, pray, and live externally holy lives. But never or seldom demonstrate the kingdom of Heaven. Seldom experience the tangible presence of God. Seldom see signs wonders miracles and salvations. So those things don't essentially qualify you.

 

What qualifies you is that Father loves you and accepts you. He then puts His spirit in every believer. Now in this state…anything can happen. You can heal the sick, experience His presence. You have intimacy with God, you can hear His voice and direction, you can respond to His leading and guiding. He will give you the words for every situation , and the power to back it up.

 

The old covenant destroys faith for the supernatural, the new covenant promises power for the believer. Power to heal the sick, hear from God, and release the kingdom of heaven on earth.

 

You have full power and authority to deal with any situation you may encounter, coz the power that raised Christ from the dead is living and active and working in you powerfully!

 

Now the enemy would not want you to realize who you are, and what God has done to you. If you realize, fully realize who you are as a new creation, as a born again spirit, if we realize the power within us…nothing will ever be the same. In this hour Jesus is recovering the revelation of this truth to his church. This is the new covenant, available for every believer.

 

Fourthly,

:6He has made us competent as ministers of a new covenant--not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.

 

When the first was released at Mount Sinai there was fear and trembling, and 3000 died.

 

In the book of Acts when the New Testament was introduced in reality, there was peace and 3000 were saved! One covenant was a covenant of live and one of death.

 

The old covenant letter kills, but the new covenant spirit is life. If you want to die spiritually, become a legalist. It's a ministry of death. One thing the old covenant will never say is "you've done enough"…your never truly good enough.

 

If you want to live, live by the Holy Spirit. This is life and freedom. One thing the new covenant always promises is "Jesus has done enough".

 

I can't believe people have a fear that when you remove the law you will sin more. It's not just the removal of the law, but the replacing with something infinitely more powerful and effective. The Spirit. How can the power activating ministry of the Spirit within you cause you to sin more? It's impossible!

 

Fithly

:7Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was, 8will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious? 9If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness! 10For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory. 11And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts! 12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

 

The old covenant was a fading glory, that brought death, and condemnation.

 

The new covenant revelation comes with a never fading glory, and ever increasing glory, a incomparable all surpassing glory, and righteousness for every believer.

 

The righteousness of the new covenant was something the old covenant could never produce. No one ever got righteous through the law, only one… Jesus. He then gave this to us as a gift.

 

If that first useless covenant, that God found fault with had so much Glory that people could not look into Moses face, how great is the glory of the new covenant.

 

So the old covenant's glory has faded, and the new covenants glory is ever increasing.

 

Sixthly

12Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.

 

The old covenant never produced boldness, only a permanent feeling of failure and condemnation.

 

Since our confidence is not in ourselves, but in what Jesus has done...we are very bold.

 

We are bold before the Lord…living in the acceptance of intimacy.

 

We are bold in the world, knowing He is always with us.

 

We are bold as ministers, knowing His power is in us and wants to be released through us.

 

We are bold to do anything, and go anywhere! We are bold, coz he has done it. He is in us, so we are bold!

 

Number 7.

13We are not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face to keep the Israelites from gazing at it while the radiance was fading away. 14But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away. 15Even to this day when Moses is read, a veil covers their hearts. 16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

 

The old covenant put a veil over our minds.

 

The new covenant removes the veil.

 

Which leads to number eight

16But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. 17Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom

 

The new covenant is a covenant of freedom.

 

The old covenant was a covenant of bondage.

 

Galatians 3:23 Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed.

 

To the degree that you are still under the old covenant deception, is the degree to which you are still in bondage. The old was a shadow and the new a substance. Live free of the shadow.

 

Number 9

:18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

 

We now reflect the lords glory

 

Number 10

Were being changed from Glory to ever increasing glory.

 

His Glory is that He is changing us.

 

Number 11

All this is from the Lord.

 

Let us abandon every hint of the old covenant. Let us run in the glory and freedom of the New Covenant. Let us live in intimacy with Father. Let us enjoy Him, lets let Him enjoy us.

 

Let the power of who you are and who He created you to be flow out of you, changing every environment you enter.

 

Lead others into this glorious new covenant.

 

Lets worship and thank Him for this awesome freedom and intimacy of the new covenant. Lets be very bold, for he is in us and is working powerfully within us.

 

Comparison of Old and New Covenants from 2 Corinthians 3

 

Old Covenant vs.
 New Covenant
 
Death vs.
 Life
 
Written on stone tablets vs.
 Written on hearts of flesh by the Spirit

 

 (Heb 8:8-13)
No confidence before God, condemnation vs.
 Confidence before God, no condemnation

 

(Rom 8:1)
Self competence/righteousness vs.
 Qualified by Him/gift of righteousness
 
Only select few were ministers vs.
 All competent ministers
 
Of the letter of the law vs.
 Of the Spirit
 
Fading Glory vs.
 Ever increasing, unfading, all surpassing incomparable glory
 
Veil that blinds vs.
 Removal of veil for revelation
 
Powerless for transformation vs.
 Being powerfully transformed

 

We were changed at conversion, this is the process of becoming aware of what we have been changed into.
 
We change ourselves vs.
 All of this is from Him
 
Relationship broken since Adam vs.
 Intimacy restored