This week has been quite an extrordinary week as the title suggests it has been on the gospel. Not in the way I was expecting though, my personal expecations were we would focus on the gospels but no we look at the whole Old Testement and how this related to the gospel today. I learnt from a complete new perspective that to talk about the Gospel you have to look at the history and Gods overall salvation programme.
Below is a summary of the weeks teaching. For most of you this is not new but I pray that you might see things from a new perspective like I did. For those those of you who this is new I hope that this will explain and answer the questions you may have. Also in a second post I have written all the covenant promises we have with Christ. it was this list that blew my mind.
Check out this link to get an understanding of what a covenant meant.
Covenant with Christ (link)
In the beginning there was God (Trinity) and in his image he created man and woman, physically, emotionally and spiritually in his image totally unique. The purpose to share himself, relationships is on Gods heart. Before 'the fall' God was in perfect unity with man and had created a covenant with many promises. At the heart, the covenant expressed a complete giving up of self for the other, a sharing with each other, a fighting for each other. It showed the seriousness of God had to be joined with humanity. Not just that but it is a promise of being defended, a promise of whatever is Gods is ours. The truth is we are covenant freinds with Christ and all the above apply. This has been Gods plan since 'the fall' to re-establish a covenant freindship with his children eventually finding its completion and fulfilment in Jesus.
History shows a process of salvation, bit by bit God is teaching his people. It's by grace through faith that we enter into the covenant promises, faith defined as being 100% dependant on God the perfect example being Abraham 'the father of faith'. Without faith not only is it impossible to please God but we as a race are capable only of destruction. We see God rescusing the Israelites from the Eygyptians a symbol of our faithful covenant protector defending and saving us from trouble. If you look at their 40 year journey to the promise land God teaches his children about what a covenant means, the need for a tabernacle,sacrifice, atonement wonderul image for the future and God beginning to dwell amoung his people. But God cannot just send Jesus down on a parachute and die on the Cross, they would not understand, first they need to know that they need saving. God then teaches on the law leading his children to an understanding that they need a saviour.
It is now time for Jesus to come, he showed us what it meant to live in a covenant relationship, he was the peoples example. He showed how without God we are put into slavery, under sin, under law, under religion and under the influence of satan. At the garden, at his darkest hour Jesus submitted to God not only taking our sin but becoming a physical curse for us before God. The Cross origianlly a symbol of a curse no becomes our glory, a symbol of baptism, we die with Christ seperated from God, buried with Christ and raised with Christ now into God. Sin, religionm, law and satan's influence on our lives is disarmed and have now been replaced with the Holy Spirit, grace, faith and relationship giving us complete access to God. Not that we would come to God but so that God can come to us and surround uis where we are at for all eternity.
Now we have a new life consisting of 3 things, a life 'in Christ', a life 'with Christ' and a life 'by Christ'. Now a life of perfect relationship can once again be lived.
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