GROWING IN THE GRACE OF GOD

These are notes taken from a bible class. I hope that they will indeed help you to "grow" in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ!

The greatest theme of the Word of God; is Jesus Christ, and the greatest theme of our Lord is Grace! When our Lord and his disciples were having the last supper, it is recorded in (Luke 22:20) that our Savior said "This is the cup of the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you."

This page is very long, but it is an awesome study on the "Grace" of God, Grace that is intended for our growth, and also for service. These things are the very heart of the ‘fullness' of the new covenant.

There are three key words here. They are growing, serving and grace. The book of second Peter tells us a lot about "growth." As Christians, growth is a vital part of our walk in and with Christ. Our Lord told us to be ‘transformed'. (Romans 12:2) says "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds." He said "be transformed", not just cope. (2 peter 3:18) says "Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord And Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen." One of the vital dynamics of Gods growth; is that we get to know Him better and better. To grow in grace and knowledge of Him, we need to stay plugged in to Him through study, fellowship and praise!

The next key word here is "serving." It is absolutely Gods will that we are "servants" in His vineyard. As we are transformed by the renewing of our minds, and are growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord, we will be more equipped to minister to others.

"Grace" is the vital factor in growth and service. Unfortunately though, the grace of our Lord is widely underestimated and underused. To be able to fully draw upon this ‘Grace', we need to take a look at; and be able to understand the NEW COVENANT. (With God)

A few synonyms for the new covenant are; Christian discipleship, Spirit filled living, and the abundant life. As for Christian discipleship, (Luke 9:23) says; "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." True Christian discipleship means that we need to identify with Christ, no matter what the cost may be, and to stay in fellowship with Him. When the apostle Paul wrote to the Ephesians, he told them in (Eph.5:18) "do not be drunk with wine, which is dissipation; but be filled with the Spirit." We should not be concerned with how much of the Holy Spirit we have; rather, we should be concerned with how much of us He has!! When we are filled with the Spirit, we can taste of the lasting joy that our Lord provides.

As for "the abundant life", in (John 10:10) Jesus said; "I have come that they may have life; and that they may have it more abundantly." The original word in the Greek for abundant means ‘beyond measure'. Just think...Jesus wants each one of us to have life greater than our wildest dreams!!!!! Paul summarized this in (Ephesians 3:8) when he said "...the unsearchable riches of Christ."

The word "covenant" means a contract, or an agreement. It is Gods arrangement for relating to Him. The new covenant was promised by God, and recorded by the prophet Jeremiah, in (Jeremiah 31:31-34) "Behold, the days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a Husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put My law on their minds; and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God; and they shall be My people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor; and every man his brother saying ‘know the Lord'; for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord, for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." Forgiveness at its finest! God said that He would remember our sins no more...completely forgotten. Wiped clean. Gone. Just as if they had never happened! Once again I stand in absolute awe of a Righteous, Mighty, Merciful, Loving and Holy God!!!

When we turn our lives over to God, we are born again, and by His Holy Spirit, He plants in us; the desire to please Him. (Hebrews 8:13) says "In that when He says ‘a new covenant,' He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old, is ready to vanish away."

This new covenant God has made with us, is indeed; about newness. (Hebrews 10:19-20) says: "Therefore, brethren, having boldness to enter in the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a NEW and living way which He consecrated for us, through the veil that is, His flesh,"...... It is here that we see how our Lord opened, initiated and inaugurated this new covenant by His great sacrifice, His shed blood, and sealed that promise by the finished work of the cross. Praise God for the empty tomb!! Lamentations 3:22-23 says "through the Lords mercies we are not consumed, because His compassion does not fail! They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness!!!!!!!!!!

Fortunately, the old covenant drives us to the new covenant. The old, the law, written upon tablets of stone, shows each and every one us that we cannot possibly keep every aspect of the law. We are sinners. Condemned to death by our sin. Driven to the new covenant, it is there that we find forgiveness from all of our sin....completely cleansed. White. Pure. Blameless. Clean. Innocent. !!!!!

It is there, In the new covenant; that we find a personal relationship; and intimacy with God. In this wonderful relationship, we find abundant, bounteous and generous provisions lavished on us by our Lord. . Provisions that were not possible in the old. We find an internal working of God. God writes His will and His law on our hearts, changing us from the inside out. This is a critical working of the new covenant!!

When we partake of communion; we make a confession of the new covenant as recorded in (Luke 22:20). What an amazing and effective price to pay to purchase the new covenant!! Christs blood! We see this truth in (Ephesians 1:7) which says "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" So many Christians underestimate the richness of His grace. How little have we drawn upon those riches!! There was a wise preacher that once said "it is like buying a very powerful car, and pushing it everywhere you go."

Forgiveness is just the barest and mere beginning! The ongoing grace of God is the inner development of His children. Another work is the inner enabling of the power of His grace!! (Hebrews 13:9) says "....for it is good that the heart be established by grace......" The original word ‘established' in the Greek means; ‘strengthened, made stable, immoveable and steady.'

When Paul told Timothy to "Be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus", he was talking about sanctification. Sanctification comes only from grace. What is grace? It is almost to big, to deep, and to wide to fully understand. It is unmerited favor, Gods riches at Christs expense. It is God freely providing for us; through the person, and work of his Son as we depend on Him; and trust in Him for all that we need and yearn for. It is something that we are commanded to walk in; and become; and it is something that we could never earn, deserve or produce; even on the best of all of our efforts. The root of the word ‘grace' is beauty!! (Ephesians 2:4-10) is one of the fullest and most beautiful passages I know on the grace of God. It says; "But God who is rich in mercy,because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved) and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of his grace in His kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works lest any man boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

Awesome!!

It is a undeniable fact that the God who loved, and still loves us, as undeserving as we are, wants us to grow. By His sovereign will and awesome might and power, and by His wonderful grace, He is developing us; and causing us to grow as we walk with Him. !!! praise His Holy name!

The law as it is written in the Bible; demands that we be as Holy as God. To be as Holy as the father. To be as loving as Christ. Literally, to be perfect. That is the only righteousness that God will allow into heaven. God did say " be perfect, even as I AM perfect."(Matthew 5:48) The standard of Gods perfection is absolutely impossible for me, you, or anyone else to achieve, by any of our works. We have all fallen short. To see what God says about the law, we can turn to (Hebrews 7:18-19) "For on the one hand there is an annulling of the former commandment because of its weakness and unprofitableness, for the law made nothing perfect; on the other hand, there is a bringing in of a better hope, through which we draw near to God." We see here that ‘the law made nothing perfect'...that is its weakness. The law demands perfection, yet it cannot provide it. Not only does the Bible tell us that the law cannot justify, it also tells us that no-one can be justified by the law.

What about sanctification? Lets look at (Galatians 3:2-3) "This only I want to learn from you: did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are you so foolish? Having begun in the spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh??" Again, we see here that it is by FAITH. Verse 2 is a justification verse. Verse 3, starts as a justification verse, but ends as a sanctification verse!! Trash the legalism! Trash our efforts! We are made perfect by Grace, and Grace alone! (Romans 4:16) says "Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure....." Positive! Secured! Stable! Firm! Steadfast! undeniable! unmoveable!

The ability of the law of God is that it is designed to tell us what God demands. It reveals Gods character, His will for us, what is pleasing to Him, what honors Him,,,,and (Romans 3:19) says that it is so............... "........ALL the world may become guilty before Him." The law makes us accountable to God!! It gives us an undeniable knowledge of SIN. (Romans 7:5) says "for when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions that were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death" this is before we knew the Lord. Verse 7 tells us that we would not even know that we had a sinful nature, or that we were sinners if it were not for the law. More than that, verses 12-13 says "therefore the law is Holy, and the Commandment Holy is Just and Good. Has then what is good become death to me? Certainly not! But sin, that it might appear sin, was producing death in me through what is good, so that sin through the commandment might become exceedingly sinful." Praise God for that!! Indeed, through the power of the Almighty, sin, even the tiniest of sin is brutally ugly to me! I despise it in myself. Even though it is still there; on one hand; it sickens me. On the other hand, it is Great and Mighty .....look at (Galatians 3:24) and you will see what I mean.....that verse says "Therefore the law was our tutor to bring us to Christ, that we might be Justified by faith." That is one of the coolest verses about the law that I know! The law gives us an undeniable awareness of our desperate need for Christ!!! Like one of my favorite worship songs that declares; "Lord, look upon my need; I need You! I need You!

1 Timothy 1:8-10 administers not only a rebuke, but accountability to unbelievers. This verse also retutors believers back to Christ. It says "But we know that the law is good if one uses it lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for the righteous person, but for the lawless and the insubordinate, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane. For murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the Glorious Gospel of the Blessed God which was committed to my trust." On the other hand, we as believers have many, many verses of hope and encouragement. One of these is found in (Galatians 5:18) "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

It is so very plain and clear that we have a few big choices here. By flesh, or faith; By Works, or Trust (in the Spirit); By law, or Grace. What do you think you would choose?

I'd like to talk now about the laws fulfillment (fill full)

In Matthew 5:17, Jesus said; "Do not think that I came to destroy the law or the prophets. I did not come to destroy, but to fulfill."

Jesus came to fulfill the law by taking upon Himself the judgment of the law. He fulfills the daily demands of the law for us. Collossians 3:4 says that "Christ Is our life." When I think about this, I think about the time Jesus said that He was the vine, and that we are the branches. Just as the vine is the very life of the fruit it bears, Jesus is our very life. 2 Peter 1:4 says "By which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption; that is in the world through lust." Anyone who truly contemplates and understands this verse; cannot help but be completely awestruck. To think and know that the Holy, Divine, and Perfect law of God is being fulfilled in us!!!

WOW!!!!.

Romans 10:4 says "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" This is in general terms; and only the beginning of the new covenant. 1 Corinthians 1:30 says "But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God- and righteousness and sanctification and redemption." There are three key terms here that we need to understand. Righteousness; which is Justification; sanctification; and redemption. Romans 3:21-24 tells us about justification. This verse says "But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the law and the prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus;" We see here and also in many other verses throughout the Bible that we need to be fully dependant on him, then; and only then can this be fulfilled in us on a day by day basis--day by day, it is more increasingly fulfilled by faith, through Him. This; is the process of sanctification. So we see that the law says "be perfect", but it is unable to do this in us. It can however convict us of sin and show us our need for Him. Faith in Him justifies us; and with a day by day trust in Him; and walking in and after the spirit, leads to sanctification; as we are growing in the grace of our Lord!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

We can clearly see that the fulfillment of the law is by Grace. In (John 1:14,16,17) we read "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His Glory, the Glory as the Only Begotten of the Father, Full of Grace and Truth." This says to me that God came to earth, full of Grace, overflowing as a Living Vessel of the Grace of God. I love verse 16.... "and of His fullness we have all received, and GRACE FOR GRACE" Grace upon Grace. Saved. Building us, transforming us, remaking us, using us.....all by grace!! This verse is so profound!! The Christian life is indeed grace upon grace!!

In Acts 20:24, Paul is giving not only his testimony, but an exhortation to all believers. The "Gospel" or ‘Good News', is the basic, initial presentation of the new covenant. "Jesus was sent into this world to complete the redemption of humanity. He came to establish a new covenant whereby man could relate to God in intimacy, and enter into the fulness of his promised blessings." The New Covenant is a covenant of relationship. Intimacy with God, and the privilege of entering into the fulness of all of his blessings!!! all of them! God wants to fill us full of His blessings!!!! The new covenant IS the gospel of Grace!

We are called into this Great Ministry, Living Ministry, Teaching Ministry and a Ministry of Testimony, to testify to the Miraculous and Awesome, Powerful, Life Changing Grace of the Almighty and most Loving, and Holy God. This Grace is found in our Mighty King, Jesus Christ. That; is what our lives are all about. In verse 32 Paul adds "So now brethren, I commend you to God and the word of His Grace, which IS ABLE to build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are SANCTIFIED!" Amen and amen! Our God IS ABLE!! The ability of the Word of God! All that His word is profitable for, what His Word is able to do, even to increase our vision for all that His Word is able to do! Letting the wonderful counsel of Jesus speak to us through His Word in EVERY aspect of our lives!

There are two things His word is able to do. One is pretty much universally known to all that are saved. That is our eternal inheritance, heaven our home, co-heirs with Him. This is the Justification truth.

The other is commonly misunderstood, neglected or not even known among far to many believers. It is a truth about Spiritual Growth. That; is Sanctification Truth. The Word of His grace is able to do this! Gods Grace is for growing! As we live in it and draw upon it, not only do we mature, but we are edified and given a service ministry, and luscious fruit, and abundant good works.

Romans 6:14 carries with it an astounding remedy for sin! "For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace."!! The law is not our standard for developing a relationship with the Father. The grace of God is the ONLY resource that God has provided that allows people to live free from sins. From the domination of sin; by forgiving us so that we are not under the guilt and condemnation that sin can bring. From the alienation from a most Holy God that sin brings. Not only this, but far, far beyond that; it is our greatest resource that God has provided for day by day living. No dominance!! Not overruled by sin!! Praise God for his great remedies and provisions!! It is the divine Grace that can transform lives; and God alone has that provision.(thank you Lord!)

(Galatians 2:21) says "I do not set aside the Grace of God; for if righteousness comes through the law, then Christ died in vain." When Paul said "setting aside the grace of God," he is talking about setting aside the basic dynamic from God that produces and supplies righteousness. We need this not only imputed on us, that is forgiven, but we also need this imparted to us; that is day by day living; day by day with Christ in us! Day by day with our Mighty King as our constant companion!

Gods Grace is not just a Justifying Grace; a Grace where we are declared as righteous by a righteous Judge, even though we know that we are unrighteous...freely, given as a gift, redemption, paid in full. By our faith we receive this. By believing who He is and what He did; the Perfect Lamb who rose victoriously to give us access to this Grace; victory over sin and death;;;....not only this; but Gods Grace is about sanctifying Grace. On us; thru us. And with us.

(Titus 2:11-12) "For the Grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and Godly in this present age....." Gods Grace teaches us!! The salvation UNTO is so far greater than the salvation from. We are saved from sin; unto righteousness! From hell unto heaven! From the devil unto God!!!!! This grace teaches us, trains us, transforms us, enlightens us, grounds us, inspires us, instructs us and instills in us His perfect will!!!!!!wow!! Thank you Jesus! praise God!!

2 Timothy 2:1 says " You therefore, my son, be strong in the Grace that is in Christ Jesus." We can be strong as Christians, but not by our own strength.... "not by might, or by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord"

(Hebrews 13:9) tells us that it is good that our hearts are "Established by Grace." Gods grace needs to be the very core of our being. We are to be established by grace. Grounded by it, made stable by it. It is for stabilizing our Christian heart, making us more and more like Him. .....Look at Jesus, at His life and His walk with the Father...Scripture says that He is the same...think about this....He was the same; even when He was walking on the water one minute and getting slapped in the face the next....we also can be like Him...by grace. Established. Made stable. Grounded. That is one awe inspiring and marvelous promise of the new covenant!!! That is a sanctification truth that you should want nothing more than to become a daily part of your walk with our Lord!! Yours thru Grace and faith in Gods ability to do exactly what He says He wants to do in you!! That thought alone is enough to set any mind whirling!!

(2 Peter 3:18) reads "..Grow in the Grace and Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." I must add the end of this verse.. "to Him be the glory, both now and forever. Amen."

Again here we can see the sanctification process. It is a process. Our Lord wants us to Grow. One might ask ‘how do I do this? How does it develop? To answer this, lets look at (2 Corinthians 8:9) "For you know the Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes, He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich." Also , lets look at (Revelation 22:21) "The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all, amen" The theme of these two verses in regards to our access to this Grace, and the growth in the new covenant that our Lord desires for each of our lives, is nothing less; than developing a relationship with Jesus!! Access is a Person; not a procedure!! The verse in Revelation says that this Grace is to be with us! As a matter of a fact, most all of the Epistles not only begin with "The Grace of our Lord and Savior be with you" but they also end with this very same theme!!! His grace is to be with us !!!!

Through these; it is clear that Gods most important message is GRACE. It is to be with us, a part of our lives.......ALL OF THE TIME. (2 Corinthians 9:8) says "and God is able to make all Grace abound towards you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work." That verse leaves me breathless!!!!

The ability of God is the key to our access. It hinges on His ability. Not ours. As we look to Him and ask Him to do everything He says that He will. Make all Grace abound! All sufficiency in all things! Having an abundance for every good work! Talk about abounding Grace!!

You may ask; well, how about our part? (James 4:6) carries within it a very powerful truth; with an answer to this question. ‘..He gives more Grace. Therefore He says "God resists the proud, but gives Grace to the humble.'" In my own words, that verse says ‘I can't Lord.' Humility is absolutely critical in learning to live by the Grace of God. Humility is the vital ingredient to access to grace. The grace of God will not flow to the self sufficient, self confident, and self exalted lifestyle. God said that he who exalts himself (I can do it, I can make it, ECT.) Will be humbled (brought low); and he who humbles himself (Lord, I know that I cant, ) (yet I know that You can!) will be exalted. Let the cross of Christ crucify us!! 1 Peter 5:5 says the same thing, and adds, "Be clothed with humility"

Be completely covered by humility. enveloped. It is no coincidence that a couple of synonyms for clothed is secure, shielded, and sheltered!! for our Lord says that is exactly what He will do for the humble!

(Romans 5:2) Also again tells us that this access is by faith. So we see that the access, the key to His amazing grace is nothing more than humility and faith. Humility that says "I cant make it Lord," "I cant do it Lord", and faith that says "Lord, I know that You can!! I am nothing Lord without you!!

The Holy Spirit and the new covenant . They go together mightily!

(Ezekiel 36:27) says "I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them."

The new covenant is all about the Holy Spirit. Living by the Holy Spirit and living by the grace of God are the same thing!! One might ask; how do I live by grace? It is by the work of the Holy Spirit! Life in the Spirit! Walking in the Spirit daily.! Walking after the Spirit! Filled with the Spirit! The Lord speaks very clearly about this. This verse in Ezekiel is about the Holy Spirit indwelling; in us. God said that He would put His Spirit within us!!!! It is the Holy Spirit that is bringing about Gods desire for our lives!!!

The verse in (John 6:53) ends with "You have no life within you." There is no life that comes from within ourselves. Look at verse (63) "It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are Spirit, and they are life." All of our efforts and resources profit zilch. Nothing. Only the Spirit can give the life that we are commanded to live.

Romans chapter 7 tells us that we are freed from the law. Delivered!! Look at verse 4 "You also have become dead to the law, through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another, to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God." and then verse (6.) "But now we have been delivered from the law, having died to what we were held by, so that we should serve in the newness of the Spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter." delivered!! Died!! In the Spirit!! Released!!! We have been released from the old covenant of condemnation!! We have died to the law and are born again!! Sins power is broken, our sin loving nature is buried, we are no longer under sins control. We now share in new life as we look upon our old self as dead. Now, we can look at ourselves as alive to God!!!! What a miracle of the Master!!!! We are free!!! We now serve God by the Spirit!! Not by the oldness of the letter. (2 Corinthians 3:6) tells us this same truth. "{God} who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit." This says ‘of the Spirit'. The letter(which is the law) kills. It humbles, accuses and condemns. It tells us that we are not good enough. Thank God however, we are; servants of the new covenant. We've looked at verse 5 before. It is a verse of humility and faith. A verse that says "I cannot Lord, but I know that you can. I trust in you Lord."

The new covenant IS A Holy Spirit covenant. It depends on the presence and the ability of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Sharing Gods life on us, in us and through us. The new creature was designed to live by Christ. That is what the Holy Spirit does. He shares the life of Christ with us. And it all starts with justification.

We see an absolute MUST IN (John 3:5-6) "Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water(which is our physical birth) AND THE SPIRIT, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is Spirit." This is an absolute necessity. There is no other way. We see by this verse that the Spirit is involved here. (John 1:12-13) says "but as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name. Who were born, not of blood, or the will of the flesh, nor the will of man, but of God." Born of God! Born again!! Remember what Jesus told Nicodemus?? This is of the Spirit!!!! This is the work of the Spirit!!

(1 Corinthians 6:11) says " And such were some of you. But you were washed. But you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God." Again; BY THE SPIRIT. (Galatians 3:2) tells us that we receive the Spirit only by faith!!! "...did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law? Or by the hearing of faith?"

As we are going on with God, growing, maturing and serving only Him, we are walking in the sanctification that His Spirit provides. To paraphrase verse 4; he adds, ‘are you so foolish? You cant grow by your efforts! It is still the flesh!! Romans chapter 7 tells us that the flesh= =defeat!!!!

Living by the grace of God is learning to walk in and after the Spirit of God!!! In (Galatians 5:16) when Paul told us to "walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfil the lusts of the flesh" he was telling us that we cannot fight the flesh with the flesh. If we do, we will lose. Our flesh is Evil, Destructive, Easy to ignite, Difficult to stifle, Self centered, Oppressive and Possessive, Decadent, Sinful and deadly. As opposed to the Spirit which is Good, Productive, Difficult to ignite, Easy to stifle, Liberating and Nurturing, Uplifting, Holy and full of Abundant life!! Fight the flesh with the Spirit!!! verse (18) says "but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." If we try to fight on our own, we are putting ourselves back under the law.

God wants us to be led by his spirit. Led, is walking after the Spirit!

That means that the Spirit is in the lead!

The new covenant is a resurrection covenant. Not only that, but the new covenant makes provision for the resurrection power and resurrection life. It is about daily sanctification. In the book of (Luke 22:14-22) we see the new covenant instituted. "And when the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He said to them, ‘with fervent desire, I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer; for I say to you, I will no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.." Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said; "take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."

To think that the new covenant was literally purchased by His shed blood. What a price! His resurrection was required for the new covenant. Resurrection is a reminder of how good our relationship with God really is! Only a few chapters later, we see this fulfilled. In (Luke 24:5-7) some women were on their way to the tomb, bringing spices; as we would bring flowers. What a surprise they had in store for them!!! as they arrived, two angels were there to greet them, proclaiming "why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but risen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee saying ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and on the third day, rise again.'" This truth is proclaimed in (Acts 2:24,31,32) "Whom God raised up, having loosed the pangs of death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it" "He, foreseeing this, spoke the resurrection of Christ, that His soul was not left in Hades, nor did His flesh see corruption. And this Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses." There are many, many other verses throughout Gods word that proclaim this very same truth. Chapter (4:33) is important to look at; "And with great power the apostles gave witness to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus. And Great grace was upon them all." The significance of the fulfillment and enactment is why the spirit would be poured out. By the work of his Holy Spirit; they could proclaim the resurrection!! That verse in (4:33) we see that power was (and is) given. It says "great grace"...again through HIS HOLY SPIRIT. THEY WERE BOLDLY PROCLAIMING. THEY WERE LIVING A SPIRIT FILLED MINISTRY. THAT SAME MINISTRY IS ALSO ON US, IN US AND THROUGH US!! Acts 10:39-40 says "and WE are witnesses....." His resurrection is our victory! (1 Corinthians 15:56-57) says " the sting of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us victory through our Lord Jesus Christ!!" Again, just another verse of many that undeniably tells us that our resurrection victory is given through Christ! It is the work of the Lord, which is always fruitful, always effective always productive, always, always, always; because it is God at work!!! grace! Not our weak unproductive, useless and vain works!! Remember, God said that even the best of our best is like a dirty, filthy rag to Him! That, is the reality of the new covenant!

Another miracle of the new covenant victory that is ours can be found in (2 Corinthians 2:14) "Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us, diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place ." Being led of the Lord, not led by our own shortsighted, vain blindness!! This verse says that If we allow ourselves to be led only by Him that He always leads us in triumph!! What a peace to know that we are always led into triumph!!!! we cannot lose!! Not only this, but that verse tells us that "through us, God sends the ‘fragrance' of His knowledge into the world!!" Like Jesus said "let your light shine! All of these show that the new covenant hinges on the resurrection!!

In (John 11:25-26) Jesus said "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?"

The Christian life is a resurrected life that is found and developed only in our resurrected Lord! Only in Him. ‘Self' is the biggest problem and barrier that is guaranteed to stand in the way of a victorious Christian life!!

I love the glorifying and praise lifting verse found in (1 Peter 1:3) how eloquently the apostle Peter gives God 100% of the glory in this verse! It says "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! Who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again(born again) to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." We see here that indeed all praise, honor and glory is being given to God for everything that we have been talking about so far! I highlighted ‘living hope' because those two little words say to me "absolute assurance, undeniable security, confident certainty!!" no-doubt!! We must not loose sight of the fact found in (Collossians 2:12-13) That eternal truth is that the ‘key' is faith. In that verse we read "..buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead. And you being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven all of your trespasses." ..This more than valid truth is throughout Gods word. It is nothing less than an absolute trust in what God has DONE. Another place we see this truth is in (Romans 4:16) "Therefore it is of faith that it might be according to grace, so that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not only to those who are of the law, but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all." ; Remember, Abraham pleased God through his faith alone, way before he had ever heard of any of the rituals that would later become such a predominant part of the "righteous" Jewish nation. We too are saved by faith, plus nothing. Faith in Christ. Trusting in Him to forgive all of our sins. The vital and key issue is FAITH. Faith is the key to grace!!

Ephesians (1:17-20) says "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places" If you back up to verse 16, you will see that this is a prayer. A prayer that we be changed, day by day to be more like our Lord. There is instruction here; telling us how we grow in the Lord. It is a prayer about the resurrection power. He says in this prayer "that you may know"....he is saying here ‘that you may come to a living understanding". He says here " His exceeding great power to us" that is astounding to know that Gods exceeding great power is working toward us, for us, on us and in us!!!! that power is the same power that raised Christ from the dead!!!! This is a prayer for Christians, about Christian lives that we may grow, taste and see!!!! This is more than just Pauls prayer for us; this is Gods very heart and desire for every believer!!!! Check out verse 20 again!! "Which He worked in Christ when he raised Him from the dead, and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places!! This verse is also about ascension power!!!

(Philippians 3:10-11) Is a prayer that should be a part of everyones prayer life and desire. "That I may know him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead." I've highlighted three things here.

1. Power of His resurrection.

2. Fellowship of His sufferings.

3. Conformed to His death. KNOWING THE LORD STARTS IN THE POWER OF HIS RESURRECTION!!!

(Collossians 2:13) says "And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of you flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven all of your trespasses."

Zero double zero trust in ourselves. One hundred times one hundred trust in Him. Dead to ourselves; alive in Christ. That, is resurrection power.

The new covenant is also a covenant of relationship. I briefly mentioned this before, but this wonderful truth deserves much more than a mere mention. I've been talking about the same thing from different perspectives. The very heart of the new covenant is about entering into a relationship with God. It is about intimacy. (Ephesians 2:13) says " But now in Christ Jesus; you who were once far off have been brought nearby the blood of Jesus." we have been brought into this through the new covenant. A new covenant that is by his blood. We are IN Christ!!!!! 1 Corinthians 15:22 tells us we can stay in Adam and die, both physically and spiritually, or be in Christ and LIVE. Lets see; that's kindofa no brainer......I can have absolutely nothing; or I can have ALL....hummmm. (Galatians 6:15) tells us "for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision noruncircumcision avails anything, but a new creation." Neither, nor, but.

Untied with the Lord. Not just nearby, but joined. New!!!

There are so many ‘past tense' verses in the Word of God!! One of my favorites; is one of the new covenant promises that is manifest on us. (Ephesians 1:3) "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ!! Who HAS blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ." Past tense!!! done deal!!! to quote Jesus upon the cross.... "it is finished"!!!!

Praise God for another past tense verse!!!

check out the word ‘every"...(Colossians 2:9-10) "for in Him dwells ALL the fulness of the Godhead bodily, and you are complete In Him, who is the head of all principality and power."......again, we are absolutely set free!!!! not will be, not might be, but Gods word says WE ARE!!!! praise God!! Signed by His blood, setting us free; all is ours in Christ!!!! Check out verse 18! Paul stresses " don't let anybody cheat you out of what rightfully belongs to you!!!!1 {paraphrase per brad}

Prior to us being able to observe all of these great promises of the new covenant, there is preparation on our part. (Jeremiah 33:3) says "Call to Me and I will answer you, and show you great and mighty things" and in the (Psalms; (119:18) "open my eyes that I may see, wondrous things from your law" remember; Christ said " Ask, and you shall receive" These are blessings that we need to diligently seek from the Lord. They are ours, promised to all who would believe, but we need to first believe, and ask for the Lord to make them known to us!!!

(Ephesians 2:10) says "for we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." Created IN Christ Jesus! Born again! Made new!! Jesus said in (John 14:10) "Do you not believe that I AM in the father, and the father in me?..." The key here is again; believe. Believe that He is exactly who He says He is!! (Colossians 1:28) is a verse to preach, teach and warn. "Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect IN CHRIST JESUS." In Christ is the message here. In Christ is the very heart of the new covenant.

Not only is the new covenant truth that we are in Christ; but also that Christ is in us! Our Savior and Lord, speaking of the new covenant said (John 6:56) "he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him." Eats???? look at verse 35.. "I AM the bread of life. He who comes to Me shall never hunger, and he who believes in Me shall never thirst." Come to Him! Feast on His life! He IS life!! Depend on Him!! Let the Holy Spirit work! Drink! Believe! (John 15:4-5) has the same message; only much clearer. Jesus said "Abide in Me; and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I AM the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing." The life is in the Vine! This; is; the fruit of the Spirit!!!!!!!

(Galatians 2:20) is a verse about FULL dependance. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live; but Christ lives in me; and the life that I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me; and gave Himself for me." If you have that kind of faith; there with it is a promise found in (John 14:20) "at that day you will know that I AM in my Father, and you in Me, and I in you" what an awesome and mighty God we love and serve!!!! I heard a cool paraphrase of this verse.... ‘those who are ‘in Christ' are like a sponge in the ocean. They are not only in it, but with it, surrounded by it, and saturated by it!!'"

(Romans 5:17,21) "For if by the one mans offense death reigned through the one, much more, those who received abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ." "So that as sin reigned in death, even so grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord."

It is clear by these two verses that it is through Christ, and by Christ. God works in our lives through the One. It is given by Christ.

As we see in (1 Corinthians 1:4-5) "I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus. That you were enriched in everything by Him, in all utterance and knowledge..." Given by Christ. A gift. Grace at its finest. (Philippians !:11) says "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness which are by Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God." Again, we see here that it is By Jesus. More than that; Paul says ‘filled'. The original Greek word for ‘filled' is; crammed, overloaded, covered over, complete. Like the vine and the branches, stuffed to capacity!!!! this is BY CHRIST. It all adds up to GETTING TO KNOW GOD. Jesus told us this in (John 17:3) "And this IS eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." Jesus said ‘this is eternal life = KNOWING HIM. = building and growing a relationship with God!! Paul knew this great truth, and spoke of it in (Philippians 3:8,10) when he said "I count all things a loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ. That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death." The apostle Paul knew the excellence of knowing Him. He knew the surpassing value of KNOWING HIM. More than that, he knew the importance of pressing on. Verse 13 says "brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead." The apostle Pauls life is such a great example for me. Nothing was more important than KNOWING HIM!!!!! There is an awesome prayer for this that is found in (Ephesians 1:17) "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation of knowledge of Him!!!!" Pray the scriptures!!! pray this!!!!! Not only for ourselves, but from the example of this great apostle, pray this for others!!! (2 Peter 3:18) says " ..Grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." "TO HIM BE THE GLORY BOTH NOW AND FOREVER..AMEN" I SHOUT AMEN!!!!!!!!!! This comes from our relationship with Him, and it comes in increasing measure!! Indeed; the new covenant is a wonderful covenant of relationship!! Relationship, communion, union, kinship, bond, likeness, fellowship. Indeed; to Him be the glory both now and forever!!!

If I could go back to John 14:10 for a second, I would like to point out the end of that verse. Jesus the Almighty said "....the Father who dwells in me does the works" truly we see here the ‘Humble Servant.' Jesus was literally dependant on the Father. It should be the same as Christ in us, and us in him....think about it! Jesus applies this truth in (John 6:57) when he said "As the Living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me." This again is seen in (2 Peter 1:2-3) "grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus Christ our Lord. As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue," Multiplied!!! not just added! All through our knowledge of Him! The access, the ability to draw upon everything that He has given us, all that we need is through the knowledge of Him!!! The original Greek for this word ‘knowledge' is "to become fully acquainted" again, we see here nothing less that an intimate personal relationship with our Lord!!

(Psalm 34:8) "Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good;

Blessed is the man who trusts in Him!!!!"

Now; that; is grace in the new covenant! .

Now that we have an understanding of the many aspects and great promises of the new covenant, lets take a look at some of the characteristics of new covenant living. Just as a refresher, I'll quote a couple of verses. (John 1:14) "and the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." (Acts 20:32) "so now, brethren, I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance among all of those who are sanctified." (Romans 6:14) "for sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under the law, but under grace" (Hebrews 13:9) "do not be carried away with various and strange doctrines, for it is good that the heart be established by grace."

The first and very important thing that needs to be understood is that God is doing all. (2 Corinthians 3:5-6) says "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to think of anything as being from ourselves, but all of our sufficiency is from God" not only is God doing all; but we see here that He also has made us sufficient!

Remember the story in 2 Corinthians 2:12-15? Where Paul was defending his ministry? He was at unrest because he could not find his brother. One might even say that he was agitated. However, he let the Lord lead; and as we see in verse 14, because of his trust in the Lord, he was in victory!!! "now, thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ Jesus...." Triumph in Christ!!! That; is new covenant victory!!

Even in the circumstances listed in (Romans 8:35) wee still see present tense verbiage used in verse 37!!! check it out ! "who shall separate us from the Love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?" "Yet in all of these things we ARE more than conquerors THROUGH HIM who loved us." Our victory is given!! Again, the tense of the verse is important to understand here. Lets first look at (1 Corinthians 15:57) "Thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ." Victory is given!! The way that these words are used here; we can see that this victory; that through our Lord and Savior is given to us, is a day by day; ongoing victory!! It says ‘gives' not will give, not has given, but gives!!

Through our new covenant victory, we are a valuable and effective witness in all things for the glory of our Lord!!! check out the verse in (2 Corinthians 2:15-16) "For we are to God the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To one we are the aroma of death leading to death, and to the other the aroma of life leading to life." Still again, in all of these verses throughout this paper it is God who is doing all of these things.

Look back at verse 15 in 2 Corinthians 2. Paul says "we are"we are.....walking in the new covenant through Him, by Him we are a witness. (Of His knowledge, in every place) The Father said "here is My Beloved Son".....when He looks at us, He sees Christ in us ...and that, is a sweet fragrance to Him. First to believers, then to those who are perishing. There is a big point here, don't miss it! The first, goes to God... ane then; well; why do non-believers run? Check out verse 16 again.. "to one we are the aroma of death, leading to death..! This is a gain. This is new covenant living!! It is God... through us; diffusing the sweet aroma. Look at (Ephesians 5:1-2) "Therefore, be imitators of God, as dear children, and walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and sacrifice to God for a SWEET SMELLING AROMA."

A crucial thought needed here is "A Godly sincerity" look at (2 Corinthians 2:17) "for we are not, as so many, peddling the word of God; but as of sincerity, but as from God, we speak in the sight of God in Christ." This is new covenant living!!! Not with fleshy wisdom; or should I spell that wisdumb?, but by the grace of God.

(2 Corinthians 3:3) says " clearly, you are an epistle of Christ, ministered by us, written not with ink but by the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of flesh, that is, of the heart." You are an epistle of Christ!!! Your life ministers to others by the Spirit of Christ in you!!! IN. Look at the end of verse three again and we see that God works on man from the inside out. Not like the flesh (the law)(the world), that works on us form the outside in! With that thought, how important it is that we, as believers remember to not only constantly wear our armor, but to keep it well oiled with prayer!! Look at (Acts 7:59-60)

"And they stoned Stephen as he was calling on God saying ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit' then he knelt down and cried out with a loud voice ‘Lord, do not charge them with this sin.' and when he had said this, he fell asleep.'" Stephens life was such a vivid picture of Gods amazing grace and of new covenant living! His life truly was an ‘epistle of Christ.' This is only possible through the Holy Spirit!! Our only source of sufficiency is Christ in us. Remember 2 Corinthians 3:4-6. It is only by Him. John 15:5. Only by Him. Philippians 4:13. Only by Him. So many, many other verses speak this same simple and plain truth. It cannot be any other way. ONLY BY HIM. Where is your trust? Where is your sufficiency?

(Colossians 1:27) To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is CHRIST IN YOU, THE HOPE OF GLORY. It all equals the only terms of relating to God under the new covenant. Humility and faith.

The new covenant is also a covenant of better promises. (Hebrews 8:7-8) says "for if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them He says "Behold, the days are coming says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Judah and with the house of Israel". Both covenants are seen here, and if we look at verse 6, we see that the new is far superior to the old. "But now He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises." (Hebrews 7:22) also says "By so much more, Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant."

Lets look at some of the aspects that make the new so much better.

(Hebrews 7:1-3) says "for this Melchizedek, king of Salem, priest of the Most High God, who met Abraham from the slaughter of the kings and blessed him, to whom Abraham also gave a tenth part of all, first being translated "King of Righteousness", and then also King of Salem, meaning "King of Peace", without father, without mother, without genealogy, having neither beginning of days or end of life, but made like the Son of God, remains a priest continually." The writer of Hebrews uses this story from Genesis to show that Christ is far greater than Abraham, father of the Jewish nation, and Levi, (Abrahams descendant). Therefore the Jewish priesthood(made up of Levis descendants) was inferior to Melchizedeks priesthood, which is a type of Christs priesthood. The bottom line is the fact that one is temporal, and the other is eternal.

(Hebrews 9:12) says "not with the blood of goats and calves, but with His own blood He entered the most holy place, once for all, having obtained eternal redemption." Once for all!! How much better is the Lamb of God!!! Contrast this to the old covenant..............look in (Hebrews 7:27) "who does not need daily, as those high priests, to offer up sacrifices, first for his own sins, and then for the peoples, for this He did once for all when He offered up Himself!!" Take this verse in contrast.... (Hebrews 10:11) "and every priest stands daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices which can never take away sins." Once for all, or every single day as in the old!!!! Think of mass,,,again and again and again and again,,,,stuck. In an old covenant ritual. That is so sad.

In Hebrews 9:1-4, the earthly sanctuary is described again, as God instructed it to be built in the book of Exodus. The holiest of all was behind the curtain, and the high priest could only enter in there once a year. When he went in, he had bells tied on the bottom of his robe. He would keep them jingling, and he had a rope tied onto his ankle. Those outside would listen to the bells, and , if they became silent, those outside would know that the high priest had displeased God, and that god had killed him, and so, they would drag him out by his ankle, as they could not enter in the Holiest of Holys themselves, lest God kill them too. What a shame so many people put themselves into that category today. Look at (Hebrews 10:19) "therefore brethren, having boldness to enter the Holiest by the blood of Jesus" with boldness!!!! That is the Lord saying ‘please! Come in'!!! As soon as Christ gave up His Spirit on the cross of Calvary, that old covenant veil in the temple was torn from top to bottom, signifying that we all can now enter directly in to the throne room of the Father!!!! any time !! That is new covenant intimacy with God!!

(Colossians 2:16-17) says "so let no one judge you in food or drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ." Old testament laws, and feasts pointed towards Christ. Paul calls them a ‘shadow' of the reality that was to come. Christ Himself. Remember how Hebrews 8:6 told us that Christ Himself is far better than the old covenant laws and rituals?

The old covenant laws said things like "do it, and live"(Leviticus 18:5)" if you do it, then, you will receive the promise,"(Deuteronomy 4:1) "do it, or else" (Deuteronomy 28:1) In the new covenant, there are no ifs involved. God says I WILL. Take a look at (Jeremiah 31:34) actually, I'll back up a sentence in verse 33 "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying ‘know the Lord' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more." The prophet Ezekiel was given a vision about this same awesome truth. It is recorded in chapter (36:25-27). "Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean, I will cleanse you from all of your filthiness and from all of your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes and you will keep My judgments and do them." This is such an awesome verse!!! this is new covenant living!!! beautiful! And God says He will do all of these things in us!! From mans resources to Gods resources!!!! I think of the verse in Joshua 1:8 where God said that we should take the law and meditate on it night and day, and then the verse that we just looked at where God said that He would write it on our hearts. The old to the new; again; is God saying to us; from "you will" to "I will". Praise god tor His sufficiencies!!!!

(Galatians 4:21-24,28,29) " tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not hear the law? For it is written that Abraham had two sons: one by a bondwoman and the other by a freewoman. But he who was of the bondwoman was born according to the flesh, and he who was of the freewoman through promise. Which things are symbolic. For these are the two covenants; the one from Mount Sinai which gives birth to bondage, which is Hagar. Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are children of promise. But he who was born according to the flesh and then persecuted him who was born according to the Spirit, even so, it isnow." Look at (Galatians 3:16-22) "now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He does not say, ‘and to seeds,' as of many, but as of One, ‘ and to your seed', who is Christ. And this I say, that the law, which was four-hundred and thirty years later, cannot annul the covenant that was confirmed before by God in Christ, that it should make the promise of no effect. For if the inheritance is of the law, it is no longer of promise; but God gave it to Abraham by promise. What purpose then does the law serve? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was appointed through angels by the hand of a mediator. Now, a mediator does not mediate for one only, but God is one." Promises by God!!!! check out verse 17; the old covenant came AFTER the new!!! The promises came first!!!! Abraham was before the law came; 430 years later!! These verses really drive home the point that God PROMISED. And we all should know without any doubt that God is faithful to all of His promises!!!!! The law was given to drive man to the promises of God; because man is rebellious! The theme of those verses in Galatians 4 is "the flesh of man"; or, "The promises of God!"! Isaac vs. Ishmael. We are told in verse 21, that "this is symbolic". These verses tell us that living under the law is nothing less than spiritual bondage. (Bondwoman). Living under the new is freedom!!! Check out verses 28-31!!! "there is neither Jew or Greek, there is neither slave or free, there is neither male or female; you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christs; then you are Abrahams seed, and heirsaccording to the promise!!!!! What a promise!!! How are you going to live. Like Ishmael or like Isaac?:? We are children of promise!!!! Verse 29 says in so many words "even so, it is now"!! It also lets us know that the flesh and the spirit are always fighting. It tells us about Gods promise that is toward us, in us and through us!

These are exceeding great and precious promises. (2 Peter 1:4) says "by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these, you might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Exceedingly great! Precious! Priceless! Partakers of divine nature! Partakers means ‘to live on'....remember the vine and the branches? (Galatians 3:13-14) says "Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become as curse for us(for it is written, ‘cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree'), that the blessing of Abraham might come upon the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, that we might receive the promise of the spirit through faith." The promise of the Spirit!! Or on other words, God in us, through faith!!! It means new life from above!! It meant born again!! It says "partakers of the divine nature"!! Remember (John 15:5?) "I AM the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing." The life of the true vine will flow through us to bear wonderful, beautiful fruit. What a spectacular promise! A promise of answered prayer, flowing out, touching other lives, joy ,love, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control....fruit. (Matthew 4:19) says "follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men" look to Him, walk with Him, follow Him, trust Him; and He promises that "I will remake you"

There are so many things that we would like to change about ourselves. How? Try hard? That's living under the law! Or believe in He who said "follow me" look to Him; and He will remake you! Jesus told us in (Matthew 11:28-30) "Come to Me all of you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yolk upon you and learn from Me, for I AM gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yolk is easy and My burden is light"!! Jesus will give us rest!! His "yolk" is the promise of the new covenant!!!

(Philippians 1:6) says "being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ! We can be confident of this very thing!!! never neglect or resist this wonderful promise! A little later in the same letter we read (Philippians 4:19) "And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus" ‘He shall'!! We all have already been supplied more than enough. This is extras along the way! The awesome thing that I see here is this verse says HIS RICHES; not the worlds!!!! Remember "I can do all things through Christ who is my strength!" Wait on HIM. Count on HIM. HIS timing and HIS wisdom is precise!! The things that we learn as we wait on the Lord are priceless!!

(1 Thessalonians 5:23-24) is a great prayer, and even a greater promise! "May now the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it."!!!!!!!!!! Again I must even shout "what a great promise!!!" He WILL do it!! Stand on it! Believe it! Count on it! He will do it! Wow! What a promise! Depend on it BY FAITH. Remember, the just will live by FAITH. (2 Thessalonians 3:3) "The Lord is faithful, who will establish you and guard you from the evil one." He is faithful! Trust Him!! We cannot guard ourselves from the enemy of our souls, but He can!!! Note: ONLY, IF WE ARE WALKING IN FELLOWSHIP WITH HIM! AFTER THE SPIRIT. Keeping the Lord as our constant companion.!! (1 Peter 2:6) ends by saying "......and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame." ‘No means' means NO WAY! ‘He who believes' will not be disappointed!!! put your trust anywhere else; and you will be ashamed. Your hope will be crushed. Are you ever disappointed? If so, then your hope wasn't in Him! Put all of your hope in Him and you will never be disappointed!! Keep your heart in the scriptures!! Read them! Pray on them!! Remember, faith comes by hearing!! Love the promises!!! (2 Corinthians 1:20-22) "for ALLpromises of God in Him are yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. Now He who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us is God, who also has sealed us and given us the Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!guaranteed! Every promise is yes and amen! God says "yes and amen" all! Each and every one! Every promise God says is yes and amen! Only IN HIM!

The old covenant is a DO covenant. "Do it and live". The new covenant is a "DONE". It is by what Christ has done!! Live by the life of Christ in you!! God will enable you to "Do"! Jesus did the "if" so we then ; by faith now enjoy the "then"(of the old) SAY "HE IS ABLE"!!!! THE JUST SHALL LIVE BY FAITH!!!