Amazing Grace

God spoke through two of the major prophets in the Bible, Jeremiah and Ezekiel, revealing His plan to establish a New Covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. However, this New Covenant would not be limited to Israel and Judah alone, but it would also open the door for the justification and restoration of all mankind (John 3:16, Romans 1:16) God calls it a New Covenant because it would fulfill the Abrahamic Covenant and also accomplish what the Mosaic Covenant could only point to. The most incredible thing that this New Covenant reveals is that it has absolutely nothing to do with any human endeavor. 

"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 in 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 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."  (Jeremiah 31:31-34) 

"Then I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within them, and take the stony heart out of their flesh, and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in My statutes and keep My judgments and do them; and they shall be My people, and I will be their God...For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them." (Ezekiel 11:19-21, 36:24-28)

I have emphasized the key component of the New Covenant. God says, "I Will." Again, this has absolutely nothing to do with any human endeavor. God has made Himself responsible to establish and uphold the New Covenant. (Hebrews 7:22) The New Covenant will no longer be laws and commands written on tablets of stone but a covenant placed within a new transformed heart of flesh as and object of His infinite love. (2 Corinthians 3:3)  He is not going to become our God only in a general sense, but all that there is in God will belong to those who are in this New Covenant with Him, (John 16:15) He has also made Himself completely responsible to keep us, bless us, honor us, provide for us and love us, etc. (Matthew 6:25-32). As much as He is our portion, we are also His portion (John 15:5) Those under the New Covenant shall know God as Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. They will come to know Him personally as a man knows his wife. They will know His will, nature, character, purposes and plan all because He will open the door of communion and fellowship with Him and those under this New Covenant. (John 14:5-10, 26, 17:3, 20-26, 1 John 1:3)

God said, "I will forgive them and will remember their sin no more" that is all sin, transgression and iniquity will be blotted out and never mentioned again (Isaiah 43:25, Acts 2:38) He will take people from among the nations, because salvation is for all people (John 3:16, Romans 1:16) He will sprinkle clean water and cleanse His New Covenant people with the water of His Word. (Ephesians 5:25-28) His people will be given oneness of heart manifested through God’s love (John 13:34, John 17:21) He will put a new spirit in these New Covenant people, that is, God will transform the dead human spirit and completely recreate it (2 Corinthians 5:17) and to put the icing on the cake, He will put His Spirit within them. (John 14:16-17) What does this all mean to you and I? The New Covenant is based on pure grace and nothing else but grace. According to the Bible, grace is defined as, "For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure." (Philippians 2:13) another translations says it this way, " For it is God Himself whose power creates within you the desire to do His will and also brings about the accomplishment of the desire."

Basically, God's grace is God giving us what we do not deserve such as, forgiveness, healing, provision, long live, eternal life, His ability, etc. However, it was Him, He alone made the decision to do everything it would take to satisfy justice and completely restore humanity to what He had intended before the fall. Not only did He do what He said He would do as He spoke through the prophets, but the amazing attribute of grace is He has given the believer His ability and the desire to do His will. Well, how can we implement this wonderful, amazing grace into our daily lives? "Therefore, having been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." (Romans 5:1-2 )

Every believer can walk daily in the abundance of grace that God has if we are willing to "walk by faith and not by sight." (2 Corinthians 5:7) Notice carefully to what Paul says, "walk by faith." Simply reading and meditating on God's Word is not enough to build our faith. It only creates a capacity for faith. Faith is only built when believers acts upon God's Word through their daily lives and daily speech. James says it this way, "...I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18), that is, acting on God's Word. This is the kind of faith that pleases God (Mark 11:22-24) As we yield to the work of the Holy Spirit giving us revelation of God's Word we will become completely convinced that His Word is one hundred percent true and we no longer base His Word on experiences or a manifestation. We believe and act on God's Word because God’s Word says so, period. All believers must be fully convinced of this fact, "God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? (Numbers 23:19) May, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit.