THE OLD COVENANT – a sinner’s effort to be holy which leads to death. It’s impossible to become holy without God’s intervention to circumcise the heart.
THE NEW COVENANT – holiness through the power of the Holy Spirit, which leads to life. Possible only by Faith and fellowship with Jesus Christ. It is the power of God at work in a human body via Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 2:11 “Don’t forget that you Gentiles used to be outsiders. You were called “uncircumcised heathens” by the Jews, who were proud of their circumcision, EVEN THOUGH IT AFFECTED ONLY THEIR BODIES and NOT their HEARTS.”
Jeremiah 31:31–34 “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. This covenant will NOT be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the Lord. But this is THE NEW COVENANT I will make with the people of Israel after those days,” says the Lord. “I will put my instructions deep WITHIN THEM, and I will write them on their HEARTS. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
- Colossians 2:11–12 “When you came to Christ, you were “circumcised,” but NOT BY PHYSICAL PROCEDURE. Christ performed a SPIRITUAL CIRCUMCISION—THE CUTTING AWAY OF YOUR SINFUL NATURE. For you were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to NEW LIFE because you trusted THE MIGHTY POWER OF GOD, who raised Christ from the dead.”
- Galatians 4:4–7 “But when the right time came, God sent his Son, born of a woman, subject to the law. God sent him to buy FREEDOM for us who were slaves to the law, so that he could adopt us as his very own children. And because we are his children, GOD HAS SENT THE SPIRIT OF HIS SON INTO OUR HEARTS, prompting us to call out, “Abba Father.” Now you are no longer a slave but God’s own child. And since you are his child, God has made you his heir.”
Ezekiel 36:25–32 “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean. your filth will be washed away, and you will no longer worship idols. And I WILL GIVE YOU A NEW HEART, AND I WILL PUT A NEW SPIRIT IN YOU. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT IN YOU SO THAT you will follow my decrees and be careful to OBEY my regulations. And you will live in Israel, the land I gave your ancestors long ago. You will be my people, and I will be your God. I WILL CLEANSE YOU OF YOUR FILTHY BEHAVIOR. I will give you good crops of grain, and I will send no more famines on the land.I will give you great harvests from your fruit trees and fields, and never again will the surrounding nations be able to scoff at your land for its famines. Then you will remember your past sins and despise yourselves for all the detestable things you did. But remember, says the Sovereign Lord, I am NOT doing this because you deserve it. O my people of Israel, you should be utterly ashamed of all you have done!”
John 17:16–24 “They DO NOT belong to this world any more than I do. MAKE THEM HOLY BY YOUR TRUTH; teach them your word, which is truth. Just as you sent me into the world, I am sending them into the world. And I GIVE MYSELF AS A HOLY SACRIFICE FOR THEM SO THEY CAN BE MADE HOLY BY YOUR TRUTH. I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message. I pray that they will ALL BE ONE, just as YOU AND I ARE ONE—as YOU ARE IN ME, Father, and I AM IN YOU. And MAY THEY BE IN US so that the world will believe you sent me. I HAVE GIVEN THEM THE GLORY YOU GAVE ME, SO THEY MAY BE ONE AS WE ARE ONE. I AM IN THEM AND YOU ARE IN ME. May they experience such PERFECT UNITY that the world will know that you sent me and that you love them as much as you love me. Father, I want these whom you have given me to be with me where I am. Then they can see all the glory you gave me because you loved me even before the world began!”
Abba Father!
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