Read and pray: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them” (Heb. 7:25)
OUR INHERITANCE
We have already covered three aspects of the heavenly ministry of Christ: how He exercises His sovereignty over the entire world so that His gospel may be preached and God’s chosen ones may be brought into Him; how He exercises His headship to cause us to grow and function so that His Body may be built up; and how He intercedes for us and takes care of us as our High Priest.
In this message we will consider the fourth aspect: how He executes the testament that He has bequeathed to us as our inheritance. Through the execution of the new testament, the heavenly Christ causes all the items listed in it to become real to us.
Everyone likes to be remembered in a will. I am sure that all my children and even my grandchildren expect to be included in my will! Let us suppose that in a will we are left a large property with a mansion, and that in that mansion there are twenty-four rooms and seven bathrooms. In addition, ten million German marks are left to us. This would certainly please us.
However, we would need to make sure that this inheritance is more than merely two items written on a sheet of paper. The will would have to be executed for us to take possession of our inheritance.
Have you ever tried to find out what is included in the new testament? It is a long list! In fact, after trying several times to enumerate all the items, I came to the conclusion that it is not possible to do so. The list is endless. Here are some of those items: redemption, forgiveness of sins, justification, reconciliation, regeneration, sanctification, sonship, life, power, peace, holiness, etc.
Have you already received all this bequest? Sometimes the heir is very young and is not aware of everything he has inherited. Or perhaps the heir is simple and cannot understand the meaning of the terms of the will.
Or again, in a third situation, the heir may be too weak to claim his inheritance, even though he has sufficient maturity and knowledge. In all these cases, someone is needed to help the rightful heir take possession of what has been bequeathed to him.
THE COVENANT ENACTED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
When Christ died on the cross, He turned God’s promise into a covenant. His blood was the symbol of the enactment. The Lord’s table, which we celebrate week after week, is the symbol of the testament.
The Lord took the cup and gave thanks. Then He gave it to the disciples, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Mt 26:27-28).
The words in Luke 22:20 are: “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is being poured out for you.” The cup that we drink is the new covenant. This is very profound. When we take the cup, we need to know that it is the new covenant.
The two main items in the new covenant are the forgiveness of sins and the infusion of life. Through them, we enjoy God. He is the blessing of the cup. He is the eternal portion of the blessing contained there. The blood of Jesus, therefore, established the covenant. His death confirmed it. Then, in resurrection, He comes to execute its contents.
THE EXECUTION OF THE TESTAMENT
He is now in the heavens, living, divine, capable, constituted with the indissoluble life. Nothing can oppose Him! Nothing can destroy Him! He is the One who lives forever! Therefore He is able to execute this testament in all its details.
Do you need life? power? forgiveness? peace? holiness? It is clear that you have many needs. How can you be supplied? In the testament are all these items. They have been bequeathed to you. Christ today executes the testament, making all the items available and real to you.
Suppose your wife causes you difficulties. You need patience. Where will you obtain the patience needed to bear the pressure? Patience is one of the items of the testament, and it applies and is available to you through Christ’s execution. When what you need is patience, He makes it available to you. You sense patience coming to you as a flowing. Have you never experienced this?
The same is true with regard to joy. You may be in suffering, but there is joy in this testament. How can this joy become real to you? Christ Himself will execute the joy in you, flooding your being with it. Perhaps you wonder how I can have so much to say. Perhaps you think that I will lack something to say; for included in this testament is the precious Word.
When I am about to give a message, I do not turn to reference books in order to find a subject, gather some points, study some commentaries, and thus organize what I will say. No! Christ as the Executor floods me with the riches of the Word of God. Out of this flooding come precious insights and rich utterances. For this reason, the speaking has no end.
What a magnificent testament we have! And what an Executor—living, powerful, and capable! The intercession of Christ is part of the execution of the testament. You may be lacking life and light. Perhaps you are not enjoying God as your life and your light.
Then your High Priest will pray for you so that you may enjoy God richly. This is His intercession. Then He will exercise His position as Executor and will flood you with life and light from God. This is the answer to His intercession and also the fulfillment of His testament.
OUR RECIPROCITY
Just as you need to have proper reciprocity toward His intercession by coming forward to the throne of grace, you also need to have proper reciprocity toward His execution of the testament.
You may fail to have reciprocity because you have never received help to see these matters. Perhaps you have never heard these messages. From now on, there is no longer any reason for this—you can now have reciprocity toward Him!
Hebrews 7:25 teaches us the way to have reciprocity toward His execution of the new covenant: “Therefore He is also able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them.” We cooperate with Him when we come forward to God.
Continue to come forward to God. In the morning and in the afternoon, day and night, when you pray and when you do not pray, come forward to God! “O God, I am open to You. You are rich. I need You. I need everything that You have for me in Your testament. I want to be open to You all the time.”
As you do this, Christ, the One who is capable, will execute within your being everything that you need. It is part of His heavenly ministry to execute item after item of the testament within you for your enjoyment. Becoming conscious of this will strengthen you.
Suppose your workday has ended and you are ready to go home. You have devoted eight hours to hard work and are tired. However, the idea of going home is not very attractive, because you never know what situation awaits you. There is no way to predict whether you will be received with a “long face” or with a smile.
Some days, when you go home, you encounter a storm; other days, everything is calm and sunny. You would not be able to bear facing another storm tonight. What should you do? Remember the testament. Open yourself. Come forward to God. You can simply say, “O God, my Father, I open myself to You now,” and you will have the deep conviction that you have been strengthened. He interceded for you and executed something in you. You were strengthened in the inner man. Now you are ready to go home.
You can now declare: “Lord, it no longer matters whether the climate is stormy or calm. I want to go home and enjoy You. Whether the sky is clear or cloudy; whether it is raining or sunny, I will still remain open to You. You will be my supply according to Your testament. I am included in Your testament. Father, I know that You are committed to Your testament. Moreover, I have an Executor who ensures that I receive all the items of that testament. My circumstances do not matter, for Your testament provides me with everything I need.”
The heavenly ministry of Christ has not yet ended. His earthly ministry is indeed finished. But as the Executor of the new covenant, He still ministers in order to strengthen, comfort, supply, sustain, and even carry you. His purpose in doing this is that you may grow and function so that His Body may be built up.
His heavenly ministry, whose goal is the building up of the Body of Christ, has many aspects. We have already considered four of them. There is the exercise of His sovereignty, the exercise of His headship, the priesthood, and the execution of God’s covenant and testament. In the next message we will proceed to a new aspect.
🌿 Enjoy more:
Hymn: Worship of the Father — “His Newness”
No comments:
Post a Comment