Broadlands Bible Church
February 15, 2023
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Thesis: The New Covenant is God's provision for the susceptibility of the spirit of man to the temptation to seek its exaltation in the eyes of men rather than the heart of God.
Introduction: In our last study, we began a study of the "New Covenant" as it is presented in
Jeremiah 31:31-37. We reviewed the roots of this "covenant" in respect to the Genesis 3 account of the temptation to view God as an enemy who can be frustrated in his "evil designs" upon us by eating the fruit that would provide us with the "wisdom" needed for such an ability. We saw that the "at issue" concept was the accusation that God does not "hold us in true esteem", so that we must seek it from "others". And, we saw that such seeking makes us slaves to the opinions of men regarding us. Not only is this severely damaging to our spirits, but it is totally counter-productive. We will never have a "great name" as an enduring reality on the basis of pitting our "wisdom" against God's and seeking the good opinion of others who are always seeking to surpass us in the opinion-search from others.
This evening we are going to proceed into some more of the "New Covenant"/"Great Name" realities revealed in the Bible.
- I. The Biblical Declaration Of The New Covenant: Jeremiah 31:31-37.
- A. This Covenant's "Roots".
- 1. The power of the temptation in Genesis 3 to regard God as "a liar" and to erect a defense against His perfidy (refusal to be loyal, or "not good").
- a. Initially, the temptation was an attempt to provide "security" in the face of divine depravity by seeking to "become wise" (sufficiently capable of discerning hurtful intentions in God and frustrating them); Genesis 3:6.
- b. Then, as a down-line development, the temptation became an attempt to gain the approval of others by one's "wisdom" so that what God would not give (status in His eyes), men would.
- c. Thus, man became a slave to the opinions of others (John 12:42-43) and, in so doing, made it impossible for him to possess the "status" that would make others "loyal" to him.
- 2. The downline results (feeder roots).
- a. Romans 3:20: no flesh will be justified (made acceptable to God) by works (superior performance issues simply do not work with God: Romans 4:2).
- b. Romans 3:27: Boasting became the primary technique of men to gain the approval they seek from men.
- c. Ephesians 2:8-9: Boasting is a destroyer of relationships; a linchpin of Theology in a relational universe (its only reason for being is self-exaltation at the expense of others).
- B. This Covenant's "Fruits".
- 1. It directly addresses the "works" produced by "boasting" by providing a better set of "works".
- 2. Humility puts the benefit of others ahead of any gains one might achieve for oneself.
- 3. It accomplishes these "fruits" by direct divine activity.
- a. Jeremiah 31:31 records God's plan to "make a new covenant and 31:32 says it will be distinctly different from the Mosaic Covenant.
- b. The significant "difference" is God's actions upon man's "heart".
- 1) 31:33 says, "I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it".
- 2) The outcome will be "I will be their God and they shall be My people" in a genuine harmony of inner attitude and outer action.
- c. Its provisions.
- 1) "They will all know Me" (31:34): the "relational universe" will be firmly established in true righteousness.
- 2) "I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember no more" (31:34).
- 3) "I will cast off all the offspring of Israel" only if the "fixed order" (31:36) of the universe departs and "If the heavens above can be measured and the foundations of the earth searched out...": an immutable commitment (Ezekiel calls it "an everlasting covenant of peace": 37:26).
- II. The Correlation Of The New Covenant With The Promise Of A "Great Name".
- A. The "greatness" of a name will always, ultimately, be determined by the identity of those who hold it in honor.
- B. God is the only One Whose "determination of greatness" counts.
- C. Jesus taught that "greatness" in God's Kingdom is rooted in the true humility of a servant of others (Mark 9:35).
- D. The "great name" issue begins with a "great identity": 1 John 3:1.
- 1. The roots of this "great identity" is a "great love" wherein God's valuation of us is that we are of extreme value measured by the price He was willing to pay to rescue us.
- 2. Then, this "great identity" grows out of a willingness to confront/reject "Balaamites" and "Nicolaitans" (Revelation 2:14-17): those who "overcome" get a "secret name" from Jesus.
- E. That this "great name" issue is a part of the believer's "expectation" for the future puts it into the time frame of Messiah's Kingdom, and that means that we are not yet possessors of "great names".
