From New Covenant Theology to Jesus Theology

New Covenant Theology was the "new thing" a few decades ago and many were called heretics for defending and promoting it.

Previously, the two main theologies were Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism.

According to Wikipedia:

"New Covenant Theology (teaches) that the person and work of Jesus Christ is the central focus of the Bible. One distinctive result of this is that Old Testament Laws have been abrogated or cancelled with Jesus' crucifixion, and replaced with the Law of Christ found in the New Covenant."
This view also says that: 

"The New Testament interpret(s) the Old Testament...when the NT interprets an OT promise differently than the plain reading, then New Covenant Theology concludes that that is how God interprets His promise." 

"As an example, Amos 9:11-12 is quoted by James in Acts 15 and is interpreted by him to associate the rebuilding of "David's fallen tent" with the Gentiles' salvation. This would be a highly surprising interpretation to the Jewish believers, since there is no precedent for it to be interpreted as anything other than a promise to the nation of Israel. (Instead), New Covenant Theology says that God has given us His interpretation of that passage, through James."

As for me, New Covenant Theology has been my own personal perspective on scripture for a while now. Most of what I have written here on my blog, and in my various books, has been from this perspective. 

But lately, my theology has started to progress a bit further than this. 

I embraced New Covenant Theology because it affirmed that the Flat Bible perspective is flawed and reorients scripture with Christ as our ultimate authority. But unfortunately it stops short of allowing Jesus to fully reform our ideas about God. 

So, while New Covenant Theology (NCT) affirms Christ as the center of scripture, it fails to completely embrace Jesus as our one and only image of who the Father is and what He is really like.

Where NCT falters is in fully admitting that the revelation of the Father found in Jesus is often at odds with what the Old Covenant prophets have to say about Him.

Furthermore, the NCT position also fails to admit that the prophets themselves are often at odds with one another about what God said and what God's character is like. [See, for example the differing statements made in the OT scriptures about whether God did, or did not, command the Israelites to offer animal sacrifices].

To help explain this, let me borrow an analogy. There are various answers to the question "Where do babies come from?" and someone might say "the stork brings them" and another might say "when mommy and daddy love each other very much the baby starts to grow in her tummy" and still another might say "the male contributes the sperm which he secretes during sexual intercourse to fertilize the egg which the woman provides and in 9 months the embryo matures into a fetus and a child is born."

Two of those answers might be considered "true", one of them is obviously a story designed to symbolize the reality without actually addressing any of the mechanics, and yet all of them are still an attempt to answer the question about where babies come from.

This is similar to what we have in the Hebrew Bible when it comes to question of what God is like. Some voices give us the "stork" version of the story, with great symbolism and hyperbole. Some voices give us an approximation of the answer. Other voices may give us more detailed and specific answers that more closely align with reality.

For us, Jesus is the reality. He is "the exact representation" of the Father. He is the one in whom "the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form." He is "the Word made flesh who dwelt among us."

So, the best picture of the Father is found in Christ. If we have "seen Him," we have truly and accurately "seen the Father" in the most complete and full way possible.

Because "no one has ever seen God" except Jesus and the reason He came was to reveal the Father to us like no one else before ever could, or did.

In our analogy, David the Psalmist might be one who provides the more poetic "stork version" of the Father's character. Isaiah and Jeremiah might be the "mommy loves daddy" version of the story. But only Christ gives us the version of the story that includes every specific detail we need to fully understand who the Father is and what the Father is like.

As long as we insist upon holding tightly to the rigid inerrancy of the Old Testament scriptures, we will forever be kept from fully embracing the clearest and most accurate portrayal of who God really is. 

Until we relax our grip on the idea that the Old Testament prophets were truly seeing God clearly and recognize that the Abba Father we see revealed in Christ overrides those limited and flawed perspectives of God, we will remain confused about who God really is. 

As long as we allow the tarnished testimony of Moses to describe God as one who commands His people to slaughter infants and toddlers without showing compassion, we will forever stand in opposition to the testimony of Jesus who showed us an Abba Father God who loves children, cares for His enemies, shows compassion to the broken and commands us to do the same - specifically because this is who He is and what He is like. [See Matt. 5:44-45]

So, even as those who stood up and defended the New Covenant Theology view a few decades ago were considered heretics and false teachers by the Dispensationalists and Covenant Theology teachers of their day, we should not be surprised when the same charge is leveled at us who affirm a Jesus-centric perspective of God today.

Ultimately I believe it simply boils down to this: Who is our authority? Is it the Bible? Or is it Christ? Do we center our theology on a book, or on a person who is indeed God Himself incarnate?

The Book, as wonderful as it may be, is imperfect. It contains the testimony of men who sometimes saw clearly and sometimes did not. The Book contains the voices of men who don't always agree with one another about who God is and what God is like.

Our choice is simple: We either agree with Jesus about who God is, because He is God made flesh, or we side with those Old Testament prophets who were not perfect, not flawless and not Immanuel [God with us].

I choose Jesus.

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The Scriptures Are Clear: The Bible Is Not The Only Way We Can Know God

Does the Bible really say that the only way to know God is through the Scriptures? You might be surprised at the answer.

 In the ongoing conversation about the identity of the “Word of God” and differences between the Bible and Christ, we often hear reactions that sound something like this:

“You cannot know Christ apart from the scriptures. Everything we know about Christ comes to us from the bible.”

That sounds right, doesn’t it? I mean, how else could we know anything about God or about Jesus apart from the Bible? (Right?)

But, if we look to the Bible to support this notion we might be in for a little surprise. 

As we look deeper we run across verses that suggest something a lot more breath-taking than what we might have expected.

For example, the Gospel of John tells us that “The Word of God became flesh and dwelt among us” (John 1:14) and that this same Word of God is Jesus (John 1:1) and now Jesus (the Word of God) lives within every one of us who abides in Him (John 15:4).

So, if the Word of God is Jesus, and if Jesus now lives within me, then I have the Word of God inside of me. 

This means we can know Christ the way we know our own voice, or our own heartbeat, because He is alive within us.

The Scriptures also tell us that we “have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:16) right now and that we can discern “the things that come from the Spirit of God…because they are discerned only through the Spirit” (1 Cor. 2:15) and this Spirit is now alive within us.

Jesus also affirms to us that we can hear His voice and that He, as the Good Shepherd, is more than capable of making Himself heard:

“I am the Good Shepherd and my sheep hear my voice” (See John 1:1-16)

So, not only can we all hear our Master’s voice individually, we are also empowered by the Holy Spirit who “leads us into all truth” (John 16:13), as Jesus promised us.

The Apostles also affirmed these same ideas by pointing to the evidence of the Holy Spirit within us as proof that we belong to Christ and that we can know the truth apart from anything else:

“As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.” (1 John 2:27)

The anointing every Christian has received is from the Holy Spirit and this anointing teaches us about all things.

Now, does any of this mean we don’t need the Bible? Far from it. 

I mean, why wouldn’t we avail ourselves of the all the treasures provided for us in the Scriptures? That would be unnecessarily foolish.  

But my point is this: According to the Bible, we can know God, and Christ, by the indwelling Spirit of the Living God within us.

This is what the Bible teaches us about how we primarily know God and Christ and the Truth: By the Spirit of God.

So, according to the Bible, everything we know about Christ comes from Christ. Yes, some of it does come from the Bible, (and that of course comes from Christ, too), but even more wisdom and truth is available to us directly from the One who lives and breathes within us on a daily basis.

I think that’s worth at least one big “Halleluiah!” Don’t you?

Are you ready for a little more excitement? This is all exactly what the New Covenant is all about.

“Behold, days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah…this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days,” declares the Lord, “I will put My law within them and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. They will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” (Jeremiah 31:31-34; emphasis mine)

Notice that the result of this New Covenant would be that God’s people would not turn to teachers for wisdom about God because “My law (will be) within them and on their heart I will write it” and because “they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them”.

When these words were written it sounded like science fiction. How could God do this? What would it be like to have God’s Law written on our hearts? What would it be like not to depend on teachers to know God? How amazing would it be if everyone who belonged to God knew Him so intimately?

Now, today, because of Christ’s accomplishment and fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, the Holy Spirit has been poured out on all flesh. We, right now, are those people that Jeremiah prophesied about. 

We are the people who now have God’s Law written on our hearts. We are the people who are now empowered by the Spirit of the Living God to “Know the Lord” because we can all know Him, “from the least to the greatest.”

Doesn’t that excite you? Isn’t that great news?

How sad would it be to live in such a time as this and not take advantage of such a wonderful gift from God?

Jesus declared this New Covenant in His blood. We remember His death and Covenant with us every time we eat the bread and drink the cup. Why stop there? Why not continue onward to claim the promises that come with this New Covenant reality? Why not listen for the voice of our Good Shepherd and learn to “Know the Lord” in this one-on-one way?

In fact, if we don’t live this way, we are actually choosing to live an Old Covenant life and to embrace and Old Covenant kind of faith rather than a truly Christ-centered life and faith that leads us to life and grace and truth.

Jesus was quick to remind us that we have no need of any other teacher except Him:

"Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah" (Matt.23:10)

Please don’t miss this, my friend. It was for freedom that Christ has set you free from the Old Covenant kind of life. The opportunity to know God intimately and to hear the voice of Jesus directly is wide open to you now.

The Lord is available to you. Listen for His voice. 

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Understanding Your Identity In Christ

Jesus started His ministry by saying this: 

"I have come to fulfill the Law and the Prophets and it will not disappear until this is accomplished." [Matt. 5:17]

At the end of His ministry He said this:

"Father...I have glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do." [John 17:4]

"It is accomplished!" [John 19:28]

Now that Jesus has accomplished the Law and the Prophets as He came to do, we are told that the Law is: "fading, vanishing" and "obsolete" according to the Apostles. [2 Cor. 3:7-11; Gal. 4:24-31; Heb. 8:13]

This means we are no longer under the Law of Moses, because:

* It was a covenant made with the Jewish Nation 

* The covenant with that nation ended officially in AD 70, along with the priesthood, temple and daily sacrifice
* It was fulfilled and accomplished by Christ and now it will disappear, exactly as Jesus promised [see Matt. 5:17]

So, we who are in Christ are now only under the Law of Christ [Gal. 6:2; 1 Cor. 9:21] which has an easy yoke and a light burden because:

* Christ indwells and empowers us to love one another as He loved us [John 15:4]

* Jesus is transforming us daily into people who are like Him [2 Cor. 3:18]

* The Grace given to us by Christ has given us everything we need to live a godly life [2 Peter 1:3; Titus 2:11-12]

This also means that we, who are in Christ, are now God's Chosen People because:

* Jesus is "the Chosen One of God" [Matt. 12:18; Luke 9:35; John 1:34]

* If we are in Christ then we are also "Chosen in Him" [Eph. 1:11; Col. 3:12]

* God's "Chosen people" have always been those who belong to Him in Spirit and in Truth [Rom. 9:6; Gal. 3:29]

So, please keep these things in mind:
*Jesus fulfilled the Law

*You are not under the Law

*You are under the Law of Christ 

*You are called to love others as Jesus has loved you

*Christ's Law brings freedom and an easy yoke

*You are one of the "Chosen People of God"

*Anyone who is "in Christ" is Chosen of God

Now, go and live like every one of these is true - because it is true.

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FOR FURTHER STUDY

*Answering Questions About The Old and New Covenant

*Just One Covenant

*Israel Is The Bride and We Are Israel

*Everything We Need [To Live A Godly Life]

*Subversive Radio Podcast: God's Chosen People?

Only those who see God's face can live.

In Exodus 33:20, Moses tells us that no one can see God's face and live.

But in the Gospel of John we learn that "no one has ever seen God at any time." [Jn 1:18]

No one, that is, except Jesus.

Jesus is the "exact representation of God's nature" [Heb. 1:3]

In Jesus "the fullness of the Godhead dwells in bodily form" [Col. 2:9]

Jesus says that "if you have seen me, you have seen the Father." [Jn. 14:9]

And the Apostle Paul tells us that "in the face of Christ" God has "shone in our hearts the light of the knowledge of the glory of God." [2 Cor. 4:7]

So, where Moses and the Old Testament proclaims that no one can see God and live, Jesus and the New Testament scriptures reveal to us that is only those who have seen the face of God [in Christ] who really have life.

Have you seen the face of God and lived?

If you have seen Christ, then you have seen the face of God.

"This is eternal life, that they may know...the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." - Jesus [Jn. 17:3]

Now, keep your eyes on Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face.

He has promised to stay with you, and to never leave you.

You will never know another moment of time, or take another breath, without Him.

His love endures forever.

Look into the face of God...and live.
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FURTHER READING:

GOD IS LIKE JESUS

EVEN MOSES BOWS DOWN TO JESUS

JESUS: THE IMAGE OF GOD AND HUMANITY

ONE MEDIATOR

DISPENSATIONALISM REFUTED [Part 3] - Who Is Israel?

In part 3, Keith answers the question: Who Is Israel according to the New Testament?

Those who follow Dispensationalism say that Israel is anyone who is Jewish, but what if the New Testament actually says the exact opposite? 

[Hint: It does]

This video will also look at the distinction between Jewish people, the Nation of Israel, and those who are "True Israel" according to the Apostle Paul, John the Baptist and Jesus Himself.

To learn more listen to Keith interview Steve Gregg about "Jesus, Israel and the Church":

And listen to Keith's [Subversive Radio] Podcast "God's Chosen People?"

EAT CAREFULLY

In Exodus 29:33, God gives instructions to the priests regarding how the sacrifices are to be performed, and by whom. In this section, God wraps it up by saying:

“They [the Priests] are to eat these offerings by which atonement was made for their ordination and consecration. But no one else may eat them, because they are sacred.”

Very simply, only the Old Covenant priests were allowed to perform the sacrifices. These offerings were specifically for atonement and they also were made for the ordination and consecration of the priests themselves. Only the priests were allowed to eat the meat that was offered there on the altar because that meat was “sacred”.

Got it? Good. Now, let’s skip over to Hebrews chapter 9 where we read about how the old covenant [the “first covenant”] was set up with rules and regulations about the tabernacle [and later the temple] and how all of those things were “copies” or symbolic of the “realities” which were found in Christ.

“It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these.” [Hebrews 9:23]

“The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming—not the realities themselves.” [Hebrews 10:1]

Now, I’d like you to notice something that the writer of Hebrews points out in Hebrews 13:10:

“We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.”

Wow. Do you get it?

Under the Old Covenant, the priests of that old covenant were the only one’s allowed to eat what was offered on that altar. No one else had the right to eat from it.

But now, under the New Covenant, “we have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle [those priests of the old covenant] have no right to eat.”

What is “our altar”? What is it that we have a right to eat that they, and others, do not?

It’s Christ!

Jesus is our true High Priest. He is our true sacrifice for sins and upon the cross he offered up his own life in the temple of his body as an atonement for us.

Just like in the Old Covenant, only a certain group of people had the right to eat of the meat that was sacrificed for atonement. Who were they? The priests of that old covenant.

Now, under the New Covenant, another sacrifice for atonement is made, and only a certain group of people have the right to eat of that meat that was offered. Who are they? Us! And what does that make us? It makes us priests in the Kingdom of God.

Jesus gave us His body to eat. He said that only those who eat his flesh and drink his blood have any life in them. At the last supper, Jesus said, “This is my body which is broken for you. Take and eat.” And then he took the cup and said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.”

Paul says it this way:

“Don't you know that those who serve in the temple get their food from the temple, and that those who serve at the altar share in what is offered on the altar?” [1 Cor. 9:13]

So, if we are “in Christ” then we are the only ones who have permission to eat of the flesh that was offered for atonement, and when we eat of that flesh, and partake of that sacrifice, we are also accepting our “ordination and consecration” as priests under the New Covenant of God.

“As you come to him, the living Stone…you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” [1 Peter 2:4-5]

"But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." [1 Peter 2:9-10]

Halleluiah!

I don’t know about you, but I’d never seen this before and now that I’ve connected those dots, it unlocks many other realizations about our identity in Christ.

Can’t wait to hear what you think! If you enjoyed this, please consider sharing this post on Facebook or Twitter or on your other social networks to bless others as well.

Thanks!

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READ MORE
*Now Open, The New Temple of God

*My Body

*For The Love Of Your Pastor

New Is Good

Tired of the “same old song and dance”? Who isn’t? Luckily, Jesus has fulfilled and abolished the Old and replaced it with the New.

It all starts with the New Covenant that Jesus made with those who place their trust in Him:

“This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.” – (Luke 22:20)

Once we drink from that cup, He gets right to work making us new as well:

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” – (2 Cor. 5:17)

Once we’ve been made new Jesus pours His “new wine” into us:

“Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.” – (Matt. 9:17)

Filled with the “new wine” of His Holy Spirit, Jesus empowers us to follow His “new commandment”:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” – (John 13:34)

Next, Jesus opens the door wide open for us to enter into glorious fellowship with Himself and His Father:

“…. we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus, by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain, that is, through his flesh…” – (Heb. 10:19-20)

Jesus even abolished the Old Law of Commandments in order to make both Jews and Non-Jews into “one new man” so that those who are in Him are united as His Chosen Ones:

“ For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace…” - (Eph. 2:15)

To those who continue to abide in Him, Jesus promises to keep on making things new, even giving us a new name to match our new nature and identity in Himself:

“To the one who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give him a white stone, with a new name written on the stone that no one knows except the one who receives it.’” – (Rev. 2:17)

What’s more, from now until the end of time, Jesus is continually, daily, making all things new again so that, eventually, everything old is redeemed and under His final, ultimate authority:

“And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” – (Rev. 21:5)

Now, that’s Good New!

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NOTE: For more about the differences between the Old and New Covenant, read "Questions About The Old and The New Covenants"

Out With The Old. In With The New.

Which has more relevance for you:The 10 Commandments or The Sermon On The Mount?

Which one trumps the other: Moses or Jesus?

Does the question confuse you? Maybe so. “Aren’t they both equal in weight and value?” you might ask.

But think of it this way: Should we allow the Old Testament scriptures to inform our understanding of the New? Or is it the other way around?

American Christians have been lulled into an Old Testament form of Christianity. We’ve started to gravitate to a more Moses-centric form of Christianity rather than a purely Jesus-form.

If we’re followers of Christ, for example, why wouldn’t we want the words of Jesus on our buildings in public places rather than the Ten Commandments?

Imagine “Blessed are the poor for theirs is the Kingdom of God” posted in your Courthouse? Or “Love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. And…love your neighbor as yourself” displayed in our Town Squares? Wouldn’t that be more radical and “Christ-like” than a list of “Thou Shalt Not’s”?

But back to our previous question: Do we interpret the New Testament in view of the Old Testament? Or do we use the New Testament – and the teachings of Jesus and the Apostles – to help us understand the Old Covenant scriptures?

According to Paul, the Gospel is a mystery to everyone who came before Jesus. In fact, he says it four different times:

“We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.” (1 Cor. 2:6-7)

“In reading this, then, you will be able to understand my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to people in other generations as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to God’s holy apostles and prophets.” (Eph. 3:4-5)

“Now to him who is able to establish you in accordance with my gospel, the message I proclaim about Jesus Christ, in keeping with the revelation of the mystery hidden for long ages past, but now revealed and made known through the prophetic writings by the command of the eternal God, so that all the Gentiles might come to the obedience that comes from faith.” (Rom. 16:25-26)

“I have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word of God in its fullness— the mystery that has been kept hidden for ages and generations, but is now disclosed to the Lord’s people.” (Col. 1:25-26)

The Apostle Peter says it this way:

“Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of the Messiah and the glories that would follow. It was revealed to them that they were not serving themselves but you, when they spoke of the things that have now been told you by those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven. Even angels long to look into these things.” (1 Peter 1:10-12)

This is why Jesus, after he had risen from the dead, had to “open (the) understanding” of the disciples so “that they might comprehend the scriptures.” (Luke 24:44-45)

It’s also why Paul says, “But their minds were made dull, for to this day the same veil remains when the old covenant is read. It has not been removed, because only in Christ is it taken away.” (2 Corinthians 3:13-15)

In short, Jesus illuminates the Old Covenant scriptures. He alone “removes the veil” so that we can understand when the old covenant is read. The Apostles, under the power of the Holy Spirit, were empowered to reveal the true meanings and mysteries for us.

So, the teachings of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount are more authoritative for us than the teachings of Moses. Even Moses acknowledged this in Deuteronomy 18:15, and Peter reminded everyone of this in one of his earliest messages to the people, saying:

“For Moses said, ‘The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people; you must listen to everything he tells you. Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from their people.’” (Acts 3:22-23)

And Stephen also reminded everyone of this same fact in Acts 7:37 just before they stoned him to death.

So, Jesus – not Moses, not Jewish Rabbis, not the traditions of men – and His Apostles to whom He has revealed this mystery, are the ones we should be listening to.

Jesus is greater than any human prophet. He is the Son of God, and God the Son. He is Emmanuel, “God With Us” and He is the Word of God made flesh to dwell among us.

Let us remember the words of our Heavenly Father on the mount of transfiguration - after He had removed Moses and Elijah from their presence – when He said: “This is my beloved son. Listen to him!” (Matt. 17:5)

Yes. Let’s.

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PODCAST: Moses or Jesus? Your Choice.

Jesus contrasts His ministry and teaching with the Teachers of the Law. Are we under the Law of Moses or the Law of Christ?