Now the God of Peace, Who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that Great Shepherd of the sheep, through the Blood of the Everlasting Covenant, Make you perfect in every good work to do His Will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory forever and ever. Amen (Heb. 13:20-21). By virtue of Christ’s Blood, in other words, His Atoning Sacrifice as the Good Shepherd, He is the Great Shepherd of the sheep. He could not be such had He not, as the Good Shepherd, shed His Blood for the sheep and so established the Everlasting Covenant. The Twentieth Verse of this Thirteenth Chapter presents the only time in the entirety of the Book of Hebrews that Paul mentions the Resurrection. Even then, it is in connection with the Cross, evidenced by the phrase, “The Blood of the Everlasting Covenant,” proclaiming the fact that it was the Cross that established that Covenant. Unfortunately, all too many modern Christians place the emphasis of strength in the Resurrection, and not in the Cross. When they do that, they are doing the same thing that Israel did with the Abrahamic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant was meant to be the theme of Israel’s relationship with God, the only way, in fact, that such relationship could be established. It had to be by faith (Gen. 15:6). However, when the Law was given, Israel inverted the process. They made the Law the primary object instead of the Abrahamic Covenant; thereby, they lost their way. In a sense, the modern Church does the same, when it places the emphasis of the Atonement on the Resurrection instead of on the Cross. To be sure, the Resurrection is a product of the Cross, and not the other way around. The Resurrection, even as the Law, was, and is, of extreme significance, as should be overly obvious, but the Resurrection is not the central them of the Gospel, but rather the Cross. If the Resurrection was the central theme, wouldn’t it stand to reason that Paul would have done more than mention it just one time in this great Book of Hebrews? The answer to that is obvious. The Covenant that Jesus established at the Cross was so perfect, so complete, so total, that the Holy Spirit referred to it as “The Everlasting Covenant.” This means that this Covenant will never have to be amended, will never lose its power and be discarded, and nothing will ever have to be substituted for it. It is Everlasting, which means Eternal. It is so Eternal, in fact, that in the last two Chapters of the Book of Revelation, the word “Lamb” is used some seven times, which always denotes the Cross. This is remarkable when one considers that Satan and all of his cohorts are then in the Lake of Fire, where they will remain forever (Rev. 20:10). In the New Heavens and the New Earth, there is no more sin, no more failure, no more transgression, no more disobedience, no more pain, sickness, suffering, or death, all caused by sin. It will be a perfect eternity. And yet, some seven times, the Holy Spirit then refers to Christ as “the Lamb.” This is to let us know that all of these beautiful things described in the last two Chapters of Revelation are all made possible, and exclusively so, by the Cross, hence “the Lamb.” Not only is the Cross an Everlasting Covenant regarding the coming perfect day which will never end, but it is that, and that alone, which brings the Saint to maturity, “perfect in every good work to do His Will.” It is ever the Cross! Ever the Cross! Every the Cross!
Posted on: Sat, 29 Nov 2014 13:09:20 +0000
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