Jeremiah 31:31-34 NLT
[31] “The day is coming,” says the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. [32] 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. [33] “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. [34] And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the Lord.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the Lord. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.”
To Jeremiah, God revealed His plan of supernatural intervention that would forever cure His people of their rebellion. He would set up a new covenant with Israel which would not depend on their performance but on His grace and power to do in them what they could not do for themselves.
The writer to the Hebrews confirmed that this promise had come to complete fulfilment through Jesus.
Hebrews 8:7-8 NLT
[7] “If the first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no need for a second covenant to replace it. [8] But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah….
[13] When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear.
Ezekiel 36:25-27 NLT
[25] “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. [26] 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. [27] And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”
It was to Ezekiel that the Holy Spirit revealed the way in which God would deal with Israel’s inability to obey Him. This supernatural intervention through the Holy Spirit would change them inside. Their hearts would be transformed by His power so that they would love Him and want to obey Him. His Spirit would live inside them, providing everything they needed to obey Him and live within the boundaries of this new agreement.
And so, through Jesus, God accomplished His plan. Jesus’ death atoned for their sin, faith in Jesus provided forgiveness and cleansing from all unrighteousness, and the Holy Spirit came, on the day of Pentecost, to live in them forever.
Like their ancestor, Abraham, they were justified by believing God’s Word.
Romans 4:1-3 NLT
[1] Abraham was, humanly speaking, the founder of our Jewish nation. What did he discover about being made right with God? [2] If his good deeds had made him acceptable to God, he would have had something to boast about. But that was not God’s way. [3] For the Scriptures tell us, “Abraham believed God, and God counted him as righteous because of his faith.”
[6] David also spoke of this when he described the happiness of those who are declared righteous without working for it:…
Romans 4:7-8 NIV
[7] “Blessed are those whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. [8] Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
Romans 4:22 NLT
[22] And because of Abraham’s faith, God counted him as righteous.”
Romans 5:1-2 NLT
[1]”Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. [2] Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.”
However, God’s secret has a final twist that the Jews could not tolerate when the realisation came… this new covenant was not only for them but for the whole world. Yes, God revealed it to Abraham,
Genesis 12:3 NLT
[3]…”All the families on earth will be blessed through you.”
… but the Jews rejected God’s promise to bless the Gentiles through them.
Acts of the Apostles 22:21-23 NLT
[21] “But the Lord said to me, ‘Go, for I will send you far away to the Gentiles!’” [22] The crowd listened until Paul said that word. Then they all began to shout, “Away with such a fellow! He isn’t fit to live!” [23] They yelled, threw off their coats, and tossed handfuls of dust into the air.”
Despite God’s purpose prophesied through Isaiah, speaking of His Servant, the Messiah,
Isaiah 42:6 NLT
[6] “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations.”
Isaiah 49:6 NLT
[6]”He says, “You will do more than restore the people of Israel to me. I will make you a light to the Gentiles, and you will bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.”
… the Jews hounded, persecuted, and eventually tried to kill Paul because he took the message of Jesus to the Gentiles. Not only did they reject their Messiah, they also hated Paul for his
interaction with the despised Gentiles.
In his masterful explanation of God’s plan of salvation for the whole world, Paul reveals God’s secret of the fullness of God’s grace.
Romans 11:11 NLT
[11] “Did God’s people stumble and fall beyond recovery? Of course not! They were disobedient, so God made salvation available to the Gentiles. But he wanted his own people to become jealous and claim it for themselves…
[30] Once, you Gentiles were rebels against God, but when the people of Israel rebelled against him, God was merciful to you instead. [31] Now they are the rebels, and God’s mercy has come to you so that they, too, will share in God’s mercy. [32] For God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.”
Ephesians 2:17-22 NLT
[17] “He (Jesus) brought this Good News of peace to you Gentiles who were far away from him, and peace to the Jews who were near. [18] Now all of us can come to the Father through the same Holy Spirit because of what Christ has done for us. [19] So now you Gentiles are no longer strangers and foreigners. You are citizens along with all of God’s holy people. You are members of God’s family. [20] Together, we are his house, built on the foundation of the apostles and the prophets. And the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. [21] We are carefully joined together in him, becoming a holy temple for the Lord. [22] Through him you Gentiles are also being made part of this dwelling where God lives by his Spirit.”
God’s secret, finally revealed through Christ Jesus, draws from Paul’s heart an explosion of praise…
Romans 11:33-36 NLT
[33]” Oh, how great are God’s riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways! [34] For who can know the Lord’s thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice? [35] And who has given him so much that he needs to pay it back? [36] For everything comes from him and exists by his power and is intended for his glory. All glory to him forever! Amen.”
… And so God’s secret, revealed to us through Jesus, should draw from our hearts worship, praise, gratitude for God’s great plan that made His salvation available to the whole world.
1 John 2:1-2 NLT
[1]”He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”