God’s Covenant with Adam – Part One

God’s Covenant with Adam – Part One

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Hebrews 7:22 (NKJV): “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.”

God relates to us through covenants.  In fact, scripture is divided into the “Old Covenant” and the “New Covenant.”  The covenant we have in Jesus Christ renews and strengthens that first covenant that God made with Adam.  

   

God set down the conditions for covenant before He created man.  “Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." (Genesis 1:26 NKJV)

The first condition was that mankind was to be created in the image of God.  God is a spirit.  Therefore, our essential being is spiritual rather than physical.  My former pastor used to say, “I am a spirit.  I live in a body and I own a mind.”

The second condition is that mankind, created to receive the blessing of God, was to reproduce and fill the earth.  God also gave man dominion over the earth.  “So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.  Then God blessed them, and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth." (Genesis 1:27-28 NKJV)

Covenants are sealed with a meal signifying provision.  God needed no provision from Adam, but He promised to provide for mankind. “And God said, "See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food"; and it was so.” (Genesis 1-29-30 NKJV) 

We go on to the second chapter of Genesis for more details in the creation epic. “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being. The LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed.  And out of the ground the LORD God made every tree grow that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. ” (Genesis 2:7-9 NKJV) 

The Hebrew word translated as “garden” means an enclosed or protected place.  Eden represents the protection that comes from close fellowship with the Father.

God did not create a couple of puppets.  He created living, intelligent creatures and blessed us with free will.  He also gave instructions to aid mankind in making decisions that would result in abundant living. ^“And the LORD God commanded the man, saying, "Of every tree of the garden you may freely eat; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die." (Genesis 2:16-17 NKJV)

Eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil would lead to death. The Hebrew word translated as “Knowledge” comes from a root word that means to know by seeing; by using the senses:  touching, hearing, etc.  This knowledge is the disciple Thomas doubting until he can put his hand into the wounds in Jesus’ side. It is walking by experience rather than by faith in the word of God. 

In disobeying God, Adam and Eve gave up their connection to God's supporting power and began their physical decline which eventually results in death.

Remember Jesus’ admonition in John 10:10(NKJV):  “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”

Genesis 3 introduces us to the thief.  “Now the serpent was more cunning than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said to the woman, "Has God indeed said, 'You shall not eat of every tree of the garden'?"
^“And the woman said to the serpent, "We may eat the fruit of the trees of the garden; but of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God has said, 'You shall not eat it, nor shall you touch it, lest you die.' "(Genesis 3:1-3 NKJV) 

The apostle Paul wrote to the church in Corinth: “All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any.” 1 Corinthians 6:12 (NKJV)

“All things are lawful for me, but not all things are helpful; all things are lawful for me, but not all things edify.” (1 Corinthians 10:23 NKJV)

The woman “saw” that the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was good, pleasant and would make one wise. The serpent’s words had caused her to doubt God.  Therefore, she saw the tree through the eyes of doubt and unbelief. She had to experience it to believe it. 

When Adam ate the fruit, he sealed covenant with the enemy.

Paul cautioned, “Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?” 2 Corinthians 6:14 (NKJV) 

Remember, a covenant is the bond in which those involved in the transaction each say, “Everything I have is yours.”All the dominion that Adam had was transferred to satan.  Because satan is cursed, that transfer of power brought a curse on the earth. Because our bodies are created from the earth, the curse is upon our physical bodies as well.

Adam’s covenant with satan brought disease, famine and hardship. But that’s not the end of the story.  Man broke his covenant with God, but God has not broken His covenant with man. God’s plans may be delayed, but never thwarted.  God’s plan is to restore us in covenant.  Covenant Christianity is a relationship with God whose Spirit indwells us.

Covenant Leads to Relationship

Covenant Leads to Relationship

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe

Hebrews 7:22 (NKJV): “by so much more Jesus has become a surety of a better covenant.”

God relates to His people through covenants.  A covenant is greater than a promise.  It is a bonding. A covenant is a bond in which each of those involved in the matter say, “Everything I have is yours.”  Covenant is total commitment.  In covenant with God, even though we are not totally committed to Him, He is totally committed to us. 

God’s covenants with us are for our benefit.  The purpose of God’s covenant is to bring abundant life.  The apostle John quotes our Savior, “The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” (John 10:10-11 NKJV)  In God’s covenants, we are assured of guidance, protection and provision. 

What do we have to give to Him as our part of the covenant?  Paul wrote to the church in Rome, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 NKJV)  We are to give Him ourselves in holiness, allowing Him to transform our thinking so that we can demonstrate to the world the transforming, overcoming relationship that results from walking in covenant with our God.

In addition, because of the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross, Christians become participants in the covenants the Lord made beginning with Adam, continuing with Noah, Abraham and the nation of Israel. Today many teach “replacement theology” which says that the Lord no longer deals with Israel and that the Church has replaced Israel in the economy of God.  However, the Word does not support that thesis.  Christians do not replace Israel in God’s covenant.  Paul was adamant, “I say then, has God cast away His people? Certainly not! For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away His people whom He foreknew.  (Romans 11:1-2aNKJV)

Paul continues, “For if the firstfruit is holy, the lump is also holy; and if the root is holy, so are the branches. And if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive tree, were grafted in among them, and with them became a partaker of the root and fatness of the olive tree, do not boast against the branches. But if you do boast, remember that you do not support the root, but the root supports you. You will say then, "Branches were broken off that I might be grafted in." (Romans 11:16-19 NKJV)  

Because much of the Church has denied our Old Testament heritage, we often do not understand the deeper truths of our relationship with our Redeemer.  The root supports us.

Sometimes our confusion is the result of flawed grammar.  Let’s examine Hebrews 8:7-8 NKJV). “For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah-- .”   Because the pronoun “they” is plural and the noun “covenant” is singular, the writer of Hebrews is not saying that the covenant itself was faulty, but that the people of Israel and Judah were faulty.  The weakness of the Old Covenant was not in the Covenant itself but in the weakness and inability of man. The reason the Old Covenant didn't "work" was because the people did not continue in God’s covenant.

Because the people did not fully embrace the covenant, God, in His mercy, gave us a strengthened covenant that would enable mankind to walk according to His promises. 

The author of Hebrews continues by quoting the prophet Jeremiah, “For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. (Hebrews 8:10 NKJV) 

The laws of God are still the same, the difference is that they are not etched in stone; they are written on the hearts of those who accept the sacrifice of Jesus as the pathway to covenant with God the Father.  We are transformed by the renewing of our minds.  How does that transformation come about?

Hundreds of years before the cross, Ezekiel prophesied, “I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” (Ezekiel 36:27 NKJV)

On Pentecost, ten days after Jesus’ ascension, “When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.” (Acts 2:1-4 NKJV) 

The Holy Spirit came to indwell God’s people.  Because of the Holy Spirit within, we grow in grace and knowledge, we are transformed; we become the covenant people of our God.  All believers are in the transformation process.  

Paul affirmed, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16 NKJV) Covenant Christianity is a relationship with God whose Spirit indwells us.

May We Remember the Finished Work of Calvary

May We Remember the Finished Work of Calvary

By Rev.  Lonnie C. Crowe

William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army, spoke a prophetic word more than 100 years ago, that should call the church today into repentance. He said, “The chief danger that confronts the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance,

salvation without regeneration, politics without God, heaven without hell.” 

It is time for the resurrection of the Church.  May we never forget that it is the power of the Holy Spirit that raised Christ from the dead, convicts us of sin and brings us to the cross for salvation.  May we never forget that Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life.  May we always remember that in salvation we are transformed by the renewing of our minds and that we are called to be holy because He is holy.  May the church awaken to the understanding that politics without Godly principles leads to deception and anarchy.  May we fully embrace the fact that Jesus paid, in agony, our wages of sin so that we may be delivered from the clutches of Hell into the hallowed halls of Heaven.

“Jesus, keep us near the cross.  There a precious fountain free to all, a healing stream flows from Calvary’s mountain.”  (Fanny Crosby)

The Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control

The Fruit of the Spirit: Self-Control

By Rev. Lonnie C. Crowe 

Galatians 5:22-23 (NKJV)
^“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

In the Authorized King James Bible, the Greek word enkrateia is translated as temperance.  In the New King James Version it is translated as self-control.  Enkrateia connotes mastery over one’s self.

  

Solomon warned, “Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.” (Proverbs 25:28 NKJV).  Lack of self-control makes us vulnerable to attacks from every source and every direction.  Lack of self-control leads to weakness, emotional instability, disease, poverty, addiction and psychosis.  If one thing is true, its opposite is also true.  Therefore, self-control leads to physical and emotional strength, immunity, sufficiency and peace.  “Against such there is no law.”

Paul used his own life as an example to the Church at Corinth: “Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.” (1 Corinthians 9:24-27 NKJV) 

Often we become frustrated in our attempts to control others.  We should become frustrated in trying to control others.  We were not created to control other people.  We were created and empowered by the Holy Spirit within us to control ourselves.  Our struggle for self-control should keep us so occupied that we should have no time or inclination to control our peers.  We can give advice, but we cannot force others to follow that advice.  We can, however, choose to follow the advice of our Lord.

God gives us direction in His word, but He has also given us free will.  He does not force us into obedience.  He is in control of the overall plans for time and eternity, but He does not micromanage our lives.  He desires disciples rather than puppets.

Paul explained the pattern and purpose of discipleship:  “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works.” (Titus 2:11-14 NKJV)

As Christians, we have been redeemed from every lawless deed.  Through Holy Spirit empowered self-control, we can walk worthy of our calling. (Ephesians 4:1) The list of the fruit of the Spirit begins with love and ends with self-control.  It becomes a cycle.  Our love leads us to self-control.  Our self-control leads us to love.   

Walking in the fruit of the Spirit, we become like Jesus who “being found in appearance as a man, humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”( Philippians 2:8 NKJV)  The cross demonstrates the agape love of God which led to the obedience, the self-control of Jesus on Calvary.