Time of Fulfillment
God foresaw the sins and downfall of Israel, therefore, He determined from the beginning to institute a New Covenant energized and characterized by His Spirit. It would include the salvation of the Nations and culminate in the “New Heavens and the New Earth.” With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, that Time of Fulfillment commenced.
The Death and Resurrection of Jesus inaugurated
the promised era in Salvation History defined and dominated by the Spirit of
God. In the Nazarene, the period known
as the “Last Days” began and the promises of God received their
fulfillment in him.
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| [Photo by Luis Georg Müller on Unsplash] |
When Israel repented wholeheartedly, God would gather her “from among all the peoples where Yahweh your God has scattered you.” He would “MULTIPLY you beyond your fathers” and “CIRCUMCISE your heart to love Him with all your heart and with all your soul that you may live” - (Deuteronomy 30:3-6).
Two things are noteworthy. First, God planned
to “multiply Israel beyond her forebears.” The English term “multiply”
translates the same Hebrew verb found in the call to Adam to be “fruitful
and multiply,” and in God’s promise to multiply Abraham’s seed until
his descendants became more numerous than the stars - (Genesis 1:28, 17:2).
Second, national restoration would occur
when God “circumcised Israel’s heart” and inscribed His law on the
hearts of His people, an internal change promised in the Hebrew Scriptures and actualized
by the Holy Spirit in the New Covenant. It would be far more glorious than
anything the nation ever imagined - (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 11:19-20, Isaiah
65:17-18, Revelation 21:1-3).
The covenant promises are fulfilled in
Jesus as God implements His New Covenant, including the “circumcised heart”
and the Gift of the Spirit. The Jews who saw the Messiah experienced something
“greater than Jonah,” “greater than Solomon,” “greater than
David,” and greater than the Temple. Yet their unbelief prevented them
from perceiving what God was doing in the nation’s midst - (Matthew 5:17-21, 12:6, 12:28, 12:41-42).
Having established the “New Covenant in
his blood,” Jesus began to build his Kingdom and covenant community. His “Assembly”
of saints was formed around and centered on him, not the Land of Canaan or the
Temple in Jerusalem. “All the promises of God found their ‘Yea’ and ‘Amen’
in Jesus.” He ascended on high “that he might fulfill all things”
promised to Abraham and the “fathers”- (Acts 3:24-26, Acts
10:42-43, 13:18-33).
The jurisdiction of the Torah was limited
and lasted only “until Christ came.” He was the true Seed of
Abraham, and therefore, all those who have faith in him and the promises of God
become the “children of Abraham” and heirs of the covenant - (2
Corinthians 1:20, Galatians 3:24, Romans 10:4).
NATIONS AND HEIRS
Before Calvary, the Gentiles were “separated
from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the
covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.” However,
“those who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
The ancient promise to regather God’s people began its fulfillment as both Jews
and Gentiles responded in faith to the Gospel.
God’s purpose was “to sum up all things in Christ in the fullness of the times.” This included the redemption and gathering of the nations, including Israel, and the bodily resurrection of the righteous dead - (Romans 8:20-23, 1 Corinthians 15:20-25, Ephesians 1:10, 2:11-13).
When referring to the Promised Land, the Hebrew
Bible employed the terms “inheritance,” “inherit,” “heir,”
and “promise.” In the New Testament, these same terms are applied to
what God is accomplishing through His Son, including the Gift of the Spirit and
the promised resurrection. Jesus is truly the heir of all things -
(Matthew 21:38, 28:18, John 13:3, Colossians 1:12-13, 1 Peter 1:3-5).
The Gift of the Spirit confirms the
status of believers as members of the covenant community. Whether Jewish or
Gentile, they become the “children of God, and if children, then heirs,
heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.” Everyone who receives the Spirit
becomes part of the “Body of Christ,” whether Jewish or Gentile, which is
the “earnest of our inheritance” - (Romans 8:16-17, Galatians
3:29, Ephesians 1:13-14).
The Apostles of Jesus were “ministers of
the New Covenant, not in a written code but in the Spirit.” In his Death
and Resurrection, he became the “surety of a better covenant,” and established
the promised new one, rendering the first one “obsolete” - (Ezekiel
11:19-20, 2 Corinthians 3:4-6, Hebrews 7:22, 8:6-13, 9:15, 10:16).
The arrival of the Spirit and the New Covenant
meant the redefinition of the boundaries of the Promised Land. As Paul wrote, Abraham
would “inherit the world,” not just a tiny strip of land in
the Middle East, and this same promise is now to all men who are the “children
of Abraham” - (Romans 4:13).
The disciples of Jesus are his coheirs, and
their final hope will be realized in the coming bodily resurrection. At
present, the creation itself “sighs and travails in birth pangs” as it “ardently
awaits the revelation of the sons of God.” That condition will end when the
“Lord of Glory” appears again at the end of the present age.
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| [Photo by Robson Hatsukami Morgan on Unsplash] |
Both humanity and the universe are subject to decay and death due to Adam’s “transgression.” However, God will reverse the curse when His sons receive the redemption of their bodies. In the interim, believers have the Spirit as the “first fruits” of their final redemption - (Romans 8:17-23).
The New Creation is the inheritance of believers.
According to His promise, “we look for the new heavens and the new earth
wherein dwells righteousness,” and in it, “God will tabernacle with men,
and they will be his people” - (2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1-7).
Thus, the “New Covenant” and the “New
Creation” were inaugurated by the Death, Resurrection, and Ascension of
Jesus Christ, and their implementation is underway. This process will culminate
in the bodily resurrection of the saints and the arrival of the “New Heavens
and the New Earth” when Jesus arrives “on the clouds of Heaven” at
the end of the present age.
RELATED POSTS:
- Heir of Abraham - (Jesus is the true Son of Abraham, the heir of the promises, the Anointed One who fulfills and implements the inheritance for his people)
- My Words are Life - (Jesus grants the Life-Giving Spirit to men without which there is no enduring life. His words are spirit, and they are life)
- The Circumcised Heart - (The promise of the Spirit is integral to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people)
