The Age of the Spirit
The History of Israel included national sins that caused her expulsion from the Land of Canaan. However, God foresaw her failures and determined to institute a new covenant, one energized and characterized by His Spirit. This covenant would include the salvation of the nations and culminate in the New Creation at the end of the age. With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the Age of the Spirit commenced.
The death and resurrection of Jesus inaugurated
a new era in Salvation History, the messianic age and time of fulfillment. In
him, the “LAST DAYS” began in earnest and all God’s promises were being fulfilled
in and by Jesus.
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| [Dawning Photo by NEOM on Unsplash] |
When Israel repented wholeheartedly, as promised in the Hebrew Bible, the God of Abraham would gather her “from among all the peoples where Yahweh your God has scattered you.” Moreover, 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 in the passage
from the Book of Deuteronomy. First, God would “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 - (Genesis 1:28, 17:2).
Second, the restoration would occur when God
“circumcised Israel’s heart” and inscribed His Law on it, an internal
change promised in the Hebrew scriptures and actualized by the Spirit under the
“New Covenant”- (Jeremiah 31:31-34, Ezekiel 11:19-20).
The restoration of Israel would be far more
expansive and glorious than anything the ancient nation had ever known, an act
of sheer grace by which Yahweh would enable His people to fulfill the covenant through
the “new Spirit” given by Him. This promise described nothing less than
a new creative act that WOULD impact all
the nations of the earth - (Isaiah 65:17-18, Revelation 21:1-3).
IN JESUS
In the New Testament, the promises are fulfilled
in Jesus as God implements His New Covenant, including the covenant promises to
Abraham and Israel - The “circumcised heart” and the “new Spirit.”
Jesus came to fulfill the “Law and the
Prophets.” The Jews who saw him experienced something “greater than
Jonah,” “greater than Solomon,” “greater than David,” and
greater than the Jerusalem Temple. In the Nazarene, the Kingdom of God was
inaugurated and now it is advancing across the Earth - (Matthew 5:17-21, 12:6, 12:28, 12:41-42).
Having established the “New Covenant in
his blood,” Jesus commenced building his community. But in this new age, his
“Assembly” of saints is formed around and centered on him, not the Land
of Canaan or the Temple building in old Jerusalem:
- In him, “what things God had before declared through the mouth of all the prophets… the covenant that He covenanted with your fathers, saying to Abraham, in your seed shall be blessed all the families of the Earth” - (Acts 3:24-26, Acts 10:42-43, 13:18-33).
According to the Apostle Paul, “All the
promises of God find their ‘Yea’ and ‘Amen’ in Jesus.” He ascended on high,
“That he might fulfill all things.”
The jurisdiction of the Torah was
only for a set period - “until Christ came” - The true seed of
Abraham. In the Nazarene, all those who have faith in the Word of God as the
Patriarch did are the “Children of Abraham” and heirs of the promises -
(2 Corinthians 1:20, Galatians 3:24, Romans 10:4).
THE NATIONS
Jesus became the Suffering Servant portrayed
in Isaiah who “confirms the promises to the fathers so that the
Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.” Thus, the promise of “blessing
for the nations” made to Abraham is fulfilled by Jesus. The original covenant
has been expanded beyond the limited borders of Canaan - (Romans 15:8-9).
Before his death, 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,
now, “Those who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of
Christ.” The ancient promise to regather God’s people is being fulfilled as
BOTH Jews and Gentiles respond in faith to the Good News of the Kingdom announced
by Jesus and his Apostles.
From the beginning, God’s purpose was “to sum up all things in Christ in the fullness of the times.” This included the redemption of the nations and the physical creation itself - (Ephesians 1:10, 2:11-13).
When referring to the Promised Land, the Hebrew
Bible employs the terms “inheritance,” “inherit,” “heir,”
and “promise.” In the New Testament, the same terms are applied to what
God is accomplishing in His Son, including the Gift of the Spirit. He is
the true Heir of Abraham and the Heir of all things,
including the “Cosmos” - (Matthew 21:38, 28:18, John 13:3, Romans
4:13, Colossians 1:12-13, 1 Peter 1:3-5).
The possession of the
Spirit confirms the status of believers whether Jewish or Gentile. They
are the “children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and
joint-heirs with Christ.” Anyone who receives the Spirit becomes part of his
one covenant community regardless of nationality or gender. Thus, the salvation
provided by Jesus is a universal
offer of life for all humanity.
JOINT HEIRS
Jesus is Abraham’s true “seed,” and
as partners with him, his disciples become “heirs according to promise.”
Moreover, the Spirit is the “earnest of our inheritance for the
redemption of the possession” - (Romans 8:16-17, Galatians
3:29, Ephesians 1:13-14).
- He is “the mediator of the new covenant, that a death having taken place for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first covenant, they that have been called may receive the promise of the everlasting inheritance.”
He implemented the New Covenant by becoming
the Heir of Abraham. Consequently, all who are “in Christ” become coheirs
with him and “Children of Abraham” who will receive the same inheritance,
including glorified resurrection bodies - (Romans 8:1-23, Hebrews 8:6-13, 9:15).
The Apostles are “ministers of the New Covenant,
not in a written code but in the Spirit,” another allusion to the New
Covenant promised in the Hebrew Bible by which God now writes His laws in
hearts freshly circumcised by His Spirit - (Deuteronomy 30:6, Jeremiah
31:34, Ezekiel 11:19-20, 2 Corinthians 3:4-6).
In his death and resurrection, Jesus became
the “surety of a better covenant” and established the promised new one. Moreover,
because he established the “New Covenant,” logically, “he made the
first one obsolete” - (Hebrews 7:22, 8:6-13, 9:15, 10:16).
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| [Photo by Arto Marttinen on Unsplash] |
RESURRECTION
His bodily resurrection was an act of new
creation. God did not resuscitate a corpse but gave him a glorious and
immortal body that no longer is subject to death and decay. His resurrection inaugurated
the New Creation, though there is an overlap between the existing age and
the coming on - (1 Corinthians 15:42-50, 2 Corinthians 5:17).
This means the redefinition of the boundaries
of the land promised to Abraham. As Paul wrote, Abraham will “inherit the world.” Moreover, his disciples
are his coheirs. Their final hope will be realized in the bodily resurrection and
the New Creation - (Romans 4:13, 8:17-23).
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, his disciples have the Spirit as the “first fruits” of
and down payment on the future resurrection - (Romans 8:17-23).
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.” When that day arrives,
He will wipe away every tear and death will cease forevermore - “Behold, I make all things new!” -
(2 Peter 3:13, Revelation 21:1-7).
All this has been set into motion in the Age
of the Spirit inaugurated by Jesus. The “New Covenant” and “New Creation”
began with his death, resurrection, and ascension, a process that is underway
that will consummate in the bodily resurrection of the saints and the arrival
of the “New Heavens and the New Earth.”
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