The Finished Word

The man with the mind of the Spirit understands that Christ Crucified, the Word of the Cross, is the Power and Wisdom of God . Overused by the Church and society, the English term ‘spiritual’ has become meaningless. To some, it is synonymous with  religion . To be  religious  is to be  spiritual . To others, it refers to supernatural things not of this physical universe, creatures that are otherworldly, noncorporeal, invisible, and live beyond the realm of time.

With the outpouring of the Spirit on the Day of Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced . The Bible describes the Gift of the Spirit as the “ Promise of the Father ” and links it to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and “ his Seed ” find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, and the Spirit bestowed on us is the “ earnest ” of that inheritance.

The Apostle Paul was adamant. No longer could there be “ Jew or Gentile ” for those who belong to Jesus Christ. The old distinctions were inappropriate among the One People of God. By his shed blood, he “ dismantled the middle wall of partition ” that separated Jews and Gentiles so “ he might reconcile them both in one body for God through the Cross .” God is building Jews and Gentiles into one building, one habitation of God “ in the Spirit ” in Jesus.

The Gift of the Spirit demonstrates beyond question who belongs to the Holy Covenant Community of Jesus, and who does not . In the assemblies of Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” pressuring Gentile believers to adopt circumcision and conform to other regulations of the Mosaic Law.   Paul repudiated the very idea and sent the Galatians a series of arguments demonstrating why Gentiles need not be circumcised.

The history of Israel includes national sins that resulted in her expulsion from the Promised Land. However, God foresaw her failures and determined eons ago to institute a New Covenant that would be energized and characterized by His Spirit, and a people, singular , that would include the Gentile nations. This covenant would culminate in the resurrection of the righteous dead and the arrival of the “ New Heavens and the New Earth .”

The Gift of the Spirit is clear evidence that a person has been justified by God and made a part of His covenant people. In Galatia, “ false brethren ” were preaching “ another gospel ,” one that claimed Gentiles must be circumcised to “ complete ” their faith. Paul would have none of it, and he appealed to the presence of the Spirit among uncircumcised Gentiles as proof positive of their justification and acceptance by God.

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 Gift of the Spirit is one of God’s promises to Abraham to bless the nations in the Patriarch’s Seed, Jesus Christ . Peter and John prayed for a man who was “ lame from his mother’s womb ” as he was begging for alms near the Jerusalem Temple. Rather than money, the apostles commanded the man to walk “ in the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth .” Immediately, he stood up and began to walk. Afterward, he was seen and heard by many “ leaping and praising God .”

The Apostle Paul calls the Gift of the Spirit the “ Promise of the Father ” which he links to the Abrahamic covenant. The promises to Abraham and “ his Seed ” find their fulfillment in the New Covenant inaugurated by the death and resurrection of Jesus. The bestowal of the Spirit on his Assembly marked the start of the age of fulfillment, and Gentile believers now become heirs of the Patriarch and coheirs with Jesus along with believing Jews.

The promise of the Spirit is vital to the redemption of humanity and the Covenant of God with His people, the Assembly of Jesus Christ . The New Testament connects the “ Promise of the Spirit ” to the “ Blessings of Abraham ,” the promise that God would bless the nations through the Great Patriarch. The Spirit is the gift believers receive “ through the hearing of faith .” It is part of the covenant promises given to Abraham, and Peter connected this gift to the “ blessings ” for the nations during his sermon on the Day of Pentecost.

The eighth chapter of  Hebrews  highlights the incomparable benefits believers receive under the New Covenant inaugurated by the death of Jesus. If the fulfillment of the promises arrived in him, especially in his Death and Resurrection, returning to the incomplete revelations of the past means embracing the glimpses and “ shadows ” of the “ coming good things ” rather than the substance provided by the Son of God.

Jesus inaugurated the superior New Covenant through his Death and Resurrection, rendering the old covenant obsolete  – Hebrews 8:6-13. The definitive “ Word ” that God has spoken “ in the Son ” surpasses all past revelations made in “ the prophets ,” including Moses, the Great Lawgiver. Only Jesus “ achieved the purification of sins ,” therefore, he “ sat down ” at the right hand of God as our Great High Priest and instituted the long-promised “ New Covenant .”

The  Letter to the Hebrews  is built on a series of comparisons that demonstrate the superiority of the word that God has “ spoken in ” His “ Son ” over every past revelation “ spoken in the prophets .” The former prophetic “ words ” were true but partial and preparatory. But now, “ upon the last of these days ,” God has unveiled His definitive “ word ” in one who is a “ Son .” That “ word ” is complete and superior to all others since Jesus alone “ achieved the purification of sins ” that is so vital to His people.