Word for the day by Christian Education Forum

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One Family in Christ

“‘…not all who are descended from Israel are Israel”
Romans 9:6

Bible Reading: Galatians 3: 23 – 29

Key Verse Vs 28

“There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, 
for you are all one in Christ Jesus”
 
DEVOTION

The Old Testament is about the Abrahamic Covenant and the Mosaic Covenant. The Abrahamic Covenant expressed the promise that God made to Abraham that all nations would be blessed through Abraham’s seed. The Mosaic Covenant was a standing covenant between God and the Jews. It was a conditional agreement between the God and the nation of Israel communicated through Moses.   It defined Israel as a holy nation, promising protection and blessing in exchange for obedience to the Law (including the Ten Commandments).
But through Jesus Christ, a new covenant replaced or fulfilled the existing covenants. Unlike the old covenants, this new covenant was not just a covenant between God and the Jews, but a covenant between God and all of humanity. The New Testament talks about this new covenant.  This New Covenant – mediated by Jesus Christ – is the new and only standing covenant between God and all of humanity. What is this New Covenant?
The New Covenant is the spiritual contract established by God through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus Christ. This covenant is a move away from the old covenant of law to a new covenant of grace. The New Covenant is the promise that God will forgive sin and restore fellowship with those whose hearts are turned toward Him. Jesus Christ is the mediator of the New Covenant, and His death on the cross, and subsequent resurrection, is the basis of this promise.
The New Covenant also defines “the new Israel.” The “new Israel” is not the piece of land that God promised the Israelites. The “new Israel” does not constitute the descendants of Abraham. And the “new Israel” is not based on adherence to the Mosaic Law.   Instead, the “new Israel” consists of all of humanity united by faith in Jesus Christ.  The “new Israel” is the Church, a universal community of believers in Christ: Jews and Gentiles, slave and free, male and female (i.e., all believers). The “new Israel” is the One Family in Christ.
This New Covenant did not come out of nowhere. There is a direct connection between the New Covenant and the Abrahamic and the Mosaic covenants.  This connection is through Jesus Christ who enabled the New Covenant, thereby fulfilling the Abrahamic and the Mosaic covenants. How?   
The Old Testament shows that the Jews did not adhere to the laws that God had given them.  They could not satisfy their portion of the Mosaic Covenant. This placed them under a curse. And because of this curse, God’s promise that all nations will be blessed by Abraham and his descendants could not be fulfilled. The promise was blocked. 
But by dying on the cross, Jesus (a descendent of Abraham) took that curse upon himself and suffered the punishment. His subsequent resurrection conquered the curse, thus freeing the blessings of God, promised to Abraham, to flow to all nations, to all people. Through Jesus, God’s promise, originally to Abraham’s family, extends to all nations.
With Jesus Christ, the Church is the inheritor of the promises that God made to Israel.   The inheritors of God’s promise are all believers in Christ – one family in Christ.  The promise of the old covenant that “all nations on the earth will be blessed through you” (Genesis 12:3) is fulfilled through Jesus Christ and the New Covenant, which brings salvation to all human beings – both Jews and Gentiles – who have faith in Jesus.
 

PRAYER

O Lord God, help us to understand your Word and live a life pleasing in thy sight.

 

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY

“If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Galatians 3:29


Koruthu Mathew
The Long Island Mar Thoma Church, New York

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