I have been thinking about the new covenant and what exactly it is? To understand the new, i needed to define the nature of the old.
The old was a written law that was stored in ones mind and obeyed.
Paul referred to it as the law of his mind, or the letter. It set down principles of life, toward God and man. Exposing that default corrupt nature within our flesh that seems intent on destruction. In it we know what God requires in terms of attitude and behaviour toward Him and our fellow man. Ie, love and worship only Him, don't kill, steal, lie, etc.
Jesus summed it up by saying love God fully and your neighbour as yourself.
Problem is, no matter how hard we try we always seem to fall short, and end up fighting against our selves, or give up.
But the general principle is the knowledge of right and wrong, a law in our minds, "the letter" that we try and keep. Sound familiar?
To look at the new covenant, we got to look at when God through his prophets spoke, revealing what it's going to be.
Jer 31, He said the old way was going to be obsolete, and 'He' was going to change us somehow, taking out the hardness of our hearts and writing his law on heart and mind, not only that, but cause us to know him.
Notice this is Him doing the work now! Sounds too good to be true? This must have been a mind twister for old covenant thinking people, they must have thought, that would be amazing, no more striving/struggling with law. God himself now doing the work!
Enter - the birth of new covenant, day of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit sent to do the work.
Holy Spirit was given to show right from wrong and future judgement. He is called the spirit of truth. Now man has a new ruler/compass by which to set himself right. In essence the new covenant, is in its entirety, the work of the Holy Spirit. Without him there is simply no out working of new covenant. We are critically dependant on him to unfold this great mystery.
Apostle Paul referred to this mystery as the law of the spirit which in essence, is best characterised as a relationship, initially with the Holy Spirit, and deepening into knowing the Father and the Son.
Also described as the perfect law of liberty. It supersedes the letter of law, as the one who wrote the law, now comes to live in us, exchange himself with us. The old going and the new coming. It's a journey with him in person, made real by the Holy Spirit as he redeems us from our carnality, constructing Christ's very own nature within our hearts, outworked from our reborn spirit.
All things can be brought to, and exchanged with Him.
The key is to abandon ones self to him in faith and allow him full acess into every facet of our life.
Bringing every thought into correction, obedience to the living one, Christ, who now takes charge of us. This is a perfect harmony of giving, and being given to, as He begins His work in us. Sounds easy?