A Better Covenant!

"But now Jesus, our High Priest, has been given a ministry that is far superior to the old priesthood, for he is the one who mediates for us a far better covenant with God, based on better promises.......When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear."

---Hebrews 8:6 & 13 NLT.

In the Garden of Eden, both man and woman fell.  They disobeyed the command of God and sinned.  In Genesis 3:16-19, the punishment for their sin is pronounced by God.  Their punishment is pronounced on an individual basis, and with individual elements involved within that pronouncement to both the man and the woman.  Let's take a look at those individual pronouncements of judgment from God to both of them:

Genesis 3:16-19 NLT.

 Then he said to the woman, (Emphasis mine)

“I will sharpen the pain of your pregnancy,

    and in pain you will give birth.

And you will desire to control your husband,

    but he will rule over you.”

 And to the man he said, (Emphasis mine)

“Since you listened to your wife and ate from the tree

    whose fruit I commanded you not to eat,

the ground is cursed because of you.

    All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.

It will grow thorns and thistles for you,

    though you will eat of its grains.

 

By the sweat of your brow

    will you have food to eat

until you return to the ground

    from which you were made.

For you were made from dust,

    and to dust you will return.”

This is the pronouncement of their individual punishment for their sin, however included with that is the previous pronouncement that they would surely die!  This was a complete death; body, soul and spirit.  This is not only the point at which death entered humanities life, but the elements of death as well, such as sickness and disease.  

Fast forward to now!  Addressing Christian Believers, the members of the Lord's Body.  Here we are now faced with a very interesting theological issue before us.  That issue is the elements of the New Covenant.  A covenant that the writer of Hebrews refers to as a "better covenant.........based on better promises!"  It is an interesting theological conundrum for many within the Body of Christ, even the Pentecostal element of the Body of Christ, that they will say they believe in that "BETTER" covenant based on "BETTER" promises, but in a limited fashion.  For example:  Many Christian Believers will make the following statements of theological assertions pertaining to the pronouncement of judgment against humanities sin in Genesis.  First, they will say that they believe what the Apostle Paul teaches in 2 Corinthians 5:17---"This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!"  They are a completely new person with a new life in Christ, with new and better promises than the old covenant!  Second, they will say that in relation to man having to work by the sweat of his brow, toiling against the earth and all of creation which is suffering from humanities fall, that now our provision is in and through Christ!  They will agree with the better covenants better promise of God's provision through Christ, shared by the Apostle Paul in Philippians 4:19---"And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus."

Now, those Christian Believers who so readily agree with these assertions of "BETTER" promises from a "BETTER" covenant which is all in Christ, these same believers will then look at our Sister's who are called by God to Leadership positions in the Church and say.........."You MUST be in SUBMISSION to your husband so, therefore, you CANNOT be in a position of leadership over men!"  When asked to explain their stance, they will say that it is because of the pronouncement of judgment against the sin of Eve that we just read in Genesis 3:16.  These are the same Believers who will readily say and believe that the affects and consequences of sin have been paid for through the vicarious atonement of Christ!  AND that those affects of sin were taken upon Jesus, AND that person who is "IN" Christ is a brand new person, AND the judgement of our sin was placed upon Christ for ALL who believe! ........Well, at least if your a male, but if your a female, you must STILL, even after being in Christ and supposedly being a new creation, pay for and be subject to the penalties of the sins of your mother Eve!

It sounds like, by some believers theology, that the "BETTER" promises from a "BETTER" covenant, which is in Christ, ONLY works if you happen to be a male!  Now listen, I really, REALLY like being a male!!!  However, I like being theologically correct even better, which is what this article is appealing to!  For those who through their subjective beliefs have tried to superimpose upon the Word of God a presuppositionalism which predominately favors males, I ask you to reconcile the following passages of Scripture, making reference to the "BETTER" promises within a "BETTER" covenant and your current beliefs:  

First, In the writings of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians, in chapter 5, we see the verses most often used to show that women must remain under the judgment of the original sin, even though they are NOW in Christ.  Verses 22-33 are the verses that have most often been used to show the wife's submission to the husband.  However, if we take the admonition of Paul in regards to submission correctly, we have to back up our passage selection by one verse!  Paul says in Galatians 5:21---

"And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ."  Then Paul goes on to show how that works within the "HOME!"  Paying vital attention to HOW God had uniquely made both male and female.  The Husband with the personal need of respect.  The Wife with the personal need of feeling loved.  However, there is mutuality within the submission, with demonstration given by Paul within the family!

Second, Paul writes to the church at Ephasus and shares the nature of that "BETTER" covenant and some of the "BETTER" promises within that covenant, which is in Christ!  Ephesians 1:3-8 NLT---"³All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realms because we are united with Christ. ⁴ Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault (emphasis mine) in his eyes. ⁵ God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. ⁶ So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son.^[a]7 He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom (emphasis mine) with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins. ⁸ He has showered his kindness on us, along with all wisdom and understanding."

I pretty much believe what Paul shares here, speaks for itself.  we are IN Christ and we are NOW experiencing "BETTER" promises from a "BETTER" covenant!  These "BETTER" promises from a "BETTER" covenant are for ALL who believe, BOTH men and women!  Thank God for those better covenant promises that unite us under the blood stained banner of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  It is theologically incongruent to say that we believe in the VICARIOUS atonement of Jesus, for the FULL pardon of our sins, and yet believe that we are still under the curse of sin's judgment!  Vicarious means:  1. performed, exercised, received, or suffered in place of another: vicarious punishment.  2. taking the place of another person or thing.  Theologically that means that Christ "positioned" Himself in the place of judgment from God the Father that was meant for us!  And NOW, through Christ, any and ALL who place their faith in Him are free from that judgment of sin!......... This is basic biblical Soteriology!  My Brothers and Sisters, we MUST be careful that our personal presuppositions do NOT get in the way of our hermeneutics!

Let's take a look at the broader context of 2 Corinthians 5:17 that we mentioned above and look at what Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:14-21(emphasis mine)............

"¹⁴ Either way, Christ’s love controls us. Since we believe that Christ died for all, we also believe that we have all died to our old life. ¹⁵ He died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ, who died and was raised for them.

¹⁶ So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view. At one time we thought of Christ merely from a human point of view. How differently we know him now!¹⁷ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!

¹⁸ And all of this is a gift from God, who brought us back to himself through Christ. And God has given us this task of reconciling people to him. ¹⁹ For God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself, no longer counting people’s sins against them. And he gave us this wonderful message of reconciliation. ²⁰ So we are Christ’s ambassadors; God is making his appeal through us. We speak for Christ when we plead, “Come back to God!” ²¹ For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin,^[c] so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

WOW!!!........ That's pretty straight forward!  Look again at those two phrases in verses 16 and 21---"So we have stopped evaluating others from a human point of view!"  ........ "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin!"  Jesus took upon Himself the judgment, curse and penalty of the sins of humanity!  NOT just for the MALE'S but for the FEMALE'S as well,........ for EVERYONE who places their faith in Jesus!  I repeat the Apostle Paul's statement of this "BETTER" convenant's "BETTER" promise............. "This means that ANYONE who belongs to Christ has become a new person.  The old life is GONE; a new life has BEGUN!!!"..................... Oh, by the way,.......... for women too!

Okay, Okay Steve, I get it!  The Bible is VERY plain and STRAIGHTFORWARD on this matter!  But, if God meant for women to be in leadership position's within the Church, how come He said that if "any MAN desires the office of a Bishop?"  That's a legitimate question, because now we're simply dealing with a matter of exegesis!  And for the answer to that question, I will refer the reader to an article I wrote in 2010 that deals with the exegesis of that text accurately.  That article can be found by clicking on the following link:  Reclamation!: Women in Ministry!

God bless each and everyone of you!
Pastor Steve Gardner