The Spirit of the Covenant

The Spirit of the Covenant

Scripture:- As for me, this is my covenant with them, saith the LORD; My spirit that is upon thee, and my words which I have put in thy mouth, shall not depart out of thy mouth, nor out of the mouth of thy seed, nor out of the mouth of thy seed's seed, saith the LORD, from henceforth and for ever. Isaiah 59:21

Observation:- Looking at this Scripture from Isaiah, we get a picture of some of the wonderful characteristics of the new covenant. What is a covenant? A covenant is a contract, an agreement between two parties. Sometimes a covenant is one-sided, like when God made a covenant with Noah and all the creatures of the earth never to destroy the earth by water again after the great flood. After the Israelites came out of Egypt, God then made the old covenant through Moses. God gave them His ten commandments and his laws, and the Israelites would receive great blessing if they obeyed, but great curses if they did not. The old covenant was based on human effort to follow God’s standards, and ended in failure, because Israel kept turning away. However, when Jesus came, He set in place the new covenant in His blood, whereby we are no longer justified by the blood of animals, but by Jesus’ blood. And while the old covenant was based on human effort to keep the law, the new covenant is based on God’s power through the Holy Spirit which is given to every Believer, and enables them to know God’s ways and heart.

Today’s verse in Isaiah speaks of this aspect of the new covenant- the Holy Spirit being upon us and putting God’s Word in our mouths and our children’s mouths and the mouths of our grandchildren. Jeremiah talks about God writing His law in our hearts.

Application:- God’s Word is always true when we apply it in faith. Paul talks about living by the Spirit so that we do not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. First we must believe and remind ourselves that God’s Spirit is upon us. It is good to declare it. “God’s Spirit is upon me”. Second, we need to choose to be aware of the Holy Spirit in what we think and speak. Sometimes, when we are at a loss over what to say or do in a particular situation, it is good to say a quick prayer “Holy Spirit, teach me what to say/ what to do”. As we practice this, and also read more and more of God’s Word as He gives us the hunger, we will learn to live more and more by the Spirit each day.

Prayer:- Lord Jesus, I thank You for the new covenant in Your blood, which was shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins. I thank You for the Holy Spirit which You have given me, to be My Helper, My Counselor. Holy Spirit, give me wisdom and peace. Stay with me always, and teach me what to say, what to think, what to do. Bless You, Lord. In Jesus name, Amen.