1 Corinthians 11 25 it says after
the same manner of course that's referring to the way that the
lord took the bread and broke it and gave it to the disciples
to eat and in that same manner he also took the cup a cup of
wine and as he had spoken when he
broke the bread so also he speaks concerning the wine and said,
this cup is the new covenant in my blood. And just as the bread pictured
the Lord's body and how that he himself broke it for our sins,
it pleased the Lord to bruise him. The wine pictures his precious
blood shed for them, for us. In another place, he said, this
is my blood which is shed for you. This do in remembrance of
me. A beautiful and appropriate symbol
of the blood of Christ for many reasons. First of all, let's notice that
he said this cup is the new covenant. He didn't say this teaches concerning
the new covenant. And I know when I start saying
what it's not, you kind of glaze over. Listen carefully now. This
is not just a lesson on the new covenant.
In that it represents his blood, the cup, Has wine in it that
pictures the blood of Christ the contents of the cup represent
his blood and his blood is The new covenant The new covenant let's turn over
to Hebrews chapter 8 the new covenant spoken of there in Hebrews
8 7 Hebrews 8 And verse 7 Now he's referring here
in verse 7 to the old covenant under the law under the moral
ceremonial all of the law we see different aspects of the
law, but the law is The covenant of law is God saying, do this
and don't do this. And that covenant can only be
fulfilled by doing it. Those that do the law, they'll
have life by the law, nobody else. And only one has ever fulfilled
and satisfied the law of God, and that's Christ. The old covenant
is not done away with. It is as far as we're concerned. But Christ kept the old covenant. He kept the covenant of works.
He was perfect before God and thought word and deed and fulfilled
that covenant. And then that, as far as we're
concerned though, that old covenant is null and void because God
gives the new covenant, which supersedes the old, And in that covenant, we can't
mess up. This is what we're fixing to
read, and we're just previewing it a little bit. This covenant is different. The
new covenant is different. It's older than the old one.
God didn't come up with a contingency plan after we broke the old covenant. The new covenant's older than
the old one. But what was the purpose? Why
did God have an old covenant? Then this is God. Why would he
make an old covenant when he knew that it wasn't gonna be
any good to bring us to Christ? It's our schoolmaster to bring
us to Christ in the new covenant. For if that first covenant had
been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the
second. So God gave a flawed covenant. No, look at it. Verse eight, for finding fault
with them. The only problem with the old
covenant was you. That's the only problem with
it. God demanding perfect holiness. There's nothing wrong with that.
He deserves it. There was no fault with the covenant, the
problem is with you, for finding fault with them, he saith. Behold,
the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant
with the house of Israel. And he's gonna explain who the
house of Israel here is in a minute. It is not somebody that's Jewish. Plain as day, it's not somebody
that's Jewish. Irrefutably, it's not. not according to the covenant
that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by
the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, even with
their hand in God's hand, yet they sinned. They were yet stiff-necked
and rebellious. They were yet, they yet fell
short of the glory of God. God gave them every outward advantage. What advantage them hath the
Jew? Much every way. But all of their mouths are stopped
by the law and the gospel. It shuts us up to Christ, both. And led them out of the land
of Egypt. because they continue not in my covenant. This covenant's
not gonna be like that one because of them. Finding fault with them. They continue not. They did not
fulfill the terms of the covenant. So this covenant, God's not naive
enough just to come back again and say, if you do the right
thing, I'll save you. Oh wait, that's the gospel of
this religious age. If you do the right thing, God
will save you. God's not that naive. He not giving you another
shot. He's not giving us another shot
here. He's saving us. He's saving whoever
Israel is. They shall all be saved. Romans
11. All Israel shall be saved. Because of this new covenant
that you can't mess up. The problem with the old one
was you. They kept not the covenant. They continued not. in that covenant. For this is the covenant that
I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my laws into their
mind and write them in their hearts. It won't just be commandments
written on a table of stone that you must live up to. It's gonna
be a desire in your heart that, oh, would to God I could serve
him. Would to God I could obey him. I love the law of God after the
inward man. Why did Paul say that? Because
of the new covenant. Because God put it in his heart.
He still couldn't do it, but he sure did want to. I'm gonna
write him in your heart. And I will be to them a God,
and they shall be to me a people. We're all God's children. No,
no. If you're in on this covenant,
you are. And they shall not teach every
man his neighbor and every man his brother, saying, know the
Lord. Now think with me for a minute. He's not saying there that nobody's
gonna teach their children about the Lord anymore. They're just
gonna quit doing that. That's not it. Look at the next phrase.
For all shall know me. The way that children learned
about the old covenant was their parents telling them, this is
the Lord's Passover and this is God's law. These are the statutes
that he's given us and we're to live by them. And there's a mercy seat. Don't forget that part of the
law was God said make a mercy seat. After Moses comes down,
the law is broken in symbol and of course, from the beginning
of time in reality. and God says, make a mercy seat.
So they taught them all that by word of mouth, but in this
covenant, it's not gonna be the truth of it, the understanding
and knowledge and faith is not gonna happen from one person
telling another. That's the means, God uses that,
but everybody that's included in this new covenant is gonna
know the Lord, because God's gonna see to it. God's, they
shall all be taught of who? Not their parents. Although they
probably did. If you're a godly parent, you're
gonna teach your children, but you're gonna be saved because
they shall all be taught of God. That's what he's saying here.
From the least to the greatest. For I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness and their sins and their iniquities will I remember.
No more. How can God do that? This cup
is the new covenant in my blood. That's how. Because of the precious
blood of Christ, God can be God and be merciful, a just God and
a savior. Bless God. Thank God for this
verse. Thank God for the truth of this
verse that's taught all through the scripture. Thank God for
the precious blood of Christ in that he saith a new covenant
he hath made the first old Now that which decayeth and waxes
old is ready to vanish away as far as we're concerned God's
Word done never is never null and void The Christ is the end of the law
next three words, what are they I? for righteousness. And then I'm saying the whole
next verse is a word, Christ. The end of the law for righteousness,
for righteousness. We don't look to the law anymore
for righteousness. Christ is the end of that. And
he's the goal, which is another meaning of that word. He's the
goal of the law. Why did God give an old law that was just
gonna be obsolete? Christ. to point us to Christ. The people
that were under the old covenant law were not saved under that
covenant. They were saved under the new
covenant. Were they not? God hadn't even given the new
covenant yet. He said, I'm going to give it. I'm going to make
a covenant with you. Well, when did he do that? That's
what Christ is saying. This is it right here. This is
it in symbol. In picture, the blood, in my
blood, the blood is the covenant. It is us pleasing God without
keeping the law. The righteousness without the
law, Romans chapter three. Look at Hebrews 9, 11. In all
of this, if you want to read all of chapter nine later, this
is all pertaining to our text. Hebrews 9, 11, but Christ being
come and high priest of good things to come by a greater and
more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say
not of this building, neither by the blood of goats and calves,
but by his own blood. This cup is the new covenant
in my blood. You see what he's saying? This
is still talking about the covenant in Hebrews 9. Absolutely, the
covenant. He fulfilled this covenant not
by the blood of animals like the old one pictured, the blood
of the lamb, but he entered in once into the holy place having
obtained eternal redemption for us. That's the new covenant.
We're redeemed, blessed, favored, accepted of God, not based on what we do, but
because of Christ and what he did. because of that precious
blood. For if the blood of bulls and
of goats, verse 13, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean
sanctifies and purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself
without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to
serve the living God? And for this cause he is the
mediator of a new covenant By means of death for the redemption
of the transgressions that were under the first testament Under the old covenant everything
that was done was seen it was transgressions They which are called might receive
the promise of eternal inheritance By the precious blood of Christ
We are promised by God eternal life. Being heirs of God and
joint heirs with Jesus Christ is promised to us because of
the blood if we believe on Him. And we're gonna see that in a
minute here. All along the reading of these passages, we see why
the Lord said what he did in our text verse tonight. This
cup is the new covenant in my blood. Not the cup, not the wine
itself, but in the blood of Christ. Those to whom the promise is
made is kept in that blood. when our Lord came into the temple
and preached. Do you remember what he said?
I was gonna have you turn there and listen to this. Remember
this and let's apply this to our text tonight. In Luke 4,
16, it says that the Lord Jesus came to Nazareth where he had
been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue
on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read. Here's the son
of God about to read his own word to a bunch of sinners. And there was delivered unto
him the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when he had opened the book,
he found the place where it was written, the spirit of the Lord
is upon me because he hath anointed me. The name Christ, or the title,
I should say, Christ, means anointed. He hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor, the poor in spirit. He hath sent me to
heal the brokenhearted, those who are brokenhearted over their
sin. those to whom he gives repentance concerning sin, to preach deliverance,
salvation to the captives, those who are held captive by Satan
at his will and are in the bondage of the law, under the bondage
of the law by nature, to set at liberty them that are bruised,
them that are crushed. He was crushed for us who are
crushed by sin. preach the acceptable year of
the Lord, Isaiah prophesied that Christ would stand and preach
the gospel to the poor, brokenhearted, captives, blind, and bruised. And he said, that's what's happening
right now. He began to say unto them, this
day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears. That's what the
Lord is doing in our text. He's saying that new covenant
that God promised back in Jeremiah. If you've read the book of Jeremiah,
that new covenant that God promised to his people, this is it. The
blood, the precious blood of Christ is that new covenant. He's saying that when the new
covenant was promised, that scripture in Jeremiah 31, and Lord willing,
we're gonna turn over there in a minute and read the original.
That was Paul quoting it in Hebrews. I believe Paul, but it doesn't
matter. Quoting it in the book of Hebrews, but he's quoting
it from Jeremiah 31, from when the promise was originally made
and recorded. He's saying that scripture is
fulfilled. in my blood. But let's look at something in
that original wording in Jeremiah 31, if you'd please turn with
me there. Jeremiah 31, 31. There's beautiful, beautiful
language here. Same covenant that was expressed there in Hebrews 8
and 9, but listen to Jeremiah 31, 31. Behold, the days come,
saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house
of Israel and with the house of Judah. not according to the
covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took
them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, which
my covenant they break." You see how Paul expounded that? It's not gonna be like that covenant
because that one could be broken. I shouldn't even say it could
be broken. It had to be broken. It would
be broken. God knew it would be broken.
It was broken before the Lord ever gave it. although I was in husband to
them, saith the Lord. But this shall be the covenant
that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith
the Lord. I will put my law in their inward
parts and write it in their hearts and will be their God. You see
all the I wills here, they shall. I will and they shall. They shall
be my people. You can't mess that up. If God says, you're going to
be my people, you're going to be my son, my child, I'm saving
you today. You can say no, you're not, but
he's still going to save you. You can't mess it up. and they shall teach no more
every man his neighbor and every man his brother saying no the
Lord for they shall all know me from the least of them unto
the greatest of them saith the Lord for I will forgive their
iniquity and I will remember their sin no more only by the
shedding of blood is there remission of sins Thus saith the Lord, listen to
this now, isn't this beautiful? You talk about beautiful. Did
you see the sunrise this morning? I was a little bit late for it
this morning, but I've seen it plenty of times. Oh, listen, thus saith the Lord,
which giveth the sun for a light by day, and the ordinances of
the moon. and of the stars for a light
by night, which divided the sea when the waves thereof roar,
the Lord of hosts is his name. If those ordinances depart from
before me, say it the Lord. In other words, if the sun ever
quit shining while this earth stands, if the moon ever quits
glowing beautifully in the sky, if the sea waves cease to roar,
I'll stop loving you. Then the seed of israel also
shall cease from being a nation before me forever And don't miss
that word seed The seed of israel But look what he said in the
next word. Let's say it the lord if heaven above can be measured
If we ever reach the the far corner of space and come to a
dead end Then christ will cease to love us When the foundations of the earth
searched out beneath, we ain't even been to the bottom of the
ocean yet. Isn't that amazing? Some have tried and regretted
it. Then I will also cast off all
the seed of Israel for all that they have done. Sayeth the Lord,
in spite of our sins, he's gonna love us. until the sea runs dry,
until the sun ceases to rise. And even then he won't stop.
He's talking about while this world stands. While we're here,
if we ever look and see that there's no sun, the sun didn't
come up this morning, I guess God doesn't love us anymore.
Every time you see the sunrise, you can sit there and think,
as sure as this, as steadfast as this, as certain as this,
God loves me and he's always loved me. And it's because of
the precious blood of his son that he loves me. His covenant with me is sure
and steadfast. Isn't that what David said? The
Lord has made with me an everlasting covenant and it's ordered in
all things and sure. You know, I'm not involved in
it then. And sure enough, the only way we're involved in it
is we need it. And by his grace, we're in on
it. The word seed in verse 36 is
key of what we just read now. The seed, the seed of Israel. Not the nation, not the earthly
nation of Israel, the seed of Israel. What do you mean, Chris?
Romans 9, 6, if you want to turn over there now. In fact, if you
would please turn with me to Romans chapter 9, because we
may just read the whole chapter. All of Romans chapter 9 is talking
about the covenant. Did you realize that? We'll see
that clearly. But verse 36 of Romans 9 first,
let's look at these three verses and then I'll tell you what,
let's just look at the whole, let's just close with this. Look at Romans chapter nine,
the whole chapter. Let me get over there. I say the truth in Christ, I
lie not, my conscience also. bearing me witness in the Holy
Ghost that I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart.
For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for
my brethren, my kinsmen, according to the flesh, who are Israelites,
to whom pertaineth the adoption and the glory and the covenants
and the giving of the law and the service of God and the promises,
those things pertain to them. But listen to it now, whose are
the fathers and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came. who is
over all, and boy, they thought they were gonna capitalize on
that. He's one of us. He came to save us. And they
went to hell thinking that because they sought not the promise of
the covenant by faith. They sought it by the deeds of
the law, by the keeping of the law. God bless forever, amen. Not
as though the word of God hath taken none effect. Now listen
to what he's saying. He said that all of these things
pertain to the nation of Israel, but clearly, manifestly, the
nation of Israel is ungodly on a massive scale. They're ungodly,
they've rejected the Christ. That's why he said, now when
you look at them, you might think the word of God hath taken none
effect. He made all these promises to them and look at them. They
hate him. But that's not what's happening.
It's not that the word of God has taken an effect for here's
what is happening. They are not all Israel, which
are of Israel. Don't look to the earthly nation
of Israel to see the fulfillment of this promise. Don't look to any sinner to see
the fulfillment of it. But this is not who the promises
of the covenant are given to. the earthly nation of Israel,
neither because they are the seed of Abraham are they all
children of God. In Isaac shall thy seed be called. In another place he said there's
a reason why it's seed and not seeds, because that seed is Christ. That is, they which are the children
of the flesh, Jewish by nature, by earthly nature, by common
nature, these are not the children of God. Should we debate that
for a while? I don't see any need. But the
children of the promise are counted for the seed. You see who the
covenant was made to? The seed of Israel. And it's
all those to whom God made these promises. And it's not the earthly
nation of Israel. It's his sheep, his elect out
of every kindred, tribe, nation, tongue under heaven. It's those
whom he loved in eternity. You see what we're coming to
in Romans nine. Who is it then? Who is it? It's
whoever God loved, that the purpose of God, according to that electing
grace might stand. He said, the elder shall serve
the younger. Jacob have I loved, that's election. It's not eeny,
meeny, miny, moe. It's those whom he loved from
eternity and with loving kindness has drawn to himself. Oh, no
man can come unto the Lord Jesus Christ except the Father which
sent him draw them unto the Lord. With loving kindness he drew.
For look, they which are, they're not, but the children of the
promise, they're counted for the seed. For this is the word
of promise. At this time I will come and
Sarah shall have a son. And not only this, but when Rebecca
also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac, for the
children being not yet born. Now listen to what he said back
in verse nine. This is the word of promise. He's not talking about just that
God made a promise that they would have a son, although that's
very clearly a picture of the covenant. Paul reveals that. I believe in the book of Galatians.
And listen though, he's saying here's how it is, here's what
the promise looks like. Here's what the fulfillment of
the promise looks like. For the children being not yet
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose
of God according to election might stand not of works, but
of him that calleth. It was said unto her, the elder
shall serve the younger, as it is written, Jacob have I loved,
but Esau have I hated. There's the promise seed. It's Christ and all who are loved
in him from the foundation of the world. What shall we say
then? Is there unrighteousness with
God? God forbid. For he saith to Moses, I will
have mercy on whom I will have mercy. You see how that applies
to the covenant here? He's talking about the covenant.
I'm going to include those in that covenant and all of the
covenant promises. I'll forgive your transgressions
and your sins and iniquities. I'll remember no more on this
basis. I love you and I hate you. and I'll have mercy in that new
covenant. I will include in that covenant,
and those promises will apply to whom I will. And on whom I
will, I'll have that compassion that's promised in that covenant. So then it is not of him that
willeth, nor of him that runneth. That's
the old covenant. But of God, that shall have mercy. You see the magnitude of what
he said. This cup is the new covenant
in my blood. What's the definition of love
in the scriptures? I trust the scriptures more than
Webster, how about you? What's the definition of God's
love here in his love? that Christ is the propitiation
for our sin. This cup. For the scripture saith unto
Pharaoh, even for this same purpose have I raised thee up that I
might show my power in you. He's gonna show his grace in
us. Trophies of his grace. But he's gonna show his power
in those that despise him, and that my name might be declared
throughout all the earth. Therefore hath he mercy on whom
he will have mercy, and whom he will, he harmeth. Thou wilt say then unto me, why
doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
Nay, but O man, who are you? To reply against God. You're
a wretched sinner. He ought to throw us all in hell.
None of us have any right to question what God did. If He
did the right thing according to the old covenant, without
the intercession of Christ, without the precious blood of Christ,
we'd all be goners. Who are you that reply? Shall
the thing formed say to him that formed it, why hast thou made
me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay of the same
lump to make one vessel unto honor and another unto dishonor? What if God, willing to show
his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering
the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, and that he might
make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy?
The riches of his glory. What does the glory of God look
like? That precious blood. shed for
sinners like us, which he had aforeprepared unto
glory, even us whom he hath called not of the Jews only, but also
of the Gentiles, whoever he chose, whoever he would have mercy on.
As he saith also in OC, I will call them my people, which were
not my people, and her beloved, which was not beloved. You see
what it is to be one of his people, one of his elect, to be loved
by him, beloved. And it shall come to pass that
in the place where it was said unto them, you are not my people,
there shall they be called the children of the living God. Bless
His holy name. Isaiah also crieth concerning
Israel, though the number of the children of Israel be as
the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. Not the nation
of Israel. That's not who the promises were
made to. They were made to the seed of
Israel, which is Christ and all in Him. A remnant, only a remnant of the
nation of Israel, the earthly descendants of Israel will be
saved. For God will finish the work
and cut it short in righteousness because a short work will the
Lord make upon the earth. Does it feel like that to you,
a short work? It is to him. And as Isaiah said before, except
the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodom
and been made like unto Gomorrah. unless there was a new covenant
which included all the seed, all those in Christ, we would all be goners. What
shall we say then that the Gentiles which follow not after righteousness
have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which
is of faith, not the law? But Israel which followed after
the law of righteousness hath not attained to the law of righteousness,
wherefore? Because they sought it not by
faith, they didn't look to Christ, they looked to themselves and
their law keeping. But as it were by the works of
the law, they were so proud of what they'd done, just like
Cain. For they stumbled at that stumbling
stone. As it is written, behold, I lay in Sion, a stumbling stone
and rock of offense. And whosoever believeth on him
shall not be ashamed. All of Romans chapter nine concerns
that covenant our Lord referred to in our text and all that it
entailed. So we conclude from the scriptures
with all certainty, from the very word of God, that the blood
of Christ is the fulfillment of the new covenant. And that
that covenant is made, the promises of it are made to the elect seed. Not of Israel, only a remnant
of Israel. And only a remnant out of this
world. A remnant according to the election of grace, they're
called, I believe in two chapters over. who are loved in Christ, chosen
in Christ, and redeemed by Christ when he shed that precious blood
that he spoke of in our verse. It is whosoever believeth on
him that shall not be ashamed, Romans 9.33, where we just read. All whom God loved, Romans 9.13.
The children of the promise, Romans 9.8. Objects of God's
sovereign mercy, Romans 9.15. The remnant according to the
election of grace, Romans 9.27. It's worded that way, I believe,
in chapter 11, but that's what he's talking about in verse 27
of Romans 9. Who by that electing grace through
God-given faith believe on Christ, verse 33. That's the new covenant. You can't mess it up. To all of these given to the
Lord Jesus Christ by his father is that cup raised. The promise
is made and fulfilled in that blood. How can we stress it enough that
salvation is Christ crucified? His precious blood is the new
covenant. All of the promises of the covenant
are yea and amen in Christ. And that precious sin-cleansing
blood, eternal blood, effectual blood,
all of the sins washed in that blood are forgotten by God forever. This cup is the new covenant
in my blood. This do ye, as oft as ye drink
it in remembrance of me. Let's pray.