By John Thiel, First Angel’s Message, study 12, mp3

Jesus became a ransom to pay out the captives from sin and death. Though kidnapped and held in captivity to sin and to death by Satan, the ransom was paid to release us. The manner in which Jesus accomplished this was that he himself became a captive of the strong man. Jesus entered into the strong man’s house and he came into the captivity and was held in a body of sinful flesh. It was through this process that he was entombed into death but he broke the fetters of both these captivating forces. He broke the fetters of sin in the flesh and he broke the fetters of death because in him dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.

Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave. I will redeem them from death. O death I will be thy plagues, O grave I will be thy destruction.

This makes it abundantly plain that Jesus ransomed us from the power of the grave which is sin and the grave itself which is death. The concept of the ransom from sin is expressed;

1 Peter 1:18 Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;

19 But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:

We were redeemed at a huge price by the blood of Christ the one in whom dwelt all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In this research we will deal with our part in the gospel after we appreciate how we have been ransomed. We concluded in the last study that it depends on our decision now as to whether or not we will take hold of the ransom and submit to it by believing that Jesus has actually paid the ransom for us.  If we don’t believe that he has done this then we can’t be benefited. Our study of understanding the principle of believing to cooperate with the ransom is the old and the new covenant. What does that mean?  The concept of whether we are going to be responsive to the ransom is what dealt with;

1 Corinthians 6:19-20 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? 6:20  For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

This is the response that is called for in return for our ransom. Now that we have been bought and been ransomed there is something that we need to do – glorify God in our body.

‘Ye are not your own. . . . Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s (1 Cor. 6:19, 20). Will you give back to God that which he has ransomed with the price of his own blood? Will you give him your reasoning powers; will you set them apart for his glory? They are his; he has bought them with a price. Will you place yourselves in the school of Christ, that your conscience may be enlightened, that it may be a good conscience, a faithful sentinel to guard the highest interests of the soul? Christ has purchased the affections; will you trifle with them, will you pervert them? Will you place them upon unworthy objects, center them upon human beings and make the creature instead of the Creator your god to worship? Or shall your affections be purified, ennobled, refined, and made to twine about your Creator and Redeemer? {TMK 63.2}

God will not occupy a divided heart or reign from a divided throne. Every rival that holds the affections and diverts them from the God of love must be dethroned. The Lord demands all that there is of us, and there must be no reserve. Christ has purchased us, we are his heritage, and we are to be honored by being co-laborers with Jesus Christ. Wear the yoke with Christ, and daily walk with God. How shall we do this? By laying hold upon the help which God has provided. The Lord has said, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you (Matt. 7:7). {TMK 63.3}

God has bought us, and he claims a throne in each heart. Our minds and bodies must be subordinated to him and the natural habits and appetites must be made subservient to the higher wants of the soul. But we can place no dependence upon ourselves in this work. We cannot with safety follow our own guidance. The Holy Spirit must renew and sanctify us. In God’s service there must be no halfway work. {TMK 63.4}

This handles the importance of our part after Jesus has redeemed us. But now it depends upon us as to whether we are going to cooperate with God in responding to this redemption price.

1 Timothy 2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our saviour;

4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.

5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.

6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

God would have all men to be saved and to come unto a knowledge of the truth. God has done the work through Jesus Christ who has given himself a ransom for all and he needs to be testified to us and we need to do something in response to this. We need to come to the knowledge of what Christ has done for us and to act upon it. How does a person respond to the one who has paid out a huge sum to redeem him from captivity and sure death? If a person becomes aware that they have been kidnapped and that they are under captivity and then someone pays out a huge sum to redeem them and take them back to freedom again, what sort of response do you think this would arouse in the person’s heart? Wouldn’t the captive desire to serve the one who has paid him out? Wouldn’t he try to repay in some way? Wouldn’t he decide that he actually wants to leave his captor and return to the one who has paid out such a price to free him? Listen to the appeal of the one who the captive needs to respond to, the one who has paid out such a vast price to redeem the human race;

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

We are captives to sin and ultimately death and God has paid a price so that we would not have to be subject to sin and death anymore. He has broken the power of sin and now he says I have no pleasure in the death of those who sin, the death of the wicked but that the wicked turn from his way. Now it’s still left for the one that has been redeemed to turn from the captivity of sin. The captivity has been paid out, but he must now make a choice to turn away from it willingly so that the wicked should turn from his way and live. The appeal of the one who has paid out the price is, turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways because ultimately it’s going to lead you to death. Why will you die O house of Israel? I’ve paid your ransom. Why do you want to stay captive? If we want to receive and take hold of the wonderful benefits of the ransom that has been paid out for us, we need to respond by making a personal decision to turn from our wicked ways so that we might live. Another response is required from us;

Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.19 If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land.

On this earth everything is heading to destruction. We are living in a prison house that is ready to be destroyed. But Jesus came into the prison house in order to take us away from it and to pay out the price of our ransom. Now, it is up to us to be willing and obedient to be able to go to a better land, a better country. If you will be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land. You’ve been a captive to sin but Jesus says I’ve broken your captivity so get to work and work out the extraction that needs to take place for you to come back. In a real case of monetarily redeeming a person who has been kidnapped, once the ransom has been paid there needs to be a further transaction between the kidnapper and the one who has been kidnapped as to how they are going to be returned home again. This is exactly the point of our study here. A program needs to be developed whereby the sinner who has been captive to sin Satan and death is able to find his way back to the one who has paid him out. If you be willing and obedient. God is actually looking for cooperation with the one whom he has ransomed. In a manner of speaking God says you have been paid out but now you need to follow my guidance because this is the way you are going to get out of your captive position and be set free. It’s interesting that in the Bible God has given an example of a people who have been captive and whom he is working to undertake a process to return them to the goodly land from which they have been kidnapped. That people of course were the children of Israel. They were captives in Egypt and God actually promised to pay them out which he did. But before they entered the Promised Land, God took them through a process of freeing them from their previous position so that they could follow a track of walking away from where they were. In Exodus Chapter 19 we follow that program of God to redeem the children of Israel, which takes them through the exercise of being right away from their previous captivity. Their example has been written for us upon whom the ends of the earth have come.

Exodus 19:3 And Moses went up unto God, and the LORD called unto him out of the mountain, saying, Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel.

4 Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself.

5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine.

6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.

7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.

8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.V9 And the LORD said unto Moses, Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud, that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and believe thee for ever. And Moses told the words of the people unto the LORD.

Can you see the exact mediation that was just introduced as an example? God has redeemed them out of the land of Egypt. Now therefore, if ye be willing and obedient, if ye obey my voice and keep my covenant, then ye shall be unto me a peculiar treasure. You will be the ones that have responded to my plan of redemption and I will make you a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. Moses takes these words back to the children of Israel and speaks them so that they might be able to make a decision as to whether or not they are going to cooperate with God. Of course the people promise all that the Lord hath spoken we will do. God reminds them that they have been redeemed from captivity and he says look, you were slaves in Egypt and I delivered you and the people respond – yes, all that the Lord has said we will do.

In verse 5 above is the introduction of the concept of the covenant where it says now therefore if ye will obey my voice indeed and keep my covenant.  A covenant is an agreement and it was by means of a covenant that God chose to confirm the words of the Israelite people who made the promise yes whatever God has said we are going to enter into an agreement with him and participate in this program of extraction. Where was this agreement or covenant ratified and made binding?

Deuteronomy 26:16 This day the LORD thy God hath commanded thee to do these statutes and judgments: thou shalt therefore keep and do them with all thine heart, and with all thy soul.

17 Thou hast avouched the LORD this day to be thy God, and to walk in his ways, and to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and to hearken unto his voice.

18 And the LORD hath avouched thee this day to be his peculiar people, as he hath promised thee, and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments.

While the people were under Egypt’s captivity just like the sinner is under Satan’s captivity they became very used to that way of life. Now that they are going to come back to the one who has paid them out, they have to learn and submit themselves to a way of life that is now very different to what they have been used to under the captivity. Moses replays to the people you have avouched/promised/confessed this day that you are going to be loyal to the Lord and as you make that vow to walk in his ways and to keep his statutes, commandments, judgments and to hearken unto his voice, likewise the Lord himself has also avouched. He has acknowledged your vow and he makes a vow that this day you are going to be his peculiar people and that thou shouldest keep all his commandments.  There is a covenant agreement reached by both parties confirming and reasoning it together. This verse goes into the detail of what the children of Israel had to do with this agreement;

Exodus 24:7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

The people heard what God wanted them to do and they promised to do exactly what he had said. What transpired?

Exodus 24:5 And he sent young men of the children of Israel, which offered burnt offerings, and sacrificed peace offerings of oxen unto the LORD.

6 And Moses took half of the blood, and put it in basons; and half of the blood he sprinkled on the altar.

7 And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.

8 And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.

Blood was shed to ratify and seal the agreement/covenant made between God and the people. Now when someone makes a covenant or a testament, it can only be ratified by the death of the testator;

Hebrews 9:16 For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.

17 For a testament is of force after men are dead: otherwise it is of no strength at all while the testator liveth.

Once death takes place, the agreement that took place before the death becomes a testament.

Hebrews 18 Whereupon neither the first testament was dedicated without blood.

20 Saying, This is the blood of the testament which God hath enjoined unto you.

God and man reasoned together in the law. The Law of God was spoken from Mt Sinai and written on two tablets of stone by God’s own finger. The Law of Moses was also handed down on Mt Sinai and this incorporated all the ceremonial and judicial laws for the people which Moses wrote down in a book. Then the men heard all the statutes and laws of those documents and promised to keep them, and the agreement was then all sealed and confirmed into a testament. There was to be a death, (symbolized by the animal sacrifice), and once the death took place and the blood was sprinkled the agreement became a testament. Now that is a very serious, confirming, definite procedure and once you have entered into such a procedure as the children of Israel did with God, there is no way out of it – that’s it. That is the way, path and program that God instituted to enable those who had been redeemed to find themselves on the path to the Promised Land. What happened with such a powerful arrangement and agreement?

Jeremiah 31:32 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 brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

What a sad experience this beautiful covenant was broken. But this was the amazing thing. Here were a people that had made an agreement with God and this agreement was designed to be the manner, path and program by which God could free the people in physical reality from their past life of bondage and captivity to lead them in their destiny to the Promised Land but they broke it. The children of Israel had not even reached the Promised Land when they broke the covenant. They were still in the wilderness. When Moses went up onto the mountain to receive the tables of stone the people impatient of his return committed idolatry by building a golden calf which they danced around and worshipped amid festivities. In the absence of Moses the people had reverted back to their old activities in Egypt and in doing so, broke their promises to God. Wouldn’t it seem at such a time as this that the people would be forsaken? They had not respected God’s appointed method of breaking their captivity to their former idolatrous practices. After breaking their covenant with God the people came to realise all the more the true condition of their captivity. They had come to discover that their old habits and customs in Egypt were still very attractive and captivating to them. Because of this captivity, the hold that sin had upon them, they were too weak to keep all their promises to God. God now permitted them to be forsaken upon the realization of their true condition in light of the fact that they had broken such a solemn covenant with God

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:

32 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 brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:

33 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, and thy shall be my people.

God makes a new covenant with the children of Israel. A covenant that is different to the first one because in this covenant the laws are to be written in the peoples hearts. Instead of rejecting the people who have rejected His covenant, God makes a new covenant based on better promises.

Hebrews 8:6 But now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises.

This is a better covenant based on better promises. The first covenant ratified the agreement of how the children of Israel were going to be transferred out of captivity to physical freedom but they broke the covenant so God instituted a better covenant built on better promises. We noticed that in the first covenant the Israelites promised to God everything that God hath said we will do but they failed to do this. Mans promises, the one who has been in captivity for so long have become weakened through his captivity but in the second covenant there are better promises to look to.

Hebrews 8:7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for he second.

8 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 with the house of Judah.

10 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: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people.

He found fault with the previous covenant. Where was the fault? Finding fault with them and their weak promise which they couldn’t keep. God makes a new covenant which is now based on his promise to man. Notice here the better promises? The New Covenant goes much deeper than the Old Covenant which was based on mans’ weak promises to God that he would keep his laws. There is only one promise in the New Covenant and this is God’s promise to man that I will put my laws into their mind and write them in their hearts and I will be to them a God and they shall be to me a people. Here is the promise of the New Covenant and the writing of laws into their hearts is to be ratified in the same solemn way as with the first covenant, by the shedding of blood.

Hebrews 9:14 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? 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

The beautiful inheritance which was to be theirs was now made possible through the mediation of a New Testament which applied the blood of Christ, the ransom. Now there is a connection of the blood of the covenant with this promise. The agreement became a testament because the ransom shed his blood. Through this appreciation the ransom becomes a living experience as the impact of the ransom begins to affect the mind of the one who has been ransomed. The law that the sinner had broken, the condition of which held him in captivity, is now placed into the heart of the sinner who is no longer comfortable in the area of sin as he contemplates the benefit of the shed blood of the ransom.

2 Corinthians 3:3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.

Here the work of Jesus. The ransom becomes imprinted into the mind. There has been a promise made that has been broken and it has shattered the mind of the one who thought he was going to be able to keep God’s wonderful agreement and then failed miserably to keep it. His experience is still one of captivity and weakness to sin and he thinks to himself well that’s it now, I’m finished. Although I’ve been paid out I’m not even capable of being able to follow the program that God has laid out for me to walk into freedom with the one who has actually redeemed me. Now this is the mercy and grace of God.

Instead of throwing out such a person in their hopeless state, the Old Covenant that was broken could now be redeemed by the New Covenant. The vast majority of churches today teach that the Old Testament is invalid. Believers therefore never really appreciate the true impact of the ransom. To segregate the Old Testament experience from the New Testament makes people think that salvation was somehow different for those living before the time of Christ to those that are living after the time of Christ. They think, oh well in the Old Testament they had to make a promise to God but we don’t have to make such promises because the New Testament is the New Covenant. The reality is however we must promise to God just like the children of Israel promised and as we make such a promise, we will experience the true depths of our captivity of sin and then we will gladly accept the ransom.

Galatians 3:22 But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe. 23 But before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed. 24 Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. 25 But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster.

Here is this explanation. We have been captive under sin and to help us to move from the captivity of sin by our choice and into the freedom that has been provided for us, God has given us the old promise which is here called the law.  This law that we have promised God we will try and keep was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ. The Old Covenant was a harsh effort related program because in our weakened condition under the captivity of sin. We realized that we could not keep God’s laws even though our conscience was being called upon to keep it. This had the effect of making us truly aware of our weakened condition.  A condition that was unknown to us previously. In our ignorance upon entering into the Old Covenant we held the belief that by being redeemed by God we could just somehow comfortably float across towards him but the terrible reality is that we have to discover that we can’t do it and it is the schoolmaster, the Old Covenant that brings about this awareness.

The law (the Old Covenant) is our school master to bring us unto Christ but after faith is come we are no longer under the school master. Once the New Covenant comes into effect the law is written in our hearts. There begins a process of looking to Jesus and seeing that he has died for us. As we come to appreciate that it was only by the death of Jesus that the law of God could be written upon our hearts, our hearts become free to engage in an intimate cooperation with this process of the Old and the New Covenant. Sadly the churches today do not convey this. Christians today must actually make the same promises to God that the children of Israel entered into in order to benefit from the Old and the New Covenant.

The covenant that God made with His people at Sinai is to be our refuge and defense. The Lord said to Moses: {1BC 1103.6}  

Thus shalt thou say to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel: Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself. Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. {1BC 1103.7}   And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words. {1BC 1103.8}   And all the people answered together, and said, All that the Lord hath spoken we will do. {1BC 1103.9}   This covenant is of just as much force today as it was when the Lord made it with ancient Israel (SW March 1, 1904). {1BC 1103.10}

This is the pledge that God’s people are to make in these last days. Their acceptance with God depends on a faithful fulfillment of the terms of their agreement with Him. God includes in His covenant all who will obey Him. To all who will do justice and judgment, keeping their hand from doing any evil, the promise is, Even unto them will I give in mine house and within my walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters: I will give them an everlasting name, that shall not be cut off (RH June 23, 1904). {1BC 1103.11}

We are to enter into the self same agreement. This is the Old Covenant. It is as much ours as it is the children of Israel’s. The doctrine of churches today in professing that the Old Covenant has been done away with is a falsehood.

The Father sets His love upon His elect people who live in the midst of men. These are the people whom Christ has redeemed by the price of His own blood; and because they respond to the drawing of Christ, through the sovereign mercy of God, they are elected to be saved as His obedient children. Upon them is manifested the free grace of God, the love wherewith He hath loved them. Everyone who will humble himself as a little child, who will receive and obey the Word of God with a child’s simplicity will be among the elect of God. {AG 142.4}To make God’s grace our own, we must act our part. The Lord does not propose to perform for us either the willing or the doing. His grace is given to work in us to will and to do, but never as a substitute for our effort. {AG 142.5}

Let the human agent compare his life with the life of Christ. …Let him imitate the example of Him who lived out the law of Jehovah, who said, I have kept my father’s commandments. Those who follow Christ will be continually looking into the perfect law of liberty, and through the grace given them by Christ, will fashion the character according to the divine requirements. {AG 142.6}

This is very poorly understood by most people today. What happens through the grace that is given by Christ as we make the effort to keep the law like the children of Israel did in the Old Testament? It was a schoolmaster that led them to Christ but as they broke the law they realized that their efforts to keep it were failing and in failing to keep the law they were driven more and more into the care and help of Jesus Christ. Through Jesus Christ, the law would be written in their hearts.

Hebrews 9:14 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? Your own works of trying to keep the law in honour of your promises to God have failed. 15 And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament, that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance.

After we have failed repeatedly to keep our promise to keep that law while coming up out of this terrible captivity the picture of the ransom makes its impact on our mind. Without the Old Covenant failure we could never truly appreciate the impact of the ransom. We have broken the Old Testament agreement but Jesus has died for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament so that they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance. If we were just left with the Old Covenant agreement we would have no hope. It was the death but the ransom of Jesus becomes fully appreciated by the person who has entered into a relationship of promise in his weakness. By our promises failing we become more reliant upon God’s promises in the New Covenant which Jesus’ death confirmed. Activity on our part is needed;

Psalms 105:6 O ye seed of Abraham his servant, ye children of Jacob his chosen. 7 He is the Lord our God: his judgments are in all the earth.V8 He hath remembered his covenant for ever, the word which he commanded to a thousand generations.V9 Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac; 10 And confirmed the same unto Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant:

This New Covenant (which was also in the Old Testament period) in which God promised to write the laws into their hearts is here referred to as an everlasting covenant.

Jeremiah 32:40 And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from them, to do them good; but I will put my fear in their hearts, that they shall not depart from me. I will make an everlasting covenant with them.

The everlasting covenant is the covenant that Jesus ratified by his blood and the covenant in which God promises to write his laws in our hearts. It is the one who tries to keep the commandments of God but fails that eventually senses the depth of the beautiful sacrifice of Jesus Christ. It is by this process that the law becomes engrafted and deeply embedded into his heart by the precious gift of Jesus Christ who has died for the broken covenant that we made with God. This is the everlasting covenant which is none other than that of the First Angel’s Message. What was the language of the first angel? What was the message that he gave this world?

Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred and tongue, and people.

There are so many precious dimensions to this story but the appreciations are not fully comprehendible to us until we have been redeemed.  Until we have entered into the program of the Old Covenant leading into the New. At no point in earth’s history was the program any different. In the Old Testament time the people had to make an agreement with God under the Old Covenant and then God led them into making a New Covenant. For those now living in the New Testament period after the death of Christ, the program is no different.  We are to enter into the same agreement with God that the children of Israel entered into – the Old Covenant and then we are to be led along the same path into the New Covenant appreciation. The everlasting gospel becomes meaningful to us through the Old Covenant experience, the schoolmaster (the law) that leads us to Christ. May God lead us to comprehend these poorly understood realities. The next study explores the Messianic prophesies that actually deal with the messiah’s work. Such appreciations will grant us a deeper sense and appreciation of the New Covenant. May we exercise God’s program of the Old and New Covenant so that it actually becomes part and parcel of what we are studying. The object here is not to study these things merely as the wonderful story of redemption or as a wonderful picture of hope for mankind. It is to study this material with the appreciation that it is an active agent in our own salvation.

Amen.