Thursday: The New Covenant Has Solved the Problem of the Heart
Compare the new covenant promises of Jeremiah 31:33 and Ezekiel 36:26-27. How are they related?
The first covenant document was written by God on tablets of stone and was deposited in the ark of the covenant as an important witness of God’s covenant with His people (Exodus 31:18, Deuteronomy 10:1-4). Documents written in stone, however, could be broken; and scrolls, as Jeremiah had experienced, could be cut up and burned (Jeremiah 36:23).
Image © Daniel Pape from GoodSalt.com
But in the new covenant God now will write His law in the hearts of the people. The heart refers to the mind, the organ of memory and understanding (Jeremiah 3:15, Deuteronomy 29:4), and especially to where conscious decisions are made (Jeremiah 3:10, Jeremiah 29:13).
This promise did not simply secure access to and knowledge of the law by everyone. It also, and more importantly, was to bring about a change in the heart of the nation. The problem of Israel was that their sin was engraved “with a pen of iron,” “with a point of diamond … on the tablet of their heart” (Jeremiah 17:1, NKJV). They had a stubborn heart (Jeremiah 13:10, Jeremiah 23:17); therefore, it was impossible for them to do the right thing (Jeremiah 13:23).
Jeremiah did not announce a change of the law, because the problem of Israel was not the law but the heart. God wanted Israel’s faithfulness to be a grateful response to what He had done for them; thus, He gave the Ten Commandments to them with an historical prologue expressing His love and care for them (Exodus 20:1-2). God wanted Israel to obey His laws as an acknowledgment that He wanted the best for them, a truth revealed in their great deliverance from Egypt. Their obedience was to be an expression of gratitude, a manifestation of the reality of their relationship.
The same is true today for us. Jesus’ love and care in dying for us is the prologue of the new covenant (Luke 22:20). True obedience comes from the heart as an expression of love (Matthew 22:34-40). This love is the distinguishing mark of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. God pours His love on us through His Spirit (Romans 5:5), which is expressed in love (Galatians 5:22).
| If ancient Israel was to love God, even without the understanding of Christ’s death, why shouldn’t we love God even more than they did? How does obedience make manifest the reality of that love? |
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There is a whole industry surrounding the notion of "Jesus in the heart". Go to the local Christian book store and you will find desk plaques, pictures, books, DVDs and bric-a-brac with emotive comments about heart religion. Most of this stuff does not appeal to me, but I am well aware that I am not everyone, and there are those whose spiritual experience includes expression of emotion. We are all built differently.
It is important to recognise though that true heart religion is something much deeper than just expressions of, "Jesus lives in my heart", "God is love", and so on.
Just a couple of days ago I went to the funeral of a friend, and colleague. It was a sad, joyful occasion. David had died far to young as a result of an aggressive cancer. He and I had been to College together, we studied in the same room together, we graduated and went our separate ways, and then we both came back to Avondale around the same time and taught together for about 30 years. In all that time, I never heard David take a sermon, or even a Sabbath School lesson. He was a typical introverted scientist. At his funeral, the theme was:
That is just the sort of person David was. Kind, considerate not puffed up with importance. I don't think I ever heard him say anything unkind about anyone. About 20 years ago he had a climbing accident where he received a brain injury that was quite debilitating. It limited his vision and he lost his ability to automatically locate where he was. He never complained and he used his scientific methodology to find his way around. Others would have taken a disability pension and retired, but he continued to teach and work. Here is a personal story to illustrate his thoughtfulness. When I graduated from my PhD, the University only gave us enough seats for the immediate family at the graduation ceremony. Not to be deterred David came to my graduation and waited outside so that he would be there to congratulate me when I emerged from the ceremony. Such thoughtfulness was just part of the way David worked.
Heart religion is a river that runs deep. It is the sort of religion that is there for others without thought of reward, not out of a sense of contractural fulfilment, but out of selfless love.
It is true the metaphor "heart" includes the mind and understanding. But it also includes much more than this. Heart is a metaphor for the 'place' where your deepest, deepest desires reside - in other words, it symbolically refers to the very core of you. What are your deepest desires?
Essentially, there are only two options when it comes to the core nature and character of your deepest desires. Take some time to reflect upon it and you will find that every desire, at its core, is a reflection of either an other-focussed or self-seeking/indulging 'orientation'.
Other-focussed (genuine Agape love: 1 Corinthians 13:1-8) desires are those that reflect the self-giving nature and character of the Kingdom of God (1 John 4:8-9; John 3:16). As such, other-focussed love is only possible when God, via His Spirit, so fills our life and living that even it even reaches to the depths of our 'heart' and therefore its desires. And this will happen when we ongoingly willingly surrender and embrace His invitation to abide with(in) us to transform us. Other-focussed desires promote life and harmony in an ongoing (perpetual) manner. And, because they do, they represent the most foundational principle (cause-and effect constant/'law') that underpins all true life. And all true laws (natural and moral) share and reflect this same core nature. Philippians 2:3-4 paints a picture of what it looks like to have other-focussed heart desires. You will see that this also aligns with Jesus statement in Matthew 16:24 and explains why this is so. Philippians 2:5-8 displays how Jesus lived out other-focussed life and living in its most pure form. You may not have thought about it, but absolutely every aspect of life and living that is "abundant (zoe) life" (John 10:10) is infused with and, simultaneously reflects, this other-focussed 'living to give' principle. It is the only basis upon which true life is actually viably possible, despite Satan's false suggestion that there was a viable alternative (Genesis 3:5). The history of our world since Genesis 3:6 is witness to this.
Self-seeking/indulging, on the other hand, is an unhesitating willingness to advance your own interests in a manner that exploits and therefore abuses of others. As such, self-seeking/indulging will never truly involve advancing your own best interests because it involves hardening your heart against true love. Genesis 3:6 describes the initial entry of this tendency into humanity, Judges 21:25 its progressive development and Genesis 6:5 its ultimate result.
Perhaps this helps us see why God looks on the heart rather than outward appearance (1 Samuel 16:7), why David after his affair with Bathsheba and murder of Uriah realised he needed and sought a new heart and right Spirit (Psalm 51:10), and why God's (new) covenant ultimately involves our heart's deepest desires (Psalm 40:8; 119:97).
What do you reckon?
Phil, I am puzzled, you state: the most foundational principle (cause-and effect constant/'law') that underpins all true life. And all true laws (natural and moral) share and reflect this same core nature.
How does the cause and effect principle in God's moral law work? Does God say "if you do this, I will do that?
Also per your 'interview with Ellen' where does she state this point?
Thirdly what do you mean by "true life"?
Thanks Shirley for asking for substantiation of what I have shared. I am not expecting that I will be able to make everything clear in one response, so please ask further questions or present challenges to what I am outlining if needed. I have provided an initial, bare-bones response to start with.
Question 2: My statement is a synthesis of what Ellen White is referring to in Desire of Ages pages 19-21 - as per my note in the footer of the Ellen White 'interview'. You will need to read these paragraphs very carefully otherwise it is easy to miss what the realities actually being referred to involve. Key aspects to note when reading those pages are:
* the (definitive article meaning the one and only) law of self-renouncing love is the law of life on earth and in heaven
* this law has its source in the heart of God - ie, God's own heart (the very core of God's being) also operates on this same principle
* Ellen also refers to this same law as "the circuit of beneficence" that she describes is completed when everything gives to every other thing
* Ellen gives examples of nature operating according to this same principle (therefore natural law)
* Ellen also gives examples of animals, angels and Jesus operating according to this same principle. Inanimate objects only operate according to natural law but living beings operate according to natural law and moral law - with moral law referring to principles involved in interaction with other living beings. She states that nothing save the selfish heart of man (ie humanity under its fallen state) lives to itself. So prior to Genesis 3, this principle was inherent to every aspect of creation - as it was also to The Creator. No surprise that The Creator would also embed it within creation because it is the law of life.
This principle is inherent cause-and-effect in nature. Cause/option A will result in effect/outcome A every single time. Cause/option B will result in effect/outcome B every single time. This inherent cause-and-effect nature is woven into and reflects the very fabric of reality.
* In heaven this law of self-renouncing love was 'broken' (ie violated) by Lucifer when he embraced the principle of self-seeking instead.
* the exercise of force is contrary to the principles of God's government. Of note, infliction of punishment involves the use of force. This is because infliction involves causing something to happen that otherwise wouldn't happen of itself - that is, it is not inherent.
Desire of Ages 763.4 and 764.1 actually unpacks how people come to destruction - they cut themselves off from the source of life (as per Galatians 6:7-8). Note that the last sentence of the 764.1 paragraph must conform to what the rest of the paragraph is saying, ie God is not the causative source of destruction - which as we saw earlier would otherwise involve God using force that is contrary to the principles of His Kingdom.
So why don't we see the above realities clearly? Because since Genesis 3:6, God has been graciously restraining (to various degrees and for varying lengths of time in varying situations) the inherent effects that would otherwise arise from being out of harmony with the law of self-renouncing love that is the law of life on earth and in heaven. God did the same thing when Lucifer rebelled in heaven (see Desire of Ages 764.2 and note the use of the word perish as opposed to destroyed). Thus, the downside to God temporarily restraining 'full' inherent cause-and-effect reality is that we misperceive the existence and operation of that reality.
Question 1: The cause-and-effect principle is, by nature, inherent (ie it is inherently inherent) - as are all permanent laws in God's Kingdom because they are all cause-and-effect principles*. In actuality, all other laws arise from the one foundational law/inherent cause-and-effect principle of self-renouncing love. And God's Kingdom is the only viable reality that is capable of existing - there is no other alternative viable possibility. We know this because of Satan's allegation that there was an alternative viable option (Genesis 3:5) and because of the track record under The Great Controversy of what life under basis (self-seeking) produces. Because the law of self-renouncing love, the law of life on earth and in heaven, is inherent in nature, every effect is inherently the outcome of the cause. Every choice or action that is in harmony with the principle of self-renouncing love will foster true life. Any action or choice that is out of harmony with the law of life will therefore inherently result in the preclusion of life - precisely as God pointed out in Genesis 2:16-17 (though English translations obscure seeing this because most selected the conjunction 'but'. The Hebrew doesn't specify the conjunction, so however or and are not precluded and in so doing harmonise with the law of life as a principle of inherent cause-and-effect).
Question 3: I use the term "true life" to refer to the life that exists beyond the temporarily restrained 'existence' under a sin-fallen state. It is the abundant life of John 10:10 with the Greek word for abundant (zoe) meaning the quality of life that God lives. It is the quality of life that existed prior to Genesis 3 and it is the quality of life we will again enter when mortality has put on immortality, when we initially dwell in heaven and then subsequently when we inhabit the earth made new. While there are aspects of renewal we experience here and now, our 'existence' this side of mortality putting on imortality is a mere shadow compared to what true life actually is. So even though we consider that we 'live life' here and now, in reality it is a very, very substandard state and it only exists because of God's restraining activity - otherwise it wouldn't.
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* Ceremonial/ritual laws are an exception to this. These laws (technically, rules) are not inherent cause-and-effect constants but are instead made-up/contrived and are in existence for a temporary period. There are no inherent consequences to being in violation with this type of 'law/rule', so consequences instead need to be applied.
Phil, thank you for explaining what you believe.
I think it is a good exercise to choose 3 passages from the Word of the LORD to summarize what I believe.
These are my three today.
Joh 3:14-16 MKJV But even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, (15) so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (16) For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
1Co 15:1-4 MKJV And, brothers, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you have received, and in which you stand; (2) by which you also are being kept safe, if you hold fast the word which I preached to you, unless you believed in vain. (3) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received, that Christ died for our sins, according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures;
Rev 21:1-8 MKJV And I saw a new heaven and a new earth. For the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. And the sea no longer is. (2) And I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of Heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband. (3) And I heard a great voice out of Heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them and be their God. (4) And God will wipe away all tears from their eyes. And there will be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying out, nor will there be any more pain; for the first things passed away. (5) And He sitting on the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And He said to me, Write, for these words are true and faithful. (6) And He said to me, It is done. I am the Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End. To him who thirsts I will give of the fountain of the Water of Life freely. (7) He who overcomes will inherit all things, and I will be his God, and he will be My son. (8) But the fearful, and the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, will have their part in the Lake burning with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.
Even though the New Covenant has provided us with new information, what remains the same is that it is up to man to believe and implementat His Word/Will by faith. This part has been communicated thoroughly over eons of time so that there is now no doubt left how to go about living the True Life. Man always starts at 'square one’ – FAITH -, believing that God exists, that He established mankind's roadmap of Life and lives it.
If conscious decisions are made with the mind, and the mind is influenced by the heart, what is the heart influenced by?
John6:36-38 Weymouth New Testament - ”v.36 Every one whom the Father gives me will come to me, and him who comes to me I will never on any account drive away.”
John17:2 – For You granted Him (Jesus) authority over all people, so that He may give eternal life to all those You have given Him.”
John10:29 - ”My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
The Father purposed in His inner-most Being - His 'heart'-, that man should enjoy True Life throughout eternity with Him. This is the Gift of Life's ultimate goal - man's restoration to life eternal.
We know that it is the Father who touches man’s heart and causes him to seek and to find Him, to hear and listen to Him, to understand Him, and to love Him for the gift of True Life.
The Father always reached out to man first; man’s response is always left up to man - acceptance of the offer of building their relationship through faith in the Father's Will and Way, or the rejection of building this relationship.
In my opinion, this relationship is entirely formed and maintained within the heart of both parties – the Father and his child. The mind only functions to recognize this relationship and supports it or not.
Therefore, I see God’s whole focus and purpose in the salvation of man to be to move his/her heart to do right by Him and the fellow man. The Father does this by endowing His child with His Love, giving the faith-child the downpayment of His Holy Spirit, which in the New life will remain its teacher. No one else can instill the capacity to love in humanity but its Creator.
Yes, “This love is the distinguishing mark of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer!”
To be filled with the Spirit means to love unreservedly, selflessly, even laying down one's life for a friend. Our Lord and Savior Christ Jesus has demonstrated this for us to learn from.
Today’s lesson reminds me the new covenant isn’t about a new law. It’s about a new heart that will keep the law.
“I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Ezekiel 36:26-27 NKJV
Yes, William Earnhardt, however; The new heart that never ends up ever sinning anymore without "missing the mark" will not happen until Jesus returns and God gives the saved glorified and eternal bodies. In the meantime, most of our "obedience" will always be short of Jesus' flawless and sinless and perfect nature and as EGW said that, "God has to make up for an unavoidable deficiency in us."
And to add to this: The 10 commandment law says nothing specific about "The Fruit of the Spirit." Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Gentleness, Meekness, Temperance, Goodness, and Faith, that the Apostle Paul delineates in Galatians 5:22,23. Yet, not only does Paul mention them but I am sure that Jesus demonstrated them always and perfectly. We, however, do what EGW said, "We shall often fail in our efforts to copy the Divine Pattern." So, if EGW would say this about our efforts to copy Jesus our Pattern, that means to me that even Paul had to have "often failed" at this also. I love what Paul said in Philippians 3:13,14 indicating, in so many words, that he had not arrived at the mark but that he always lived to become like that mark.
Another words we are to be; "Chips off of the ole Block (Corner Stone."
Happy Sabbath! I like how the message paraphrases translates Ezekial 36:26-27 "I'll give you a new heart, put a new spirit in you. I'll remove the stone heart from your body and replace it with a heart that's GOD-WILLED, not SELF-WILLED."
Our focus should move from what we think we can do to what God can do!
In my understanding and experience, "Jesus came that we may have life, and have it more abundantly." John 10:10. So I agree with you. That abundant life wasn't meant to come only when Jesus returns. It was meant for the here and now. We who are born again (John 3:3) received the Holy Spirit. All those who walk in the Spirit find themselves able to become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor.5:21. Jesus says He "will put His laws in our hearts and minds." Heb.10:16 That happens when we receive the Holy Spirit. In Him we loose all desires to sin. In fact we hate sin. "The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil." Prov. 8:13. It's so undesirable we won't want to go there. Sure I get tempted from time to time. That's Satan knocking on my door. Yet I find temptations to sin disgusting, and I run to Jesus. I find myself saved through Him. "So humble yourselves before God. Resist the Devil and he will flee from you. Come close to God and He will come close to you." James 4:7-8.
Celeste - Thank you for laying Christ's Faith out so simply, so clearly. I whole-heartely agree with your depiction of God's saving Grace through Love of Him and His Holy Word/Spirit to benefit us and our fellow man whom we share it with!
Amen. Thank you for your wonderful encouragement.