The Sign of the Covenant

The Gift of the Spirit demonstrates beyond question who belongs to the Holy Covenant Community of Jesus, and who does not.

In the assemblies of Galatia, “false brethren” were preaching “another gospel,” pressuring Gentile believers to adopt circumcision and conform to other regulations of the Mosaic Law. Paul repudiated the very idea and sent the Galatians a series of arguments demonstrating why Gentiles need not be circumcised.

The Apostle Paul’s arguments included the fact that Gentile followers of Jesus had received the Spirit while still uncircumcised. Since they received the Spirit without circumcision, it follows logically that this rite is not a requirement for justification before God or membership in His Covenant People - (Galatians 3:1-5).

[Alpine Stream - Photo by Carlo Trolese on Unsplash]

The Gift of the Spirit was clear evidence that God accepted Gentiles as members of His People without circumcision. Jesus redeemed his saints from the “curse of the Law” so that the “Blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through him, and we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith,” not through circumcision.

Paul thusly equated the Gift of the Spirit with the promised Blessing of Abraham for the “nations,” the Gentiles- (Galatians 3:6-14, Genesis 12:1-3).

Moreover, adopting circumcision and similar requirements of the Mosaic Legislation would mean the repudiation of what Jesus had accomplished for us through his Death:

• “For I through the law died to the law, that I might live unto God. I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I that live, but Christ is living in me, and that life which I now live in the flesh I live from faith, the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me. I do not make void the grace of God, for if righteousness is through the law, then Christ died in vain” – (Galatians 2:19-21).

The Mosaic Legislation was not against the promises, but its purpose was never to justify men before Him. The Torah was added later after the Abrahamic covenant to expose sin for what it is: The “transgression” of God’s commandments. Furthermore, it could not justify anyone since the Law is incapable of “making alive.”

It is the Spirit that gives life, and Paul presents “being quickened” by it as effectively synonymous with “justification from faith.” The Spirit imparts life, and there is no everlasting life without justification by God - (Galatians 3:21).

This principle is attested elsewhere. “It is the spirit that quickens.” The Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead will also “quicken our mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwells in us” when he resurrects the righteous dead - (John 6:63, Romans 8:11-23).

The letter of the Law kills. However, under the New Covenant inaugurated by the Death and Resurrection of Jesus, the Spirit that God bestows on us “quickens,” it “makes alive.” The Nazarene was put to death “in the flesh” for us but made “alive the in spirit.” To be fleshly-minded is death, “but to be spiritually-minded is life and peace” - (Romans 8:11, 2 Corinthians 3:6, 1 Peter 3:18).

This principle is not unique to the New Testament. The Spirit of Yahweh imparted life when He created the Universe.  The Earth was yet “without form and void,” but the “Spirit of God hovered upon the face of the waters.” The Heavens were made by the Word of Yahweh, and “all their hosts by the Spirit of His mouth” - (Genesis 1:1-3, Psalm 33:6, 104:29-30, Isaiah 42:5).

THE NEW COVENANT

The Spirit not only imparts life but also causes it to abound. Yahweh promised to “pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground, to pour His Spirit upon man’s seed and my blessing upon his offspring” - (Isaiah 44:3).

In the Book of Ezekiel, God promised to “sprinkle clean water” to cleanse Israel from her uncleanness and give her children new hearts. He would put His Spirit in them and thereby establish an “everlasting covenant” - (Ezekiel 36:16-38). The Apostle Paul applied this promise to the Assembly at Corinth:

• (2 Corinthians 3:3-6) – “But such confidence as this we have through Christ towards God. Not that of our own selves sufficient are we, to reckon anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God, who also has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of letter but of spirit, for the letter kills, but the Spirit makes alive.”

The Spirit of God creates, sustains, and restores life, both individually and corporately, biological as well as spiritual, and the withdrawal of His Spirit means the cessation of life. Death is the inevitable result of the departure of His Spirit.

The God of Israel promised a coming time of restoration when He would cleanse His people and usher in the promise New Covenant under which His presence would dwell among them. However, the nation’s sin prevented the realization of that promise - (Leviticus 26:12 - “I will walk among you and will be your God, and ye shall be my people”).

In the New Covenant, the promise has been put into effect by Jesus Christ, the Messiah who was crucified and raised from the dead for his People. He is the one who baptizes us in the Spirit.

The Gift of the Spirit is the definitive sign of who is his disciple and member of the Covenant Community, and who is not, rather than circumcision or other Levitical rituals. The Gift of the Spirit is the undeniable proof that we are the sons of God, the “children of Abraham,” and heirs of the promises and “coheirs” with Jesus - (John 1:14, Galatians 3:26-29, Romans 8:12-17, Colossians 2:9-10).

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SEE ALSO:

• Blessings for the Nations - (The Gift of the Spirit is part of God’s Covenant promises to bless the nations of the Earth through Abraham and his Seed)

• Quickened by the Spirit - (The Spirit of God imparts life, especially the everlasting life of which the Gift of the Spirit is the foretaste and guarantee)

• The New Covenant - (The Gift of the Spirit is essential to the New Covenant promised by God in the Hebrew Bible for His people)

• The Father's Promise - (With the outpouring of the Spirit on Pentecost, the blessings for all nations promised to Abraham commenced)