30th Mar 26 | 13:54
Studies by Book
lUKE 22 14-20 PARTAKING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER 08 Luke 22 17-19 Meeting the stipulations of God’s will
📖 Luke 22:14-20
*FRIEND OF GOD*
Fri23Jul2021 - *Meeting the stipulations of God’s will* - _Luke 22:14-20_ – PARTAKING OF THE LORD’S SUPPER (08) – Bible reading: _Hebrews 13:20-21_
The Lord Jesus came searching and seeking for us. He provided the way for us to be reconciled with God. The Lord wrote His will for us and sealed it by His blood so that *believing in Him, we would partake of all His eternal inheritance*.
We are not worthy of all that God has bestowed on us. He chose us before the foundation of the world. This is overwhelming for us that God should have considered us and lavished on us His abundance.
We desire that we give ourselves entirely to God, to be instruments in His hand, for His purposes.
_Luke 22:17-20 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, "Take this and divide it among yourselves; (18) for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes." (19) And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me." (20) Likewise *He also took the cup after supper, saying, "*This cup is the new covenant in My blood*, which is shed for you*._
We have been considering the matter of the new covenant of our Lord Jesus, dedicated by His blood. The covenant is the will that God has written for us. *When we fulfil the stipulations specified in His will then we become beneficiaries of all the riches that He has prepared for us*.
_Hebrews 9:13-20 For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, (14) how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?_
The writer to the Hebrews is comparing the old covenant with the new covenant. In the Old Testament, it was the blood of bulls and goats that gave a temporary covering over the sin of man, to stand before God.
This provision was not perfect but a complete solution for the sin of man to be covered and man be reconciled with God, was provided through the sinless blood of Jesus.
*When we partake of the cup, we are communing the blood of Jesus by faith, by which our sins are covered by His sinless blood and the blood of Jesus provides us with our righteousness before God*. Life is in the blood and so His life covers us and He becomes our substitute before God.
_(15) And for this reason *He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death*, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, *that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance*._
This is how Jesus becomes the mediator of the new covenant or will, by His own blood. *When we partake of the cup by faith, we receive the promised eternal inheritance*.
To receive the eternal inheritance of God, the stipulation is that I must receive what Jesus has done for me on the cross, by faith, and that is how I become a beneficiary of God’s will for me.
_(16) *For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator*._
Jesus had to come in the flesh, live without sin, meet the righteous expectation of God and then die on the cross for us. It was only then that God’s will became active and the provisions of the will became available for our good.
*If Jesus had not died then the provisions of God’s will cannot be our portion*.
Friends, do you see the extent of God’s love for us? He sent His Son to die for us because He loved us, which is true but His love extends so that because Jesus, the testator, died, the provisions of the will became ours.
_(17) *For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives*._
It was necessary for Jesus to die in order to bring the benefits of the will to come into effect.
_(18) Therefore not even the first covenant was dedicated without blood. (19) For when Moses had spoken every precept to all the people according to the law, he took the blood of calves and goats, with water, scarlet wool, and hyssop, and sprinkled both the book itself and all the people, (20) saying, "THIS IS THE BLOOD OF THE COVENANT WHICH GOD HAS COMMANDED YOU."_
Moses gave the law and the old will of the blood of calves and goats. There were conditions specified even in the old covenant, to benefit from the will.
Jesus gave us His words as the condition for us to benefit from His will. The precept and the covering of the blood had to go hand in hand.
_Hebrews 13:20-21 Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus from the dead, that great Shepherd of the sheep, *through the blood of the everlasting covenant*, (21) *make you complete in every good work to do His will, working in you what is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ*, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen._
What is God’s expectation of us to inherit His legacy? *We must surrender our will to His will, willingly. This is belief in God*. We cannot anymore live for ourselves anymore. This is what faith or belief in God is all about.
We must believe in Him to have the inheritance. _John 20:31 but these are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in His name._
*Thought to ponder*
```Is your will dictating your life or is it God’s will?```