The language of the New Testament is entirely different. In Philippians 4:6, Paul says, “Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, make your requests known unto God.” These words are missing from the old covenant and indicate a completely different type of contract. These words indicate an aleatory contract. An aleatory contract is one in which a response is mandated by a claim.
Now in order to live in covenant with God, it is imperative that we understand the covenant. The old covenant was dictated to the Jews with exacting perfection. If the new covenant was dictated at all, it has been lost, making it very difficult to know how to live in covenant with Jesus.
The first thing we must understand is that there are two covenants, the new and the old. Jesus said, “Think not that I have come to destroy the law; I came not to destroy but to fulfill.” The law Jesus refers to is the Ten Commandments and the accoutrements of the old covenant. All contracts are governed by law. The second thing we must understand is that the old and new covenants have different Lords. In Isaiah 53:6 we are told, “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all,” indicating the Lord of the old covenant was the Father, and in Philippians 2:9 we are told the Father highly exalted Jesus, giving Him a name that is above every other name, and in verse 11 we read, “That every tongue should confess Jesus as Lord.” Yet in the old covenant, the Father said, “Behold O Israel, the Lord thy God is one Lord, you shall have no other God before me.”
The name, title, and authority of, Lord, changed hands between the new and old covenants. It was the Father God that instituted this change; it was He that gave Jesus the name above every other name; it was He that conferred the power and authority of Lord onto Jesus. Moreover, the Father not only conferred the title, Lord, onto Jesus, He enhanced the title, making Jesus Lord of Lords and King of Kings. In Matthew 28:18, Jesus says, “All power in heaven and in earth is given unto me.” This means there is no power in heaven or in earth that has not been given to Jesus, making His kingdom, the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of God was limited to earth because it was made with the Jewish Nation.
Now, the old covenant was founded on the righteousness of mankind. The law of the old covenant sought to focus mankind’s behavior on performing acts deemed righteous by the Father but mankind was unable to consistently perform those righteous acts and so the righteousness of innocent animals was substituted for the unrighteous acts of mankind, effectually keeping mankind in a righteous state before God, who at this time was the Father.
Jesus fulfilled the old covenant by living the commandments of His Father perfectly, then dying as one guilty of transgressing each commandment. A fulfilled covenant is one in which each clause is satisfied. The satisfaction of the law however is not the new covenant. To add Jesus’ death on the cross to the old covenant is a perversion. That is not what Jesus did. What He did was add the fulfillment of the law to the new covenant.
Since any written copy of the new covenant has been lost to history, today, in order to live in covenant with Jesus, who is the only omnipotent God, we must glean the new covenant from the New Testament scriptures. The points above are foundational. It is critically important to know and understand that the Father handed all His power to Jesus and Jesus rules over the kingdom of heaven exclusively, just as the Father ruled over the kingdom of God exclusively. Next it is critically important to know and understand the old covenant was founded on the death of innocent animals but the new covenant is founded on the death of Jesus.
Because Jesus died on the cross, all mankind is born again, born a second time, in the kingdom of God. Mankind was born the first time in Satan’s kingdom as children of unrighteousness but because of Jesus’ death, mankind has been born again as children of righteousness because Jesus gave His righteousness to all mankind. Consider John 2:2: “And He is the propitiation of our sins and not ours alone; He is the propitiation of the sins of the entire world.” All mankind is made pure and holy before the Father through Jesus’ death on the cross. Righteousness is no longer measured by behavior according to the law; it is measured by Jesus’ death and faith exercised. In order to live in the kingdom of God, as citizens of the Father’s kingdom, mankind must believe all their sins, past, present, and future was placed on Jesus and they now enjoy His righteousness.
Believers must approach the Father in the full assurance of righteousness in order to be in covenant. To approach the Father in the full assurance of sin to ask for anything promised in the old covenant is to be a thief and a robber. Citizens have a right to the blessings of citizenship but strangers and foreigners do not. Jesus is not being mean or uncaring by requiring certain behavior and belief in order to receive the blessings prescribed by the law; He is differentiating His kingdom from the kingdom of Satan.
So in Mark 11:23, when Jesus says, “If any man shall say to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in His heart, but believes that the things he says shall come to pass; he shall have what he says,” the thing that must be believed is that citizenship in the kingdom of God has been achieved. As long as Christians approach the Father as strangers and foreigners, having no rights of citizenship, as those living outside God’s covenant, they will receive grace and mercy but not covenant life. In order to receive the blessings of the covenant, mankind must live inside the covenant, which means, mankind must understand the covenant.
Now all throughout the Old Testament, the word mountain is used as a metaphor of kingdom and the word, sea, is used as a metaphor of the mass of humanity. At the present, all mankind is born again in the kingdom of God because of the great generosity of Jesus and has citizenship in the kingdom of God but all mankind was first born in the kingdom of Satan and Satan does not relinquish his citizens easily. Therefore, Christians must speak to the kingdom of Satan and tell it to remove itself from their lives. If they believe they are made righteous through faith, a righteousness not lost by behavior, the kingdom of Satan must withdraw and fall into the sea of humanity that does not believe.
In 2Corinthians 6:14, we find these words: “What fellowship has righteousness with unrighteousness? And what communion has light with darkness?” It is like oil and water, which brings home the importance of belief. Belief is key. Christians must believe their citizenship has been transferred into the kingdom of God or all their prayers will hit the ceiling and bounce off. The Father will be gracious and merciful to the strangers and foreigners in the land as He always has but the citizens will enjoy the fruits of citizenship.
So, in Jude 9, we find these words: “Yet even the archangel Michael did not bring a railing accusation against Satan. He merely said, “The Lord rebuke you.” In trying to understand how to put Mark 11:23 into practice, at this point I don’t believe it is appropriate to make this personal. Jesus did not say to speak to Satan; He said to speak to the kingdom of Satan. In other words, you might say something like: “Kingdom of unrighteousness, you will have to move out of my life; I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.” Or, “Unrighteousness must depart from my life for I am the righteousness of God.”
It is also important to realize this is not a once and done proposition. Notice the wording of Mark 11:23 again. “If any man shall say to this mountain, be removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in His heart, but believes that the things he says shall come to pass; he shall have what he says.” The phrase, come to pass, indicates the passing of time. I don’t believe most of us will experience immediate results. Revelation 12:10 states that Satan accuses the saints before Jesus day and night; no doubt in an effort to get them back in his kingdom. Our enemy is relentless in his efforts to keep Christians in his kingdom and if they escape, he is dogged in his pursuit to bring them back into his fold. Our adversary, the devil, goes about like a roaring lion seeking those whom he may devour. He may devour you if you relax in your faith and confession.
Now one tactic of Satan is to convict of sin, sin mankind has been redeemed from. If the Christian is fooled into repenting of sin defined by the old covenant, Satan has just devoured that Christian. To repent of sin defined by the old covenant law is to say Jesus has not redeemed me from the law and I am not a citizen of the kingdom of God and must beg for whatever scraps might be thrown my way. It is not Satan we want out of our lives; it is Satan’s authority, the authority to kill, steal, and destroy. Therefore it is not Satan we address, but the kingdom of Satan. Since righteousness and unrighteousness has no fellowship, the kingdom of unrighteousness has to depart the kingdom of righteousness.
Now some of you are dying to ask me about 1John 1:9, which says: “And if we confess or sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us of all unrighteousness.” To this point we have been talking about the kingdom of God and Jesus’ fulfillment of it and how to live as a citizen of the kingdom of God. We have not spoken of the kingdom of heaven.
The first thing Jesus did in establishing the new covenant was to roll the kingdom of God into a new covenant. This made all mankind citizens of the kingdom of God. This is the first part of the new covenant. In John 3:3, Jesus told Nicodemus, “Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God,” so it was not possible for mankind to enter the kingdom of God before Jesus’ death on the cross. However, Jesus told those who asked about John the Baptist: “Of those born of woman there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist, but he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.” Jesus is speaking of two kingdoms.
In John 3:16, Jesus said: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” but which Jesus must you believe in? Jesus was God, as much God as the Father or Holy Spirit, but according to Philippians 2, Jesus laid aside His Godhood to come to earth as a man. Only a man could redeem mankind from sin. He was crucified and died as a man but arose again from the dead on the third day. Which of these must you believe in to gain eternal life? None. Eternal life was not attainable under the old covenant and Jesus’ death on the cross as a man cannot deliver eternal life. Remember, John lived under the kingdom of God, not as a citizen but as a subject. The old covenant was an express covenant. It had no citizens.
Remember also that Jesus said, “He that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than John.” Jesus established His kingdom in Acts 1 by expressing the authority given to Him by His Father in issuing three commandments. Disobedience of these three commandments is sin; sin repentance and obedience can wash away. John goes on in 1John 2:3 to say, “Hereby do we know Him if we keep His commandments,” and continues, “He that says I know Him and keeps not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him.” Which Jesus must we believe in? It is not the Jesus who died for our sins but the Jesus that issued commandments. If we fail to believe Jesus established a new covenant after He fulfilled the old, we will fail to walk in covenant with Jesus and fail to know the Jesus of the new covenant and fail to attain eternal life.
Thousands of Christians know the Jesus that redeemed mankind from the law and love that Jesus and know that Jesus but that is not the Jesus John is talking about. The Jesus John is talking about both in 1John 1:9 and in 2:4 is a Jesus that issued commandments. In 1John 5:3, John defines love as obedience. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments.” Who is the God of the new covenant? Who is the God who was given all power in heaven and in earth, the one who is Lord of Lords and King of Kings, the blessed only Potentate, and only wise God? In order to gain eternal life, you must believe in this Jesus and keep the commandments of His kingdom.
Now again, Jesus is not being mean or unkind in requiring obedience of His commandments in order to attain eternal life; He is merely differentiating His kingdom from the kingdom of Satan. It is Satan who masquerades as an angel of light and goes about doing good deeds in order to deceive the saints. Jesus’ kingdom must be dramatically different. Therefore Jesus requires mankind to speak in tongues every day, something Satan cannot require, and Jesus requires a preaching of a gospel of speaking in tongues, and teaching and making disciples in that gospel.
This is a far cry from the preaching of good deeds but Jesus promised power with a baptism with the Spirit, power to duplicate the works He did and power to do greater works than He did. The church of today is not walking in this power and hasn’t since the days of the apostles but neither have the church kept the commandments of Jesus since those days. The whole New Testament has been turned on its head and most Christians strive to keep the Ten Commandments and live in the kingdom of Satan, where Satan steals, kills, and destroys at his whim.
Again, in John 10:10, Jesus says, “If you keep my commandments, you shall abide in my love,” which means if you do not keep Jesus’ commandments, you cannot abide in His love. Which Jesus must you believe in order to abide in the love of God? Which Jesus must you believe in order to live in covenant, be a citizen of the kingdom of heaven? The one that issued commandments, the commandments that are not commandments of the old covenant.
Now, again, Jesus did issue one commandment before His death on the cross. He commanded that we love one another as He had loved us but how had Jesus loved us? Jesus loved all mankind by keeping His Father’s commandments for us. Again in John 15:10b, Jesus said, “I have kept my Father’s commandments.” He did that for us and in our stead. If we should love Jesus as he loved us, we should keep His commandments.
If you don’t know the Jesus that commanded Christians to wait for a baptism with the Spirit, then you don’t know Jesus. While it is true Jesus died on the cross to redeem mankind from sin; it is just as true that Jesus commanded believers to wait for a baptism with the Holy Spirit. To know the Jesus who died on the cross is just a partial knowing of the true Jesus, which is why John said, “He that says I know him and keeps not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in him.” Disobedience of Jesus’ commandments is sin but sin Jesus is faithful and just to forgive if you repent and commit to obedience. The Jesus that died on the cross does not forgive this sin. It is the Lord of Lords and King of Kings that forgives this sin. To know the Lord is to know obedience.
The new covenant has two parts. It has the fulfillment of the old covenant and it has the establishment of the kingdom of heaven. It is hard to remain in God’s love by speaking to the kingdom of Satan alone because those who do not keep Jesus’ commandments are commanding unrighteousness to move and committing acts of unrighteousness. Each time they do, they invite the kingdom of Satan back into their life and unrighteousness and righteousness cannot dwell together. The righteous kingdom of God has to move. Disobedience is sin, sin is unrighteousness and righteousness and unrighteousness has no fellowship. In John 10:10, Jesus said, “He that keeps my commandments will abide in my love,” indicating the kingdom of heaven is an express covenant. The behavior of obedience demands the action of remaining in God’s love.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” but which Jesus must you believe in to receive everlasting life? 1 John 2:2 tells us: “He that says I know Him and keeps not His commandments is a liar and the truth is not in Him.” Hebrews 5:9 says, “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him.” And in John 15:10, Jesus said, “He that keeps my commandments will abide in my love.” Which Jesus must you believe in to receive everlasting life? The one who issued commandments.
Are you saved by grace? Absolutely! It is by the extreme generosity of Jesus that each one of us enjoys the righteousness of God. Are we saved through faith? Absolutely! If we believe Jesus was made supreme ruler and issued commandments that govern His kingdom, we will keep them and receive citizenship in the kingdom of heaven. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved, Romans10:9. It is not belief in the Savior that saves us: it is belief on the Lord. If we believe Jesus is Lord, we must keep His commandments. Only a fool would say Jesus did not command me to wait for a baptism with the Spirit when eternal life is gained by obedience.