We have already covered three aspects of Christ’s heavenly ministry: how He exercises His rulership over the whole world that His gospel may be preached and God’s called people be brought in; how He exercises His headship to cause us to grow and function that His Body may be built up; and how He intercedes for us and cares for us as our High Priest. In this message we shall consider the fourth aspect: how He executes the testament He has bequeathed to us. By the execution of the new testament by the heavenly Christ, He is making all the items listed therein real to us.
We all like to be remembered in someone’s will. I am sure that all my children, and even my grandchildren, are expecting to be included in my will! Suppose we were willed a large piece of property with a mansion containing twenty-four rooms and seven bathrooms and, in addition, ten million German marks. We would surely be pleased! However, we would need to make sure that the inheritance was more than just two items written on paper. The will would have to be executed in order for us to come into possession of what we had been bequeathed.
Have you ever tried to find out what is included in the new testament? It is a long list! In fact, after trying many times to enumerate all the items, I have concluded that it cannot be done. The list is endless. Here are some of the items: redemption, forgiveness of sins, justification, reconciliation, regeneration, sanctification, sonship, life, power, peace, holiness, etc.
Have you received all these bequests? Sometimes the heir is young and does not realize what he has inherited. Or perhaps the heir is simple and cannot understand the meaning of the terms in the will. Or in a third case, the heir may be too weak to lay claim to his inheritance, even though he is mature and wise. In all these cases, someone is needed to help the intended heir gain possession of what has been bequeathed to him.
When Christ died on the cross, He made God’s promise a covenant. His blood was the enacting symbol. The Lord’s table, which we have week by week, is a symbol of the will. The Lord took the cup and gave thanks. Then He gave it to the disciples, saying, “Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins” (Matt. 26:27-28). The words in Luke 22:20 are: “This cup is the new testament in my blood, which is shed for you.” The cup that we take is the new covenant. This is a profound fact. When we take the cup, we need to realize that it is the new covenant.
The two main items in the new covenant are the forgiveness of sins and the impartation of life. By these we enjoy God. He is the blessing of the cup. He is the eternal portion of its blessing.
The blood of Jesus, then, enacted the covenant. His death confirmed it. Then in resurrection He comes to execute its contents.
He is now in the heavens, living, divine, capable, constituted of the indestructible life. Nothing can thwart Him! Nothing can destroy Him! He is the living One, living forever! Thus, He is able to execute this testament in every detail.
Do you need life? power? forgiveness? peace? holiness? Of course, your needs are many. How can you be supplied? In the testament are all these items. They are bequeathed to you. Christ today is executing the testament, making every item available and real to you.
Suppose your wife gives you a hard time. You need patience. Where can you find the patience to endure being under her thumb? Patience is one of the items listed in the will. It is applied and made real to you by Christ’s execution. When patience is your need, He will make it available to you. You will have the sense that patience comes into you like a flood. Is this not your experience?
The same is true of joy. You may be suffering, but there is joy in this will. How can that joy be real to you? Christ Himself will execute joy into you, flooding you with it.
You may wonder how I can have so much to speak. You may think I will run out of things to say. Included in this will, though, is the rich Word. When I am to give a message, I do not turn to reference books to find a subject, to put together some points, to study some commentaries, and to thus organize what I shall say. No! Christ as the Executor floods the riches of God’s Word into me. Out of this flood comes the rich thought, the rich utterances. Thus the speaking is endless.
What a will we have! What an Executor—living, powerful, capable!
Christ’s intercession is part of the execution of the will. You may be short of life and light. You may not be enjoying God as your life and light. Your High Priest will then pray for you, that you may have the rich enjoyment of God. This is His intercession. Then He will exercise His position to execute the life and light from God into you. This is the answer to His intercession and also the enforcement of His will.
Just as you need the proper correspondence to His intercession by coming to the throne of grace, so you also need the proper corresponding to His executing of the will. You have been lacking in this corresponding because of not being helped to see these matters. Probably you have never before heard such messages. From now on, there is no reason to be off; you can correspond to Him!
Hebrews 7:25 gives us the way to correspond to His executing of the new covenant: “Wherefore also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, seeing He is always living to intercede for them.” We cooperate with Him by coming forward to God.
Keep coming forward to God. Morning and evening, day and night, while you are praying and when you are not, come forward to Him! “O God, I am open to You. You are rich. I need You. I need all there is for me in Your will. I want to stay open to You all the time.” As you do this, Christ the able One will execute into your being whatever you need. It is part of His heavenly ministry to thus execute item after item from the will into you for your enjoyment.
To realize this will be a strengthening to you. Suppose your working day is over and you are ready to go home. You have put in eight hours of hard work, and you are tired. But the thought of going home is not very appealing, because you never know what situation will confront you. Whether you will be greeted by a long face or a smiling face you cannot predict. Some days when you go home, you encounter a storm. Other days it is calm and sunny. You cannot bear to walk into a storm tonight. What should you do? Do not forget the will! Open yourself. Come forward to God. You may only say, “O God my Father, I am opening myself to You,” and you will have the deep conviction that you are strengthened. He has interceded for you. He has also executed something into you. You are strengthened into the inner man. Now you are ready to go home. You can declare, “Lord, whether the weather is wild or mild doesn’t matter to me. I want to go back home and enjoy You. It may be under a clear sky or a cloudy sky. Rain or shine, I will still be opening to You. You will be my supply, according to Your will. I am included in Your will. Father, that will binds You. Moreover, I have an Executor, who is seeing to it that I get all the items listed in that will. My circumstances don’t bother me. Your will makes every provision for me.”
Christ’s heavenly ministry is not over. His earthly ministry has indeed been accomplished. But as the Executor of the new covenant, He is still ministering to strengthen, comfort, supply, sustain, and even bear you. His purpose in so doing is that you may grow and function that His Body may be built up. His heavenly ministry, the goal of which is the building up of His Body, has many different aspects. We have already considered four of them. There is the exercise of His rulership, the exercise of His headship, the priesthood, and the execution of God’s will and testament. In the next message we shall go on to another aspect.