Concerning the relationship between the blood and the covenant, we can say that the blood is the base while the covenant is the contract, the writing. The blood is the base upon which the covenant is established, while the covenant is the contract established with the blood. Without the blood, a covenant cannot be established, much less become effective. The inheritance which God has given us is recorded in the contracted covenant. This is the new covenant which God made with us through the blood of the Lord Jesus. It is by this new covenant that we receive the spiritual inheritance which God has given us.
Therefore, the new covenant is an absolutely legal matter. It was established wholly according to the procedure of God’s righteousness. The new covenant is not a few mere verbal statements made by God, but a contract in writing which God has established through Christ’s blood for us. It is important to realize that God’s salvation before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus was all accomplished by His grace, but that after the Lord’s crucifixion it was accomplished by His righteousness. This does not mean that after the Lord’s crucifixion there was no grace, but only that grace is like water, and righteousness is like the water pipe. God’s grace flows to us through the pipe of righteousness. Therefore, Romans 5:21 says, “That as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” Grace reigns through righteousness. God does not give grace to man by itself; He gives grace to man through righteousness. God loves us, and the Lord Jesus came to die for us. This is God’s grace. If God did not love us and give us grace, the Lord Jesus would not have come to accomplish redemption for us. But the Lord Jesus has died for us and redemption has been accomplished. Because of this, when we believe in the Lord we are saved; this salvation is through His righteousness.
We cannot say that God does not have grace. If God did not have grace, there would be no new covenant. But if all that God has given us was based only upon grace, our faith might be shaken, for without passing through the legal process grace may be discontinued. But, praise God! He not only has grace, but He expresses His grace through a covenant. In order to give grace to us, He binds Himself in a covenant. Therefore, we may say that grace appears in the form of righteousness. Such righteousness does not annul grace, but it is the highest expression of grace.
What we receive is God’s grace, but God has used the blood to make a covenant with us, so that through the covenant we may ask God to deal with us according to His righteousness. We stand upon the ground of grace, but grace comes to us through righteousness. The blood of Christ has become the foundation of righteousness, so that the covenant God has made with us will not become void. We are standing upon the foundation of the blood, the foundation of righteousness, to deal with God. Therefore, God has no choice but to fulfill in us all that is in the covenant.
One experienced in the Lord has said, “God’s covenant is His therapy for the unbelieving ones. He uses His covenant to heal them.” For example, some may think that in order to have forgiveness of sins they must pray until they feel peace; then they will have evidence of forgiveness. But God’s Word says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). One thing to which we must pay attention is whether or not we have confessed our sins. Of course the confession spoken of here is not a careless act without the least feeling of hatred towards sin. The confession here refers to really seeing sin as sin under the light, and condemning it for what it is. Naked before God, we confess the sin we have seen; we confess the sin which we have condemned. When we confess the sins, God will forgive and cleanse us of our sins. Therefore, once we have confessed, we should believe that God has forgiven, and our hearts should have complete peace. A brother has said, “As you have done your part, is it possible that God will not do His part?” This remark is very meaningful. The problem lies in whether or not we have confessed. If we have truly confessed our sin, we should not care for our feeling; nor should we care for what others say about us. Neither should we care for the thoughts Satan sends us; we should only believe God’s Word.
Therefore, the Christian’s life has no other secret than living by holding on to God’s Word, believing that God is faithful and righteous, and that what He has said, He will do. If we stand fully upon the covenant which the Lord Jesus has established, God will care for us and fulfill what He has said in the covenant, for He has accepted the blood of the Lord Jesus. God binds His own will to the covenant and can only move within His covenant. If He had not established a covenant with us, He could treat us as He wished. However, since He has made a covenant with us, He can only do according to what is said in the covenant. He must fulfill His covenant; He cannot be unrighteous. We praise God that He loves us and has had mercy toward us to such an extent that He cannot treat us in any way other than righteousness. There is no grace greater than this!
We must say that without the blood of the Lord Jesus we are not entitled to anything. But through the blood of the Lord Jesus we are entitled to everything! Through the blood of the Lord Jesus we have the right to enjoy all that is in the covenant. When, by the blood of the Lord Jesus, we ask God to give His blessings to us according to the covenant, God cannot be unrighteous. He must give them to us according to the covenant. This new covenant was made by the Lord with His own blood. The Lord has paid the price of the blood. Now we can ask God to accomplish upon us all that is in the covenant according to the value of the blood which is before Him.
A brother once said, “No one really knows how much the blood includes.” We may not understand the value of the blood, nor do we need to see the value of the blood. But we can ask God to treat us according to the value of the blood before Him and according to the covenant which the Lord made with His blood. We need only tell God: “I want this, for You are the God of the covenant.” Our God can never be unfaithful; He will not break His covenant.
The blood of the new covenant solves the problem of our sins and removes the hindrances between God and us. It also restores the inheritance we lost and enables God to give us all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies, and all things that pertain to life and godliness (Eph. 2:12-13, 18-19; 1:3; 2 Pet. 1:3). All of the things that are clearly written in the new covenant are our rightful blessings through the blood. According to Hebrews 8:10-12, the new covenant includes three very precious parts mentioned in earlier chapters: cleansing, life and power, and the inward knowledge. More will be said about these items in chapters six through eight.
The reason we do not know how to speak to God according to what is explicitly written in the covenant is that we do not know how much blessing the blood has brought us. It is important to realize that all spiritual blessings and spiritual inheritance are given to us through the covenant established by the blood! The blood is the basis upon which we receive the new covenant.
Therefore, when we ask according to the covenant we are not asking for things which do not belong to us. Rather we are claiming the items which have always belonged to us and have been reserved in God for us (1 Pet. 1:3-4). To pray according to the covenant is not to pray without basis, but to claim what God has given us in the covenant. When we pray according to the covenant, God cannot but stand on our side. Therefore, when we come to God through the new covenant established by the blood, many times we just need to claim and not to ask. This does not mean that today we do not need to pray, but that our prayer should consist more of claiming than of asking.
A brother who knows the Lord has said that since the time of Golgotha all the asking in the Scriptures should be changed to taking. Those who know the Lord, who know the place Golgotha, and who know what the blood means will say “Amen!” Brothers and sisters, we must remember that through the blood we are asking God to give us that to which we are entitled. This is why we say repeatedly that the principle upon which God now treats us is based upon His righteousness, not only upon His grace. What is offered to us in the new covenant, then, is all that we are entitled to receive. According to His righteousness God has no choice but to give us what is clearly written in the new covenant, for we are claiming it from God according to the covenant.
Sometimes it seems God has forgotten His covenant. At these times we can remind Him. In Isaiah 43:26, God says, “Put me in remembrance.” God wants man to remind Him. Sometimes we can reverently speak to God in this manner, “God, we ask You to remember Your covenant, Your promised word. We pray that You would act according to Your promise and Your covenant.” When we ask like this and believe like this, we will receive that for which we ask.