Hebrews 9:16-17 tells us that “where there is a testament there must of necessity be the death of him who made it. For a testament is confirmed where there has been death, since it has no force when he who made it is living.” One day our Lord told His disciples: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). This means that the One who made the will has died, and that the covenant has begun to become effective. When the Lord Jesus brought the blood into the Holy of Holies (Heb. 9:12), He was telling God that the One who made the testament had died. Even those of us who are living realize that the One who made the testament died, for whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup we show forth the Lord’s death (1 Cor. 11:26). “Show” can also be translated “declare.” Whenever we eat the bread and drink the cup, we declare that the Lord has died. The Testator has died, and now the testament, the will, has become effective.
It is the Executor’s responsibility to make the will effective. We are entitled to every bequest in the will. If the Executor is faithful, we shall receive all the bequests in the will, but if the Executor is not faithful, we may not receive the bequests to which we are entitled. Since our Lord is a responsible Executor, we shall receive all the bequests in the testament. As we have mentioned before, what the Lord has bequeathed to us in His testament includes three major items: (1) cleansing which comes through the forgiveness of sins, (2) life and power, and (3) an inward knowledge of God. These three items comprise all the needs of our spiritual life. The Lord Jesus has died and risen again for us. He not only left us a testament; He is also the Executor of the testament. Therefore, we should no longer live a life of poverty, dryness, and impotence. We should receive by faith all that is included in the testament.
Have you ever considered that it is enough to be baptized once in our life, but that we frequently need the breaking of bread in remembrance of the Lord? During the time of the Apostles, the believers broke the bread in remembrance of the Lord on the first day of every week, because the cup is the cup of the new covenant (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25). Every Lord’s Day when we drink the cup, we know that we are standing upon a covenant. The Lord said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood”; therefore, when we drink, what we see is not the grape juice or the wine itself, but a new covenant which the Lord established with His blood. The Lord wants us to drink all that He has given to us. Every Lord’s Day we are reviewing this new covenant so that we may remember the Lord and receive all that is included in this cup. The Lord wants us to remember, every time we drink it, that God is bound by this covenant and that He delights to give us all that is promised in the covenant. The Lord wants us to remember that we can enjoy constantly all that is included in the new covenant. Whenever we remember the Lord before God, this is what He would have us see. Both the bread and the cup are for us to remember the Lord. The Lord is dealing with us according to the terms in the covenant. Therefore, when we remember the Lord, we are remembering Him in the covenant.
Whether the testament is effective or not does not depend upon our efforts, but has much to do with whether or not we know what the riches in the testament are and whether we can believe in the effectiveness of the testament and in the fact that the Lord Jesus is the Executor of the testament. Now we shall give some illustrations.
Take, for example, the forgiveness of sins. Some may think, “I have sinned; I must try to do my best and to do good until my sins can be forgiven. But I do not know how long it might take before the sins could be forgiven.” Others may think, “I have sinned; I should pray again and again until one day I feel peace. Then my sins will be forgiven.” But in both cases we must realize that this is something they are trying to do by themselves; this is not something the Lord has bequeathed to us in His testament.
We must realize that our sins are cleansed and forgiven not through the accumulation of good works, for doing good is merely our basic duty; neither does it depend upon our praying until God forgets our sins, for our sins can never be erased through our prayer; neither is the whole matter resolved by praying until we forget our sins. We must realize that the matter of our sins being cleansed and forgiven is not solved by any way other than the blood, for, “without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness” of sins (Heb. 9:22). It is the blood of the Lord Jesus which has solved the problem of our sins, and it is the blood of the Lord Jesus which cleanses us from all our sins (1 John 1:7). “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). This is the testament and this is the new covenant. Can we believe this?
Concerning the matter of release from sin, Romans 6:14 says, “For sin shall not lord it over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” Some say this: “Although the Scriptures declare this, yet I still feel as weak as water. Whenever I face temptation I always fail.” People like this continually try to do something themselves and continually struggle. This is not a bequest they find in the testament; this is not the new covenant. If they see what the new covenant is, they will say: “Praise God, power does not come from me; power is a bequest from the Lord to me!” This is the testament and this is the new covenant. Can we believe this?
Some may say, “How can I know God’s will, and how can I do God’s will?” The answer is that both the ability to know God’s will and the power to do God’s will are bequests in the testament of the Lord Jesus. Everyone who belongs to the Lord should obey God’s will. Everyone who belongs to the Lord not only has the potential for knowing God’s will, but also has the potential for doing God’s will, for the Lord has bequeathed to us in His testament the ability to know God, and He has also bequeathed to us the power to do God’s will (Heb. 13:20-21). This is the testament and this is the new covenant. Can we believe it?
The eternal inheritance which the Lord has bequeathed to us is spiritual and cannot be exhausted in our lifetime. But today how many belonging to the Lord can say that they have been purified and that they no longer have any conscience of sins? (Heb. 10:2). How many can say that the Lord’s law has been imparted into their mind and inscribed upon their heart, and that by the inner life and power they are able to do God’s will and please Him? How many today can say that because of the Lord’s anointing in us we by no means need man’s teaching to know God? Brothers and sisters, we must all realize that the Lord through His blood established the new covenant and bequeathed the rich testament—the bequest—to us. He is also the Executor of this will. Therefore, if we can receive it by faith, we shall become rich and free.
“O Lord, may You cause each one of us to see what the testament, the new covenant, is so that You may be fully satisfied when You see the effectiveness of the covenant of Your blood.”