Faith Life 69 (Family of Faith)

 Ayoola Fakeye

 Hebrews 11:39-40


There are two sides to God's order of events. The Old Testament and the New Testament. In the Old Testament, is where God made the promise as regards the redemption of man. And in the New Testament, the fulfillment of it is done. 

 

The Bible refers to what we are experiencing as “something better” even though the bible does not use a comparative sense to describe God or what He possesses. For instance, you can't see in the scripture, “I am the best Shepherd” “I am the truest vine” or I am the best lover.” What you can only see is, “I am the good Shepherd” “I am the true vine” or “God is love.” That is because there is an absolute in who God is. Therefore, there is no space for comparison because it does not exist.

 

Now, why am I saying this?

 

The Bible says, “God has provided something better for us.” That implies that we are not yet experiencing God's ultimate plan of God for our lives. Although, it is better than what the Old Testament saints experienced. But that is not the ultimate - not the absolute.

 

The conclusive plan of God for us is that we are holistically exactly like Christ; Spirit, soul, and body. However, what we enjoy now is what Ephesians 1:14 calls “a foretaste of our redemption.”

 

Some better things 

 

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit cannot possess them, but now in the New Testament, He occupies us. In the Old Testament, they were waiting for the fulfillment of the promise, but now in the New Testament, we can see that Christ has fulfilled the covenant being the promise Himself. We no longer need to wait! Glory to Jesus; our redemption is full, or else the Holy Spirit will not be released.

 

Therefore, beloved, if you are not taking advantage of the Holy Spirit, then I don't know how you can operate better than these men. We already have something better as believers, but our life will never produce What God wants if we don't take advantage of the life-giving Spirit. This same Spirit raised Jesus from the dead.

 

Where the Family of God comes in

 

The text says, “they without us cannot be made perfect.” What that means is that their perfection (OT saints) and our perfection (NT saints) are all brought at the same time when Christ by one offering perfected forever, them that are sanctified (Hebrews 10:14). The design of God was that they, Old Testament saints and we, New Testament saint should be made perfect together. That is, they are not made perfect before us, and neither are we made perfected before them.

 

Although they had the law, the Torah, the sacrifices, and the like,  all those could never make them perfect. What brought the Old and the New together under one Family of Faith is the Lamb's blood. The Lamb will take the center and central in God's agenda (Revelation 7:17). The centrality of the Lamb defines history. The Old and New Testaments were built on the same foundation - THE LAMB'S BLOOD and invigorated by the same Spirit of Grace. Their sins and ours are expiated concurrently by the same sacrifice; their persons and ours are justified together by the same righteousness; they and we makeup but one church. That is what we call the UNIVERSAL CHURCH.

 

Believers in Christ, what is vital in life is our faith in the Lamb of God. That was the intention of the Holy Spirit to bring you into the family of God. And for you to be active, we need to lay aside every weight that easily bedevils us and focus on the Lamb at the center of Human history (Hebrews 12:1)

 

Christ's substitutionary sacrifice is the binding force that brings the OT saints and the NT saints together unto God. You need to know that we are not better than them as regards what Christ has done. What He did for us, He did the same for them. The same process brought us together. We only have a better experience than them because of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.


Howbeit, many of us don't take advantage of this. It is well in Jesus' name.

 

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