For where a testament is, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator.
A testament or covenant deed must be ratified and put into effect by the death of the testator who makes it. Christ pledged Himself as Redeemer and established the new covenant. The covenant Christ made with His disciples required His death to take effect.
The covenant of grace made with Adam and renewed to Abraham could not be ratified until Christ's death. It existed from the first intimation of redemption by God's promise, was accepted by faith, and was valid in Abraham's day because it was confirmed by God's promise and oath. When ratified by Christ it is called the new or second covenant because the blood of Christ by which it was sealed was shed after the blood by which the first covenant at Sinai was sealed. God's law was the basis of this covenant as the arrangement for bringing people back into harmony with the divine will so they could obey God's law.
Christ's death was the one great offering foreshadowed by the earlier animal offerings. When the type met its reality at His death, animal blood and the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish law no longer had value. His blood ratified the new covenant and seals God's promise. Those who receive Him become children of God and joint heirs with Him, sharing heaven's blessings for this life and the life to come.
The bread and wine of the communion sacrament keep His infinite sacrifice in memory before each disciple as an individual. Faith in the saving power of His blood is the believer's only hope.
A testament or covenant deed must be ratified and put into effect by the death of the testator who makes it. Christ pledged Himself as Redeemer and established the new covenant. The covenant Christ made with His disciples required His death to take effect.
The covenant of grace made with Adam and renewed to Abraham could not be ratified until Christ's death. It existed from the first intimation of redemption by God's promise, was accepted by faith, and was valid in Abraham's day because it was confirmed by God's promise and oath. When ratified by Christ it is called the new or second covenant because the blood of Christ by which it was sealed was shed after the blood by which the first covenant at Sinai was sealed. God's law was the basis of this covenant as the arrangement for bringing people back into harmony with the divine will so they could obey God's law.
Christ's death was the one great offering foreshadowed by the earlier animal offerings. When the type met its reality at His death, animal blood and the sacrificial offerings of the Jewish law no longer had value. His blood ratified the new covenant and seals God's promise. Those who receive Him become children of God and joint heirs with Him, sharing heaven's blessings for this life and the life to come.
The bread and wine of the communion sacrament keep His infinite sacrifice in memory before each disciple as an individual. Faith in the saving power of His blood is the believer's only hope.