Greetings,
It is another wonderful sunny day in Bellingham. Summer is upon us and there is life all around. I had a blessed day yesterday at Everyone’s Church in Mount Vernon, Washington. Thank you Pastor Brice and the wonderful people of Skagit County. It was good to see you and see your hunger for God’s presence and His word.
Our blood gives us our identity. The blood of the flesh gives us an identity of the flesh. The blood of the New Covenant is the grace that comes to us through the life that Jesus gave. I believe that the blood of the New Covenant is the life of the Holy Spirit empowering the inner man of each of us. Together we are called to be the body of Christ and individually we are life-giving members. Who we are is not based upon who we are apart from Christ. Who we are can only be discovered in Christ. God’s mercy was given to us through the shed blood of Jesus Christ upon the cross of Calvary. God’s mercy justifies each and every human being to live, but it is the only the grace of God that empowers us to receive life, become an expression of life, and be givers of life to our worlds.
The shed blood of Jesus upon the tree at Calvary was a judgment of mercy for us all. The only place we can truly find the blood of the cross is at the throne of grace. It is there that we find mercy that frees us from the administration of the knowledge of good and the knowledge of evil and it there that we find access to a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit. The true gift given by the cross is not the death of Jesus, it is a connection with His life on the throne. A connection with Holy Spirit is the true testimony of the cross. It is the life of the Spirit that gives meaning to the cross.
Mercy ends our past and grace empowers us in the present to know the increasing glories of God in our lives. The testimony of the cross is not merely what happened two thousand years ago on the grounds of Calvary. The testimony of the cross is found at the throne of grace. Knowing Jesus in His resurrection life is the testimony of His death. Christ in us is the hope of the glory and Christ in us testifies of the blood Jesus shed at Calvary. Jesus offered His life in the flesh so that all flesh could know Him in the power of His resurrection.
Hebrews 4:14-16 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
The only thing that can proclaim that Jesus died on the cross for us is for us to drink the cup of the Spirit. This is the cup ‘after supper’. It is fellowship with the Holy Spirit that proclaims the death of Jesus.
Luke 22:17-20 Then He took the cup, and gave thanks, and said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves; for I say to you, I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.” And He took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, “This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you.”
It was the cup that Jesus took after the cup ‘after supper’ that He called the blood of the New Covenant. According to the law, this isn’t theologically correct. The cup ‘after supper’ in the Seder meal is not the cup of blood. The cup before the meal is the cup of blood. Jesus called the cup ‘after supper’ the cup of blood. He separated the blood of the Old Covenant from the blood of the New Covenant. The cup after the supper ion the Sader meal was the cup of Hallel, the cup of Praise. This is the cup of the Holy Spirit. This is the cup that proclaims His death. This cup is a cup of personal relationship with God in our hearts. It is the cup of finding our life, expression, and very being in Christ. It is through Jesus that we are given access to our place of predestination in Christ. It is only in our predestination in Christ that we can discover our place in the calling of Christ. He gives us life, so that we can know life, become life, and give life to others in our world.
Blessings,
Ted J. Hanson
Thank you for your prayers and your financial support. With your help the message of New Covenant Life and Grace is reaching the nations.
House of Bread Ministry –
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