Email from Abiding Place Daily Bread – January 6, 2025 (The Second Day – Genesis 1:6-8) Ephesians 2:19 – Now then, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but are fellow citizens, holy ones, and of the House of God. God has made a New Covenant and invited both Jew and Gentile into the fellowship of a new creation. The Gospel of the New Covenant was first announced to the House of Israel and to Judah, but was extended to all nations so that whosoever is willing to call upon the Name of the Lord can become a part of the Kingdom of God (Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:8; Romans 1:16, 2:10; Isaiah 49:6; Luke 2:32). God made a New Covenant and has done away with the Old, leaving no room at all for it (Hebrews 8:8-13). There cannot be a New Covenant and an Old Covenant existing at the same time. The Lord only established the Law in the sense that the Law of God was established in our hearts – not the First Covenant, being the Law of Moses (Hebrews 10:16; Galatians 2:21; Romans 8:2-3). The Law of Moses testified of the Law of God, but it could not establish it in our hearts until the New Covenant was made. This is not a replacement theology, but an inclusion theology in which all men are brought unto the Father by Jesus Christ, the Lord – for there is no salvation for any man outside of Christ Jesus (John 1:17, 14:6; ; Acts 4:10-12; Galatians 5:1-14). Now, all men who will obey the Gospel are made heirs of God and citizens of the Kingdom. Anyone hanging onto the Old Covenant cannot be a citizen of the Kingdom or an heir of the promises. God’s promise to Abraham and to the sons of Israel was not established through the Law, but through the Seed, Christ Jesus (Galatians 3:16-18, 21, 29). We are members of God’s household and are fellow citizens with all those who trust in the Lord Jesus. Through Christ Jesus, all the covenants of promise have been extended to everyone, so that we may enjoy all God has planned for those who love Him (John 14:21; 1 Corinthians 2:9). We now have both our citizenship and lifestyle (behavior) in the Kingdom of God, where we are seated with Christ Jesus and living in a Heavenly realm (Philippians 3:20; Ephesians 2:6, 3:14-15; Galatians 4:26; Hebrews 12:22). We now enjoy all the authority and rights and privileges of the sons of God. We are those who are of the House and family of God, who should now bear the image of the Heavenly – for it is Christ Jesus Who lives in us and must be witnessed through our lives so all men might see through the actions and conduct of our lives the glory of the Father (John 15:1-5; Philippians 1:21; 2 Corinthians 3:3, 4:10). Blessings, Pastor Mark Spitsbergen
Daily Bread 1/6/2025
