For this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins."
Truth to Learn
If God has graciously taken away your sins, you should be humbly producing fruit with thanksgiving.
Behind the Words
The word “covenant” is from the Greek word diathēkē, which is based on the verb diatithēmi, meaning “to set out in order” or “to dispose or disperse in a certain order” as someone would do in their last will and testament. In classical Greek, diathēkē always meant “the disposition which a person makes of his property in prospect of death.” It is a binding contract made by one party on behalf of others. Hence, this covenant is God’s contract of what He will do for the Jews in the future.
Meaning Explained
In the previous verse Paul quoted Isaiah 59:20, and in this verse he quotes the first part of Isaiah 59:21, “For this is My covenant with them.” The remainder of this verse, however, is not from Isaiah at all, rather it appears to be taken from, or abridged from, Jeremiah 31:33, 34 which says:
But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they will be My people. No longer will a man teach his neighbor, and a man his brother, saying, “Know the LORD,” because they all will know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more.
It appears that Paul is expressing the general sense of these promises which were, and are, well known among the Jews. It is clear that God has promised the Jews that at some future time He will gather the remnant of Israel to Himself and they will all believe at that time. Paul does not state when that time will be because even he did not know exactly when it would happen (and neither do we).
The point he is making, remember, is that we Gentiles should not become arrogant about the gospel having been delivered to us as a result of the unbelief of the Jewish people. If God was able to graft us into the good olive tree, we who were not of the good olive tree but of a wild olive tree, then he can certainly graft in branches from the good olive tree again.
As we’ve discussed in the preceding verses, this is precisely what God will do. At some time in the future the Messiah will return and will gather the remnant of the Jews to Himself, and they will all believe just as He has promised them. He will take away their sins just as he has taken away the sins of all who have believed on Him in the Church age.
Since God has a future plan for the ones who are responsible for our having heard the gospel message, we need to give them special heed and treat them dearly. There is no room for pride in those who are submitted to and humbled before God.
Application
How about you, my Christian friend? Are you grateful to God for the way He has orchestrated history? Are you thankful that the Jews rejected their Messiah when He first came? Are you humbly grateful for the person or persons who delivered the gospel message to you? In response, will you produce fruit, or will you be a withering branch enjoying what the world has to offer you? Show your gratefulness by your works!
In God's service, for His glory,
Copyright © 2018 Will Krause. All rights reserved
