STUDY 47                              
Sunday before Advent            
November 21, 2021
THEME: COVENANT WITH THE LIVING GOD
SUB-THEME 7: The Lord God of all nations (7)
TOPIC: His love for the World (1): Promise of the New Covenant of Redemption 
TEXTS: Isa. 11: 1-2; Jer. 31: 31-34

AIMS:                     
i.    to understand God’s demonstration of love in His promise of the new covenant and 
ii.    to shed light on the new covenant for the redemption of man. 

INTRODUCTION: God’s faithfulness and grace have been manifested in His promises. The Old Testament concept of the new covenant anticipated that God would accomplish for His people what the Old covenant had failed to do (Jer. 31: 31-34). Redemption is deliverance by payment of a ransom which in the New Testament, refers to salvation from sin, death, and the wrath of God by Christ’s sacrifice. The popular passage, John 3: 16 aptly pivots three peculiar truths: (i) the universal character of God’s love; (ii) its sacrificial nature; and (iii) its eternal purpose.

STUDY GUIDE:
1.    What do you understand by God’s love for the world and His promise of the new covenant of redemption? (Jer. 31:31-34)
2.    What biblical passages support God’s love for the world and His promise of a new covenant of redemption? Gen 1:26-29; Jer. 31: 31-34; John 3: 16.
3.    Why was the promise of the new covenant of redemption necessary and has it been justified? Isa. 59: 19-21; Jer. 31:31-32; Ezek. 37:26.
4.    In your understanding, describe the faithfulness of some contemporary Christians to the promise of this new covenant? Heb 9:11-14.

CONCLUSION: While the Old covenant was enshrined in tablets of stone, the New Covenant is enshrined in the hearts of believers.  Therefore, the new covenant is internal, eternal, universal, and unconditional as all people now have the opportunity to have an intimate personal relationship with the God. 

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Grace prompted God to promise a new covenant. 

MEMORY VERSE: Jer. 31: 33 “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 shall be My people.”