"..Jesus has been given priestly work which is superior to theirs,..the covenant which he arranged between God and his people is a better one, because it is based on promises of better things. If there had been nothing wrong with the first covenant, there would have been no need for a second one..By speaking of a new covenant, God has made the first one old; and anything that becomes old and worn out will soon disappear." (Hebrews 8:6-13 GNB)

paradigm, paradigm shift - From the Greek word paradhma (paradigma),... a paradigm is simply the predominant worldview in the realm of human thought..A paradigm shift occurs when cultures transform their way of thinking from one thought system to another. For instance, prior to Copernicus and Galileo (ca. 1600), most people believed that astral bodies revolved around the earth (geocentrism); but after the Copernican Revolution (ca. 1600), it became obvious that the earth revolved around the sun (heliocentrism) -- thus, a major paradigm shift occurred from geocentrism to heliocentrism..Simply put, then, a paradigm shift is a pivotal change in humanity's way of thinking regarding a particular worldview.

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In part 6 (click here to read it), we established that the new covenant was the preferred and ultimate covenant. God's original intent.

In the new covenant, Christ gave His life to us, to live through us. Led by His spirit, we can live a standard of life that surpasses that of the old covenant.

1. "There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. But the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh; so that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:1-4 MKJV)

2. "I say, then, Walk in the Spirit and you shall not fulfill the lusts of the flesh..if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law..the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control; against such things there is no law. But those belonging to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." (Galatians 5:16-25 MKJV)

The old is made up of rules, the new is a living experience, where we are lead by the spirit to supersede rules and live the God kind of life. When we approach the new from the context of the old, we walk backwards. From freedom to slavery; life to death. We render the death of Christ of no effect in our lives.

1. "It says that Abraham had two sons, one by a slave woman, the other by a free woman. His son by the slave woman was born in the usual way, but his son by the free woman was born as a result of God's promise. These things can be understood as a figure: the two women represent two covenants. The one whose children are born in slavery is Hagar, and she represents the covenant made at Mount Sinai. Hagar, who stands for Mount Sinai in Arabia, is a figure of the present city of Jerusalem, in slavery with all its people. But the heavenly Jerusalem is free, and she is our mother." (Galatians 4:22-26 GNB)

The spirit succeeds under grace, where the flesh failed under the law. We now have His spirit in us, to live through us, the life that only He can live, to fulfill the standard, only He can meet.

1. "And by Him all who believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified by the Law of Moses." (Acts 13:39 MKJV)

2. "and be found in Him; not having my own righteousness, which is of the Law, but through the faith of Christ, the righteousness of God by faith," (Philippians 3:9 MKJV)

3. "knowing that a man is not justified by works of the Law, but through faith in Jesus Christ; even we believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith in Christ, and not by works of the Law. For all flesh will not be justified by works of law."(Galatians 2:16 MKJV)

4. "But that no one is justified by the Law in the sight of God is clear, for, "The just shall live by faith."" (Galatians 3:11 MKJV)

5. "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness for everyone who believes." (Romans 10:4 MKJV)

6. "..whatever things the Law says, it says..so that every mouth may be stopped and all the world may be under judgment before God, because by the works of the Law none of all flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law is the knowledge of sin. But now a righteousness of God has been revealed..even the righteousness of God through the faith of Jesus Christ, toward all and upon all those who believe. For there is no difference," (Romans 3:19-22 MKJV)

7. "Does it sound like we're patting ourselves on the back, insisting on our credentials, asserting our authority? Well, we're not. Neither do we need letters of endorsement, either to you or from you. You yourselves are all the endorsement we need. Your very lives are a letter that anyone can read by just looking at you. Christ himself wrote it--not with ink, but with God's living Spirit; not chiseled into stone, but carved into human lives--and we publish it. We couldn't be more sure of ourselves in this--that you, written by Christ himself for God, are our letter of recommendation. We wouldn't think of writing this kind of letter about ourselves. Only God can write such a letter." (2 Corinthians 3:1-5 MSG)

Written by His Spirit

Living to tell the story

In living pictures of my reality

Can't hide it

It's plain for all to see

In all it's imperfection

A work in progress

Speaking volume with every move

Does it draw closer or drive away

Those who read it, every day

They hear the sound

But the actions speak louder

It's no wonder; the louder prevails

Total submission is the key

Reflecting Him more perfectly

Till less of me is seen

And Christ is revealed through me

A living Epistle written by Him

Freely read by all men

May its pages reveal

His unconditional love

To all who behold Him

To make the most, of the life Christ died to give us, we must put to rest the old and live out the new by the working of His spirit in us

1. "But now a righteousness of God has been revealed apart from Law, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets;" (Romans 3:21 MKJV)

2. "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the works of the Law." (Romans 3:28 MKJV)

3. "I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness is through law, then Christ died without cause." (Galatians 2:21 MKJV)

4. "you who are justified by Law are deprived of all effect from Christ; you fell from grace." (Galatians 5:4 MKJV)

Selah

(To be continued..)

click here to read part 8

To view others instalments in the series, click here