The Rule of the Kingdom (p11518):

The third element in our Old Testament kingdom

pattern is the rule of God over his people by his
word. The different covenants of the Bible all
testify to this in their own contexts. We may
discern two important aspects of this covenant rule
of Godthe covenants themselves and the
mediator of the covenant.1
1.

The Covenants
1. Review
1. God ruled Eden by the word which
defined Adam's freedom.
2. With Abraham, God called him, directed
him, and made promises to him, all working
towards the goal of a relationship
summarized by this, I will be your God,
and you shall be my people.
3. Later this summarization was etched in
stone, literally, at Sinai where God defined
the role of God's People in terms of how
they live.
4. Later on in the progress of God's plan
the prophetic hope saw not a different
covenant ruling the restored people, but a
newly applied covenant written upon men's
hearts.
2. New Covenant is the New Testament
Fulfillment

1 Goldsworthy, 115.

1.

Reference to Covenant as such is very

infrequent in the NT.
2. However, there is plenty to show that
the Gospel is the fulfillment of the hope of
the new covenant.
3. Read Luke1:4655; The song of Mary
is an example of the interpretation of the
coming of Jesus as Old Testament hope
come to fruition here.
4. Like wise the songs of Zechariah &
Simeon interpret the incarnation in Old
Testament terms of covenant. Read Luke
1:6879; 2:2932;
5. At the Last Supper, Jesus declares that
the cup is the new covenant in my blood,
just as the old covenant was sealed with the
sacrificial blood by Moses. Note I
Corinthians 11:25 & Exodus 24:8;
3. The Better Covenant
1. Hebrews 89 gives a detailed
exposition of the gospel as the new
covenant of Jeremiah.
1. Read Hebrews 8:17, 13;
2. The New Covenant is better.
3. The Old has become obsolete
4. This doesn't mean that the old is
unconnected, it means that the new fulfills
what the old prepared the way for and
foreshadowed.
4. Questions, Comments, Snarks...

2.

The Mediator of the Covenant

1. Kingship
1. King, I am an American son, we have
no king...
2. Judges are the forerunners
3. However, it is with David that the
significance of this mediation of God's rule
emerges.
4. King pattern, read Deuteronomy 17:14
20;
5. Here we see the king as what? A:
Mediator
6. Read 2 Samuel 7; Kingly rule here is
seen in relationship to the Temple so that
the throne and Temple become almost
synonymous in their significance.
2. How then does the New Testament take
up the hope of the restoration of the rule of
David in the Kingdom of God?
1. By showing that Jesus is the Son of
David, who by implication will rule in
God's Kingdom forever.
2. By showing that the fulfillment of the
prophecies concerning David's restored rule
occurred at the resurrection: Read Acts 2:30
31, 36; and 13:34.
3. The Temple, Part 2
1. It was a sign that God dwelt amongst his
people to rule, read Exodus 25:2122.

2.

Solomon's Temple prefigured the

fulfillment of the promises to David
concerning the rule of David's son given in 2
Samuel 7.
3. Read Ezekiel 47:112; Here Ezekiel
focuses on the New Temple as the sign of
God's ruling and life-giving presence in the
kingdom.
4. Read Zechariah 4:6; Zechariah saw a new
temple built by David's descendant
Zerubbabel through the Spirit.
5. Read John 1:14; 2:21; For John the true
temple is the bodily presence of Jesus the
Logos or Word.
6. Read Acts 7:4651; Stephen understands
the need to let go of the man-built temple and
to move out to the Gospel fulfillment.
7. Read Highlighted Sections of page 118.