Covenant Authority 3

The strength of covenant is the authority backing the covenant. When we come to any covenant originated by God, we have an everlasting covenant for the authority is Eternal God. The test of any promise is in the fulfillment. God honors His Word and fulfills His Word. In Hebrews 6 this authority is addressed. Hebrews 6:13-20 (New Living Translation)13 For example, there was God’s promise to Abraham. Since there was no one greater to swear by, God took an oath in his own name, saying: 14 “I will certainly bless you, and I will multiply your descendants beyond number.” 15 Then Abraham waited patiently, and he received what God had promised. 16 Now when people take an oath, they call on someone greater than themselves to hold them to it. And without any question that oath is binding. 17 God also bound himself with an oath, so that those who received the promise could be perfectly sure that he would never change his mind. 18 So God has given both his promise and his oath. These two things are unchangeable because it is impossible for God to lie. Therefore, we who have fled to him for refuge can have great confidence as we hold to the hope that lies before us. 19 This hope is a strong and trustworthy anchor for our souls. It leads us through the curtain into God’s inner sanctuary. 20 Jesus has already gone in there for us. He has become our eternal High Priest in the order of Melchizedek.

Genesis 22:16-18 (King James Version) 16 ... By myself have I sworn, saith the LORD, for because thou hast done this thing, and hast not withheld thy son, thine only son: 17 That in blessing I will bless thee, and in multiplying I will multiply thy seed as the stars of the heaven, and as the sand which is upon the sea shore; and thy seed shall possess the gate of his enemies; 18 And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed; because thou hast obeyed my voice.
In the process of cutting a covenant, the promise of intention and the expectation of covenant response are written down and signed in blood. They are exchanged to be produced if ever the covenant is challenged. This is followed by the participants walking among the pieces of the animal (s) until they once more meet in the center and swear an oath by the help of God that they will keep the covenant promise. Then they pronounce the curse of a failed covenant. “Be it unto me as these pieces if I fail.”

God injects His own Being into the oath of this covenant with Abraham. By this oath and by Abraham's obedience, the way is clear for Jesus to enter this realm and become the Lamb substitute for us.
The nature of God becomes the target of Satan in his ongoing battle to exalt himself. Satan accuses God to men belittling God’s intent to bless and His willingness to act on our behalf. His desire to save us and to heal us and to deliver us from evil is denigrated by questioning His will. Matthew 8:2-3 (NLT) 2 Suddenly, a man with leprosy approached him and knelt before him. “Lord,” the man said, “if you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean.” 3 Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!” And instantly the leprosy disappeared. Satan is the accuser. He accuses each of us to one another, He accuses God to us and accuses us to God. The purpose is separation and division. When we walk in the path laid out for us by God, we walk in His Light. When we leave that path we walk in darkness. Separation causes us to lose awareness of God and understanding of His Word. So we grope in darkness for the understanding that will satisfy us and we do what we think will justify us. We may be doing the very thing God wants us to do, but we are not doing it in Light. There is no other justification for us outside the Blood of Jesus. It is not about what we do or how we do it or if we do not do it. It is all about what He has done. He declared it finished and we do not add our own works to accomplish what has already been done. Satan manipulates us with guilt and fear which diminish our comprehension of His Glory and Power. When we lose that sense of reverent awe in such an awesome God, we lose true worship. When we lose the understanding of His Holiness, Majesty and Love, we lose the understanding of His grace and mercy and His purpose to bring us into His image. The fear that Satan brings clouds the knowledge of the depths of the tremendous power in the Blood Jesus left in this realm to deliver us not only from our sin but is the tool to bring us to overcoming the bondage of our human nature.
We need only look to Him in identification with Him to be changed. But we must identify with Him as He has identified with us. He came in the likeness of man so we could be changed into His likeness. II Corinthians 3:18 (NLT) So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord—who is the Spirit—makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image.I like that translation. I also like the New American Standard Bible as it has the word “mirror” which gives a little different slant. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as from the Lord, the Spirit. We look into a mirror to see ourselves but if we see Jesus and all He has done for us and in us, we take on His victory and we no longer concentrate on our weakness but His strength.