I found some really amazing things from my Bible study today and wanted to share them with you. I hope you like it as much as I did. God is so exciting! The things that stood out to me about Acts 13 and Isaiah 55:3 were:
1. The sure mercies of David is the Everlasting Covenant.
2. When God the Father said this about Jesus, “Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee.”; I’ve always wondered what He was talking about; like what day that was and what it was associated with; such as at His birth or maybe His baptism. I had never found it until today. According to Acts 13:33, He was referencing the time of Jesus’ resurrection at the point when Jesus became immortal. We know He was mortal before because He died for us, both physically and spiritually in order to pay our death penalty. It’s still a mystery to me though because we know Jesus come out from the Father and He was one of the “sons of God”, but this brings more clarity than I had before.
3. The author of Acts is also reiterating that the Old Covenant believers were never justified, forgiven and sins erased, by the animal sacrificial system (one form of the deeds of the law); “from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses“. But that complete forgiveness only comes by “the sure mercies of David” which is the Everlasting Covenant and the blood of Jesus is called the blood of the Everlasting Covenant in Hebrews 13:20.
4. When we are talking about God’s Covenant, there are key terms that have certain significance and have specific meaning. These words also signal to us that the writer is talking about a covenant and the terms of that agreement. For example, “the promise” is strictly confined within the bounds of the terms of God’s covenant. Simply put, “the promise” is the same thing as “the blessings” that were promised according to the terms of this agreement.
5. This blessing, “the promise”, of the Everlasting Covenant was made with “our fathers”; that would be Adam, King David (the sure mercies of David), Abraham, Isaac and Israel (Jacob). We as believers have inherited this Covenant and are spiritually adopted into the spiritual “commonwealth of Israel” as described in Ephesians 2:12. Galatians 3:29 “And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise.”
Acts 13:32-35
“And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that HE hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art My Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that HE raised Him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, HE said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption.”
Acts 13:38-40
“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this Man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by Him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. Beware therefore, lest that come upon you, which is spoken of in the prophets;
Isaiah 55:3
“Incline your ear, and come unto Me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”