The Blood of the New Covenant
A Sermon on John 1:16
Originally preached Oct. 27, 1963
Scripture
16And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
Sermon Description
How does Christ begin the new covenant? In this discourse on John 1:16 titled “The Blood of the New Covenant,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones elaborates on the old and new covenants. If any are to benefit from Christ, they must benefit under the new covenant that Christ Himself said was a new covenant in His own blood. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that Christ ratified the new covenant with His blood and as every old covenant was begun with blood, so too the new covenant would begin with blood. Not only do Christians benefit from the life and work of Christ on Earth, but Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains how they also benefit from the assurance of Christ’s intercession at the right hand of God in heaven. Finally, Dr. Lloyd-Jones gloriously explains the priesthood of Christ and that the Savior will never cease to be the priest nor need to make a sacrifice for sin again. Dr. Lloyd-Jones gives assurance that the sacrifice of Christ was once and for all time. His sacrifice will never be looked upon by the Father as insufficient or without power. If Christ’s blood covers one sin, then it covers all of them.
Sermon Breakdown
- Jesus has the fullness and ability to enter into the holiest of all (heaven) - only he can enter into the presence of God.
- In the Old Testament, the high priest could only enter the holiest of all once a year. The people would wait outside to see if the sacrifice was accepted. They knew it was accepted if they heard the bells on the hem of his garment.
- Jesus entered into the holiest of all - heaven - with his own blood as the sacrifice. His blood was accepted, reconciling us to God.
- God's covenant of redemption and grace had to be ratified before we could receive the benefits. A covenant is ratified by the shedding of blood.
- The old covenant was ratified by the blood of bulls and goats. It only purified the flesh.
- The new covenant is ratified by the blood of Jesus. It purges our conscience and reconciles our spirit.
- Jesus had to die to ratify the new covenant. "A testament is of force after men are dead." His blood had to be shed.
- The earthly tabernacle was a "pattern" of the heavenly tabernacle. The earthly one was purified by the blood of animals. The heavenly one was purified by the blood of Jesus.
- Jesus entered into heaven itself, not an earthly tabernacle. He entered into the presence of God for us.
- God decreed that covenants must be ratified by blood so we would never forget the cost of our redemption.
- The communion table reminds us of the new covenant ratified in Jesus's blood.
- Jesus has done his work perfectly. "He sat down at the right hand of the majesty on high." He offered one sacrifice for sins forever. No more sacrifice is needed.
The Book of John
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.