Covenant Mediators and Christ as Mediator of the New Covenant

[Arial]

All of the covenants that God has with man and creation are outflows of the Covenant of Redemption. It is this eternal covenant that was within the Trinity between the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, that is the fountainhead from which all other covenants flow. The Father sends the Son, the Son agrees to do the work of redeeming the elect, the Holy Spirit applies this work to the individual, seals them in Christ, and sanctifies them.

Not all covenants have a human mediator. The Noahic in which Noah and all living creatures are the beneficiary, did not have a mediator; in the covenant with Abraham, Abraham was a covenant partner, not a mediator for others in the formal sense; the covenant with David where a perpetual dynasty is promised; these did not have human formal covenant mediators between God and man.

The two covenants where we see a formal human covenant mediator between God and man are the Old Covenant, (the Mosaic Covenant). And the New Covenant where Jesus is the formal mediator and fulfills all the mediating roles of Prophet, Priest, Judge, and King.

Let's define some terms.

A mediator in theology is one who stands between (bridges the enormous gap) God and man

Formal Human Covenant Mediator
They are covenant officers, not just intercessors.
They are public, representative, and foundational to the administration of a covenant.
Example: Moses for the Sinai Covenant. Jesus for the New Covenant and the OT high priest as a divinely appointed office from the line of Aaron.

The high priest had a central role in the Sinai Covenant, mediating between God and the people through sacrifices, intercession, bearing the names of the tribes of Israel on epod and breastplate (Lev 16;Exodus 28).



Informal Covenant Mediators
These function in mediating ways such as interceding, leading, warning) but are not formally appointed as covenant representatives.
They have no title or ritual office as a mediator.
They function as intercessors, judges, kings or prophets.
Often the role is temporary or situational.

All these act within the covenant but are not covenant heads.

With all this in mind, Jesus fulfilling all these roles as our mediator, for me, opens up the fullness and glory of his person and work, and expands his role of High Priest, as King, as Prophet, and as Judge, beyond his simply standing between us and God (mediating), bridging the gap that we might come before the holy God.

I will leave the reader to contemplate all these mediating roles applied to Jesus, and him being all these things for us. Prophet, priest, king and judge in the way of the typological and temporal way that is given in the OT. His eternal office and function on our behalf, accomplished by him on the cross where our sins were nailed with him. Contemplate, and see Jesus.

 

[Josheb]

Yep.

Genesis 15:17-18
It came about when the sun had set, that it was very dark, and behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a flaming torch which passed between these pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, "To your descendants I have given this land, From the river of Egypt as far as the great river, the river Euphrates........."

God (in the form of a smoking oven and flaming torch), the vassal servant, pledged fealty to God, the conquering King.

Abraham slept while that happened.

Galatians 3:16
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ.

In turn, the conquering King, God, made promises to the vassal servant, the seed of Abraham.

Hebrews 11:9-10
By faith he (Abraham) lived as an alien in the land of promise, as in a foreign land, dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, fellow heirs of the same promise; for he was looking for the city which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

That land that had been promised contained a city with a foundation not built by human hands, a city built by God.

Hebrews 11:16
But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore, God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.

The land promised, the country desired, was a heavenly one and God has prepared a city for them/us to that end.

Hebrews 12:22-24
But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to myriads of angels, to the assembly and to the church of the firstborn who are enrolled in the heavens, and to God, the Judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood, which speaks better than the blood of Abel.

We, those who will inherit salvation, the holy brethren who are partakers of a heavenly calling, have come (past tense) to the country, the mountain, the city, the land, promised by God to Abraham, Jesus, and the body of Christ, the Church.

Made possible only through the vassal servant pledging fealty to the conquering King.

 

[Arial]

As shown in the OP, Prophet, Priest, Judge and King, all have mediating functions. Added to this, Christ, is the formal covenant mediator.

So when we look at Christ holding all these offices as a covenant mediator, what is it we see him doing on our behalf, right now, and always while we await his return?

As formal mediator: Jesus, like Moses or the high priest:
He takes our sin upon Himself (2 Cor 5:21).
He intercedes for us continually (Romans 8:34; Heb 7:25).
He secures our access to God (Heb 10:19-22).

​

"There is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus," (1 Tim 2:5)

As Prophet:
Jesus declares God's word and establishes the New Covenant in His blood.
At the Last Supper (Luke 22:20). "This cup is the new covenant in my blood."
He brings the terms of the covenant (repentance and faith) and empowers
his people to meet them and ensures that they will through the Spirit.
He is both the messenger of the covenant and the mediator of it (Mal 3:1;
Heb 8:6).

As King:
Jesus reigns over His people and subdues their enemies (Phil 2:9-11).

As Judge:
He will return to judge the living and the dead (Acts 17:31).

Jesus is the second Adam (Romans 5:12-21; 1 Cor 15:45). As such, he is the federal head of all who are united to Him through faith.
His obedience is credited to His people (Romans 5:19).
His substitutionary death secures our forgiveness (Heb 9:15;2 Cor 5:21;
1 Peter 2:24).
His resurrection guarantees our life (1 Cor:15:20-23).

Jesus down not just function as a mediator. He embodies and perfects the entire mediatorial system of the OT (Heb 10:10-14).

Jesus does not just administer the covenant: He is the covenant in His person and work.

​

 

[Arial]

Thoughts? Input? Is anybody out there?

 

[Hazelelponi]

Thoughts? Input? Is anybody out there?

It's very well written and centered. Excellent teaching.

I am curious though about Abraham. Do you not have a minor mediatoral role for him seeing as he played an intercessory role with Sodom etc?

 

[Josheb]

Thoughts? Input? Is anybody out there?

It's a good op. It mentions several bases by which the mediator role can (and should) be understood. I have a few minor disagreements but the whole of it is good and the observation of the many roles (prophet, priest, king, judge, etc.) showing an all-encompassing mediator, a mediator that addresses all aspects of human existence could be quite overwhelming were we to dwell upon it fully.




The preamble to John's gospel is a critically important text. John is referencing the Jewish philosopher Philo's description of Alexander the Great. Philo had called Alexander the logos, the mediator between God and man. Alexander, however, was still just a man. John stated the logos was God. That was a blunt, aggressive repudiation of the Hellenist viewpoint that held the logos to be a gift of the gods to humanity. the more a person had been gifted the better reasoned he was, the mightier he was in life, the closer to divinity he was. Alexander was the greatest man to have ever lived, but the logos that eclipsed Alexander was rejected by everyone (insinuating everyone's incompetence, delusion, foolishness) In Greek (and Roman) culture deification simply mean you got to live with the gods after death (instead of in the underworld with the god Hades). John said the logos is not a thing. The logos is a person and that person is God, not a god. The logos that is God was with God in the beginning (not born at a given point in time). That logos was made flesh and the logos that was God made flesh was not the product of human will, but of God's will.

That is the mediator between God and humanity, not Alexander.


John poured jet fuel on the Hellenists, the old-line Jews, and just about everything everyone in all the surrounding cultures that passed through Jerusalem believed and he tossed a flare (not a little match) on it. I can imagine it was very difficult for people to read his gospel past those opening comments.

However, I also suspect those in whom God was prevailing (the definition of "Israel"), there were some who saw the divinity of the messianic mediator first foreshadowed in the suzerain covenant ritual vision Abraham was given. God pledging fealty to God upon the promise of God's death in any case of infidelity. Since God cannot die that must have been either nonsensical of twisted with sophistry to fit theology. Likewise, since humans cannot become God, nor can God become human, that passage was convoluted with a twisted rationale.

And then Jesus showed up.

He was good and sinless man, just like the pre-disobedient Adam. He was, therefore, able to be fruitful, multiply, subdue the earth and rule over it. He showed everyone how that was done - how it was supposed to be done millennia ago. He was also righteous almighty God who'd laid down any claim of equality with his Father so as to take on the role of bondservant = someone who would engage in indentured service to repay his debt. Jesus did not owe ANY debt. He was the one owed. The holder of the debt worked off the debt on behalf of the debtor and that guy was God, according to John.

Bald men were common during that time because they'd pulled out their hair in rage, disgust, confusion and hubris . A culture filled with patchy-haired men .


Jesus, not Moses, not Alexander the Great, not John the Baptist, not Barabbas, not John of Gischala nor Eleazar ben Hanania. Most definitely not Caesar. A Jewish carpenter from Nazareth about whom nothing in particular was notable in the eyes of other men was the logos of God who is God that was with God in the beginning. It was that man who stood between God and all humanity between profoundly infinite might and righteousness and nearly equally profound utterly depraved sin. He took the latter, along with death, upon himself and overcame. We benefitted but it was not for our benefit that any of it happened. He did it for his Father. He walked through the intolerable stench of rotting carcasses and proved himself ever-faithful, perfect in obedience, redeeming that which was dead from the grave and commensurate wrath.

All of the covenants that God has with man and creation are outflows of the Covenant of Redemption.

That observation is an immensely critical fact. Over the course of my life in Christ I have repeatedly been astonished by how few grasp this truth and further confounded how many among them actively resist the premise. I use the term "Christological" instead of "Redemption" but it's the same premise: ALL the covenants God initiated are Christological in nature.

One last comment (for now, maybe). The mediator of the Covenant of Redemption also mediates destruction. The same guy who silently went to the cross like a sheep to its own slaughter is coming back with a sword in his mouth and violent destruction lays in his wake. Alexander cried because he wrongly thought there were no more worlds to conquer. Alexander will bow and confess Christ as Lord. Philo will, too. I tremble to think what that'll look like for Caiaphas.

 

[Arial]

I have a few minor disagreements but the whole of it is good and the observation of the many roles (prophet, priest, king, judge, etc.) showing an all-encompassing mediator, a mediator that addresses all aspects of human existence could be quite overwhelming were we to dwell upon it fully.

Or even on occasion, catch a sideways glance! It is the light that shone around him at the transfiguration, or met Paul on the road to Damascus. It would cause us to fall on our faces, and recognize as we walk through this life, even as his children, that we do so with eyes half closed most of the time.

What perfection! What fierceness and gentleness.

John poured jet fuel on the Hellenists, the old-line Jews, and just about everything everyone in all the surrounding cultures that passed through Jerusalem believed and he tossed a flare (not a little match) on it. I can imagine it was very difficult for people to read his gospel past those opening comments.

However, I also suspect those in whom God was prevailing (the definition of "Israel"), there were some who saw the divinity of the messianic mediator first foreshadowed in the suzerain covenant ritual vision Abraham was given. God pledging fealty to God upon the promise of God's death in any case of infidelity. Since God cannot die that must have been either nonsensical of twisted with sophistry to fit theology. Likewise, since humans cannot become God, nor can God become human, that passage was convoluted with a twisted rationale.

And then Jesus showed up.

He was good and sinless man, just like the pre-disobedient Adam. He was, therefore, able to be fruitful, multiply, subdue the earth and rule over it. He showed everyone how that was done - how it was supposed to be done millennia ago. He was also righteous almighty God who'd laid down any claim of equality with his Father so as to take on the role of bondservant = someone who would engage in indentured service to repay his debt. Jesus did not owe ANY debt. He was the one owed. The holder of the debt worked off the debt on behalf of the debtor and that guy was God, according to John.

Bald men were common during that time because they'd pulled out their hair in rage, disgust, confusion and hubris . A culture filled with patchy-haired men .


Jesus, not Moses, not Alexander the Great, not John the Baptist, not Barabbas, not John of Gischala nor Eleazar ben Hanania. Most definitely not Caesar. A Jewish carpenter from Nazareth about whom nothing in particular was notable in the eyes of other men was the logos of God who is God that was with God in the beginning. It was that man who stood between God and all humanity between profoundly infinite might and righteousness and nearly equally profound utterly depraved sin. He took the latter, along with death, upon himself and overcame. We benefitted but it was not for our benefit that any of it happened. He did it for his Father. He walked through the intolerable stench of rotting carcasses and proved himself ever-faithful, perfect in obedience, redeeming that which was dead from the grave and commensurate wrath.

Excellent!

One last comment (for now, maybe). The mediator of the Covenant of Redemption also mediates destruction. The same guy who silently went to the cross like a sheep to its own slaughter is coming back with a sword in his mouth and violent destruction lays in his wake. Alexander cried because he wrongly thought there were no more worlds to conquer. Alexander will bow and confess Christ as Lord. Philo will, too. I tremble to think what that'll look like for Caiaphas.

Yep. The Judge and the King. The Lion of the Tribe of Judah. "He is not a tame lion. But he is good."

 

[Arial]

It's very well written and centered. Excellent teaching.

I am curious though about Abraham. Do you not have a minor mediatoral role for him seeing as he played an intercessory role with Sodom etc?

Abraham did act as an intercessor, not for Sodom, but for any "righteous" persons who might be there.

But he was not designated by God as an official mediator. His intercession is voluntary and covenantal relational. He did not speak on behalf of the Sodomites, but was motivated by a sense of justice and concern for Lot, not covenantal obligation. And there were no ceremonial acts involved as in covenant intercession and mediation.

 

[Hazelelponi]

Abraham did act as an intercessor, not for Sodom, but for any "righteous" persons who might be there.

But he was not designated by God as an official mediator. His intercession is voluntary and covenantal relational. He did not speak on behalf of the Sodomites, but was motivated by a sense of justice and concern for Lot, not covenantal obligation. And there were no ceremonial acts involved as in covenant intercession and mediation.

Thank you for the explanation sister.