The Four Promises of the New Covenant - Rick McFarland - Charis Daily - Season 17 Ep. 9

Summary

Rick McFarland teaches that the New Covenant was promised in the Old Testament, especially through God’s covenant with Abraham and the prophecies in Ezekiel. He presents Jesus as the fulfillment of those promises and emphasizes that the New Covenant rests on God’s grace and Christ’s completed work—not on people earning blessings by keeping the law.

The Four Promises of the New Covenant

1. New purity

   • God cleanses and sets believers apart through Jesus’ sacrifice, rather than expecting them to purify themselves through effort.
   • McFarland says this cleansing is complete in a believer’s spirit: those who are born again are forgiven, washed, and made holy.
   • He encourages believers troubled by past sins or feelings of unworthiness to rely on what Scripture says about their cleansing and renew their minds accordingly.

2. A new nature

   • Believers become “new creations” in Christ: their spirit is made new, even though their body and memories remain.
   • McFarland interprets instructions to put off the “old man” as instructions to change former habits, not as evidence that believers remain their old selves.
   • He describes the new person as created in righteousness and holiness.

3. A new passion for God

   • God replaces the old, hardened heart with a responsive heart that loves Him.
   • McFarland says God’s laws are placed in the believer’s heart—not the 613 commandments of the Mosaic law, but what he calls the “laws of grace”:
     • The law of love: loving one’s neighbor.
     • The law of faith: trusting God rather than boasting in personal works.
     • The law of the Spirit of life in Christ: the life of Christ at work in believers.
   • He adds that God supplies both the willingness and the ability to do what pleases Him.

4. New power to live

   • God places the Holy Spirit within believers to empower their lives.
   • McFarland contrasts relying on willpower or human effort with relying on the Spirit’s power to resist the flesh and live out the Christian life.
   • He describes this indwelling presence as a difference between the Old and New Covenants.

Main Lesson and Application

• The Abrahamic covenant is presented as a foundation for the New Covenant: God repeatedly says “I will,” highlighting His initiative and grace.
• The Old Covenant is characterized as depending on people’s obedience; the New Covenant is characterized as resting on God’s promises fulfilled by Jesus.
• McFarland uses a car-gift analogy: under grace, Jesus has done what is necessary and offers the gift; believers receive and act on it through faith.
• He urges listeners to affirm the four promises—“I am forgiven,” “I am a new creation,” a God-given desire for Him, and the Holy Spirit’s power—rather than trying to earn them through their own works.
• He clarifies that sharing in God’s nature does not mean becoming God; he describes it as God’s nature being expressed in a believer’s life.

Speakers and Sources Featured

• Rick McFarland — instructor and primary speaker.
• Andrew Wommack — referenced as the author of the offered book Grace: The Power of the Gospel; he does not speak in the subtitles.

Biblical sources cited by McFarland:

Genesis 12:1–3; Ezekiel 18:31; 36:25–27; Hebrews 10:10, 16; 8:6; Colossians 1:22; 1 Corinthians 6:11; 2 Corinthians 5:17; 1:20; Ephesians 4:22–24; James 2:8; Romans 3:27; 8:2; 15:8; Philippians 2:13; Luke 4:14; Acts 10:38; 1:8; 1 Thessalonians 1:5; Galatians 5:16, 18; and 2 Peter 1:3–4.