Since the Reformation, God has progressively unveiled the riches of His grace, leading us into a deeper understanding of the new creation and our place in Christ. The recovery of justification by faith alone was not the end of this revelation, but the beginning. To stop there is to remain in tension, never entering the full assurance, privilege, and heavenly position that God has secured for His people.
The Law-Gospel Distinction: A Necessary Beginning, Not the End
Martin Luther’s recovery of the gospel—the distinction between law and gospel, and justification by faith alone—was a watershed moment. Through this, millions gained the assurance of salvation, liberated from the bondage of works-righteousness. This was a true work of God, and we must never minimize its importance.
Yet, even Luther was plagued by condemnation and an unresolved tension between law and grace. Why? Because he did not see the full scope of what God had accomplished in Christ: the reality of the new creation, the mystery of Christ, the distinction between flesh and spirit, and the different destinies of Israel, the nations, and the Church. Without these distinctions, the believer is left trying to live by the law—a principle God never intended to govern the Christian life. The inevitable result is a life marked by struggle, confusion, and a conscience that is never fully at rest.
The New Creation: The True Rule of Christian Life
It was only as later brethren pressed further into the scriptures that the true rule of Christian living was recovered: not law, but the new creation. The Christian is not a mere improved version of the old man, nor is he governed by external commandments. The new creation is from God, hidden in Christ, and only known as we are renewed in the spirit of our minds through the knowledge of Him. This is not a secondary matter. To miss this is to remain under the shadow of condemnation, never tasting the liberty and assurance that belong to sons and heirs.
Distinguishing the Covenants: The Everlasting Covenant and Our Assurance
A critical advance came with the recognition that the covenants given to Israel—old and new—are distinct from the Everlasting Covenant made between the Father and the Son. In this Everlasting Covenant, the Son is appointed as the Shepherd and the Representative Man, the Seed of Abraham and David, and the heir of all promises. Every promise is secured in Christ, not in our performance.
This distinction reframes everything: justification, sanctification, and reward. Justification is a settled matter, a free gift based on Christ’s work. Sanctification is not our striving, but Christ Himself as our life. Our reward is not wages for labor, but Christ Himself, shared with us as co-heirs. To collapse these distinctions is to undermine the very foundation of assurance and to drag the believer back under the law, forfeiting the privileges of sonship and inheritance.
What Is Lost If We Accept the Error?
If we refuse these distinctions—if we insist on blending law and grace, or confuse Israel’s covenants with the Everlasting Covenant—we lose more than doctrinal clarity. We lose assurance. We lose the liberty of the sons of God. We forfeit our heavenly position, our privileges, and the very rest Christ purchased for us. The conscience remains defiled, the inheritance obscured, and the believer is left to wander in the wilderness of religious effort, never entering the promised land of rest.
The Abolition of Enmity and the Privilege of the Body
Christ’s work did not merely patch up the old system. He abolished the enmity between Jew and Gentile, and between man and God, creating in Himself one new man. The veil is lifted; access to God is direct and unmediated. The Body of Christ is a new, heavenly entity—one with God, co-heirs with Christ, seated with Him in the heavenlies. This is not a future hope, but a present reality for every believer.
For He is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace. (Ephesians 2:14-15)
Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. (2 Corinthians 3:16)
The Heavenly Position and Privileges of the New Creation
To be in Christ is to possess a new name, a new position, and new rights. We are not governed by the law, but by the life of Christ Himself. We are not waiting for an earthly kingdom; we are already seated in heavenly places, sharing in the privileges and inheritance of the Son. This is the reality God intends for His people—a life governed by grace, rooted in union with Christ, and marked by assurance, privilege, and rest.
To accept anything less is to surrender the very heart of the gospel and to rob Christ of His glory as the sole ground of our standing before God. Let us not retreat to the shadows of law and condemnation, but press on into the full light of the new creation, the mystery of Christ, and the everlasting covenant that secures every promise for those who are His.
