From surveying the Scriptures, walking in the New Covenant – in both our individual and collective lives – seems to involve:
- Knowing God (Jeremiah 31:33; 9:24)
- Being Born of the Spirit (John 3:3-8; Romans 8:9)
- Being Led by the Spirit (Romans 8:14; Cf. John 5:19, 30; 6:38; 8:28; 12;49; 14;10)
- Being Governed by (in both our individual and collective lives):
- “The Law of Christ” (1 Corinthians 9:21; Galatians 6:2)
- “The law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:2)
- “According to the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:6)
How does the “New and Living Way”[1]
Jesus opened for us
relate to the nature of New Covenant Gathering?
“… not forsaking our own assembling together….”[2]
This phrase, verse 25 of Hebrews 10, appears in the very same context as the subject matter of the passage – a “new and living way” (v. 20). The Greek verb translated “assembling together” is episunago.[3] Every time this word appears in the New Testament, the context and reference is Jesus gathering with His people – either the Lord expressing His desire to gather with His people[4], or the Lord’s people gathering together with Him in the air.[5] Thus, the primary object of “our own assembling together” is Jesus, and not one another.[6] Jesus confirms this the one time He mentions our gathering together:
“Where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.” (Matthew 18:20)
This is the conventional translation of the verse; and the conventional interpretation is that, if we gather together, Jesus has promised to honor our gathering with His presence.
But let’s look deeper into a more literal translation of this verse: “Where there are two or three are being gathered together (or even, “are being led to gather together”) in My name, there I am in the midst of them.” The tense of the Greek verb is present participle, passive voice.[7] Thus the gathering is being initiated by Someone other than “the two or three” – that is, “according to the Spirit”.
The Holy Spirit, the “Governor” of the Kingdom, leads as to when, where and how the Kingdom Gathering (Ecclesia) takes place – “in the name[8] of Jesus”, that is, with the AUTHORITY of Jesus – according to “the Law of Christ”, “the Law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus”.
Also: There is a definite article in front of “in”[9], indicating into a “place”. The literal translation would be: “are being led together into My name”. In other words, the Name of Jesus is a “place” – a spiritual place – His presence, which we gather into. Proverbs 18:10 tells us that: “The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runs into it and is set on high.” It is “the secret place of the Most High”.[10] THIS is some of what it means to be “IN CHRIST”.[11] And being IN CHRIST is the essence of the New Covenant.
The Father has … “given Christ as a covenant to the people and as a light to the nations”[12]
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“The Nature of New Covenant Gathering” is an excerpt from the eBook: “Concerning Gathering”, Part 3, pages 78-81. See the corresponding eBook on our website.
At Christ’s Table – ACTpublications © 2020
“Explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words.” 1 Corinthians 2:13
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FOOTNOTES
[1] Hebrews 10:20
[2] Hebrews 10:25
[3] Strong’s # 1997
[4] Matthew 23:37; Luke 13:34
[5] Matthew 24:31; Mark 13:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:1.
[6] In Mark 1:33, the people of a city gathered at the door of a house Jesus was in. In Luke 12:1, a multitude of people gathered to listen to Jesus. Cf. Peter Ditzel’s article, “Hebrews 10:25 – What are We Not to Forsake?”
[7] The verb, sunago, is a combination of Strong’s # 4863, sun, “together” and Strong’s # 71, ago, “led”; i.e. led together’
[8] Greek: onoma, Strong’s # 3638, meaning authority, character, name.
[9] Greek: eis, Strong’s # 1519
[10] Psalm 91:1-2; Cf. Exodus 33:21-23; 2 Samuel 22:2-3; Psalm 18:2; 61:3.
[11] There are many lists of the truths of being “in Christ”. Here is one good example by Ken Boa: https://kenboa.org/spiritual-formation/who-does-god-say-i-am/
[12] Isaiah 42:6
