We have discussed what God wants us to do in light of the new covenant. Our job is to live a grace based relationship with God rather than the performance based relationship of the old covenant. Now, let’s take a look at what God wants us to have. Under the old covenant God’s blessings were primarily material. If you got back to the agreement God had with His people in books such as Deuteronomy and Leviticus, you will see that every one of the promised blessings was material. The foremost was the promised land. With that came material prosperity and protection from their enemies.

Is the new covenant the same? Is the primary blessing of the new covenant material riches? Some would argue that it is. I have heard folks quoting the promises of the old covenant as if they are still God’s central blessings. If you think that, consider that the central blessing of the old covenant was the promised land. All else revolved around that. Is God’s major will for your life to give you a hunk of real estate in the middle east? No, God’s new covenant blessing is a kingdom not of this world. All else revolves around that.

If we study the blessings of the new covenant, we see a remarkable shift in emphasis. Paul said that we are blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph 1:1-3). Jesus coined the phrase “treasure in heaven,” and he spoke of it as being far more important than earthly treasure. He also said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you (Matt. 6:33).”

So, what is the new covenant’s primary blessing? In other words, how would you answer this question: What does God want to give me more than anything? What you believe God wants for you more than anything is the thing you will seek most, so it is important that our hearts are in alignment with God on this matter.

When we read the new testament, the new covenant blessing becomes obvious. The new covenant blessing is Jesus. It is to know Him and to partake of Who He is and what He has done for us.

The old covenant blessing was to participate in a land, a physical nation, and a physical blessing. The new covenant blessing is not a land but a Person. It is to participate in Christ. God wants us to participate in Who Jesus is every day. He wants us to participate in the glory of what Jesus has accomplished in His death and resurrection every day. In the old covenant God filled their stomachs. In the new covenant, He fills our lives with Christ. Just as they grabbed a hold of their old covenant blessing, we are to grab a hold of ours. We should expect God to give us a lot of His Son every day. In the midst of our troubles, in the midst of our enemies, in the midst of our failures and successes, we should expect a lot of Jesus.