Yes and Amen

At a prayer meeting yesterday morning at my home (see the post "Prayer Event - Meeting at the Collins Home" in my blog "The Prayer Firewall"), many shared encouraging and challenging words from Scripture. My mother shared from 2 Corinthians 1:20:

"For no matter how many promises God has made, they are 'Yes' in Christ. And so through him the 'Amen' is spoken by us to the glory of God."

This is a remarkable insight into the nature of our relationship with God through Jesus Christ, and has an important bearing both on prayer in general and the issue of healing in particular.

In order to properly understand Paul's meaning in 2 Corinthians 1:20, we first need to understand the nature of "covenant" in a biblical sense. Rather than share in detail here (it would take me far too long), I recommend that you first read an Online Bible College lessons on this subject:

"The Bond of Covenant"

I'd like to highlight, however, one particular paragraph from this lesson:

"As you read the New Testament, you will find this one phrase recurring time and time again: 'in Christ.' The Christian life is an 'in Christ' experience. But although this term is used so frequently in the Bible, few Christian really understand what it means because most Christians are handicapped by their ignorance of covenant. For when the Bible speaks about you being a new creation 'in Christ,' or that 'in him' you have become the righteousness of God, these are covenantal statements. To be 'in Christ' is to be in a covenant with God where God has united you with Christ in a 'two become one' relationship."

As the lesson "The Bond of Covenant" explains, covenant is best understood in terms of what the Bible teaches about marriage. In Genesis 2:24, the Bible says:

"For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh."

This is what has happened in the New Covenant. We have been joined with Jesus covenantally - and God now views you and Jesus as being "one flesh". And like Adam, Jesus has spoken these words over your life:"This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; you shall be called [my redeemed one] for [you were] taken out of [me]."

The wounding of Jesus in his side by the spear has, I believe, a beautiful correlation with the taking of the woman from the side of the man (see John 19:33-37). Just as Eve was taken from Adam's side, and became "bone of [his] bones and flesh of [his] flesh", so we've been taken from the side of Jesus, created to be his Bride (see Ephesians 5:25-32).

Armed with this understanding of biblical covenant, 2 Corinthians 1:20 now takes on a whole new light. Part of this covenant union with Christ means that Jesus has become the "Yes" of the New Covenant! And notice the wording of 2 Corinthians 1:20: "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ..." In other words, Paul is saying, the nature of our covenant with God through Jesus Christ is that all the covenant promises are stamped with a pre-approved "Yes" because we are "in Christ."

I'm only just beginning to get my mind around this extraordinary statement. It is not just about one or two covenant promises, here or there, but it is "no matter how many promises God has made"! Every single promise is Christ-ratified! The pre-ratified nature of these "great and precious promises" means that, literally, we now have "everything we need for life and godliness" (2 Peter 1:3-4) already given to us in promise form! For this reason, I call 2 Corinthians 1:20 "The Meta-Promise." It is the one promise which undergirds every other promise in the New Covenant!

During our prayer meeting yesterday, we all started quoting various promises in Scripture, one after the other, closing each promise with a united "Amen!" I'd like us to do the same now. I'm going to run through some of the promises that have relevance to my situation, but these are also promises applicable to your life too! As you read, can I encourage you to do as we did - "through him" say "the amen" after you declare aloud each promise, "to the glory of God" (2 Corinthians 1:20). This is a covenant practice often used in the Old Covenant (read Deuteronomy 27:12-26), and applies equally well, I believe, to the New Covenant.

Exodus 15:26 - "I am the LORD, who heals you." (Amen)

1 Peter 2:24 - "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed." (Amen)

Matthew 8:17 - "He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases." (Amen)

Matthew 11:28 - "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest." (Amen)

Isaiah 41:10 - "So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." (Amen)

Isaiah 43:2 - "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze." (Amen)

Zechariah 4:6 - "'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty." (Amen)

Romans 8:11 - "And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you." (Amen)

John 14:27 - "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid." (Amen)

John 16:33 - "I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." (Amen)

Hebrews 13:8 - "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever." (Amen)

James 5:15 - "And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." (Amen)

1 John 5:14-15 - "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us —whatever we ask — we know that we have what we asked of him." (Amen)

John 15:7 - "If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be given you." (Amen)

Matthew 19:26 - "Jesus looked at them and said, 'With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.'" (Amen)

Philippians 4:6-7 - "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." (Amen)

This is by no means an exhaustive list of covenantal promises, but it is a good sample. And although we shouldn't get carried away with a simplistic "name it and claim it" approach to our relationship with God, I do encourage you to perform this covenantal exercise on a regular basis. Not only will it have genuine impact on your situation, it also builds your faith and refocuses your eyes on Jesus, "the author and perfecter of [your] faith" (Hebrews 12:2).

Allow the Lord to redefine your worldview in terms of the covenant he has made with you in Jesus Christ. Let your faith rise to meet the challenges of the day! As Hebrews 10:35-36 says:

"So do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised. "