You’ve entered the eternal blood covenant with Jesus Christ.  You have repented and exchanged your all with the all of Jesus. That is, you have crucified all that you are, and surrendered all that you have to him in exchange for all that He is and all that He has. You and Jesus are now one, united in every way. All things that are yours are His. And all things that are His are now yours. This includes not only His possessions (everything belongs to Jesus), but since His Spirit has been made to reside in you, it also means His nature and character. This includes such things as righteousness and holiness, authority and power, and of course, eternal life. You should take a few moments (or even longer) to drink this in this reality … EVERYTHING THAT BELONGS TO JESUS NOW BELONGS TO YOU ALSO. That isn’t my idea. It’s a fundamental tenet of blood covenant as Jesus said in His prayer to the Father.

“All things that are Mine are Yours, and Yours are Mine; and I have been glorified in them.” (John 17:10)

The above statement is a covenant reference that describes Jesus’ relationship with the Father. In this prayer, He also describes His and the Father’s relationship as their being one, which is a covenant condition. Further, He also asks the Father that all believers would be one just as He and the Father are.  And He describes their oneness as each being in the other. As we have seen in previous lessons, that’s covenant. Now, listen again to the words of Jesus.

20 “I do not ask on behalf of these alone, but for those also who believe in Me through their word [that is everyone who truly repents, i.e., makes covenant];

21 that they may all be one; even as You, Father, are in Me and I in You, that they also may be in Us, so that the world may believe that You sent Me.” (John 17:20-21)

Jesus tells us that those who believe in Him, i.e., those who have repented and made covenant with Him, are all one just as He and the Father are one. Therefore, all that is the Father’s also belong to Jesus. And if you have repented, everything that belongs to Jesus also belongs to you. And that is everything.

All Things Belong To You

Since we are in the same covenant with Jesus as He is with the Father, all things that belong to Jesus also belongs to each believer. Paul said it this way.

21 So then let no one boast in men. For all things belong to you,

22 whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; all things belong to you [by covenant],

23 and you belong to Christ [by covenant]; and Christ belongs to God [by the same covenant]. (1 Corinthians 3:21-23)

“You belong to Christ” is another way of saying that you are in covenant with Christ. You have repented and made covenant with Jesus. You died to the person you used to be. Now you have a new life. You are a new creature hidden with Christ in God.

1 Therefore if you have been raised up with Christ, keep seeking the things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

2 Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on earth.

3 For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God. (Colossians 3:1-3)

Knowing the covenant framework breaks open the meaning of these passages to reveal the glorious blessings of being in covenant with Jesus Christ. When two individuals are in a blood covenant relationship, all things that belong to the one also belong to the other. Hence, the covenant expression, “All things that are mine are yours, and yours are mine.” Therefore, everything that belongs to Jesus also belongs to you. That is an awesome reality of covenant that is difficult for us humans to wrap our minds around. But it is reality nonetheless.

All Things Means Every Thing

So what is it that belongs to Jesus? Since Jesus is in covenant with the Father, all things that belong to the Father also belong to Jesus. That’s exactly what Jesus said in His prayer to the Father (John 17:10).

So, all things that are the Father’s also belong to Jesus. Then, what is it that belongs to the Father?

10 “For every beast of the forest is Mine, The cattle on a thousand hills.

11 “I know every bird of the mountains, And everything that moves in the field is Mine.

12 “If I were hungry I would not tell you, For the world is Mine, and all it contains.” (Psalm 50:10-12)

God says everything is His, even the whole world. Jesus said all that was the Father’s was His. Thus, the whole world and all it contains also belongs to Jesus because He is in covenant with the Father. But you have repented and entered into covenant with Jesus. Therefore, Paul was absolutely correct when he twice said, ‘all things belong to you’ since you are now in covenant with Jesus Christ the One to whom all things belong.

Keeping The Covenant

However, we do not always act as though we are in covenant with Jesus, and that all things belong to us. It might even be said that we hardly ever act that way. Instead of acting in accordance with our covenant with Jesus, we often act as though the covenant does not exist. It should not be this way.

Some may argue that there is no way we can keep this covenant. The Israelites of old could not do it, and neither can believers today. So, why even try? If that is true, then this whole covenant thing, going all way back to Abraham 4,000 years ago, is nothing but a huge hoax. But if it isn’t a hoax, and I am certain it is not, then we must ask, “How does a believer keep her or his eternal covenant with Jesus Christ?”

The answer, in a word, is “Sanctification!”

Sanctification is a noun, but it describes a process of activity. The Webster 1828 dictionary definition of ‘sanctification’ is:

The act of making holy. In an evangelical sense, the act of God’s grace by which the affections of men are purified or altered to a supreme love to God.

The apostle Peter said salvation was through sanctification.

But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. (2 Thessalonians 2-13)

We see from the above verse that salvation is indeed accomplished through sanctification which is accomplished by the Holy Spirit working in and through every believer. Thus it is by the work of the Holy Spirit that believers keep the covenant when others could not and cannot.

Repentance is necessary to enter the covenant with Jesus. Sanctification (the process of being made holy) is necessary to keep the covenant as intended. We will take a close look at sanctification in the following lessons.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,

Peter Giardina