Covenant Theology
(Written by Kevin A. Hall
04.2017)
One thing is clear, the Lord made covenants with man
throughout history. We can call them reminders of God’s gracious promises. The
first time I notice the word being used is during the time of Noah where God declared
“I will establish my Covenant with you, and you shall go into the ark – you,
your sons, your wife, and your sons’ wives with you” … We call this the Noahic
covenant. Ketcherside states that God has chosen to relate to man on the basis
of covenants.
In the case of the Nohaic covenant, we see the God – man
stipulations: God sets the conditions; He gives the terms; He signs the
covenant.
This approach is repeated throughout human history in a series of
other covenants -The Abrahamic, the Mosaic, the Davidic and the New Covenant.
The Mosaic covenant is called the First covenant. It is also
called the Covenant of Law or the Mosaic Law. Deuteronomy 4:11-13 attests to
that. There is enough evidence to support the argument that the Law is not
simply the first 39 books of the Bible. One example is reference to Jeremiah 31:31
which proves that the people had already broken the First Covenant and 31:32
which states that the first covenant was made when “God took them by the hand
to bring them out of the land of Egypt.
The Law was considered faulty (Hebrews 8:7). We could not be
justified by it (Galatians 3:10). The Law itself was not weak, but man was as
he was, was not able to keep it perfectly (Romans 8:1-3). The Law itself could
not give life, nor could it effect the forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 10:4). Man was aware that he needed something more.
Even though “he went away from the worship services having met its
requirements, he was conscious that it could not fully meet the needs (Reese,
150). Therefore, the Lord sought a more excellent way. This was prophesied in
Jeremiah 31:31-34. The benefits of this New Covenant would include (1) The
Forgiveness of sins; (2) Direct and personal access to Almighty God; (3)
Reconciliation – God makes the promise that He will be our God as we become His
people; (4) The Ministry of the Indwelling Holy Spirit that will govern us from
the inside. This is the source of our Christian Liberty.
Throughout biblical history, there were many predictions of
the New Covenant (Hosea 2:18-23; Isaiah 42:6; Acts 8:32-35). I wish to point
out Daniel 9:24-27, particularly verse 27: “And he will make a firm covenant
with the many for one week, but in the middle of the week he will put a stop to
sacrifice and grain offering; and on the wing of abominations will come one who
makes desolate, even until a complete destruction, one that is decreed, is
poured out on the one who makes desolate.” Lastly Malachi 3:1 boldly shouts
God’s plan for His people. In this chapter, Jesus is seen as the “Purifier”: “Behold,
I am going to send My messenger, and he will clear the way before Me. And the
Lord, whom you seek, will suddenly come to His temple; and the messenger of the
covenant, in whom you delight, behold, He is coming,” says the Lord of hosts.
There are also several New Testament Scriptures that support the fulfillment of
the New Covenant – Matthew 26:8, Galatians 3:14. Hebrews 8-10.
Covenant Theology was a staple of the churches during the 17th
to 19th centuries. It was the “prevailing theology of the Restoration
Movement” (Reese, 258). Covenant theologians divide human history into two
periods: The Covenant of Works and The Covenant of Grace. During the Covenant
of Works period, a covenant was made with Adam and his seed to keep God’s Laws.
Starting with Adam, God’s Law was violated as he denied God’s authority. This
resulted in the Fall – “corruption of human nature, alienation from God,
leaving man subject to indignation, wrath and judgment” (Reese, 260).
In is loving kindness, God showed man grace as He first
established the New Covenant of Grace at the same time He issued the curse in
the garden of Eden because of sin. We find this in Genesis 3:15. Reese states
that from the point of God’s issuing this New Covenant, we can call this period
of our story “The Covenant of Grace” (261). Over time, God renewed His covenant
with man. First to Noah, then to Abraham, to Moses, then to David. The Mosaic
Law still plays a foundational role in our lives. Some claim there is only one
covenant. This argument is faulty. There is enough evidence in scripture
pointing to the period of Reformation. It was rejected by the Council of Trent
in 1543 AD. Jeremiah 31:31 points to “a new covenant. Hebrews 7:8 claims the
old covenant has been set aside. The Mosaic covenant is also said to have been
“renewed” in Galatians 3:15. Romans 4:13 points to the promise coming from the
new covenant. John 1:17 states that “The Law was given through Moses; grace and
truth were realized through Jesus Christ”. Importantly, the Jerusalem
Conference affirmed that the Law of Moses was non-binding upon the Gentile
believers. In these we can see a shift from the old to a new. Should there be
those who still do not agree, we should note that over the period of 25 years,
God made three covenants alone with Abraham, all concerning the same promise
(Genesis 12, 15, 17).
Lastly,
we can safely state that “the New Covenant is the Abrahamic Covenant Renewed”
(Reese, 272). We must be careful not to call the New Covenant a renewal of all
the covenants. Reese best sums up Covenant Theology this way:
The Covenant was issued in the Garden of Eden, announced to
Abraham, an addition made to Moses then renewed with King David". Abraham is key
to Covenant Theology as seen in Acts 3:25 - “You are the sons of the covenant
God made with Abraham”. When Abraham was obedient to God’s call to worship with
his son Isaac, God declared “Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will
greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is
on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. In your
seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My
voice” (Gen. 22:17-18). Within these texts, we find the details – (1) The Seed
is Christ (as promised in Genesis 3:15; Galatians 3:16); (2) The Nations
include both Jews and Gentiles (Galatians 3:8); (3) Blessed refers to the
promise of the forgiveness of sins achieved:
Romans 4: 6-8 “Just as
David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness
apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds have been forgiven,
And whose sins have been covered. “Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will
not take into account.”
According to Reese (273), God’s New Covenant then, was not
limited to the Jews. Abraham’s blessing was extended to the Gentile nations. It
would include the Indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit who would govern man
internally (arrived on the Day of Pentecost); God would have a people for
Himself who have direct access to Him (rather than through human priests), and
because of the atonement of sins with the once for all sacrifice of Christ (Hebrews 10:1-18), all
believers have the promise of the forgiveness of sins and a hope of eternal
life for the faith-full.
References:
Resse, G. Hebrews. USA: Scripture Exposition Books (2008)
Cottrell, J. The Faith Once For All. USA: College Press
(2003)
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