Covenant - How God Relates with Us

Our growth in Jesus Christ (or spiritual maturity). It seems like every study that some expert does on a person who is spiritually mature—they almost always show a connection between spiritual maturity and a person engaging in and reading the Bible. (in other words, you can’t grow with Jesus to know Him, become like Him if you don’t engage in the Word of God)

Knowing God is at stake. The Bible is a book, a revelation about who God is. that’s how we know him

sadly, studies show that of those who regularly attend church, only 40% read the Bible more than once per week. 40% read the Bible about once a month. and about 20% say they rarely, if at all read the Bible.

If there is one spiritual practice I wish I could infuse in you every day—it’s dwelling in Scripture—not just reading it, but listening to God as you read it, praying over it, memorizing it, chewing on it, have it shape everything about you—because the Spirit of God speaks through it. Psalm 1 promises that if our delight is in the law of the Lord, we will be like a tree with deep roots planted by streams of water—, yielding fruit in season, whatever we do prospers!

so to help us understand the Bible better..

Please turn to Genesis 9:8. Genesis 9:8 and following.

We are just after the account of the flood.

Noah and his family just came out of the Ark.

God told them to go forth and multiply and fill the earth.

and look at what happens next: (pay attention to how many times the word covenant is used)

Genesis 9:8–17 NIV

8 Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 “I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you—the birds, the livestock and all the wild animals, all those that came out of the ark with you—every living creature on earth. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.” 12 And God said, “This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. 14 Whenever I bring clouds over the earth and the rainbow appears in the clouds, 15 I will remember my covenant between me and you and all living creatures of every kind. Never again will the waters become a flood to destroy all life. 16 Whenever the rainbow appears in the clouds, I will see it and remember the everlasting covenant between God and all living creatures of every kind on the earth.” 17 So God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant I have established between me and all life on the earth.”

so how many times is the word Covenant mentioned in this span?

7 times!

God makes a covenant with all of creation—never to destroy life, all life by flooding the earth. and he puts a rainbow in the clouds as the sign reminding us of that. Praise God… because even though God punished sin with the flood, the flood doesn’t do away with our sin problem. we still sin. yet God commits to never destroying the earth with a flood.

I want to look at this word “covenant.” if you are struggling to read your Bible because you can’t make sense of the Bible...I think this will help, majorly, for you to see the Bible is not a collection of disconnected stories—but one unified story that leads to Jesus.

Definition of Covenant:

a formal agreement between 2 or more parties

(words like agreement, commitment, promise, or contract)

and in the Bible—we see covenants between all kinds of parties:

—the most important covenants are between God and humans (2 parties)

but covenants can also be...

—between 2 human beings like a marriage covenant

—between friends like David and Jonathan (1 Samuel 18)

between 2 or parties - groups of people/nations

Today, we are focusing mainly on the divine covenants—God’s agreement with human beings.

2. and a 2nd definition - and my favorite definition is that a covenant is a God-initiated, binding, living, relationship with blessings and obligations.

based on that definition—-

—notice God initiates these covenants

—they are binding—commitment! God especially binds Himself to His covenant—to us

—-living—they affect life here and now—about life now (not just for eternity but now) the way God relates to us

—relationship - God binds himself to us—to human beings! he binds himself to us,!

—this is why covenant is more than just a legal agreement...it’s about relationship and love… (like a marriage covenant)

—blessings and obligations - —blessings the covenant is kept; curses if not

—often a sign of the covenant - reminding us of the covenant

—blood sometimes used seal it or make it official

—witnesses

(—a tension - between conditional or unconditional)

and did you know the word “covenant” occurs almost 300 x in the OT and 30x in the NT?

in fact, in the Bible, we divide up both testaments into old and new. old “testament” and new “testament”

testamentum is the Latin word for covenant.

so it’s important we understand covenant if we are going to understand the Bible, and therefore the most important being in the universe - God.

so let’s take you on a journey through covenants in the Bible:

where is the first place the idea of a divine covenant shows up?

let’s explore where God makes a Covenant with us

God makes a covenant with:

Adam and Eve?? (Genesis 1-3) (notice I put a ? mark here)

because the word “covenant” is not found here—not until chapter 6. but the concept is. because you have God, a divinely initiated, binding, living relationship with Adam and Eve that has blessings if they obey, and curses if they do not!

so theologians call this a “covenant of works” or even “covenant of creation”

if Adam obeyed God, would live forever with God in HIs life giving presence, but if they disobeyed—they would be cast out of God’s presence and experience it.

one of the reasons theologians say there is probably a covenant here is because Hosea 6:7 refers to it

Hosea 6:7 NIV

7 As at Adam (or like Adam), they (the Israelites) have broken the covenant; they were unfaithful to me there.

thankfully, even though Adam sinned and experienced the curses of breaking the covenant, God is not done with us human beings. He has more covenants.

the 2nd covenant in the Bible

Noah (and his family and descendants)(Genesis 6:18, 9:8-17) (“covenant of grace” and following)

we just read about it—God promises to never destroy the earth again, at least by flood.

and the sign of the covenant: rainbow. and the rainbow is the sign of that, reminding us of God’s covenant or commitment to us.

in the Jesus Storybook Bible, one of the best Bibles for parents to read to kids (pic), Sally Lloyd Jones wonders if the rainbow is in the shape of a warrior bow, and she says “God’s strong anger against hate and sadness and death would come down once more—but not on his people, or his world. No, God’s war bow was not pointing down at his people. It was pointing up, into the heart of heaven.”

the 3rd covenant in Scripture is....God makes a covenant with...

Abraham (Genesis 12, 15, 17)

also known as the covenant of promise.

Genesis 12:1–3 NIV

1 The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. 2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”

very famous blessings—God makes a covenant to make them a great nation Israelites—blessings come through them, and curses come through them. land, descendants, blessings.

Genesis 15 - God promises that Abraham would have so many descendants, they would be as numerous as the stars in the sky—even though they were childless at the time, unable to have children. (Abram believes God and it is credited to Him as righteousness)

and God is so committed to this—at the end of Genesis 15—God has Abraham take animals—cut them in half—arrange the halves opposite each other, and then God, symbolized by a blazing torch/smoking fireport—passes between the animal carcasses. so sometimes back then, when people made covenants they would do this—walk between the animal pieces to show that “May this happen to me.. if I break the covenant.” they would “cut a covenant together...”

here—amazingly—God is the one who does this—may this happen to me if I break it—Abraham never walks through it.

and then in Genesis 17 God reaffirms and continues that covenant.

and says this: Genesis 17:10

Genesis 17:10 NIV

10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised.

the sign of the covenant is: circumcision

so this God promises to bless the entire world through one family and through one offspring in particular—he made a promise to give him many descendants, land, and a great name.

so if we step back—and see—we have Adam, Noah, Abraham...

(because remember Genesis 3:15)

Genesis 3:15 NIV

15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”

how does God accomplish this—through his covenants...someone from Noah and Abraham’s line would do this)

4th, God makes a covenant with...

4. Israel (Old Covenant) (aka Mosaic Covenant) (these would be Abraham’s descendants) (Exodus 19 - Deuteronomy)

when the Bible talks about the Old Covenant—this is it.

This is the covenant God makes with Israel AFTER they were delivered out of slavery in Egypt, by the 10 plagues and crossing of the Red Sea. God gives them extensive commands, like the 10 commandments.

He gives them the book of Leviticus and the animal sacrificial system; the priests, the tabernacle or portable temple.

God gives them all the clean and unclean laws—certain foods make them ceremonially unclean—they can’t eat pigs. God is teaching them that if you want to approach God and be in relationship with Him you have to do things His way.

there was a lot they had to do!

Now, I still think that this Mosaic or Covenant with Israel was not a way to earn salvation for Israel.

why?

if you look at Exodus 20:2, right before God gives them the 10 commandments he says:

Exodus 20:2 NIV

2 “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery.

God delivers them first—out of his grace, and then gives them His law. Gospel first, and then obedience must follow.

I also think this Mosaic law, was showing them, that they couldn’t keep all the commands themselves-they needed a Savior.

God seals this covenant with blood. (Exodus 24:7-8)

The sign of this covenant is “The Sabbath” (Exodus 31:12-17)

5th, God makes a covenant with

5. King David (2 Samuel 7)

in 2 Samuel 7—King David is doing well. and he recognizes that he lives in a palace but God does not have a temple, so he wants to build a temple for God, but God tells him that he will not be the one to build him a house (Solomon will). instead God makes a big promise that He will build David a dynasty.

2 Samuel 7:12–16 NIV

12 When your days are over and you rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you, your own flesh and blood, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He is the one who will build a house for my Name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him with a rod wielded by men, with floggings inflicted by human hands. 15 But my love will never be taken away from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. 16 Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.’ ”

so God had promised Abraham—He would bless all peoples through Him—they become Israel in the OT, and God narrows His promise to the King David’s family.

Unfortunately, all these covenants in the Old Testament, the people God made these covenants with, could not keep them. Abraham was a man of faith, but often failed.

Israel did not keep its end of the covenant. God had promised curses if they disobey—and they regularly did, so much so that Israel went into slavery and exile—God allowed it under nations like Babylon.

and King David was not perfect (an adulterer and murderer), nor HIs son Solomon (who had 1000 wives and worshipped other God)

so humanity needed a new covenant, and someone to come in the line of Abraham, the line of Israel, the line of David, to truly fulfill our end of the bargain, and that person of course would be....

and so there was a need for a new covenant...

in Jeremiah 31:31—following, God promised through Jeremiah a new Covenant

and so #6 God makes a promise or covenant with:

6. His Followers in a New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34) (baptism and the Lord’s Supper)

Jeremiah 31:31–34 NIV

31 “The days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. 33 “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will they teach their neighbor, or say to one another, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.”

the old covenant was not defective—the people of God, Israel, did not keep their end of the covenant, and so God says a day is coming when I will make a new covenant—I will write the law of God in their minds and on their hearts...

I will forgive their wickedness.

when and how did the New covenant come about?

when it doubt? Jesus...

Jesus came and He did what the people could not do.

He is the true offspring of Abraham—that God would bless all peoples through.

He fulfilled all of the Israel covenant or Mosaic covenant because He is the priest to end all priests, the sacrifice to end all sacrifices, and temple to end all temples.

and he is the true son of David—the better David.

He fulfills all the longings of those covenants.

and He enables us to keep HIs covenant because He has poured out His Holy Spirit into our lives—the very presence and power of God

New Dictionary of Biblical Theology Number and Relationship

Thus the new covenant is the climactic fulfilment of the covenants that God established with the patriarchs, the nation of Israel, and the dynasty of David.

Jesus Christ fulfills all these covenants.

and though it arrived with Jesus—was fulfilled by his life, death, and resurrection.

it now continues with us today in the life of the church

sign of the covenant would be baptism and the Lord’s Supper

and will one day be fulfilled — #7

New Heaven and New Earth

(not mentioned - The priestly covenant (Numb. 25:10-13)

i put this to show that yes the new covenant has been fulfilled in Jesus already but will be fully fulfilled when He comes back.

so, we are no longer under the old covenant...praise God—we don’t have to bring animals in to sacrifice. we can eat unclean foods like pigs—praise God we can have bacon.

and praise God we can clearly see God’s covenant at work through Jesus.

so let me back up one more stage—I have shown you about 6 covenants (there are more) 6 major covenants. (on screen)

some theologians say there are actually only 3 covenants.

some theologians say there are really only 3 covenants:

covenant of redemption - within the Trinity - this is the agreement made in eternity past between the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit to save a people for his glory and the good of us. so a covenant within the Trinity itself! this is before creation. one reason scholars think this is if you read the book of JOhn especially, and chapter 17 where Jesus prays for us—that we would be one. Jesus speaks of finishing the work the Father gave him to do. and prays that the Father would glorify Him with the same glory He had before the world began. Eph 1 says we are chosen before the creation of the world...so sometime in eternity past, the Trinity made a covenant within Himself to save us.

covenant of works (Adam and Eve) - between God and Adam as the representative of all of creation. if Adam obeyed = life eternal; disobedience = death. this is the covenant above we already talked about.

finally, the covenant of grace represents the rest of the covenants with Noah, Abraham, Israel, David, and the New Covenant with us - instead of God cutting humanity off when Adam sinned, he chose to make a way for us to be saved through his Son Jesus. he made a commitment with them, pledging to save us through Jesus Christ.

so application...what do we do with all of this:

Application:

Whenever you read the Bible, remember the theme of “covenant.” It will help you make sense of where you are.

so for instance if you are trying to read through the Bible, many of faithful Christians read Genesis and Exodus and then start to stumble when they get to the end of Exodus and Leviticus. if that’s you, remember you are in the Old Covenant, the covenant with Israel. It was a different time. same God. same God who is holy and gracious, but God set up all these categories for Jesus to fulfill. and we no longer follow the old covenant because Jesus came and fulfilled them unless the NT repeats them (like the 10 commandments) or we learn principles who God is and what He requires us to do.

if you are struggling to understand the concept of covenants—read the book of Hebrews—which compares the Old and New Covenants like crazy.

Be amazed at who God is.

the story of these covenants is God’s relationship with us. it’s our story with God—His story with us. when we read the Bible and these covenants—

on the one hand, these covenants remind us that God takes sin seriously. many of these covenants have consequences if we break God’s law or commands (like Adam) or Israel or King David. that same God then, is the same God now. If we continue in sin, living for ourselves, we, too will face consequences if we ignore the new covenant where God has fully revealed Himself through Jesus Christ and the work of the Spirit.

at the same time, even though God is holy, these covenants show God’s mercy and grace. Despite the fact that we continually broke the covenant—Adam did, Abraham struggled with faith at times, Israel did, King David did—God continued to make a way for us to know Him—and He provided His only Son to keep all these covenants. so that if you and I believe and put our trust in Jesus—we are in Christ. and now all the blessings of the covenants, especially the new covenant are ours because of Jesus.

Be thankful that we are now under the new covenant.

those under the covenants of Noah, Abraham, Israel, David—they were still saved by grace through faith in Jesus (not works)—but they were waiting for the promised Offspring to come and crush the serpent’s head. we now, under the new covenant know—so clearly that that offspring is Jesus. He is the 2nd Adam. the better Noah. the ultimate Abraham. the better Israel, and the true King David. we can see this way more clearly than they could.

If time read Hebrews 12

Hebrews 12:18–29 NIV

18 You have not come to a mountain that can be touched and that is burning with fire; to darkness, gloom and storm; 19 to a trumpet blast or to such a voice speaking words that those who heard it begged that no further word be spoken to them, 20 because they could not bear what was commanded: “If even an animal touches the mountain, it must be stoned to death.” 21 The sight was so terrifying that Moses said, “I am trembling with fear.” (that’s the old covenant with Israel) 22 But you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem. You have come to thousands upon thousands of angels in joyful assembly, 23 to the church of the firstborn, whose names are written in heaven. You have come to God, the Judge of all, to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, 24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. 25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? 26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken—that is, created things—so that what cannot be shaken may remain. 28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.”

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