Lesson 21 - The Covenants

• "The Bible discloses the fact that human history is the fulfillment of an eternal purpose of God. God’s eternal plan is revealed in Scripture and centers in solemn covenants or promises which God has made. At least eight biblical covenants are recorded, and they incorporate the most important facts relating to God’s plan and purpose in the world. Most of these covenants are in the form of a declaration of divine purpose which will certainly be fulfilled. In addition to the biblical covenants, theologians have advanced three theological covenants especially relating to the salvation of man."[1]

The Theological Covenants

1. The Covenant of Redemption. It is claimed this covenant was made between God the Father and God the Son in eternity past in which the Son agreed to provide redemption for those who would believe (Eph. 1:4, 11).
2. The Covenant of Works. It is argued that God made a covenant with Adam in the Garden in which God promised eternal life and blessing if Adam remained obedient (Gen. 2:17).
3. The Covenant of Grace. Here, God offers His Son as a solution for sin and provides salvation by grace to those who will believe (Gen. 3:15; Eph. 2:8-9).

     Covenant theology is a framework for making sense of Scripture. These three covenants are commonly held by Covenant Theologians who believe God’s primary purpose in history is to provide salvation for fallen people. (Read page 141).

The Biblical Covenants

     The Bible reveals several biblical covenants. The word covenant translates the Hebrew בְּרִית berith and Greek διαθήκη diatheke. The Hebrew בְּרִית berith means an “agreement, covenant, or contract.”^[2] The Greek διαθήκη diatheke means “last will, covenant, contract.”^[3] Both words refer to a binding agreement between two parties. There are six explicitly named covenants in Scripture (Noahic, Abrahamic, Mosaic, Palestinian (Land), Davidic, and New Covenant), and two that are implied (the Edenic and Adamic).  These covenants are either bilateral or unilateral.  A bilateral covenant makes promises of blessing and cursing dependent on the obedience of the recipient (Gen. 2:16-17; Deut. 28).  A unilateral covenant meant that God blessed the recipient unconditionally.  These covenants are here listed:

1. The Edenic Covenant (bilateral - Gen. 1:26-31; 2:16-17).
2. The Adamic Covenant (unilateral - Gen. 3:15-19; cf. Hos. 6:7).[4]
3. The Noahic Covenant (unilateral - Gen. 6:18; 9:1-18).
4. The Abrahamic Covenant (unilateral - Gen. 12:1-4; 13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-11; cf. Gen. 26:2-5; 28:10-15; Ex. 2:24; 3:6-8; Josh. 1:2-6; 2 Ki. 13:23; 1 Chron. 16:15-22; Ps. 105:3-15; Neh. 9:5-10).
5. Mosaic Covenant (bilateral - Exodus 19:5, 8; 20:1-31:18; Deut. 4:13; Gal. 3:16-19).
6. The Palestinian/Land Covenant (unilateral - Deut. 29:1; 30:1-10).
7. Davidic Covenant (unilateral - 2 Sam. 7:14-16; 89:3-4, 28-29; Luke 1:30-33).
8. The New Covenant (unilateral - 31:31-34; 32:37-41; Ezek. 36:26-27; 37:21-28; Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6-7; Heb. 8:8-13; 9:15; 12:24).

     Some of the biblical covenants have signs.  For example, the sign of the Noahic Covenant has the sign of the rainbow (Gen. 9:13-16; Ezek. 1:28; Rev. 4:3; 10:1), the sign of the Abrahamic Covenant is circumcision (Gen. 17:11; cf. Gal. 5:1-4), the sign of the Mosaic Covenant is the Sabbath (Ex. 31:12-17), and the sign of the New Covenant is the red wine/juice (Jer. 31:31-34; cf. Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; 2 Cor. 3:6-7; Heb. 8:8-13; 9:15; 12:24).

[1] Lewis Sperry Chafer; John F. Walvoord; Major Bible Themes (Grand Rapids, Mich. Zondervan Publishing, 2010), 139.

^[2] Ludwig Koehler et al., The Hebrew and Aramaic Lexicon of the Old Testament (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994–2000), 157–158.

^[3] William Arndt, Frederick W. Danker, and Walter Bauer, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2000), 228.

[4] The word “covenant” is not used either for the Edenic or Adamic covenants; however, the language is similar to that of a covenant.