One way to look at the Bible is as one long gospel message. God always planned to send his only begotten Son so that we humans might live through him. God’s relationship with man over the centuries was based on a series of covenants that ultimately found expression in what is called the New Covenant, which is the last and most extraordinary. It’s coming was the most wonderful news for mankind.
The New Covenant was inaugurated against the backdrop of Israel’s extensive history with God. It was the last of a series of covenants which began at creation, or even before. Other covenants were added at very significant times in Israel’s spiritual history. Each covenant built upon or stood in contrast to the others. In order to properly understand and appreciate the New Covenant and it is important that we grasp the meaning and purpose of the other covenants, the sacrifices, and the feasts, about which I have written in other articles. You may wish to click on the links in the previous sentence in order to read those articles before going forward in this one..
Understanding the covenants will greatly increase our appreciation of Jesus and his finished work on our behalf and give us new insights into the overall plan of God and the gospel.
God has always chosen to relate to his creation through covenants. This should not be surprising because God, by nature, is a promise keeper. He is always faithful and true to his word, because that is the essence of his character.
Covenants are built upon promises to be faithful to a relationship and an agreement. Covenants are serious business because God is serious about being faithful to keep promises.
God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a human being, that he should change his mind. Has he said, and will he not do it? Or has he spoken, and will he not make it happen? Numbers 23:19 (NET1)
Some of the covenants have great significance for the human race in general and others specifically relate only to God’s covenant people. Covenants can be unilateral, bilateral, and multilateral. In a unilateral covenant, the covenant maker takes sole responsibility for keeping the conditions of the covenant. These are unconditional covenants, meaning that the one to whom the promise is made does not have to perform in order to gain what is promised. Bilateral and multilateral covenants are conditional in nature. In a bilateral covenant, two parties each take responsibility to keep their end of the agreement. A multilateral agreement affects more than two parties.
An example of a unilateral covenant is the one God made with Noah following the flood. God promised that he would never again destroy all life by means of a great flood. He gave Noah the sign of the rainbow as a reminder that He would forever keep his promise. Noah was not required to do anything to keep God bound to his promise. A bilateral covenant is exemplified in marriage. The husband and wife both bind themselves to be exclusively faithful to each other until death. The ring is given as a token of the covenant. An example of a multilateral covenant is the one between God and Israel called the Mosaic covenant. If the Israelites would obey God’s Law and serve him only, God would pour out blessings upon them. Otherwise, they should expect judgments. Circumcision was the sign of this covenant.
Unconditional unilateral covenants are also called covenants of grace. This means that the benefits of the covenants come to us as free gifts from God. Conditional covenants are also called covenants of works. The benefits of these covenants depend upon the involved parties ability to keep the conditions of the covenant. Let’s take a look at some major covenants and then focus on the New Covenant.
Covenant of Creation or Edenic Covenant
But the LORD God warned him, “You may freely eat the fruit of every tree in the garden— 17 except the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. If you eat its fruit, you are sure to die.” Genesis 2:16-17 (NLT)
The Edenic Covenant was a multilateral conditional covenant of works. God sovereignly set the terms of this covenant. Obedience to a simple commandment would result in life; whereas, disobedience would end in death. Adam and Eve failed to keep their end of the covenant and brought death and curses upon the entire human race. At a deeper level, this covenant tested humanity’s willingness to draw life from God in humble dependence. Instead our first parents chose to strike out alone in independence from and opposition to God, which cut them off from the life they had with the Creator / Sustainer of the universe. God made the first gospel promise in the garden after their epic failure.
Adamic Covenant
Then the LORD God said to the serpent, “Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all animals, domestic and wild. You will crawl on your belly, groveling in the dust as long as you live. 15 And I will cause hostility between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring. He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.” Genesis 3:14-15 (NLT)
This unilateral promise or covenant was announced to the serpent who authored the deception that led to Adam’s and Eve’s sinful rejection of God’s authority. Although its full meaning was not understood by those who heard it, we now know that here God promised to send the Messiah who would be a descendant of these fallen ones who would defeat the serpent (Satan). No conditions were attached to Adam and Eve to bind God to this promise.
God bound himself to redeem mankind by giving his word, which is inviolable.
Noahic Covenant
Then God told Noah and his sons, 9 “I hereby confirm my covenant with you and your descendants, 10 and with all the animals that were on the boat with you—the birds, the livestock, and all the wild animals—every living creature on earth. 11 Yes, I am confirming my covenant with you. Never again will floodwaters kill all living creatures; never again will a flood destroy the earth.” 12 Then God said, “I am giving you a sign of my covenant with you and with all living creatures, for all generations to come. 13 I have placed my rainbow in the clouds. It is the sign of my covenant with you and with all the earth. 14 When I send clouds over the earth, the rainbow will appear in the clouds, 15 and I will remember my covenant with you and with all living creatures. Never again will the floodwaters destroy all life. 16 When I see the rainbow in the clouds, I will remember the eternal covenant between God and every living creature on earth.” 17 Then God said to Noah, “Yes, this rainbow is the sign of the covenant I am confirming with all the creatures on earth.” Genesis 9:8-17 (NLT)
As in the case of the Adamic covenant, the Noahic Covenant was a unilateral unconditional covenant of grace that followed on the heels of a horrific judgment against sin called the great flood. Grace is most appreciated against the backdrop of human failure and God’s judgment. When man’s best is not enough, the grace of God comes to the rescue.
God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. Romans 5:20 (NLT)
Abrahamic Covenant
Now the LORD said to Abram, "Go forth from your country, And from your relatives And from your father's house, To the land which I will show you; 2 And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; 3 And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed." Genesis 12:1-3 (NASB)
God appeared to Abraham several times to give him “installments” of the wonderful covenant he made with him. The good news or gospel contained in this covenant promise is that all the families of the earth would be eventually blessed through this man in the person of one descendant named Jesus.
Abraham is called the “father” of our faith because through him God raised up a nation through which would come the written Word of God and the Messiah.
In another installment in Genesis 15, we see God making a unilateral unconditional covenant of grace with Abraham. Most striking is the theophany (appearance of God in symbolic form). In the Old Testament covenants were literally “cut,” rather than “made.” Animals were sacrificed as part of the covenant cutting ceremony. God told Abraham to divide several animals and put their separate pieces side by side with a path between them. In a bilateral or multilateral covenant, both parties would walk between the pieces showing that they bound themselves to faithfully keep the conditions of the covenant upon pain of death. They were saying, in effect, may it be done to me as has been done to these animals if I violate the covenant.
In the passage above, it is important to see that God alone passed between the animals, taking upon himself full responsibility for keeping the promise he made to Abraham. The Abrahamic covenant guaranteed that God would give to Abraham innumerable descendants and the land of Canaan, and that through him the entire earth would be blessed.
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. 18 "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice." Genesis 22:17-18 (NASB)
This covenant promise is a integral part of the gospel message. It is part of the backdrop against which we understand who Jesus is and what he came to do. This promise was fulfilled when Jesus came as the Messiah.
Now the promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. He does not say, "And to seeds," as referring to many, but rather to one, "And to your seed," that is, Christ. Galatians 3:16 (NASB)
Mosaic Covenant
And if you faithfully obey the voice of the LORD your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the LORD your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. 2 And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the LORD your God. Deuteronomy 28:1-2 (ESV) But if you will not obey the voice of the LORD your God or be careful to do all his commandments and his statutes that I command you today, then all these curses shall come upon you and overtake you. Deuteronomy 28:15 (ESV)
The covenant God made with Israel at Mount Sinai is also called the Law or the Old Covenant. It was a multilateral conditional covenant of works. Essentially, God promised to be Israel’s God, protector, and provider if they would keep the requirements of the Law. These requirements were broken down into three main categories – ceremonial, moral, and dietary laws. The feasts and sacrifices, which I wrote about in other articles, were part of the ceremonial aspect of the law. If Israel obeyed God, they would be blessed, but, if they disobeyed, they would suffer the “curses” (judgments) attached to violating the covenant.
The history of Israel is the story of repeated covenant violations on the part of the Jewish people. The Old Covenant failed to bring the blessings it promised because the people were unable to keep its provisions because sin had hopelessly corrupted human nature. The Mosaic Covenant underscored the sinfulness of all human beings and pointed to our need for a savior.
This covenant is part of the gospel in the sense that it acts as a guide to lead us to Christ.
So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Galatians 3:24 (NIV)
Davidic Covenant
Furthermore, the LORD declares that he will make a house for you—a dynasty of kings! 12 For when you die and are buried with your ancestors, I will raise up one of your descendants, your own offspring, and I will make his kingdom strong. 13 He is the one who will build a house—a temple—for my name. And I will secure his royal throne forever. 14 I will be his father, and he will be my son. If he sins, I will correct and discipline him with the rod, like any father would do. 15 But my favor will not be taken from him as I took it from Saul, whom I removed from your sight. 16 Your house and your kingdom will continue before me for all time, and your throne will be secure forever. 2 Samuel 7:11-16 (NLT)
The covenant God made with David was unilateral, unconditional, and based on grace. This covenant was partially fulfilled through David’s natural offspring, but that dynasty eventually came to an end, as did the political nation of Israel.
This promise is part of the gospel. Through it God announced beforehand the coming of the great Messianic King, a descendant of David, who would redeem Israel and become a blessing to the entire earth. He rose again as Lord of lords and will eventually judge the living and the dead.
Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. 30 But the angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. 31 You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32 He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33 and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end." Luke 1:29-33 (NIV)
The New Covenant
“The day is coming,” says the LORD, “when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. 32 This covenant will not be like the one I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt. They broke that covenant, though I loved them as a husband loves his wife,” says the LORD. 33 “But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my instructions deep within them, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their relatives, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will know me already,” says the LORD. “And I will forgive their wickedness, and I will never again remember their sins.” Jeremiah 31:31-34 (NLT)
The Old Covenant was not able to provide God’s people with blessings, but only revealed how sinful they are. It had no hope of success because people are fundamentally and tragically flawed by sin.
But when God found fault with the people, he said: “The day is coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and Judah. Hebrews 8:8 (NLT)
The New Covenant had been God’s plan all along. It does not depend upon sinful human beings for its success.
Whereas the blessings of the Law of Moses, under the Old Covenant, were conditioned upon individuals and nations keeping God’s laws in perfect obedience, the New Covenant depends upon the perfect obedience of the only begotten Son of God.
The New Covenant, therefore, is a bilateral covenant between God the Father and his Son, Jesus, our Messiah and Savior, in which we participate by faith.
I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, 7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. Isaiah 42:6-7 (ESV)
We benefit from the New Covenant by “riding the coattails” of our Savior. Through the spiritual mystery of identification and the new birth, we become one with God in the spirit and joined to all the blessings found in God’s perfect Son.
But the person who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NLT)
We are baptized into (become one with) the death and resurrection of our Lord. His death was the punishment we deserved for breaking the terms of the Old Covenant. Although he perfectly obeyed his heavenly Father and did not deserve to die, he willingly laid down his life on our behalf as our substitute. When he died, we died; and, when he rose again in victory and life, we rose with him. As a result, the power of sin has been defeated on our behalf. We now participate in the life of God, thanks to the Holy Spirit, who lives inside every born again believer. Truly, we are being saved from the inside out. God’s life begins as a seed and grows inside us in order to permeate every area of our lives.
You have been born anew, not from perishable but from imperishable seed, through the living and enduring word of God. 1 Peter 1:23 (NET1)
The New Covenant was always in God’s mind from the very beginning. (Ephesians 1:3-6) Some believe it is actually an eternal covenant made between the Father and the Son before the world was created. God the Father knows that his Son is the only source of life and blessings. It has been that way from the beginning. Therefore, the New Covenant had to draw its life from Jesus, and could not depend on sinful man.
Rather than expecting people to conform to external regulations of behavior, it promised to save people from the inside out. God would provide us with a substitute to die for us, reveal himself to us, forgive our sins, and change our hearts. He will actually give us a new heart, compliments of the indwelling Holy Spirit!
The New Covenant depends upon the Holy Spirit opening our spiritual eyes, ears, and hearts to know and believe in Jesus as savior and lord. It is only by “beholding” Jesus as he really is that a person can be changed. Seeing Jesus as the Son of God and Lord of Lords inspires our hearts to believe, and, through trusting in Christ and his finished work, we are saved.
A divine power is released in us that transforms us when the Spirit of God opens our eyes to know Jesus by revelation.
For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who beholds the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life, and I Myself will raise him up on the last day. John 6:40 (NASB)
The New Covenant Completes or Fulfills the Other Covenants
The New Covenant is connected with all the other covenants in one way or another. The tree of life mentioned in the Edenic Covenant typifies Christ. He is the source and sustainer of life. Adam and Eve were meant to draw their life from him as the branches of a vine draw their life from the root.
Jesus replied, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. John 14:6 (NET1)
Jesus fulfilled God’s promise to our first parents after the first sin. He is the seed of the woman who crushed Satan’s head through his death on the cross and subsequent resurrection.
The Noahic Covenant prefigured what is yet to come when God shall once more judge the entire earth at Christ’s Second Coming. Even as God restarted the human race, in a sense, through Noah, he also inaugurated a new generation of believers through the gospel.
The Abrahamic Covenant was also fulfilled in Christ. God’s promise to Abraham that through him all the nations of the earth would be blessed has come true in Christ. Through the preaching of the gospel, God is gathering persons from every culture group and nation in the earth and providing them with every spiritual blessing in his Son.
The Davidic Covenant’s promise that a descendant of that great king would sit upon the his throne has come true in Christ, the King of Kings.
The Mosaic Covenant has been fulfilled and replaced. Only one person could keep its requirements – the Son of God. After our Lord fulfilled its covenant conditions and obtained the corresponding blessings, which have been passed on to all believers, the New Covenant has superseded it and made it fade away; although, it still condemns those who sin and have not asked Christ to forgive them and be Lord of their lives.
When God speaks of a “new” covenant, it means he has made the first one obsolete. It is now out of date and will soon disappear. Hebrews 8:13 (NLT)
New Covenant Grace
Under the New Covenant, Christians live by grace (God’s ability and blessings, which come via his indwelling Holy Spirit) and not by the merits of their own performance. We depend on God’s free gift instead of trying to earn a right standing with him through our works. As beneficiaries of the New Covenant, we must now refuse to submit to external regulations and rules as a means of gaining a right standing with God. (Colossians 2:10-17)
Instead, our rule of life now is to love God, love people, and teach others to do the same. The moral aspects of the Old Covenant Law of Moses are still in effect. Christians are not permitted to murder, commit acts of immorality, lie, or steal. This is because these sins violate the law of love. Since we are being changed on the inside, our desires are also being changed. Rather than needing to be constrained by external laws, God is constraining us inwardly to love and serve him in order to bring him glory. The difference is that before, under the Law, we sought to obey him in order to obtain and maintain a right standing with God.
Under the New Covenant, having been given a right standing with God, we obey him as an act of gratitude and surrender to the One who loves us so greatly and who deserves to be glorified and properly feared. Our desire is to bring glory to him in every aspect of our lives. The motivation has been changed from trying to earn favor to wanting to bring him glory. (1 John 5:2-5)
God created us to draw our life from him. We were never supposed to be independent operators. When Adam and Eve abandoned this plan in order to pursue their desire to live without restraint and be “like God,” it brought untold sorrow and destruction to humanity.
Even in that pristine state of having been newly created, Adam and Eve quickly walked away from intimacy with and dependency upon God. Jesus, through the New Covenant, restored us back to God’s original purpose. Through our faith in Christ and the life of the indwelling Spirit, we have been once again united to the One who gave and sustains life.
What Satan used to try to destroy us, the pursuit of “god” status, now has been freely given to us in Christ. Through the new birth and transformation of the Spirit, we are being remade into Christ’s image and are becoming truly “like God” as we draw our life from him, the source of all life and blessings! May all glory and honor be his forever and ever!
