Thinking on Scripture with Dr. Steven R. Cook
Religion & Spirituality:Christianity
The Theological Covenants
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:
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.
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