Covenants

A covenant is an agreement (testament) between two parties. God’s covenants with man fall into two categories: 1) Conditional– if man will keep the conditions of the agreement then God will fulfill the promise that was given 2) Unconditional – God will fulfill His promise that was given regardless of man’s response to the condition of the agreement. God’s covenants to man are always based on His grace and always line up perfectly with the dispensations found in Scripture.

Edenic Covenant (Genesis 1:26-31; 2:16-17)

This covenant was conditional, based on man’s response to God’s promise. Adam and Eve were to subdue the earth by taking rulership over it, replenish the earth and were to refrain from eating of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve failed to obey God and died spiritually, lost the rulership of the earth to Satan, brought the curse of sin upon mankind and eventually died physically. This covenant coincided with the Age of Innocence in the Dispensation of the Gentiles.

Adamic Covenant (Genesis 3:14-19)

This unconditional covenant was the curse that came upon mankind as the result of sin. The man was condemned to work by “the sweat of his face,” the woman was cursed with great pain in childbirth and the man was given authority over her. But more importantly was the promise of the coming Redeemer in verse 15 that will “bruise the head of the serpent,” an obvious reference to the fact that Christ will conquer Satan in the end. The Adamic Covenant coincided with the Age of Conscience in the Dispensation of the Gentiles.

Noahic Covenant (Genesis 8:20-22; 9:1-27)

Thisunconditionalcovenant was given by God to Noah and his family after the flood and was a promise never to destroy the earth again with water (the rainbow was given as a permanent sign to God’s faithfulness). It also reestablished the proper order in nature. God gave specific unconditional promises regarding Noah’s sons and their future. The Noahic Covenant coincided with the Age of Human Government in the Dispensation of the Gentiles.

Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12:1-4; 13:14-17; 15:1-7; 17:1-8)

Thisunconditionalcovenant was given to Abraham in seven parts;

1. “I will make of thee a great nation” – The Jewish nation was a great and mighty nation at various times in history.
2. “I will bless thee” – Abraham was blessed with physical prosperity, as well as spiritual prosperity.
3. “And I will make thy name great” – Considered the Father of the Jew, he has a very recognizable name among all nations of the earth.
4. “And thou shall be a great blessing” – Because of Abraham’s seed (the Lord Jesus Christ), he has been a great blessing to millions of people that have come to know Christ as Savior.
5. “I will bless them that bless thee” – Seen throughout history, those that protect and ally with Israel are always blessed.
6. “And I will curse him that curses thee” – In like manner, those that oppose Israel have eventually been destroyed.
7. “In thee shall all the families of the earth be blessed” – This refers to the coming of Messiah through the linage of Abraham and the blessings that accompany the Hypostatic Union of Christ for all mankind.

Nothing was required on the part of Abraham in order to enjoy the promises of this covenant. The Abrahamic covenant coincided with the Age of Promise in the Dispensation of Israel.

Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 20:1 – 31:18)

Thisconditionalcovenant between God and Moses established the law for the nation of Israel in three parts.

1. Codex I – The moral code, called the Commandments, established morality and man’s responsibility before God, which included the Ten Commandments. Man’s inability to keep the moral code demonstrated that he was a sinner in need of a savior.
2. Codex II – The spiritual code, called the Ordinances, included the Levitical offerings, the Tabernacle, the Feasts, the priestly dress and was a complete typology of Christology (the study of Christ) and Soteriology (the study of salvation).
3. Codex III – The social code, called the Judgments, established Divine Establishment Principles, such as privacy and freedom. This code set up procedures for the establishment of a national entity and laid out standards for diet, sanitation, taxation, marriage, divorce, military service, etc.

In order to enjoy the blessings associated with this covenant man was to keep the Law. However, keeping the Law was neverdesigned to bring salvation. The Mosaic Covenant coincided with the Age of Law in the Dispensation of Israel.

Palestinian Covenant (Deuteronomy 30:1-10)

Thisunconditionalcovenant was a confirmation of an earlier promise to Abraham regarding the Promised Land. Though it seems from some statements that this is a conditional covenant, the only condition was time (when the nation of Israel is converted), and this does not make it conditional. It was a part of an unconditional covenant to Abraham and cannot be changed. In other words, “When Israel, as a nation, returns to the Lord and accepts Christ as Messiah then God will fulfill His covenant.” We know from other passages that Israel will indeed return to the Lord in the future. There are seven elements to this covenant:

1. The nation of Israel will be dispersed – v. 1-3
2. Israel will have a change of mind regarding Christ as Messiah – v. 1-3
3. Their Messiah will return – v. 3-6
4. Israel will be restore to the land – v.5
5. Israel will accept Christ as Messiah – v. 4-8
6. Israel’s enemies will be judged – v. 7
7. Israel will receive her full blessing from God – v.9

This same land covenant was confirmed by Ezekiel in Ezekiel 16. It was God that effected the first portion of this covenant to be fulfilled and He will effect its complete fulfillment according to HisSovereign Will, not man’s will.

Davidic Covenant (II Samuel 7:4-16)

Thisunconditionalcovenant was given to David and promised a Royal linage, a throne and a kingdom. It is this covenant that establishes forever the line of David through which the Messiah would come. The promises of this covenant guaranteed five things:

1. David will have a son to succeed him as king
2. David will have a child and he will build the Temple
3. His kingdom will be established forever; a prophecy regarding the Millennium.
4. His throne will be established forever; a reference to the Messianic rulership of Christ during the Millennium.
5. Disobedience will not negate God’s promise to David, even though the nation will be disciplined.

This covenant to David is confirmed in Psalms 89:3-4,34-36 and many other passages.

The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-40)

Thisunconditional covenant was prophesied by Jeremiah and will be fulfilled in the Millennium for Israel. Since Israel as a nation failed to keep the Mosaic Law, God in His grace made a new agreement with the nation, which we call the New Covenant. The interesting thing about this covenant is that the Church has been made a party to it because Jesus Christ is the mediator of this covenant. This covenant was a “blood” covenant based upon the substitutionary spiritual death of Christ for all mankind. Both the Jews and the Gentiles (who have been “grafted” into the covenant) are recipients of the blessings of this covenant in this dispensation as members of the Royal Family of God, the Church. In the Dispensation of the Millennium, Israel as a nation will be the recipient of these same blessings. This was the covenant spoken of by Jesus in the upper room at the Last Supper. It is a covenant of grace not law and is entered into by man (including Israel in the Millennium) upon faith in Christ, which of course is non-meritorious. We must remember that the Mosaic Law, which was superseded by this covenant, was conditional and based on man’s obedience. The New Covenant, on the other hand, is unconditional and based on God’s faithfulness. (Hebrews 8:7-10:39; Romans 11:1-36)