1. COVENANT THEOLOGY

2. STRUCTURE: Just One Thing
INTRODUCTION: Just one thing- Jack Palance, Billy Krystal in City Slickers
The meaning of life, summarized in just one thing? What about the Christian faith? Is there just one thing that pulls it all together? Is there anything that makes the Bible fit from Genesis to Revelation?
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Covenant Theology

3. STRUCTURE: Bookends A Garden, Gen. 2:15
A Tree of Life for our parents, Gen. 2:9
Greater and Lesser Lights, Gen. 1:16
Presence of God in cool of evening, Gen. 3:8
Perfect Creation, Gen. 1:31
A City, Rev. 21:2
A Tree of Life for the healing of all nations, Rev. 22:2
The Lord is the Light, Rev. 22:5
Dwelling of God is with men, Rev. 21:3
Perfect re-creation, Rev. 21:1
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Covenant Theology

4. STRUCTURE: Centrality of Christ
Gen. 3:15- the seed of the woman to bring about the destruction of Satan
Isa. 7:14, the virgin-born “Immanuel”
Matt. 1:22,23, the fulfillment, the “Immanuel” born to Mary
John 1:14, the Word became flesh, “tabernacled” among us
Matt. 26:28, Luke 22:20, the new covenant in my (Jesus’) blood
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Covenant Theology

5. STRUCTURE: The Covenant Formula
Lev. 26:9-13a, “I will look on you with favor and make you fruitful and increase your numbers, and I will keep my covenant with you. You will still be eating last year’s harvest when you will have to move it out to make room for the new. I will put my dwelling place among you, and I will not abhor you. I will walk among you and be your God, and you will be my people. I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt so that you would no longer be slaves to the Egyptians”
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Covenant Theology

6. STRUCTURE: Ancient Near Eastern Treaty Pattern
Preamble
Historical Prologue
Stipulations
Blessings, Curses, Ratification
Succession
This is the pattern found in the Book of Deuteronomy, as noted in the work of Mendenhall and Kline (2d millennium B.C. treaty patterns)
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Covenant Theology

7. STRUCTURE: Covenant with Adam
Gen. 2:15, “the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it”
Gen. 3:8, “the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day”
Elements of this covenant
Gracious- creation not required; was free act of God
Relationship- meet in garden in evening, condescension
Responsibilities- covenant fulfillment, tend garden (no great burden)
Promises- life (tree of life)
Warning- covenant breaking leads to death
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Covenant Theology

8. STRUCTURE: Covenant with Adam
According to Hosea 6:7, this was a covenant
Yet, when Adam broke covenant
God still sought after him
God provided means to make covenant breaker once again become covenant keeper, Gen 3:21
BUT- the principle is established that it is only when the innocent takes the place of the guilty that the covenant can be restored
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Covenant Theology

9. STRUCTURE: Covenant with Abraham
GOD MADE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM: Gen. 17:7
From the individualism of Adam’s children to a family and tribe With Abraham and his seed- everlasting covenant/covenant sign
Promise of Seed who would be a blessing to all nations
basis of Great Commission
Gal. 3:7, all who believe- are children of Abraham
Promise of land, an inheritance for his people (Rom. 4:13) heir of world
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Covenant Theology

10. STRUCTURE: Covenant with Abraham
Covenant is established by God: Gen 15:12-21
Covenant is bilateral: involves mutua obligatio
Promise (“I will be your God”)
Obligation (“you will be my people”)
Gen. 17:7, “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants”
Gen. 17:9, “you must keep my covenant”
Gen. 17:14, “any uncircumcised male will be cut off”
Gen. 18:19, “I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the Lord by doing what is right and just, so that the Lord will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him
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Covenant Theology

11. STRUCTURE: Covenant with Moses
Deut. 5:2ff, “The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb”
From a tribe to a nation, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation” Ex. 19:6 (Cf. I Peter 2:5,9)
Moses the mediator of the old covenant
He establishes the covenant code (Ex. 20, Deut. 5)
He leads redemptive journey from Egypt through baptismal waters of Red Sea to promised land
Redemption REMEMBERED IN PASSOVER
Israel becomes God's “treasured possession”- his own dear children, Deut. 7:6
Tent of Meeting- dwelling presence of God (God with us) but only through Mediator, Ex. 33:7ff; 40:34-38
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Covenant Theology

12. STRUCTURE: Covenant with Moses
This covenant was not in opposition to the Abrahamic covenant
The law did not set aside the Abrahamic covenant, Gal. 3:17
The Mosaic covenant was one of the “covenants (plural) of promise,” Eph. 2:12
The law is not opposed to the promises of God- and was never intended to be the means by which righteousness comes, Gal. 3:21
The obligation to keep the commandments comes only after the redemptive prologue, Ex. 20:2, Deut. 5:6
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Covenant Theology

13. STRUCTURE: Covenant with David
II Sam. 7:11, “the Lord himself will establish a house for you”; 7:14, “I will be his father and he will be my son. When he does wrong, I will punish him . . .”
Psalm 89:20-29, “I will maintain my love to him forever and my covenant with him will never fail” (vs. 28)
From a nation to a Kingdom
God promises a kingdom without end
God promised to establish a throne in righteousness
God promises to bring about this rule by his power
God promised to establish a temple through Solomon- a place to meet with his people, II Sam 7:13
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Covenant Theology

14. STRUCTURE: New Covenant
Jer. 31:31-3, “‘The time is coming’ declares the Lord, ‘when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers 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. ‘This is the covenant I will make with the house 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.”
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Covenant Theology

15. STRUCTURE: New Covenant
Eze. 34:23ff, “I will place over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will tend them; he will tend them and be their shepherd. I the Lord will be their God, and my servant David will be prince among them. I the Lord have spoken. I will make a covenant of peace with them . . .”
Eze. 36:24-28, “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh . . .you will be my people and I will be your God.”
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Covenant Theology

16. STRUCTURE: New Covenant
From an earthly kingdom to a kingdom of priests, Jer. 33:21,22
God would write his law on the heart
All would come to know the Lord
None would need to be taught
Their sins will be forgiven
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Covenant Theology

17. STRUCTURE: New Covenant established by Christ
John 1:14, “tabernacled among us”
Matthew 1:23, “Immanuel, God with us”
Luke 22:20, “the new covenant in my blood”
From a Nation to the church catholic
Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant
He establishes covenant code
New commandment, John 13:34
After Transfiguration, Luke 9:30, “his exodus”
He leads redemptive journey from sin to promised land
REMEMBERED IN LORD'S SUPPER
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Covenant Theology

18. STRUCTURE: New Covenant established by Christ
Jesus guarantees a better covenant, Heb. 7:22
Jesus has a permanent priesthood, Heb. 7:24
Jesus mediates a better covenant, Heb. 8:6, 9:15
Jesus makes the first covenant obsolete, Heb. 8:13
Jesus enters the perfect tabernacle, Heb. 9:11,24
Jesus offers one perfect sacrifice, Heb. 10:10,14
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Covenant Theology

19. STRUCTURE: Old vs. New Covenant
Fulfillment
Reality
Once-for-all offering of Christ
Melchizedekan Priesthood
Eternal
Christ, the son, as Mediator
Anticipation
Types and Shadows
Blood of bulls and goats
Aaronic/Levitical Priesthood
Temporary
Moses, the servant, as Mediator
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Covenant Theology

20. STRUCTURE: Continuity?
Epochal shifts (from one covenant to next) are organic
There are similarities
There are differences
There is an underlying unity
Dispensationalism tends to overemphasize differences
Theonomy tends to overemphasize similarities
Old Testament teachings and requirements still applicable unless clearly stated otherwise
Cf. Col. 2:16,17; Rom. 14:5-8; Heb. 9:10
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Covenant Theology

21. STRUCTURE: New Covenant established by Christ
Jesus guarantees a better covenant, Heb. 7:22
Jesus has a permanent priesthood, Heb. 7:24
Jesus mediates a better covenant, Heb. 8:6, 9:15
Jesus makes the first covenant obsolete, Heb. 8:13
Jesus enters the perfect tabernacle, Heb. 9:11,24
Jesus offers one perfect sacrifice, Heb. 10:10,14
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Covenant Theology

22. COVENANT THEOLOGY