What is a divine covenant?<\/b><\/p>\n
Our God is a covenant God, and the Bible tells His covenant story. From Adam to Noah, Abraham to Moses, and David to Christ, the divine covenants provide the unifying framework of God\u2019s redemptive history. As a central theme of all Scripture, covenant reveals and orders the progressive purposes of God with His creatures: creation and curse, cross and new creation, and all points in between.<\/span><\/p>\n These divine covenants always come by divine initiative. They are not of us but of God\u2019s grace. That is why the Lord always calls them \u201cMy covenant\u201d (Genesis 9:9; Exodus 19:5; Psalm 89:28; Isaiah 54:10; Romans 11:27; Hebrews 8:9). The emphasis is never on what we have done but on what God has done. In the divine covenant-making act, \u201cI will\u201d is the reminder of His faithful, sovereign will to act for us (Genesis 12:1-3; Exodus 6:5-8; Jeremiah 31:31-33).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n To say that our God is a \u201ccovenant God\u201d is to say He\u2019s a God of relationship. By the very act of creation, Adam and Eve were bound in relationship to God, imbued with a blessed identity and vocation for His purposes and glory. While the word covenant (<\/span>berit<\/span><\/i>) is not found in Genesis 1-3, the divine relationship it signifies certainly is. As God\u2019s creation, we are made for covenant relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n It is only after Adam and Eve fell from grace that the word <\/span>berit<\/span><\/i> appears explicitly in the Bible. First with Noah, after the whole earth had fallen into violence and corruption, \u201cBut I will establish My covenant with you\u201d (Genesis 6:11, 18). We learn here that covenant is intimately linked with creation because this God-established relationship is the means by which God rescues creation from sin and curse and restores life and blessing, God\u2019s original purposes. So it is in the context of redemption, after sin wrecked the world, that we associate God\u2019s covenant first and most.<\/span><\/p>\n The etymology of <\/span>berit<\/span><\/i> is uncertain. A variety of suggested origins include \u201cto cut, to eat, to bind.\u201d We find these and other acts involved in covenant-making in the biblical narrative. While ancient Near East background studies are helpful, ultimately the concept of covenant is defined by its biblical context. In his admired book, <\/span>The Christ of the Covenants<\/span><\/i>, O. Palmer Robertson gives one of the best definitions: \u201ca covenant is a bond in blood sovereignly administered.\u201d Thinner definitions like \u201cagreement,\u201d \u201carrangement,\u201d \u201cpromise,\u201d \u201cpact\u201d fail to capture the passionate intimacy and purpose of the divine covenants.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n This sacred, sacrificial bond speaks to the depth of the everlasting relationship, much like marriage, promise, and oath bind the divine and human parties in mutual faith and love (Genesis 15:5, 6; Psalm 89:33, 34; Jeremiah 31:3). We understand that we are in a relationship with our transcendent Creator, but in covenant, He comes near. That God is a covenant God means He is immanent and intimate with His people. This is seen in the covenant formula scattered throughout the Bible: \u201cI will be their God, and they will be My people\u201d (Genesis 17:7; Exodus 6:7; Leviticus 26:12; Jeremiah 31:33; 2 Corinthians 6:16; Revelation 21:3). This is the goal of the divine covenants: reunion of Creator and creation. In the new covenant blood of Jesus Christ, this divine goal is fully and finally reached: \u201cGod with us\u201d (Matthew 1:23; cf. 26:28; 28:20; Hebrews 13:20, 21).<\/span><\/p>\n Adapted from the forthcoming NAMC study <\/span><\/i>Our Covenant God<\/span> by Calvin Burrell, Jonathan Hicks, and Jason Overman.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\r\n \r\n \r\n\r\n