Introduction
The theme of biblical covenant is relevant throughout not only the New Testament, but to the modern Christian church. Learning about these covenants is not only important because they are apart of church history, but because they are key in understanding just how much God loves His created people. This paper discusses the relevance of the topic of the covenant and why Christians should be studying biblical covenants today. Three major covenants of the Old Testament, the Mosaic, Davidic, and Abrahamic covenants, find their fulfillment in the New Testament Gospels.
Covenant in The Gospels
The New Covenant made in the gospel between Jesus and all of man replaces that Mosaic Covenant that was created in the Old Testament. In Exodus
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He says that the people are expected to not add to or annul the covenants (Galatians 3:15) The people are supposed to have respect for the covenant. Through respecting the covenant, the people are showing their respect for The Lord as well. "The Mosaic law failed to impart spiritual power and life. The New Covenant imparts the Hoty Spirit’s power to all who put their faith in Jesus.” (P. Sanlon. Pg. 85) Sanlon writes about the superiority of the New Covenant in the Pauline Epistles verses the Mosaic Covenant in the Old Testament. Paul also references the New Covenant in 1 Corinthians 11:25, “In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, ‘this cup is the new covenant between God and his people- an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.’” Paul writes a lot about the Mosaic covenant and even the Abrahamic covenant, but here he is actually writing about the New Covenant and then he speaks about instructions for worship and says, “For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.” (1 Corinthians 11:26) This verse is especially impactful because it shows what the New Covenant means to Paul and what it should mean to …show more content…
speak about the Mosaic covenant. These perfectly show how God transitioned from the old Mosaic covenant into the NEW covenant talked about in Revelation. Revaltion as a whole is discussing the end times and the fulfillment of the New Covenant. God’s promise was actually made to Israel in the old testament but in the new testament things are changed. Revelation confirmed that you didn’t need to be “god’s chosen people” to be chosen. All you have to do is believe in and follow Christ in order to fit into this covenant and be able to go to heaven. Revelation 14 shares, in a confusing way, that if you have faith and follow the law, you will be able to go to heaven. This is not exclusive to any group of people – this is for all of the human race that God created. No matter if one is Jew or gentile. Faith in Christ Jesus and a respect for the law means that you have salvation. This chapter should carry a special place in the church today, because it means that we will be able to enter the Kingdom of God.
Covenant according in bible's point of view is a promise made by God to man. According to the book of Genesis, Chapter 6 Verse 13, as a result of human's disobedient and evil ways on earth, God had planned to put an end to humanity with flood. The covenants between God and Noah was established in Genesis Chapter 9 Verse 11. God promised Noah and his descendants, never again would he destroy the earth by flood of water because of the pleasant sacrifice offered to God by Noah. God also confirmed his covenant by putting up signs in the sky in the form of a rainbow. The reason Noah and his family weren’t destroyed in the flood was because Noah found grace in God's sight. What this means is that God do not establish any kind of covenant with just anyone. Clearly Abel, Noah and Abraham were unshakable, upright and obedient towards God’s command.
From my reading of Galatians, I would say that we should not follow the Jewish Law. If the Jewish law were the only way a person can be saved, then there would be no need for Jesus’s death. The apostle Paul also noticed this error because he tells the readers that because of his new understanding of the Law, he has come to reject the Law (Galatians 2:19). The Law is not the “end-all-be-all”, it is simply a filler until Jesus. Before the time of Jesus, people needed a moral code to live by, but they have a new Law to follow: the teachings of Jesus Christ!
Carson, D. A., and Douglas J. Moo. 2005. An introduction to the new testament. Grand Rapids, Mich: Zondervan.
Abraham was portrayed as the father of the Jewish people and this serves as a key element in Judaism. A covenant is an agreement between two parties. Between God and Abraham there existed unconditional covenants in which God made promises to him that required nothing in return; there were no conditions were attached. Abrahamic covenant was everlasting and from the Bible it begins to unfold from the book of Genesis12.
Not only does He replace the Old Covenant types and worship, He surpasses it as seen in John 19. Jesus does this by revealing his identity as the New Adam. This is made evident by Jesus saying to calling his mother Mary, Woman in John 19:26. This theme of a woman goes all the way back to Genesis as Mary can even be seen as the New Eve. In addition, similarly to Isaiah 53, Jesus is seen as a scapegoat in John 19 who takes away the sins of the people. Jesus, here, is the Lamb of God, the sacrifice. Also, in relation to Psalm 22, Jesus’ garment is seamless, as a high priest’s is. The soldiers cast lots for this holy garment, further revealing its fulfillment and surpassment of this Old Testament Psalm.Jesus is hence in direct relationship with the Old Testament. He, in fact, replaces and supases this antiquated work throughout His birth, public ministry, death, and
New International Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1997. Osborne, Grant R. Revelation. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2002.
After all, “God is a God not of disorder put of peace” (1 Corinthians 14:33). It is important to first understand the contexts of each of their teachings. Jesus ministered to Jews and was sent to fulfill the law. Jesus states, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the law or the prophets; I have come not to abolish but to fulfill” (Matthew 5:17). Jesus was preaching to a group that understood the prophecies and was attempting to convince the Jews of his identity by fulfilling the law. Conversely, Paul ministered to Gentiles who were apart from the law. Instead of the law creating opportunities for Jews to come to Jesus, it was dividing the church and creating problems. This may help explain why Paul seemed to focus more on grace. The two were preaching the same religion, but presenting it in a different way to fit to what their audience needed to hear at that time. Paul writes to the Romans that, “sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:14). This does not imply that the law is now completely irrelevant and that “we [should] sin because we are not under law but under grace” (Romans 6:15). Instead, “through the law comes the knowledge of sin” (Romans 3:20). Therefore, we should have a desire to not sin and please God since Jesus has provided us so much grace. Jesus actually does teach about grace, but not in a way as straightforward as Paul’s letters. One example is the parable of the laborers in the vineyard. The landowner hired workers who could not find a job and then was “generous” in providing wages, paying everyone the same no matter how many hours they worked (Matthew 20:1-16). Jesus may have been indirect in his teachings of grace because he taught the Gospel before his resurrection, which means the people could not yet fully comprehend the large amount
In the days of Christ’s life on this earth, believers did not have access to the Bible in its entirety as we know and are familiar with today. Believers in this ancient time period only had access to the Old Testament. However, through their access to the Old Testament, believers were provided a foundation for New Testament times. This foundation provided New Testament believers with the Lord’s established principles of right and wrong they were expected to follow. In addition, the Old Testament is overflowing with accounts of people whose lives exemplified the future life of Christ on this earth. These pictures allowed the Israelite nation to begin to have an understanding of why Christ needed to come as their Messiah and the work He needed to do on earth. Finally, there are common themes that are interwoven throughout the entire Old Testament. Three of these themes: transgression, redemption, and consummation point to the purpose of Christ’s atoning death on the cross. These themes portray God’s work both in the lives of Old Testament believers, but they also foreshadow God’s desire and plan for believers in New Testament times and beyond.
An everlasting covenant is a promise from God that is characterized as eternal. Charles Spurgeon describes the significance of a covenant as, “the only ladder, which reaches from earth to heaven.” Covenants have historically connected to many passages all throughout the Old Testament; however, eternal covenant is mentioned in the New Testament as well (NIV, Hebrews 13:20). The reason eternal covenant is only mentioned once in the New Testament is because the Blood of the Lamb is the only needed element, as the work of the cross covers all sins for all people. An example of an Old Testament covenant is the Noahic Covenant , which is still significant today, is God’s promise to never flood the earth again (NIV, Genesi...
Surveying the Old Testament reveals the theme of God’s faithfulness to his people. In light of this understanding, the restoration of the Israelites prophesized in the Old Testament is essentially the fulfillment of every covenant with God. This perspective relates to the work of Christ and encourages any follower of God to trust in his faithfulness.
This is also an important Abrahamic covenant moment, as we see that not just Israelites are children of God, but now all people, through belief in Jesus, have the power to become children of God. Through Matthew, we were able to gain an understanding of Jesus’s role as teacher to the people, bringing blessings to all of the nations through his miracles, and interactions with people. Through John, we will be able to explore the importance of what belief in God and his son can do, and how they impact the blessing of all nations, leading to the global restoration plan God had in mind and promised through the Abrahamic and Davidic covenant.
The Mosaic Covenant from exodus is a promise made between God and the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. To begin with, the pattern of the covenant is very similar to other ancient covenants of that time because it is between God and his people. In the textbook, it explains how the Hebrews have struggled with the pharaoh around 1250 B.C.E. Moses, who was a prince that grew up in the household of the pharaoh, ran away. After returning he led the Hebrew slaves at the bottom of Mount Sinai. God spoke to the Hebrews who he freed them and explained the Ten Commandments. In addition, a quote form the readings “ I am the lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt.” (Judaism, pg. 397) This quote is the first commandment stating that he,
Charlesworth, Matthew. "The Covenants in the Old Testament." Academia.edu. N.p., 28 Nov. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2014.
Tarwater explains that even through the small snippet of information how “the God we serve in the New Testament is the same God who worked on behalf of the people of Israel in Exodus.” Through the last chapters, I began to appreciate Jesus’ teachings and the correlation to the commandments of the Old Testament. Before this book, reading through the Old Testament did not bring about the importance within the books of Leviticus or Numbers. However, the author’s strong statement “the laws were meant to demonstrate how obedience and holiness were to permeate every aspect of the people’s lives” highlights the nature of the Bible to be a continual work highlighting God’s mercy and forgiveness. Digging deeper into the context of the stories through the author’s visual narrative that I could see how the theme of each book extended into another. Ultimately, the book of Leviticus is clarified with the realities of how sinful the people are and why God had to ultimately bring to earth His son to take away our
There are five aspects of covenant. For the purposes of this paper I am going to be referring to primarily the new covenant that is offered us through Jesus. The first aspect is the parties involved. There are two parties: God and the elect. Unlike the old covenant, the elect goes beyond the Jews. It also includes the gentile, or non-Jew in all the nations. This is one aspect of covenant that has helped shape my worldview. I have spoken to people who believe that God only selects a few privileged people to be saved, and condemns the rest to eternal punishment in hell. I now wholeheartedly believe this to be completely false, and even a heresy. In John 3:16 God uses the phrase “panta ta ethne” which means “all the nations.” There are other places in scripture, for example, when Paul says in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” He clearly says ‘everyone who believes’ not leaving anyone out. There are places in scripture, such as Ephesians 1:11 that talk about things which are predestined for believers. This verse is commonly taken out of context by those who believe in predestination. He has indeed planned out things He wants those in covenant relationship to accomplish for His kingdom once we accept Jesus and make Him Lord of our life. He does not, however, make the choice beforehand to save some, and damn some to hell! God created us in His image, therefore we have also been given the gift of free will to choose to love Him or love the world. This is the depraved condition of mankind in our fallen state.