SARAH IVILL | CONTRIBUTOR

Our family attends Christ Covenant Church. The school that meets on our campus, and is a ministry of the church, is Covenant Day School. Our denomination’s college, as well as the seminary, is named Covenant. And the most recent women’s ministry leadership training conference was titled: A Covenantal Framework for Life & Ministry. Yet many of us do not understand the meaning of Covenant Theology, and therefore, do not understand why it is important to talk about it. So, I want to suggest five reasons why we should talk more about covenant theology.

What Covenant Theology Reminds Us

First, Covenant Theology reminds us of a perfect promise. There is no way that we could have reached out to have a relationship with the creator God. But amazingly, He has reached out to us by way of His covenant. He has promised, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Lev. 26:12).

Second, Covenant Theology reminds us that the Bible is better than any other book. It reveals the bigger picture of who God is and who we are. Through His Word, He reveals our need of salvation and of His perfect solution in the Savior.

Third, Covenant Theology reminds us that Christ is the center of our story, as well as the bigger story of redemption. In fulfillment of the covenant of grace, which is founded upon the covenant of redemption, Christ accomplished the redemption that God the Father appointed, and the Holy Spirit applies (see John 17:1-26; Eph. 1:3-14; Heb. 13:20).

Fourth, Covenant Theology reminds us of the implications of God’s free grace. Justification and adoption are acts of God’s free grace, and sanctification is the work of God’s free grace. Everyone deserves God’s wrath (Eph. 2:1-3). But God is “rich in mercy” and love and saves His people by grace (vv. 4-5). This salvation is not a possibility, but a certainty (vv. 6-7).

Fifth, Covenant Theology reminds us that believers are part of a lasting community. The family of God is to serve one another with the spiritual gifts that Christ has given to us (Eph. 4:7-8). We are to grow up together, walking in truth, love, light, and wisdom (Eph. 4:25; 5:1-5, 8-9, 16-21). We are to gather together for worship on the Lord’s Day (Heb. 10:25). Recognizing Christ is king, and that His presence is with us, we are to “make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:18-20). And we are to set our eyes on the city to come in which we will behold the face of our beloved Bridegroom, enjoy the spiritual blessings that are ours in Christ, celebrate the consummation of God’s promises, and stand beside those from every tribe, tongue, and nation to worship the Lamb of God forever (Rev. 22:1-5).

Therefore, we should talk more about Covenant Theology because it points us to the gospel of God. Covenant Theology is God’s own way of speaking about His gospel in all of Scripture. Covenant is God’s sovereign initiation to have a binding relationship with His people, grounded in His grace and promises, and secured by His own blood. There are several important characteristics to note about this covenantal relationship.

Key Covenantal Characteristics

The promise of God’s presence. From Genesis to Revelation this promise is proven true, first in the garden of Eden when God dwells with Adam and Eve, then when God meets with His people in the tabernacle throughout the wilderness period, and later in the temple in Jerusalem. But the climax of God dwelling with His people came when “the Word became flesh and dwelt [literally “tabernacled”] among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The person of Jesus Christ. Jesus teaches us that all Scripture points to Him (Luke 24:25-27, 44-45). When the prophets proclaimed the words of God, they anticipated the living Word of God who is the final and perfect Prophet that reveals God’s will. When the priests repeatedly offered up sacrifices to atone for the sins of God’s people, they anticipated the final and perfect priest who offered Himself up for the elect on the cross to satisfy God’s justice, reconcile us to God and intercede for the children of God. The kings that reigned over Israel anticipated the final and perfect King who rules and defends God’s people and conquers His enemies.

The people of God. There has always been one people of God saved by grace alone through faith alone. From Adam, to Noah, to Abraham, to Moses and Israel, to David, to “one new man in place of the two, Jews and Gentiles” (Eph. 2:15) God chose to redeem “a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy” (1 Pet. 2:9-10).

The practice of God’s people. Because “[Christ] bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness” (1 Pet. 2:24), believers are “to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul” (v. 11).

Covenant Theology repeatedly points us to the good news of Jesus Christ. For all eternity we will worship Him—the second Adam who brought life instead of death; the final Noah who saved His people through the cross; the final Abraham in whom all the families of the earth are blessed; the prophet and mediator greater than Moses; the final David who reigns in perfect justice and righteousness; and the One in whom “all the promises of God find their Yes” (2 Cor. 1:20).

Covenant Theology isn’t just for theologians. Every believer should speak of it often, as it points us to the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

photo by Aaron Burden on Unsplash