the meaning of covenant

When we think of "covenant" we are tempted to think in terms of a "contract". But a covenant as defined in scripture is much different than a contract. When it comes to God making a covenant with man, only God gets to decide the terms of the covenant, and in the case of God’s covenant with Abraham, He decrees that not only will He be the one to establish the covenant, but that He will be the one to take the blow if the covenant is not fulfilled. The beauty of God’s covenant with us is not only do we have an obligation as we enter into it, but God puts Himself under the obligation of it’s fulfillment. By His grace we are given the means of it’s fulfillent.

He was the one who walked through the pieces in His covenant with Abraham, saying in affect, “If this covenant is not fulfilled I will be torn to pieces”, thus prophesying the death of Christ on the cross. So He comes to us offering relationship with the terms of the covenant already decided.

Psalm 111:9 says, "He has commanded his covenant for ever. Holy and terrible is his name." Judges 2:20 says, "This nation has transgressed my covenant which I commanded their fathers."

John Piper observes:

So there is mutual obligation, but not mutual determination of what those obligations are. God comes to the covenant knowing what is best for us and we come trusting and obeying or not at all. In a covenant between God and man, God sets the obligations, not man.”

God says to Noah, "I establish my covenant with you . . . and never again shall there be a flood to destroy the earth" (Gen. 9:11).

And to Abraham God says, "I will make my covenant between me and you and I will multiply you exceedingly . . . you shall be the father of a multitude of nations" (Gen. 17:2,4).

And to Moses God says, "Behold, I make a covenant. Before all your people I will do marvels such as have not been wrought in all the earth" (Exodus 34:10).

And to David God said, "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, I will establish your descendants for ever, I will build your throne for all generations" (Psalm 89:3-4).

In the sweep of scripture we see that God’s will in human history boils down to two covenants (Testaments). Hebrews 8 contrasts the two. The first is the covenant that God made with Israel when He took them out of Egypt and established them as a faith community; the second was the one God made with the church when Christ died for her and rose from the grave. The first covenant established the nation of Israel; the second established the church as the true spiritual Israel. In the old covenant, man’s obligation is to fulfill the terms of the law, in the second covenant; Christ is the one who completes the terms of true righteousness. So God both sets the terms of His righteousness and simultaneously creates the faith and righteousness that is needed through Christ by His grace as we place our faith in Him.

Notice how Hebrews 8:6b speaks of better promises: "He (Christ) is the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises." The reason it is a better promise is that unlike the nation of Israel, who were never able to fulfill their obligations under the old covenant, those of us who are under the new covenant find our fulfillment in Christ alone, thus releasing us from the curse of the law. God causes the elect to fulfill the obligations of the covenant. So what makes the new covenant a better one is that Christ not only seals the terms of the covenant by His blood and His death on the cross thus guaranteeing eternal life for his people, but also the faith and obedience to carry out the terms. It is not by our own righteousness that we are saved, but by His!

For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord; I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them upon their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people . . . For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more. (Hebrews 8:10-12)

So you can see that the covenant is the central component of our faith. At the last supper Jesus took the cup and said, "This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins." The "many" is the universal church- the “elect”, the “spiritual Israel”. So with the death and resurrection of Christ, God’s final decisive and sovereign act to create a people for Himself was realized with the birth of the church and the establishment of the new covenant. A covenant not just to create a people by purchasing their forgiveness, but also by purchasing their faith and obedience in fulfillment of the new covenant promises: "I will put my laws into their minds, and I will write them in their hearts."

You and I exist as Christians because of the dynamic and irrepressible force of the new covenant promises. The Bible teaches that the Church was brought about by the providence of God as a spiritual community to carry out the purposes of God in eternity against which the gates of hell could not prevail. It exists in two forms, the universal or the invisible- and the local or physical. The church is both the physical embodiment of faith community and the spiritual embodiment of God’s elect all through eternity. Every Sunday a physical gathering of saints takes place wherever His people gather, and simultaneously in heaven there is an invisible gathering of the “ecclesia”. The one is what we see the other only Christ sees. So the local, physical church is the physical expression of God’s will being done “on earth as it is in heaven”.

This the primary reason it is appropriate for a local physical church to exist as a “covenant community”. Christ has created us by His blood to be a people, not just individuals, but a gathered people who covenant with one another to be His body, His bride and to carry out His redemptive work for His glory. As his local physical church, we are pointing to and shadowing His universal invisible church. As we have entered into covenant with Him by His grace through faith and thus become a part of the invisible church, so too do we enter into covenant with one another as an expression of our commitment to the local physical body of Christ. When we ask the question, “what sets us apart as a local body of Christ that reflects the true church?” We naturally come to certain conclusions:

1. It is not just that we profess faith in Christ, as this does not set us apart and distinguish us a local body.

2. It is not just that we are baptized, as one is not baptized into a local church, they are baptized into Christ. (Baptism is not seen in scripture as an initiation into a local church as Landmarkist Baptists of the past and some Southern Baptists today seem to believe and teach).

3. It is not just that we are a part of a local community, as there are many in our community who do not believe in Christ.

4. The one distinguishing factor that sets us apart as a local body is that we covenant together for the same purpose and agree together to the same biblical values for life and mission.

The points above were the basic conclusions of the earliest Baptists in America in 1649 in Cambridge Massachussets as they began to organize around established biblical values (John Cotton, Richard Mather and Ralph Patridge “Model of Church Government”). Baptists have long agreed that the one thing that establishes the visible union of believers into a local church is that they covenant together for some purpose. It is what makes us who we are and gives us the basis for our mission, our discipleship and our accountability to one another.

It is a clear understanding therefore of the meaning of covenant in the biblical text that gives us a clearer purpose in our life together as His body. It is our understanding of the meaning of covenant that reflects the gospel that brings joy and strength to our lives and guides us in the spiritual disciplines and instructs and informs our mission and discipleship.