Covenants Part 1- Redemption: The Original Covenant

Biblical Covenants

I want to look at the nature and role of covenants in the overall Divine plan for humanity.

What is a covenant? It is a solemn statement of intent, a contract, or an oath, a promise to abide by certain conditions or fulfill certain actions, often forever. It may require commitment from both parties involved. We can see that promises, oaths and covenants are very similar.

God’s dealings with us throughout history are punctuated by covenants, oaths and promises.

Why make the effort to examine the Biblical covenants? Done with the help of the Holy Spirit, it will take us on a journey of discovery. We will see the perversity of fallen man but also the mercy of God. A mountain of misunderstanding will be crushed which obstructs us from fully seeing and experiencing God. This will happen as we analyze the significant differences and similarities between the covenants God has made with men.

God certainly keeps the covenants He makes, and it is an absolutely serious business to make a covenant with Him. For an example of how serious God is concerning covenants, see Jeremiah 34, particularly verses 8-11, and 18-21. It is foolish for natural man, particularly in his fallen condition, to make an absolute promise of major and ongoing significance to God. Jesus discouraged us from doing it in Matthew 5:37. James re-enforces the point in James 5:12.

A Covenant was made within the Godhead from before the Foundation of the World

The first covenant made was actually not what is normally called the Old Covenant or the Mosaic Covenant (i.e. the one made under Moses). Neither was it one of the covenants mentioned in Genesis and thereafter in the Old Testament.

Why do I say this? Let us look at some insight from the New Testament writers.

The apostle Paul had a revelation of the ‘grand plan’ of God’s dealings with mankind.

Paul, a bondservant of God, and an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledgment of the truth which accords with godliness;    in hope of eternal life, which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began;  but has in due time manifested His word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Saviour;    

(Titus 1:1-3 NKJV)

We could paraphrase Paul by saying, ‘God, who cannot lie, promised us the hope of eternal life. He made this promise before time began.’

Now with God, a promise is as good as a covenant. A covenant has a severity about it but it is necessary because people are fallible and negligent. God is completely faithful and reliable to His word. God participated in covenant rituals for our sake, not for his. They help us to realise that He is serious and committed to what is being promised in the covenant. But if we really know God, His ‘yes’ or His ‘no’ are all we need.

We could therefore reasonably re-phrase Paul by saying, ‘God covenanted to us the hope of eternal life before time began.’   

John also had insight into God’s eternal strategies. 

 .... the Lamb that was slain from the creation of the world.  

 (Rev 13:8b NIV)

John is saying, ‘the absolute decision to sacrifice Jesus on the Cross was made before the creation of the world.’

Along with creation, a plan for redemption was made. We call this the Covenant of Redemption. I will look next at the role of Jesus as mediator of the covenant.

(I have re-written this one a few times in an attempt to clarify the main points. My posts are back following time as a student in Mozambique at Iris Ministries Mission School and then in the UK. Thanks to those who have encouraged me to continue! I promised to do some posts on the government and discipline of God but first I will complete this series on Biblical covenants.) 

Children of God

How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. (1 John 3:1 NIV)


Perhaps to best appreciate this adoption we have, we need to have had some experience and understanding of a truly loving father. If not, I pray the Holy Spirit will heal our heart and transform our understanding of the nature of parenthood as God intends it. None of us had ideal parents. We also need to be delivered from any bitterness we may have built up regarding our natural parents.

There is something about a loved and favoured child which goes beyond them just being the sum total of their attributes. They know that the essence of their being is loved, affirmed, accepted and delighted in. God loves us in this way. Some have only really been accepted conditionally and partially.

Joseph the patriarch was loved by Jacob in an extravagant, favoured way. With God we are not talking about favouritism amongst His children, rather favour for all of them. God has a lavish, extravagant love for each of His children; a special affection for, and knowledge of, each heart. He loves us first, amd will not burden us with requirements which exceed the state of growth of our own love for Him.

By our being attracted to Jesus, and deciding to stay and make our home with Him, and by believing and confessing who he is, we are saved, and we take on a new identity as a citizen of the Kingdom. Our soul is imbued with new life. There is the Holy Spirit empowering our human spirit, which was dying before we came to Jesus. Our life and personality will take on a new shape as a new order is established in our hearts and minds.

Remember, the essence of your being is loved with an everlasting love before you have done anything to deserve it. Even your moral performance is not what God is after. He wants you, the deepest place of your heart. Shall we come aside, be still, and just experience the woder and depth and more than sufficiency of His love?

Those who are born of this extravagant love will baffle the world, which can only offer a manipulative and self centred imitation of true love. Satan has suceeded in convincing most of humanity that there is a true love stemming from man alone, normally in the romantic sphere. However, God's definition of true love is the correct one, and without it our hearts are bankrupt.

All Things Made New!

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. (2 Cor 5:17 KJV)

For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world. (1 John 2:16 KJV)


What do we most pride ourseleves on? How do we attempt to establish our identity? What do we think is special about ourselves?

These areas can be more harmful than we realise.

If we think there is even one thing in us that justifies the favour of God on our lives, we are deceived.

In Christ we need to surrender our entire identity. There is nothing we are to treasure and hold on to in our life. Our identity must be fluid in God's hands.

Other people will probably laugh, but I want to be thought of as reliably consistent, sincere, genuine, real, truthful. Those things are good, for sure. However, if I think they are part of me outside of the transformation of God, then I am in trouble. The virtues may seem to be there, but they will be shallow, clumsy imitations of the beautiful real thing in Christ. Enough pressure of circumstance and they will evapourate.

Peter imagined himself to be unchangeably courageous. Jesus could see that he would have to be shown otherwise. This was for Peter a breaking of his natural self-belief. This is one thing that must happen if we are to realise the power of the cross in our lives.

For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing:  (Rom 7:18a KJV)


The Corinthians verse tells us that we are new in all things. Not just the ones which we can see desperately need change.

If we see the need, the grace will be there to put on the new.

The Facilitative Layer

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (Eph 2:8 KJV)

We love him, because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19 KJV)


I like big words, even though my wife is always telling me to avoid them. Blogs provide an excellent opportunity to show off one's vocabulary. So what do I mean by the title 'facilitative layer?' I mean 'empowering foundation'. Is that clearer??

What I want to get across is that Christianity, correctly understood, is more about enabling us than it is about making demands on us. We will always require God as our source, and God wants people who know it and are happy to acknowledge it. Our inflated sense of pride and originality must die.

We cannot invent ourselves. God already decided who we are. We cannot first love. We must first be loved. We cannot first forgive. We must be forgiven. We cannot first bless. We must first be blessed.

In other words, we need the supernatural reality of God to break in to our natural lives with blessing, enabling and power. Christianity as dead precepts apart from the power and reality of the living God is misleading, disappointing and empty, if not quite totally useless.

The disciples were first instructed to wait and receive. We need to get this basic level of dependancy sorted out within us. We need to be children properly before we can really grow up, indeed before we will really want to grow up, rather than just look grown up. We need to expect, and to allow, God to lavish good things on us. If we ask for an egg, we will not get a scorpion.

The Real Focus.

Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven. (Luke 10:20 KJV)


Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb 12:2 KJV)


An optical lens has a 'prime focus'. It is generally the place where something viewed is portrayed most clearly.

The prime focus of God is to know, love and enjoy us, and us Him, forever. This is from the Westminster Catechism, an influential historic staement of faith.

Jesus rightly placed the prime focus on the positive. The disciples were excited about the fact that demons submitted to them. Jesus told them to be most conscious rather of the fact that they had eternal life with him and the Father.

The aim of ministry is firstly mediation and reconcilaition between God and man.

The verse from Hebrews shows us that Jesus did not die primarily to prove something, but for 'joy set before him'. What was the joy? It was not firstly to be seated at the right hand of the Father, for he came from heaven anyway. No, it was firstly for the joy of intimate fellowship with us! The forgiveness of sins is wonderful and wonderful to experience. But the aim, the focus, the purpose of the cross is so God can justly fellowship with us!

Isn't it exciting that the God of the universe, the God of all wonder and mystery, loves us so much that he went to these lengths to know us, father us, and befriend us. So why should we worry about provision, whether physical or emotional?

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? (Rom 8:32 KJV)

Less can be More

But godliness with contentment is great gain. (1 Tim 6:6 KJV)



According as his divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue: (2 Pet 1:3 KJV)


Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. (Phil 4:11 KJV)


The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. (Psa 16:6 KJV)

The phrase 'less can be more' has been used in various scenarios, and there is truth in it. A painting, a manufactured item, or a piece of music, can be too cluttered for optimum effect. Some things are best left out. A recipe can be the same, or decor.

The same is true in God. We can get greedy, but less can be more. In God, what He gives will be enough. In fact, it will be the optimum, the best. The Devil may tantalise you with excellence and options galore. The things themselves, in context, are good. But they are not your portion. They may give a very brief response of pleasure, but they will not make you lastingly happy and joyful.

God will not generally lead us to meet our greed. It takes from what is meant for others and it does not even do us any good.

If we fail to gain fulfilment in God in an area, we will likely try to compensate by being greedy in another. We may, to use a pertinent example for Westerners, try to compensate for emotional and relational poverty by being overly lavish with material things. God is not against the things themselves. Indeed Judas accused Mary, and by implication, Jesus, of being unnecessarily extravagant. But there is a time and a place for most things. Pointless ongoing extravagance, the shopaholic syndrome, is a sign of an inner void.

Contentment is largely a matter of the emotions. If we cannot abide in a state of contentment, it may be we need to seek the Lord for healing of our emotions; throwing off bitterness, resentment, deceit, guile, idolatry. We will always be much happier for it.

Another thing; sometimes we can enjoy aspects of something legitimately, without insisting on tasting the whole. It is OK to enjoy the aroma of a meal in a restaurant when you are just having coffee without feeling compelled to order it then and there. It is OK to admire a beautiful woman without lusting after her. Indeed, to truly live, we must abstain from lusts.

But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.     Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.     Do not err, my beloved brethren.     Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.      (James 1:14-17 KJV)

Lusts try to compel. They allure. They promise. But they deceive; they offer very temporary pleasure and they poison, bruise and kill. They spoil our appetites and appreciation of what God is seeking to bless us with. It is God alone who can give us pure and undefiled pleasure.It is God alone who can really satisfy and delight us. When tempted, we must resist the Devil trusting that God has a better way, better pleasures, ongoing fulfilment, and a way out of the temptation which is viable for us. Some things will always be wrong for us, some will be right only on occasion. God is not totally rigid, but the Spirit will always lead us in love and often in moderation.

Most importantly, every truly good and complete thing is freely given to you by the Father who delights in you. Whether emotionally, intellectually, with the senses, physically, or in any combination of these things, God always leads us into complete satisfaction and contentment.