God’s
Covenants
Lesson
32
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For he himself is our
peace, who has made the two {nations} one
and has destroyed the barrier, the
dividing wall of hostility, by abolishing
in his flesh the law with its
commandments and regulations. His purpose
was to create in himself one new man out
of the two, thus making peace, and in
this one body to reconcile both of them
to God through the cross, by which he put
to death their
hostility…Consequently, you
{Gentiles} are no longer foreigners and
aliens, but fellow citizens with
God’s people and members of
God’s households, built on the
foundation of the apostles and prophets,
with Christ Jesus himself as the chief
cornerstone.
-Ephesians
2:14-16,19
(Insertions
mine)
The Bible Says…
Bible history reveals the
Jews were not always faithful to God.
Church history confirms the same is true
of Christians. Human beings within any
religious system are capable of adjusting
or distorting their understanding of
God’s will for expedient social
purposes. But, deviant theology has no
effect on God’s truth. God’s
truth is everlasting. Civilizations come
and go, but God and His truth remain
forever. So, what was nailed to the
cross? In a sentence, two covenants were
nailed to the cross. One covenant was
given to Adam and Eve; the second was
given to the biological descendants of
Abraham. (Genesis 15:18; Exodus 24:1-8;
Deuteronomy 31:16; Jeremiah 11:10;
31:31-34; Ephesians 2; Colossians
2:13-17). When these covenants became
null and void at the cross, two things
changed. Animal sacrifices were no longer
necessary, and all distinction between
Jews and Gentiles came to an end. Paul
wrote, “For there is no difference
between Jew and Gentile-the same Lord is
Lord of all and richly blesses all who
call on him, for, ‘Everyone who
calls on the name of the Lord will be
saved.’” (Romans 10:12,13)
After the cross, salvation comes through
faith in Jesus Christ.
“…Whosoever believes in Him
shall not perish but have everlasting
life.” (John 3:16)
To understand the two
covenants that were made null and void at
the cross, a person has to understand
God’s use of covenants in the Bible.
Unfortunately, many Christians do not
concern themselves with the basics on
this subject and this explains why there
is so much confusion. It is not necessary
to be confused on this topic, since the
Bible provides the answer.
Unilateral and Bilateral
Covenants
God has two types of
covenants: unilateral and bilateral. A
unilateral covenant is a one-sided
covenant that God imposes upon Himself
and/or man. A bilateral covenant is a
two-sided covenant or a mutually agreed
upon covenant between God and man. Both
types of covenants require a continuous
relationship between God and man. Both
types of covenants have rules within them
giving them the effect and the appearance
of law. But a covenant is more than a set
of laws. A covenant requires an ongoing
relationship between God and man whereas
a law does not. For example, the law of
gravity is not “a covenant”
because there is no intelligent
relationship between gravity and man. A
“law” is an authoritative
statement and a covenant may have certain
laws or authoritative statements within
it. The quality of a covenant
relationship is determined by love and
affection. When both parties are happy in
a mutually agreed upon covenant, the
covenant is wonderful. However, if
disaffection should arise between the
parties, the covenant becomes a terrible
bondage for both parties! Have you ever
noticed that some marriages begin so
happily and end so miserably? Obviously,
the marriage covenant did not change.
There was a change in affection that
brought about a change in the
relationship. How long should a mutually
binding covenant be honored when there is
no love in the heart of one party?
Contrasting the Covenants
A unilateral covenant is
one-sided and nonnegotiable. It is not a
mutual agreement between God and man.
God’s unilateral covenants are
imposed on Himself or man as long as He
deems necessary. This is why it is called
unilateral or one-sided. On the other
hand, a bilateral covenant is a mutually
agreed covenant between God and man. A
bilateral covenant has a set of rules
that are binding upon both parties. A
bilateral covenant is drawn up and put
into effect for mutually beneficial
purposes and it remains in effect for as
long as the covenant stipulates. The
terms and conditions set forth in a
bilateral covenant can transfer to
succeeding generations. A bilateral
covenant comes to an end when (a) either
party is unfaithful to the agreement, or
(b) when the object for which the
covenant was created is fulfilled.
Consider these examples: Marriage is a
bilateral covenant-two people fall in
love and they willingly agree to honor
vows of moral fidelity and faithfulness
“until death do us part.” The
exchange of vows constitutes a mutual
agreement and the marriage covenant is
put into effect before witnesses. At
death, the marriage covenant is
terminated because all that was promised
has been fulfilled. Similarly, if a
builder and a customer enter into an
agreement to build a new house, the
bilateral covenant between them ends when
the house is finished-because the
covenant expires. To be legal, bilateral
covenants require witnesses. In ancient
times, if third-party witnesses were not
available when a bilateral covenant was
made, inanimate objects such as stones
were stacked into a large pile as a
witness to t he agreement. (See Genesis
31:44-48)
Covenant Definitions
If a person enters into a
contract with a realtor to sell his
house, the realtor’s contract will
state certain matters (covenant laws),
which the seller and the realtor are
expected to honor (through obedience).
The contract goes into effect when both
parties sign (or ratify) the contract. We
may use the word “contract” to
describe this relationship, but in a
biblical sense the contract between the
seller and the realtor is a bilateral
covenant because a relationship exists
for the duration of the contract. Even
though the contract has a number of
covenant laws or performance
specifications in it, we know that
compliance with the terms of a covenant
is something else. The realtor may not
meet the expectations of the seller; he
may not promote the property as specified
or the realtor may not present the
seller’s best interest in selling
the property. Likewise, the seller may
refuse to meet certain demands set forth
in the contract. The point is that all
bilateral covenants are performance-based
covenants entered into on the basis of
“good faith” from the moment
they begin. A bilateral covenant becomes
necessary when two parties need each
other to accomplish something one party
cannot do alone. The hope and expectation
of both parties at the beginning of a
bilateral covenant is superior
performance out of each other.
Many people get married
each year in the United States. The
marriage covenant is a bilateral
covenant. At last count, the number of
people in the United States terminating
the marriage covenant each year is about
half of the number getting married. So,
even though two people may enter into the
marriage covenant, neither party loses
its right to abandon the covenant if the
performance of the other party does not
meet the specifications of the covenant.
Of course there can be serious
consequences for choosing to violate the
terms and conditions of a mutually agreed
upon covenant. A bilateral (two sided)
covenant can be declared null and void if
there is evidence affirming that one
party violated the laws or stipulations
within the covenant. But unilateral
covenants are not declared null and void
if they are violated. For example, when
Adam and Eve sinned, they came under the
condemnation of a unilateral covenant
which states: “But you must not
eat from the tree of the knowledge of
good and evil, for when you eat of it you
will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17)
Because this covenant required their
death, Jesus had to die. In other words,
someone had to pay for the penalty for
sin because this unilateral covenant
could not be declared null and void. “The
wages of sin is death.” (Romans
6:23) This is a fundamental covenant of
the universe and it cannot be altered.
With these definitions in mind, let us
consider five unilateral covenants that
were put in place before Moses went up
Mt. Sinai to see God.
1.
Unilateral: “Do Not Eat of the
Tree.”
At the time of Creation,
God commanded Adam not to eat of the Tree
of Knowledge of Good and Evil for if he
did, he would be put to death. (Genesis
2:17) According to divine wisdom and
sovereign authority, God imposed this
unilateral (one sided) covenant upon Adam
and Eve before sin began and it was
nonnegotiable. A unilateral covenant is
not a mutual covenant. When God imposed
this covenant upon Adam, He spoke to Adam
as the father of the human race. Eve had
not been created yet. In other words,
this unilateral covenant rested upon Adam
and all of Adam’s offspring that
were forthcoming. (In a sense, Eve is
considered an offspring of Adam since she
was made from Adam’s rib.) When Eve
was deceived and disobeyed the covenant
she came under its condemnation even
though God spoke the covenant to Adam.
Adam, we know, willfully violated this
covenant and God commanded him to death
just like Eve, but Jesus spared their
lives by stepping “in the way”
of the executing angel when He offered to
die in their place.
2.
Unilateral: “I Will Put
Enmity.”
After Adam and Eve sinned,
God announced another unilateral (one
sided) covenant to man. He declared that
(a) He would put enmity between the
offspring of the serpent and the
offspring of the woman, and (b) that
“He” the Messiah, would someday
crush the head of the serpent even though
the serpent would strike His heel.
(Genesis 3:14,15) God imposed this
covenant upon Himself. (Praise God!)
Carefully notice that this covenant is
not dependant upon the cooperation or
agreement of man. This covenant declares
the forthcoming actions of God. This
covenant will be fulfilled when the
serpent’s head is finally crushed at
the end of the thousand years.
(Revelation 20)
3.
Unilateral: “Destroy Those Who
Commit Murder.”
Soon after the floodwaters
subsided, God declared a third unilateral
covenant to Noah. “And your
lifeblood I will surely demand an
accounting from every animal. And from
each man, too, I will demand an
accounting for the life of his fellow
man. “Whoever sheds the blood of
man, by man shall his blood be shed; for
in the image of God has God made
man.” (Genesis 9:5,6) This covenant
was unilaterally imposed upon Noah and
his offspring (there were only eight
people living at the time) and it
declares man’s accountability to
God. Notice that death by execution in
the event of murder is a unilateral
decree. God did not negotiate with Noah.
(Compare Genesis 9:5,6 and Numbers
35:33.) God left no wiggle room on this
subject. God has imposed accountability
on every beast and on every person and He
declares that murderers must be executed.
4.
Unilateral: “Never Again.”
A fourth unilateral
covenant was also given to Noah right
after the flood. God declared,
“Never again will all life be cut
off by the waters of a flood.”
(Genesis 9:9-17) Notice again that this
covenant is one-sided. This covenant is
binding upon God, not man, and God has
faithfully honored this covenant for
nearly 4,500 years!
5.
The Fifth Unilateral Covenant
In Genesis 12 and 13, we
find a compelling story of faith. God
selected a man who was eager to follow
Him and obey His commandments. Every time
I review Abraham’s life, I am
impressed with his deep faith in God. I
am not surprised that God gave a
unilateral covenant to Abraham. Neither
am I surprised that Abraham’s
humanness got the best of him at times.
Abraham died without seeing the things
that God promised him, but Abraham will
live again and he will see everything God
promised to him. God promised a childless
Abraham three things:
(a)
Through Abraham, all nations of the Earth
would be blessed.
(b)
Abraham’s descendants will be more
numerous than the stars in the sky.
(c)
God would give Abraham and his heirs a
specific section of land. (Genesis
13:14-17; 15:5)
The unilateral covenant
God gave Abraham was not conditional nor
was it based on mutual agreement. God
honored Abraham’s faith by granting
a unilateral covenant to him! We find the
same to be true for a few other people of
faith in the Bible such as kings
Hezekiah and David. God
promised Hezekiah that he would live 15
more years and God promised David that
his throne would last forever. (1 Kings
2:4; 2 Kings 20:6; 2 Samuel 7:16) The
unilateral covenant God gave Abraham was
implemented because of sin. As the first
man of the human race, Adam was to be the
Great “grandfather” of billions
of sinless beings, but he forfeited that
honor when he sinned. After the flood,
God started over by honoring
Abraham’s faith, declaring him to be
the Great “grandfather of all would
live by faith. However, the unilateral
covenant that God gave to Abraham still
awaits completion. Notice this text:
“If you belong to Christ, then you
are Abraham’s seed, and heirs
according to the promise {that still
stands}.” (Galatians 3:29, insertion
mine.) This verse, written about 30 years
after Jesus died on the cross, confirms
three things. First, God reckons all
people who put their faith in Christ to
be children of Abraham (heirs). Second,
the time and setting of this verse
confirm that the covenant given to
Abraham was in effect after the cross!
Third, this text indicates that anyone
can become Abraham’s heir through
faith in Jesus. (Ephesians 2; Romans
2:28,29; 9:6,7) So the unilateral
covenant God gave Abraham still stands
and as far ad God is concerned, the
offspring of Abraham are those people who
put their faith in Christ!
Actually, faith in God has
always been the core issue for salvation
from the beginning of sin, but the
biological offspring of Israel stubbornly
refused to comprehend this point.
(Jeremiah 3:20; Hebrews 4) Rebellion is
the opposite of obedient faith and
because of rebellion, God finally
destroyed Jerusalem. But, Abraham will
receive everything that God promised to
him because God redefined Israel at the
cross! The Israel of God is believers in
Christ. (Romans 9-11; Ephesians 2;
Galatians 3 and 4; James 1:1)
At the end of the 1,000
years, the unilateral covenant God gave
Abraham will be fulfilled. At that time
everyone will see that all nations were
blessed through Abraham for the savior of
the world came through the lineage of
Abraham! Second, at that time the saints
will be a numberless multitude, numbering
more than the stars in the sky. Last,
when the Holy City, New Jerusalem,
descends from God out of Heaven, it will
rest upon the specific land that Jesus
promised to give to Abraham and his
offspring! (Zechariah 14; Revelation 21)
Abraham well understood the curse of sin.
He knew God’s covenant included more
than merely living in the land of Canaan.
This is why the Bible says Abraham was
looking for a city whose builder and
maker was God. (Hebrews 11:10) By faith,
Abraham could see beyond the curse of
sin. He was looking for a new Heaven and
a new Earth. So, be assured that the
unilateral covenant God gave to Abraham
will be fulfilled because God always
keeps His word.
Five Unilateral Covenants
So far, we have examined
five unilateral covenants. All of these
covenants predate Mt. Sinai by hundreds
of years. They are:
1.
“Do not eat of the Tree of the
Knowledge of Good and Evil.”
2.
“I will put enmity between the
serpent and the woman and will one day
send a Savior.”
3.
“I will demand an accounting for
each man’s life. Murderers are to be
put to death.
4.
“I will not destroy the world again
with a flood.”
5. To
Abraham: “Through you,
all nations will be blessed.”
“I
will make you father of many
nations.”
“I
will give you and your descendants this
land.”
Bilateral: If You Will Be
My People….
Now, we turn our attention
to the first bilateral or mutual covenant
offered to man the day sin began.
Although Genesis 3 does not say this in
the clearest of terms, God offered a
bilateral covenant (a two-sided
agreement) to fallen man before He
evicted them from the Garden of Eden. The
silver lining of that dark day is this:
God offered man a way back home if he
wanted to return. It may take God 7,000
years to restore man to his garden home,
but returning home is possible! This
covenant can be summarized with words
that God has used in various places in
the Bible: “If you will be my
people and show faith in me by obeying
me, I will be your Salvation.” (See
Exodus 6:7; 19:5,6; Jeremiah 7:23;
Ezekiel 36:28; Revelation 21:7.) Because
bilateral covenants are performance
based, notice the conditional element in
this bilateral covenant. “If you
will be my people…”it is
apparent from Genesis 3 that Adam and Eve
accepted the covenant by conducting the
first animal sacrifice to demonstrate the
price of sin. (Genesis 3:21) The killing
of a flawless lamb was a shadow of the
death of man’s Creator. After
slaying the lamb, I believe Jesus covered
the nakedness of Adam and Eve with the
skin of the lamb. This is a beautiful
object lesson showing how God covers our
sins through the righteousness of Christ.
(Romans 3:21,22)
This bilateral covenant,
which was offered in perpetuity to Adam
and Eve and their descendants, is one of
the two covenants that were nailed to the
cross. When Jesus died, the requirement
for animal sacrifices - established in
the Garden of Eden - came to an end.
This bilateral covenant between God and
man was fulfilled and a fulfilled
covenant is a finished covenant. A new
bilateral covenant was implemented at the
cross that is based on the blood of
Jesus.
Abel’s Sacrifice
Consider for a moment how
the first bilateral covenant worked:
Because the blood of Jesus would have to
be spilled to bring about man’s
restoration, God mandated that animal
blood be periodically shed until
Christ’s blood could be shed.
(Genesis 4:4) Animal sacrifices served as
a symbolic reminder of the price of
salvation. We know this to be true
because of Abel’s
“approved” offering and
subsequent death. (Hebrews 11:4; 12:24; 1
john 3:12) Although Cain could actually
see into the Garden of Eden, he was so
rebellious that he would not submit to
the terms and conditions that god
required to return there! He refused to
offer the prerequisite animal sacrifice
and God refused to honor Cain’s
offering of fruit. As Abel obediently
presented the prerequisite sacrifices,
God commended him and Cain went deeper
and deeper into a jealous rage. No doubt
thought, “How can God continue to
embarrass me, the firstborn of mankind,
in front of a lesser (younger)
brother?” Finally, Cain vented his
rage toward God and Abel by killing Abel.
For 4,000 years, from Adam to the time of
Christ, everyone wanting salvation had to
submit to the requirements of the first
bilateral covenant God to Adam and Eve.
Noah obediently submitted to this
requirement. (Genesis 8:20,21) Remember
that everyone prior to the flood (with
the exception of Enoch) who offered
animal sacrifices went to their death
without receiving what was promised.
(Hebrews 11:39,40) Understand that
salvation is granted to no one on the
basis of obedience. Obedience can be the
result of faith or obedience can be the
result of conformity. In other words, a
person can offer animal sacrifices
because it is “the religious thing
to do” but this is not faith. Faith
is most clearly revealed when obedience
comes with a penalty. In Abel’s
case, it cost him his life.
Bilateral Covenant
Expanded at Sinai
The bilateral covenant
that God offered to Adam and Eve was both
perpetual (for 4,000 years) and temporary
(until Jesus died). The slaying of
animals was an act of faith for 40
centuries. The slaying of the sacrificial
animals, according to the requirements
that God established, was expression of
faith. Faith renders obedience;
presumption excuses transgression. At Mt.
Sinai, God offered the descendants of
Abraham a bilateral covenant. This
covenant was an enhanced and expanded
version of the bilateral covenant that He
offered to Adam and Eve. The covenant
that God offered to the offspring of
Abraham at Mt. Sinai was not entirely new
nor was it entirely unique. Instead, it
was a repetition and enlargement of
certain issues that had been extended to
the human race through Adam and Eve. The
bilateral covenant offered to Israel
included certain new features for Israel
(such as the privilege of being a kingdom
of priests to God), but it remained a
conditional two-side covenant, “If
you will be my people, then I will be
your God.” (Leviticus 26;
Deuteronomy 28-30)
Dispensationalism
A misunderstanding of
God’s covenants has led to the rise
of a concept called dispensationalism.
Proponents of dispensationalism teach
that salvation is offered in different
ways at different times.
Dispensationalists have a point, but
their balance and message is wrong. It is
true that God has required people at
different times to do different things.
For example, prior to the death of Jesus,
all who chose to accept the terms of the
original bilateral covenant were required
to offer animal sacrifices – from
Adam down to the time of Christ. But, the
offering of animal sacrifices did not
provide salvation. (Hebrews 10:4) nor do
sacrificial animals change the means of
salvation. (Ephesians 2:8,9) Faith in God
has always been the prerequisite for
salvation. Review the “Hall of
Faith” in Hebrews 11 and notice:
“By faith Abel…” “By
faith Enoch…” “By faith
Abraham…” By faith
Moses…” Dispensationalism
teaches that God starts over from time to
time by declaring a covenant obsolete and
creating a new one. Again,
dispensationalists have a point but their
emphasis is wrong. As we shall see, it is
true that God can declare a covenant void
and create a new covenant. The problem
with dispensationalism; however, is that
it does not properly define the covenants
that God created and discarded!
Basic Problem
The following comments may
appear to be entirely out of context in
this study on God’s covenants.
However, I would like to address the
fundamental reason of dispensationalism
at this point. Protestants are on the
horns of a dilemma. They have a thorny
problem with the fourth commandment that
will not go away. The fourth commandment
states: “Remember the Sabbath day by
keeping it holy. Six days you shall labor
and do all your work, but the seventh day
is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it
you shall not do any work, neither you,
nor you’re son or daughter, nor your
manservant or maidservant, nor your
animals, nor the aliens within your
gates. For in six days the Lord made the
heavens and the earth, the sea, and all
that is in them, but he rested on the
seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed
the Sabbath day and made it holy.”
(Exodus 20:8-11) If Protestants honored
this commandment as they do the other
nine, the behavior of millions of
Christians would be vastly different each
weekend. Saturday is God’s holy day,
the seventh day of the week. Sunday is
the first day of the week. The
Lord’s Day (Mark 2:27,28) was
changed from Saturday to Sunday by the
Church of Rome. This change came about
because of two factors. First, Saturday
was the Sabbath of the Jews and early
Christians in Rome did not want any
association with those
“repugnant” Jews, especially
after Jerusalem was destroyed in A.D. 70.
(The theological impact of anti-Semitism
upon early Christianity was mentioned in
the previous study.) Second, about 100
years before Christianity arrived in
Rome, the ancient pagan religion of
Mithraism arrived in Rome and it quickly
gained a very large following. Later on,
the emperor Commodus (A.D. 180-192) even
made Mithraism an imperial cult.
Mithraism centers around the worship of
the sun-god, Mirthra, whose day of
worship is Sunday, the day of the Sun.
Priests of Mithraism were called
“father” and they promoted a
high moral code of conduct. In fact, the
similarities between Mithraism and
Christianity were so striking that
Tertullian (A.D. 160-225) believed the
devil had created a deliberate parallel
of Christianity even before Christianity
began. Converts from Mithraism to
Christianity brought “the observance
of Sunday” with them into
Rome’s version of Christianity.
Remember, early Christians in Rome wanted
to distance themselves from the hated
Jews, and since Sunday worship was
commonly placed in Rome, why not worship
Jesus on Sunday? The first Sunday keepers
in Rome did not use a command from
Scripture to support this transition, but
they did attempt to justify their
actions. About A.D. 150 Justin Martyr
wrote:
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