Covenant And God S Purpose For The World

“Behold, my covenant is with you, and you shall be the father of a multitude of nations.” —Genesis 17:4 Throughout the Bible, God has related to his people through covenants. It is through these covenant relationships, which collectively serve as the foundation for God’s promise to bring redemption to his people, that we can understand the advancement of his kingdom. This book walks through six covenants from Genesis to Revelation, helping us grasp the overarching narrative of Scripture and see the salvation God has planned for us since the beginning of time—bolstering our faith in God and giving us hope for the future. Part of the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series.

As one of the most prominent themes in Scripture, the covenant is crucial to all Christian theological systems, from dispensationalism to covenant theology to theonomy to liberation theology. One would think that by now all controversies have been exhausted, but an issue of this magnitude can never finally be laid to rest. Because disagreements persist, there is room for yet another attempt to study the covenant and improve our understanding of it. This book proposes that the path toward an evangelical consensus is not to be found in building another modified systematic theology, but in a biblical theology approach. Grounded in this approach, John Walton's perspective is that while the covenant is characteristically redemptive, formulated along the lines of ancient treaties, and ultimately soteric, it is essentially revelatory. This view in turn has implications regarding the continuity or discontinuity of the covenant phases, the conditionality of the covenant, and our understanding of the people of God. And this ultimately affects the way the Old Testament is preached and taught. Walton's thesis is an important contribution to the discussion of the covenant and the attempts to find common ground among evangelicals of diverse theological traditions.

Leading scholar Daniel Block helps students of the Bible understand the big picture of God's covenants with humanity as they play out in both the First and the New Testaments. After fifty years of teaching and preaching around the globe, Block brings a lifetime of study and reflection on the First Testament and relationship with God to this comprehensive volume. The book focuses on God's covenants as the means by which God has reached out to a fallen humanity. It examines the heart and history of God's redemptive plan and shows why the covenants are essential for our understanding of the Bible.

A biblical look at the eight major covenants God has made with his creation since the beginning of time and their applications in the life of every human being. It tackles about the unique contribution of the book and why you feel it must be published. It is highly inspirational, very informational, and deeply revelational. It is really transformational. It is power-packed.

Building on the foundation of Kingdom through Covenant (Crossway, 2012), Stephen J. Wellum and Brent E. Parker have assembled a team of scholars who offer a fresh perspective regarding the interrelationship between the biblical covenants. Each chapter seeks to demonstrate how the covenants serve as the backbone to the grand narrative of Scripture. For example, New Testament scholar Thomas Schreiner writes on the Sabbath command from the Old Testament and thinks through its applications to new covenant believers. Christopher Cowan wrestles with the warning passages of Scripture, texts which are often viewed by covenant theologians as evidence for a "mixed" view of the church. Jason DeRouchie provides a biblical theology of “seed” and demonstrates that the covenantal view is incorrect in some of its conclusions. Jason Meyer thinks through the role of law in both the old and new covenants. John Meade unpacks circumcision in the OT and how it is applied in the NT, providing further warrant to reject covenant theology's link of circumcision with (infant) baptism. Oren Martin tackles the issue of Israel and land over against a dispensational reading, and Richard Lucas offers an exegetical analysis of Romans 9-11, arguing that it does not require a dispensational understanding. From issues of ecclesiology to the warning passages in Hebrews, this book carefully navigates a mediating path between the dominant theological systems of covenant theology and dispensationalism to offer the reader a better way to understand God’s one plan of redemption.

Paul R. Williamson looks at the role of the covenant concept in Scripture and the meaning of this terminology. He then sets the idea of covenant in the context of God's universal purpose, and traces the idea through Noah and the patriarchs, the nation of Israel and the kingship of David. Lastly, he shows how the new covenant is anticipated in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New. In this New Studies in Biblical Theology volume, Williamson offers new insights into key texts and issues related to the theme of covenant. He is not afraid to challenge established positions. One example is his dual-covenant approach to God's dealings with Abraham. His robust scholarship will be appreciated by scholars, lecturers and students in theology, ministers and all who have a serious interest in the covenant concept. Addressing key issues in biblical theology, the works comprising New Studies in Biblical Theology are creative attempts to help Christians better understand their Bibles. The NSBT series is edited by D. A. Carson, aiming to simultaneously instruct and to edify, to interact with current scholarship and to point the way ahead.

This book teaches Christians about their God-given purpose in life. Many people may not know their purpose in life even after they become believers in Jesus Christ. The Bible shows that each believer is a covenant being, meaning that he/she has a God-given spiritual purpose in life (a covenant). Abraham, Joseph, Daniel, Nehemiah, Peter, John, and Paul lived covenant lives before God. It is important that each believer realizes and believes that he/she has a personal covenant with God just like these people, although his/her personal covenant is different from those of biblical figures. The covenant life is inextricably related to our life of holiness, or sanctification. Sanctification is the way through which this covenant is actualized in our life. Thus, the covenant gives the answer to the question, "Why am I here?" And sanctification gives the answer to the question, "How should I live that life in the world?" The covenant person lives as a steward of Jesus Christ. The stewardship is the guiding principle for this person as he relates to material things in the world. And justice is the guiding principle for the covenant person as he relates to other people.

In retrospect, stories learned as children were entertaining but failed as life mentors. We, as well as our children, have failed to retain their principles and in consequence have lost a portion of background history necessary to understanding Gods messages. For instance, why did God give the Law of Moses? Of what purpose were the kings and judges, the flood of Noahs time? What do the Covenants mean, and why didnt first-century Jews accept the promised Messiah? Why is Revelation a part of His message, since it is in apocalyptic language, and does it have any meaning for us? These questions are important, as they grant knowledge that provides additional sources of honor from which we are able to praise Him more effectively. They are also the background for the New Covenant under which we live. Without them, we would not have reconciliation or salvation.