Within professing Christendom there is confusion concerning the meaning of the words “testament” and “covenant.” Let us clear up the confusion using God’s Word. A TESTAMENT is a verbal or written state- ment concerning what one has done, is doing or will do in the future, or a combination of the three. A COVENANT is an agreement between two or more parties, each having a role to play in the conduct of the agreement. Each party must play his/her role in order for the agreement to be legitimate and enforceable. Much of God’s Word involves His testament concerning what He has done, is doing and will do in the future. However, the Bible also contains a covenant made between the Lord and those who would obey the terms of the covenant. In the Holy Bible we find both Old and New Testaments and Covenants combined in one document. In the Old we find God telling believers about His past dealings with Israel (testament) and what He promised to do for her if she would obey Him (covenant). In the New He tells believers about His past dealings with the church (testament) and what He will do for her if she will obey Him (covenant).

Students of Biblical and secular history know that everything God said He did in the Old Testament He did in fact do. As archeologists continue to uncover proof of what God caused to be recorded concerning antiquity the world is being forced to face the fact that the Bible is a true record of God’s dealings with His most prized creation–man.

The Old and New Testaments are laced with episodes, stories and narratives which depict, often in gory detail, the many ways in which God has dealt with His human creation. Beginning in Genesis the Bible graphically details His dealings with Adam and Eve, Cain and Able, Noah and the men of his day, Abraham and his descendants–the Children of Israel–whom God called His “Church in the Wilderness” (Acts 7:38). The final 25% of His Word consists of the testimony of how He established the New Covenant church on the Day of Pentecost A.D. 31 and the history of her first hundred years or so. Leaving nothing out, He tells all who have eyes to see the what, when, where, why and how of His rela- tionship with religious men of both eras. Now let us examine the concept of a Biblical covenant.

In the Garden of Eden God made a covenant with Adam and Eve. His part of the agreement consisted of providing a wonderful place for them and their offspring to live forever, along with provisions to sustain life. Their part of the covenant was to obey Him by taking care of the garden and the creatures He had created. God’s only caveat was that they not partake of the tree in the midst of the garden, for to do so would result in their deaths, both spiritual and physical. The Scriptures and the condition of the world prove the obvious–the covenant was broken.

Later, God made a covenant with Abraham concerning his descendants–the Children of Israel. At Mt. Sinai God voiced His covenant with Israel–they would obey His Ten Commandment Law; He in turn would keep them at one with Him while providing for and protecting them. They would be His people and He would be their God. But once again God’s creation failed to uphold its part of the covenant. The result of Israel’s failure is recorded in the Old Testament as a testimony of His dealing with them. Later He would have the Apostle Paul write that the testimony was to serve as a warning to the New Covenant Church (1 Cor. 10:11)–the Israel of God (Gal. 6:16). I will have much more to say relative to the Israel-church-Law connection in future postings.

In Jeremiah 31:31-33 God promised to make a New Covenant with Israel using the same Ten Command- ment Law as the foundation of the covenant. He reiterates the promise in Hebrews 8:8-12. As the stu- dent of Scripture knows, the differences between the two covenants involve, not the Law itself, but the application and location of the Law which is now written in the saint’s heart. God’s commanded mode of behavior (the Ten Commandments) did not change with the transition from Old to New Testament/ Covenant peoples, only a spiritual aspect was added to it. The covenant did not change; the people with whom He made the covenant did not change; the end result of obeying or disobeying it did not change; the characteristics that identify the covenant people did not change. The change was strictly on the part of man relative to his treatment of the Law, which reflects his attitude toward the Law’s Writer. As happened in the Garden of Eden, man’s refusal to fulfill his part of the New Covenant nullified the agreement, leaving God to once again go searching for a people who would uphold their end of the covenant. He has found those people. In the present era they comprise His true, though tiny church–the remnant of Israel–whom He will save and rebirth at His second coming. To be continued. L.J.