A covenant (berith in Hebrew; diatheke in Greek) is a promise from God to man. As opposed to a ‘contract’ where both parties execute an expectation or the contract is void, a covenant from God is fulfilled regardless whether man does his part or not. In short, God always keeps his promises:
1. The Covenant of Works (Genesis 1:28; 2:15-16; 3:15-19)
Prior to the Fall, Adam could remain in Eden as long as he obeyed (a conditional covenant). After the fall, God would send a Savior (an unconditional covenant).
What does this covenant mean for you personally? Because all humans come from Adam and were represented by him, they are all under this same covenant and guilty of failing to keep it (Rom. 5:12; 1 Cor. 15:21–22). Because God is holy, you are at enmity with God based on your own imperfect works. Furthermore, because you have a sinful nature due to the corruption resulting from Adam’s fall, you commit more sins that heap more guilt upon you.
2. The Covenant of Grace (Titus 1:1-2; Hebrews 13:20)
The covenant with all repenting sinners to be saved through Christ (unconditional covenant). We first find the unconditional covenant of grace in Genesis 3:15 where God promises that a savior will come who will crush the head of the serpent (i.e. Satan). In the covenant of grace, people are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone because of Christ’s perfect keeping of the law and his perfect and complete sacrifice, through the shedding of His innocent blood, once and for all for sin (1 John 1:7; Rom. 5:12–21; Heb. 7:27; 10:14).
What does this covenant mean for you personally? Because you are sinful, you can never keep God’s law perfectly and be pure to stand in his presence. Through faith in Christ alone, you are declared righteous in God’s sight, forgiven of your sins, have peace with your Creator and gifted all the rights and privileges as God’s child everlastingly (Eph. 2:8–9; Rom. 5:1; 8:15).
3. The Noah Covenant (Genesis 8:21-22)
In the unconditional Noahic covenant, God made a promise to Noah to never again bring a flood to destroy the earth (Gen. 9:1–17) and that the seasons would continue until the end of time. God instituted the Noahic covenant to preserve the earth so that humans would not destroy each other, in order that the Savior, Jesus Christ, could come at the appointed time in God’s redemptive plan.
What does this covenant mean for you personally? Since Christ has come and done His saving work, God “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Pet. 2:9). Jesus will return one day to fully establish His kingdom (Rev. 21). If you have not received Christ as your Savior, do so right away, for now is the day of salvation (2 Cor. 6:2).
4. The Abraham Covenant (Genesis 12:2-3; 13:14-17; 15:5, 18;17:8)
The covenant of grace is more fully revealed in the covenant of Abraham. God made an unconditional, permanent covenant with Abraham: “‘I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Gen. 12:3; 15:5–6). God fulfilled his promise to Abraham by sending his only begotten Son, Jesus, to the earth as the Savior of the world to be born in the flesh from a descendant of Abraham (Matt. 1:1–17; Luke 3:23–38; Gal. 3:16).
What does this covenant mean for you personally? All who receive Christ as Savior are the true heirs of Abraham and have all rights and privileges thereof. Abraham believed God would keep his promise, “and if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Gal. 3:29).
5. The Mosaic Covenant (Exodus 19:3-8; Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28)
The Mosaic covenant was a conditional agreement between God and the people of Israel that was mediated by Moses (Exod. 19–24). The people of Israel had to fulfill God’s stipulations to stay and prosper in the land God had given them. None of the Israelites were ever pure before God through the keeping of this covenant, because it was impossible for anyone to obey it perfectly. They were only declared righteous by faith alone, just as Abraham (Gen. 15:6). Incidentally, God will eventually bring Israel back to Himself, forgive their iniquity and forget their sin (Jer. 31:31-34; Is. 42:6; 43:1-6; Deut. 1:1-9; Heb. 8:7-12). God keeps His word.
This covenant was extremely important for two reasons: 1) it showed the nation of Israel (and us) the impossibility of keeping God’s law perfectly and the need for a savior and 2) it provided a forum for Christ to come and be the perfect Son of Israel who would obey God’s law in all things and be the once-for-all sacrifice for sin.
What does this covenant mean for you personally? The Mosaic covenant shows us that, because of indwelling sin, the law is a taskmaster that humans can never appease (Rom. 3:19–20). Yet, there is no need for you to despair: through faith in Christ, you are declared righteous before God, since Christ’s perfect obedience is counted to you and your sin is counted to Christ (Rom. 5:12–21; Heb. 7:27; 10:14).
6. The Davidic Covenant (2 Chron. 13:5; 2 Sam. 7:12-16; 23:5)
In 2 Samuel 7, God made a promise that he would raise up David’s offspring and “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (7:12–13). God promised unconditionally to put a son of David on the throne, but only the righteous son would reign for eternity. While David’s son Solomon ruled over Israel, he failed to keep God’s commands (1 Kings 9:4–9; 11:4–8). Only David’s descendant, Jesus, was the true and faithful Son deserving of the everlasting throne of David (Ps. 2; 16; 110).
What does this covenant mean for you personally? Unlike mere human rulers who disappoint us with their failure to rule justly, Jesus obeyed God in all things—even giving his own life out of his love for the world—and earned the right to rule in glory forever (John 3:16; 1 Kings 2:35; Rev. 11:15). You can take comfort in knowing that the resurrected Christ is the one truly righteous King who has not only secured everlasting life for all believers but will also put an end to all injustice and evil one day (Rev. 21:4).
7. The New Covenant (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matt. 16:18; 26:28; Luke 22:20; Heb. 13:20-21)
While Moses was the mediator of the old covenant between God and the nation of Israel, Christ is the mediator of the new unconditional covenant between God and believers through his finished work of redemption in his life, death, and resurrection. While the old covenant required national obedience, the new covenant requires individual faith in Christ, the perfectly obedient Son of Israel (Jer. 31:31–34; Matt. 26:28; Gal. 3:16–18).
What does this covenant mean for you personally? While the new covenant requires faith in Christ, this faith itself is a gift from God, given to all who trust in Christ as their Savior (John 1:12; Eph. 2:8–9). As a Christian, you can rejoice that you have peace with God (Rom. 5:1), everlasting life (Rom. 6:23), indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16), being conformed to the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:29) and enjoy the Church and fellowship as He perfects His saints.
8. The Covenant of Redemption (Ps. 40:6-8; Zech 6:12-13; John 17:15)
Without the covenant of redemption, the only other covenant in this list that could exist is the first one: the covenant of works. The covenant of redemption, as God’s very first covenant, was established before creation and is the pact between the persons of the Trinity in which the Father sends the Son to do the work of redemption, the Son submits to the Father’s will, and the Holy Spirit applies the benefits of the Son’s accomplished work to believers (Ps. 40:6–8). As a reward for his obedience, the Father gifts the Son with glory and an everlasting kingdom (Ps. 110; Isa. 53; Zech. 6:12–13; John 17:1–5).
What does this covenant mean for you personally? If the persons of the Trinity didn’t make this pact—and keep it—we would all be under God’s condemnation without any hope for meeting his holy standards. God did not have to save any of us from the consequences of our sin, but He did so out of his unfathomable love (Rom. 3:23–26). Don’t depend on your own imperfect works to be right before God; instead, believe in and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior today.