Covenant – A legal and binding agreement that brings about a relationship.
God used this word 300 times in Scripture: 274 times to Israel in their Masoretic Text Old Testament; 3 times to Israel in their Koine Greek Old Testament; 2 times to Israel in the transition book of Acts; 7 times to the Body of Christ in the Gospel of Grace; and 14 times to Israel in their book of Hebrews.
God has only made 4 covenants in Scripture, which He has never broken. Scripture records several covenants that Israel made with God, which they have broken. Scripture also records several covenants made between people.
The first covenant that God made was with Noah and concerned all men. God promised to make the covenant in Genesis 6:18, and He made the covenant in Genesis 9:8-17. This covenant is with all flesh concerning the destruction of earth by water.
The second covenant that God made was with Abraham, which passed to Isaac in testament, which passed to Jacob in testament, which passed to the 12 tribes of Israel in testament, to wit the Law was added as a covenant, which passed to Israel’s generations in testament.
The addition to the covenant that God made with Abraham concerns Israel only; the Old Covenant, which was ordained by Moses to Israel in Exodus 24:3-8, which God rehearsed in Hebrews 9:19-21.
- In the Exodus account God makes the Covenant with Israel’s fathers
- In the Hebrews account God refers to it as the Testament
A covenant is not a testament. The difference is revealed in Hebrews 9:16-18
- In Exodus, God establishes His relationship with Israel via a legal and binding agreement added to their testament from Abraham; a covenant.
- In Hebrews, through the blood of Christ, that covenant, a new covenant, was added to Israel’s testament, which became a testament to their descendants.
Israel was promised their New Covenant in Jeremiah 31:31, which they received through Christ at his resurrection.
The gentiles were never given a promise, covenant, or testament (Ephesians 2:12). Since we never had an Old Covenant, we cannot have a New Covenant. Since we never had any covenants, we cannot have any testaments, old or new.
Today, in the Dispensation of Grace, the Body of Christ is the minister of Israel’s New Testament, which belongs to Israel only.
See also Inherit, Minister, Promise, Testament