Covenants of Promise

Paul used the above expression: “That at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the COVENANTS OF PROMISE, having no hope, and without God in the World” (Eph. 2:12).

WHAT TIME?  “Wherein in TIME PAST ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience: Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others” (Eph. 2:2-3).

When one walks according to the course of this world he is without GOD, without CHRIST, having NO HOPE - a most pitiful condition. Is it important to know about these Covenants before baptism?

Covenant With Abraham, Isaac and Jacob

A Covenant is an agreement entered into between two parties. God said to Abram, “Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, UNTO A LAND THAT I WILL SHEW THEE” (Gen. 12:1).  “And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee SHALL ALL FAMILIES OF THE EARTH BE BLESSED” (Gen. 12:3).

The last clause is the GOSPEL (Good News), “And the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the GOSPEL unto Abraham, saying, IN THEE SHALL ALL NATIONS BE BLESSED” (Gal. 3:8).

Now, note the agreement entered into by God and Abram, “And the Lord said unto Abram, after that Lot was separated from him, Lift up now thine eyes, and look from the place where thou art northward, and southward, and eastward and westward: FOR ALL THE LAND WHICH THOU SEEST, TO THEE WILL I GIVE IT, AND TO THY SEED (Christ) FOR EVER” (Gen. 13:14-15).

How do we know that the SEED here is Christ? “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ” (Gal. 3:16).

NO GUESS WORK AS TO WHO THE SEED IS.

Now this identical promise was made to Isaac: “Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee; for unto thee (Isaac), and unto thy seed (Christ), I will give all these countries, and I will perform the oath which I swear unto Abraham thy father…and in thy seed shall ALL NATIONS of the earth be blessed” (Gen. 26:3-4).

And to Jacob: “And God Almighty bless thee (Jacob), and make thee fruitful, and multiply thee, that thou mayest be a multitude of people; And give thee the blessing of Abraham, to thee, and to thy seed with thee; that thou mayest inherit the land wherein thou art a stranger, which God gave unto Abraham” (Gen. 28:3-4).

How do we know that the SEED in the above quotations is CHRIST? “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went. By faith he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise” (Heb. 11:8-9).  “Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed which is CHRIST” (Gal. 3:16).

From the above we learn that Paul in referring to the promise made to Abraham says the seed is Christ. Isaac and Jacob were heirs of the same promise, so the seed must be Christ.

Have these promises ever been fulfilled? No. We read, “And he (God) gave him (Abraham) none inheritance in it (land), no, not so much as to set his foot on: yet he promised that he would give it to him for a possession, and to his seed after him, when as yet he had no child” (Acts 7:5).

Read again, “These (Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on earth” (Heb. 11:13).

Paul stood before King Agrippa and said: “And now I stand and am judged for the hope of the promise made of God unto our fathers” (Acts 26:6).

Who are the fathers? “The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, The God of our fathers, hath glorified His Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go” (Acts 3:13).

If these promises have been fulfilled, why was Paul hoping for them 2,000 years after they were made? Why did Christ have to die “to confirm the promises made unto the fathers?” (Rom. 15:8).

Why should Gentiles today bother themselves with promises made 4,000 years ago? Have we any interest in these promises? Listen to Paul!  “For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ”. And verse 29 says “And if ye be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise” (Gal. 3:27).

WHAT PROMISE? Those who THINK will know. These promises can never be fulfilled with resurrection. Neither can they be fulfilled if mortality is not changed to immortality at the resurrection. Worthy people at the resurrection are made equal unto the angels “Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection” (Luke 20:36).

Can any one have the Abrahamic faith and be ignorant of the Abrahamic Covenant? Without the faith you cannot please God, and unless you please God, do you think you will be saved? No wonder Paul said, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” (II Cor. 13:5).

THE KINGDOM OF GOD IS BASED UPON THE COVENANTS OF PROMISE: the Abrahamic Covenant guaranteeing the land for an EVERLASTING POSSESSION and the Davidic Covenant promising a THRONE.

Covenant Made with David

How we treasure the last word spoken by our loved ones before they die. Listen to David's last words, “Now these be the last words of David. David, the son of Jesse said, and the man who was raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel, said, ‘The God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me, He that ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of God. And he shall be as the light of the morning, when the sun riseth, even a morning without clouds; as the tender grass springing out of the earth by clear shining after rain’. Although my house be not so with God; yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things, and sure: for this is all my salvation, and all my desire, although he make it not to grow” (II Sam. 23:1-5).

The substance of the covenant, whatever it is, contains all David's salvation and all his desire. He associates its realization with a just King, ruling over man in the fear of God, the advent of whose day he compares to a morning without clouds. David said, “And this was yet a small thing in thy sight, O Lord God; but thou hast spoken also of thy servant's house for a great while to come. And is this the manner of man, O Lord God?” (II Sam. 7:19).

It was not to grow or unfold in David's lifetime.

Now to the words of the everlasting covenant, which was all David's salvation and desire, “And when thy days be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers, I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom for ever. I will be his father, and he shall be my son. If he commit iniquity, I will chasten him with the rod of men, and with the stripes of the children of men: But my mercy shall not depart away from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away before thee. And thine (David's) house and thy kingdom shall be established for ever before thee (David): thy throne shall be established for ever” (II Sam. 7:12-16).

Did Solomon fulfill the conditions laid down in this covenant? We must admit that his was a glorious reign, but was it a period without a cloud? Did not Solomon sin and lead Israel into idolatry? While the wisdom of Solomon was great, his passion for outlandish women led to his downfall and the rending of the kingdom. His achievements in no way secured David's salvation and desire. If Solomon was not the seed referred to in the covenant, then who is it? Is it important to know? Since God's people have been promised the “sure mercies of David” it must be important.

Now let us take a look at certain statements in the Covenant. “When thy days (David's) be fulfilled, and thou shalt sleep with thy fathers” (II Sam. 7:12). When David died, says the objector, did not he go to heaven? Let Peter answer, “Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day” (Acts 2:29). “For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, until I make thy foes thy footstool” (Acts 2:34-35). “I will set up thy seed after thee, which shall proceed out of thy bowels, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build an house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his Kingdom forever” (II Sam. 7:13).

Can we be sure who the seed is in this covenant? Paul says, “And when he had removed him (Saul), he raised up unto them David to be their King; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfill all my will. Of this man's seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus” (Acts 13:22-23). So Jesus is the seed. II Sam. 7:16 reads, “And thine house (David's) and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee:” i.e. in David's presence. For this to be done, David must be raised from the dead, which will not take place unto Christ's second coming. Then, the Kingdom will be set up, and the Angel's promise to Mary will be fulfilled.

“He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: And he shall reign over the house of Jacob (the 12 tribes restored) forever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).

Peter said on the day of Pentecost that God had raised up Jesus to sit on David's throne. Since the Kingdom and Throne are to be established before David (i.e. in his presence) those who THINK, will know that this cannot take place until the resurrection, which is yet future.

- O.L. Dunaway