A Brief Survey of Covenant Theology, Part 1

Richard Barcellos

What is a divine covenant, and why does 'covenant theology' accurately describe the Bible's own architecture? This lecture — the first in a three-part survey — defines divine covenants as relational arrangements sovereignly initiated by God for man's benefit, with ways and means established by God alone to obtain the designated blessings. Drawing on Nehemiah Cox, 2 Samuel 7, Exodus 19, and Hebrews 10, the speaker demonstrates that both Testaments are covenantally structured documents: the Old Testament is the covenantal record for old covenant Israel, and the New Testament is the covenantal record for the new covenant church, both centering on Christ in his sufferings and glory. The lecture concludes that covenant theology is not an alien grid imposed on Scripture but the organic, Christocentric shape of biblical revelation itself, best interpreted by allowing the New Testament to illuminate the Old.