The eight covenants of the bible pdf is a book on the subject of theology written by joint committee. The book has been written to help us understand the meaning of each covenant that is mentioned in the Bible.
The Bible is filled with some of the most profound and thought-provoking passages considered to be God’s word by millions of believers around the world. While many people have read at least some of the scripture, others have a limited understanding because they have come across vague explanations or summaries in a myriad of different formats rather than actually reading the texts themselves. The Covenants Eight is a compilation of some known and less known covenants that are considered to hold powerful Biblical messages that are beneficial to anyone who wants to understand what they mean and how they will help their own lives.
The Eight Covenants Of The Bible Pdf
The Bible speaks of several covenants that God made with various individuals and groups throughout history. These covenants outline God’s promises and expectations for His people. Below is a list of the eight main covenants found in the Bible:
1. The Covenant with Adam
– God promised Adam and Eve that a Savior would come to redeem them from sin and restore their relationship with Him.
– Genesis 3:15: “And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”
2. The Covenant with Noah
– God promised Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood.
– Genesis 9:11: “I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be destroyed by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth.”
3. The Covenant with Abraham
– God promised Abraham that his descendants would be as numerous as the stars in the sky, and that through his line, all nations would be blessed.
– Genesis 17:7: “I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you.”
4. The Covenant with Moses
– God gave the Israelites the Law through Moses, outlining His expectations for His people and promising blessings for obedience and consequences for disobedience.
– Exodus 19:5: “Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession.”
5. The Covenant with David
– God promised David that his throne would be established forever through his descendants, culminating in the reign of the Messiah.
– 2 Samuel 7:16: “Your house and your kingdom will endure forever before me; your throne will be established forever.”
6. The New Covenant
– Jesus Christ established a new covenant through His death and resurrection, offering salvation and forgiveness of sins to all who believe in Him.
– Luke 22:20: “In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.'”
7. The Covenant with Israel
– God made a covenant with the nation of Israel, promising to bless them as His chosen people and to one day gather them back to their land.
– Jeremiah 31:33: “This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time,” declares the Lord. “I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.”
8. The Everlasting Covenant
– This final covenant refers to God’s overall plan of redemption and reconciliation with humanity through Jesus Christ, culminating in the establishment of His eternal kingdom.
– Hebrews 13:20-21: “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
These eight covenants outlined in the Bible show God’s faithfulness, love, and commitment to His people throughout history. They serve as a reminder of His promises and the plan He has for all of creation.
The first covenant is the covenant between God and Creation. This is the beginning of everything, because it was created by God. It has to do with the nature of things, what they are made up of, and how they function. The second is a covenant between man and God in which man agrees to obey God’s laws and keep his commandments in return for eternal life. The third covenant is between man and man, in which one man agrees to do something for another man in exchange for some benefit or reward. The fourth covenant is between God and Israel, where He promises them land if they obey His commandments.
The fifth covenant is between Israel and David, that he would be king over them if they kept the Law of Moses forever. The sixth covenant is between Israel and God during their time in Babylonian captivity, where they agreed not to worship false gods anymore but only Him alone even though they were still slaves at the time so there wasn’t much else they could do except wait until the Messiah came anyway since nobody else would help them escape either way so why bother trying?
8 Covenants in the Bible and What They Mean for You Personally Today
God always keeps his promises. In “2 Kinds of Covenants in the Bible You Need to Know,” we looked at the two main kinds of promises in the Bible: conditional and unconditional covenants. At first glance, these covenants can seem like strange practices from the long-ago past that have no relevance for us today, but nothing could be further from the truth. Following is a brief explanation of the eight significant covenants of the Bible—and what each one means for you personally.
1. The Covenant of Works (Conditional)
God made a conditional covenant with Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam was supposed to obey all of God’s commands to earn the right to eat from the tree of life and merit eternal life. Adam rebelled against God and instead earned death and condemnation for himself and all his descendants (Gen. 2:17–18; Gen. 3).
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 (Unconditional)
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 once and for all for sin (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 in order to stand in his presence. Through faith in Christ alone, you are declared righteous in God’s sight, are forgiven of your sins, have peace with your Creator, and have been gifted all the rights and privileges as God’s child for eternity (Eph. 2:8–9; Rom. 5:1; 8:15).
3. The Noahic Covenant (Unconditional)
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). 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 Covenant of Abraham (Unconditional)
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 (Conditional)
Like the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic (old) covenant was part of the covenant of grace but it was temporary in nature. Moses served as a mediator in the Mosaic covenant, which was a conditional agreement between God and the people of Israel (Exod. 19–24). The people of Israel had to fulfill God’s stipulations in this covenant 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 their father Abraham was (Gen. 15:6).
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 (Unconditional)
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 eternal life for all believers but will also put an end to all injustice and evil one day (Rev. 21:4).
7. The New Covenant (Unconditional)
The new covenant ushered in the new creation. This covenant is new in relation to the old (Mosaic) covenant, but both are part of the Abrahamic covenant. While Moses was the mediator of the old covenant between God and the nation of Israel, Christ is the mediator of the new 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 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 be glad that you have peace with God (Rom. 5:1), eternal life (Rom. 6:23), are filled with the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16), and are changing into the likeness of Jesus (Rom. 8:29).
8. The Covenant of Redemption (Conditional)
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 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 members of the Trinity didn’t make this pact—and keep it—we would all be under God’s condemnation without any hope of 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.
What Are The Covenants In The Bible
A covenant in the ancient world was similar to what we in the modern world would call a contract, treaty, or will. Each covenant established the basis of a relationship, conditions for that relationship, promises and conditions of the relationship and consequences if those conditions were unmet. One of the most familiar examples of a covenant for us is marriage.
Why do I think understanding covenants is so important? It is because the covenants provide the skeletal framework for how the whole biblical story holds together. As the story of the Bible unfolds, we see God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping, and covenant-fulfilling God. God establishes covenants with certain people and these covenants are the way God unfolds his redemptive plan. The covenants are the structure of the story.
The Biblical Covenants
There are several covenants in the Bible, but five are crucial for understanding the story of the Bible and God’s redemptive plan: the Noahic Covenant, the Abrahamic Covenant, The Mosaic Covenant, the Davidic Covenant and the New Covenant.
The Noahic Covenant
From Genesis 9, this is a covenant God establishes with Noah after the flood in which he resets and renews the blessings of creation, reaffirming God’s image in humanity and the work of dominion. This covenant promises the preservation of humanity and provides for the restraint of human evil and violence.
The Abrahamic Covenant
See Genesis 12 and 15. This is the most central to the biblical story. In it, God promises Abraham a land, descendants and blessing. This blessing promised to Abraham would extend through him to all the peoples of the earth. Understanding the Abrahamic Covenant is paramount to understanding theological concepts like a Promised Land, election, the people of God, inheritance and so on. It provides context for understanding practices like circumcision, conflicts with surrounding nations and divisions between Jews and Gentiles.
The Mosaic Covenant
See Exodus 19 and 24. This is the covenant God establishes with the people of Israel at Mt. Sinai after he led them out of Egyptian slavery. With it, God supplies the Law that is meant to govern and shape the people of Israel in the Promised Land. This Law was not a means of salvation but would distinguish the people from the surrounding nations as a special kingdom of priests (Exodus 19:1–7). This covenant was conditional and defined blessings and curses based on obedience or disobedience (see Deuteronomy 28–29). Understanding the Mosaic Covenant is foundational to understanding the cycles of blessing and curse in the Old Testament, the exiles of Israel and Judah, the disputes between Jesus and the Pharisees and Paul’s pastoral teachings about law and grace.
The Davidic Covenant
See 2 Samuel 7. This is the covenant where God promises a descendant of David to reign on the throne over the people of God. It is a continuation of the earlier covenants in that it promises a Davidic king as the figure through whom God would secure the promises of land, descendants, and blessing. This covenant becomes the basis for hope of a Messiah and makes sense of the Gospels’ concern to show Jesus was the rightful King of the Jews.
The New Covenant
See Jeremiah 31:31–34 and Luke 22:14–23. This is the language first used in Jeremiah’s promise of the rescue and renewal of the exiled people of God in Babylon. It promises a coming day when God will make a new covenant, unlike the one that Israel had broken. This coming day will bring forgiveness of sin, internal renewal of the heart, and intimate knowledge of God. On the night of Jesus’s Last Supper, Jesus takes the cup and declares that his death will be the inauguration of this new covenant.
These five covenants provide the skeletal framework and context for practically every page of the Bible. They are fundamental to understanding the Bible correctly. The Old Testament covenants establish promises that look forward to fulfillment. Much of the New Testament is concerned with showing how Jesus Christ fulfills these covenant promises and what life should look like for a people living in the New Covenant inaugurated by his death and resurrection.
Hopefully, this brief explanation of the biblical covenants will be a starting point to help you move toward a greater understanding of the Bible, as it did for me.
Types Of Covenant In Relationship
Covenant can be seen in two major ways, namely, a conditional covenant and an unconditional covenant.
Conditional Covenants
Covenant relationships are based on certain obligations and requirements. The conditional covenant mentioned in the scriptures is the mosaic covenant. The blessings it extends are contingent on Israel. The mosaic covenant friend in Deuteronomy 11 promised the Israelites a blessing for obedience and a curse for disobedience. Much of the Old Testament chronicles in fulfilment of this cycle of judgment for sin and late blessing, when God’s people repented and returned to Him.
Unconditional Covenants
These are made with no strings attached and will be kept regardless of one party’s fidelity or infidelity. The unconditional covenants mentioned in the Bible are the Abraham and David covenants. God promises to fulfil these regardless of other factors. The unconditional covenant first made to Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3) promised God’s blessing upon Abraham to make his progeny into a great nation. The covenant also promised blessings to those who blessed Abraham and curses to those who cursed him. Further, God vowed to bless the entire world through Abraham’s seed. Circumcision was the sign that Abraham believed in the covenant (Romans 4:11).