Program / Course 6: Old Testament Theology and History / Lesson 2.5
What you will learn
- Describe how Jewish tradition understands the covenant with Israel.
- Explain the Catholic and Orthodox view of covenants as stages in one plan.
- Summarize Reformed covenant theology, including the covenants of works and of grace.
- Compare dispensational and covenant readings and say where they differ.
The big idea
Jews and Christians share the Old Testament covenants and read them differently. Jewish tradition holds that the covenant with Israel at Sinai continues. Catholic and Orthodox teaching speaks of one divine plan that unfolds through several covenants and reaches fulfillment in Christ. Reformed theology builds a system around one covenant of grace in different administrations. Dispensational theology divides history into periods with different arrangements. A fair student can state each view as its holders would.
Key terms
- Covenant theology
- A way of organizing the Bible around covenants. It is chiefly Reformed, and speaks of a covenant of works and a covenant of grace.
- Covenant of works
- In Reformed theology, the arrangement with Adam in which life was promised for perfect obedience.
- Covenant of grace
- In Reformed theology, God’s promise of salvation to sinners through Christ, held to run through the whole Bible.
- Dispensationalism
- A Protestant system, developed in the nineteenth century, dividing biblical history into periods in which God deals with people in different ways, and distinguishing Israel from the church.
- Supersessionism
- The view that the church has replaced Israel as God’s people. Christians who use the term differ about whether and how it applies to their own teaching.
- Economy of salvation
- A phrase from the early church for God’s plan carried out step by step in history.
- Administration
- In Reformed usage, a particular form in which the one covenant of grace is carried out, such as the Mosaic or the New Testament form.
Background
Because the covenants appear in the Old Testament, interpreters of every tradition have had to say how they fit together and how they relate to the New Testament. The questions are practical. Does the covenant with Israel continue? Does the church share in it or replace it? Does the Mosaic law still bind? Does God have a future for the Jewish people as such?
Answers differ, and they carry weight in worship, ethics and Jewish-Christian relations. Some Christian answers have been used to harm Jews, and many churches have since examined and revised their teaching. This lesson presents each view in its own terms, with the main arguments for it and the main objections.
The text of the Bible does not settle these questions without interpretation, so students are asked to follow the arguments and to identify the passages on which each side rests.
Step-by-step explanation
Step 1: The Jewish view
Judaism holds that God made a covenant with Israel at Sinai, which binds the Jewish people in every generation. The prophets, in this reading, speak of Israel’s failures and of God’s faithfulness, and they do not announce the end of the covenant. Jeremiah’s promise of a new covenant (Jeremiah 31:31 to 34) is read as a renewal in which the Torah is written on the heart, within the same relationship. Noah’s covenant is understood to be with all humanity.
Jewish thinkers have also reflected on Christianity. Medieval authorities such as Maimonides, and later writers, saw it as having a role in bringing knowledge of the God of Israel to the nations, while still rejecting its claims about Jesus. Modern Jewish writers criticize teachings that regard the Jewish covenant as ended.
Step 2: The Catholic and Orthodox view
Early writers such as Irenaeus described the covenants as stages in the training of humanity by God, in which God, as a teacher, gradually accustoms people to receive him. The Catholic Catechism (paragraphs 54 to 64) follows this pattern: covenants with Adam, Noah, Abraham and Israel prepare for the new covenant in Christ. The Orthodox tradition shares the pattern in its liturgy and fathers, speaking of the divine economy.
Both traditions hold that the Old Testament is truly God’s word and that its covenants are not simply canceled. Since the Second Vatican Council, and notably in its declaration on non-Christian religions, the Catholic Church has taught that God does not take back the gifts he has given, citing Romans 11:29, and that Jews remain beloved for the sake of the fathers. Pope John Paul II spoke of the Old Covenant as never revoked. The church also holds that all salvation comes through Christ, and the exact relation of these two statements is discussed by Catholic theologians.
Step 3: Reformed covenant theology
The Reformed tradition, shaped by writers such as Heinrich Bullinger, Johannes Cocceius and the Westminster divines, organizes Scripture by two covenants. The covenant of works is held to have been made with Adam: life in return for perfect obedience. Adam failed. The covenant of grace follows, promising salvation in Christ to those who believe. The Westminster Confession, chapter 7, says that this one covenant was administered differently under the law and under the gospel.
On this view, Abraham, Moses and David are not outside the covenant of grace but share its single promise, with the sacraments and ceremonies changing. Critics, including many other Protestants, reply that the covenant of works is not named in Genesis and rests on inference, and that the scheme blurs real differences between the Mosaic and new covenants. Reformed writers respond with texts such as Romans 5 and Hosea 6:7, which they read as supporting an early covenant with Adam, a reading others dispute.
Step 4: Dispensational and other Protestant views
Dispensationalism, associated with John Nelson Darby and the Scofield Reference Bible, divides history into dispensations, such as the time of promise, the law and the church. It maintains that God has distinct purposes for Israel and for the church, and that the promises to Israel about land and nation will be fulfilled to the Jewish people in the future. Many evangelicals hold this view. Covenant theologians reply that the New Testament applies Israel’s promises to the church in Christ.
Other positions include new covenant theology and Baptist covenantalism, which stress the discontinuity between the old and new covenants. The range shows that Protestants have no single answer to the question.
- What reasons does Jewish tradition give for holding that the Sinai covenant continues?
- What does it mean to say that the covenants are stages in a single plan?
- Why do Reformed theologians speak of a covenant of works, and what is the main objection?
- What are the main differences between covenant theology and dispensationalism?
- How should Christians speak of the Jewish covenant after Christ?
- Which passages of the New Testament are used by each side, and how do they read them?
Examples
Jeremiah 31 read three ways
A Jewish reader hears the promise of a renewed covenant for the houses of Israel and Judah, with the Torah in their hearts. A Christian reader follows Hebrews 8 in seeing its fulfillment in Christ. Both begin from the same words. They disagree on who the promise concerns and when it is fulfilled.
Infant baptism
Reformed and Catholic writers often argue that, as circumcision was applied to infants, so baptism may be. Baptist writers argue that the new covenant includes only those who have faith. The practical question shows how covenant views shape church life.
The land promise today
Some Christians hold that God’s promise of land to Abraham’s descendants continues in force and influences their view of Israel today. Others hold that the promise is fulfilled in Christ. Many Christians and Jews see the question as political as well as theological and handle it with care.
Different perspectives
Jewish
The covenant at Sinai is a permanent bond between God and the Jewish people, and Torah observance is its response. Jewish thought also recognizes a covenant with all humanity through Noah. Jews do not regard the New Testament as revealing a new covenant that replaces the old one.
Catholic
God’s covenants form one plan fulfilled in Christ. The Old Covenant has not been revoked and the Jewish people remain dear to God. Christians receive the covenant in its fullness through Christ and the church.
Orthodox
The Old Testament covenants prepare and prefigure Christ, and the fathers see the church as the new Israel. Orthodox writers stress the unity of the divine economy and are cautious about systematic schemes.
Reformed Protestant
One covenant of grace runs through the Bible, with the covenant of works at its start. The Old Testament saints were saved by faith in the Christ to come. The church shares in the promises given to Abraham.
Dispensational Protestant
God has distinct plans for Israel and for the church. The covenants with Abraham and David are unconditional and will be fulfilled to the nation of Israel. The church age is a parenthesis in this plan.
Why it matters
How a person understands the covenants affects views on the law, baptism, the church, the Jewish people and the meaning of Christian hope. Seeing the major views set side by side, each in its own words, protects against caricature. It also shows how much the traditions share, namely that God makes promises, keeps them, and calls people to faithfulness.
Common misunderstandings
Misunderstanding: Jews and Christians simply disagree about whether the Old Testament is true.
Correction: Both accept the Hebrew Scriptures as God’s word. The disagreement concerns how they are fulfilled and how they relate to Jesus.
Misunderstanding: Catholic and Orthodox teaching holds that the Jewish covenant has been canceled.
Correction: The Catholic Church teaches that the Old Covenant has not been revoked. Orthodox statements vary, and many Orthodox writers speak of fulfillment and not cancellation.
Misunderstanding: All Protestants hold the same covenant theology.
Correction: Reformed, dispensational, Lutheran, Baptist and other traditions differ markedly, and these differences are well documented.
Misunderstanding: Covenant theology was invented by modern scholars.
Correction: The language of covenant is biblical and early Christian writers used it. Its systematic form in the Reformed tradition took shape in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Knowledge check
How does Jewish tradition understand the relation of the Sinai covenant to later history?
It holds that the covenant at Sinai remains in force for the Jewish people, who respond through keeping the commandments. Prophetic promises of renewal, including Jeremiah’s, are read as God’s faithful work within that covenant. Jews therefore do not accept that a later covenant replaces it. There is also a covenant with Noah, binding on all humanity.
What is the Catholic position on whether the Old Covenant has been revoked?
The Catholic Church teaches that it has not. Drawing on Romans 11:29, which says that the gifts and calling of God are without repentance, the church affirms that Jews remain beloved of God. At the same time it teaches that the covenants are fulfilled in Christ and that salvation is through him. Theologians discuss how these affirmations fit.
What are the covenant of works and the covenant of grace in Reformed thought?
The covenant of works is the arrangement with Adam in which life is promised for perfect obedience, which Adam broke. The covenant of grace is God’s promise of salvation in Christ to sinners, believed to run through Abraham, Moses and David to the new covenant. Reformed writers call this one covenant under different administrations.
How does dispensationalism differ from covenant theology?
Dispensationalism distinguishes Israel and the church and divides history into periods with different arrangements. It expects the land promises to be fulfilled to national Israel. Covenant theology sees one people of God and applies the promises to the church in Christ. Each side appeals to texts such as Romans 9 to 11 and Galatians 3.
Think it through
- Which of these views do you find easiest to state in your own words, and which hardest?
- How might a person from a different tradition feel about the way your own tradition describes theirs?
- Why does it matter that Christians speak carefully about the Jewish covenant?
- What texts would you need to study to decide among these views?
Independent assignment
Five views in one page
In your own notebook, write a table with five rows (Jewish, Catholic, Orthodox, Reformed, dispensational) and columns for: how many covenants, the status of the Sinai covenant, the role of the church, and key texts. Then write 250 to 350 words naming the single point where the views differ most, and describe it as each side would. Keep it for yourself.
Further study
- Irenaeus of Lyon, Against Heresies Read selectively on the four covenants and the education of humanity.
- Westminster Assembly, The Westminster Confession of Faith Read chapter 7, on God’s covenant with man, and chapter 19, on the law.
- Catholic Church, Catechism of the Catholic Church Read paragraphs 54 to 64 on the stages of revelation and the covenants.
- John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion Read Book 2, chapters 10 and 11, on the similarity and difference of the testaments.
- Charles Hodge, Systematic Theology Read selectively on covenants for the American Reformed account.
- Romans 11 Paul on Israel and the gifts of God.
- Hebrews 8 A New Testament reading of the new covenant.
- Jeremiah 31 The promise of a new covenant.