Living in Covenant Today, pt. 2
Picture this: You're at a wedding. The couple stands before family and friends, making vows. "For better or worse, for richer or poorer, in sickness and in health..." Everyone smiles. It's beautiful. But here's what haunts me—statistics tell us that nearly half of these covenant promises will be broken.
Now imagine you're at another ceremony. This time, only one person is making promises. They walk between pieces of a sacrifice while you sleep. They swear on their own life that they'll keep every promise they make to you. They say, "Even if you fail, even if you run, even if you break faith with me a thousand times, I will never break faith with you. I cannot. It would mean denying my very nature."
That second ceremony? That happened. Four thousand years ago, God made that promise to Abraham while he slept. And for the last eleven weeks, we've traced how God has kept that promise through every covenant, through every generation, through every failure—all the way to you sitting here right now. Today, we're going to see how all these covenant threads weave together into one magnificent story, and more importantly, how you fit into this story.
Welcome back! If you've been with us through this entire covenant series, you know we've covered some serious theological ground together. We've walked from Eden to the New Jerusalem, from Adam to Christ, from covenant breaking to covenant fulfillment. But here's what I want you to know as we begin this recap—this isn't just ancient history or abstract theology. This is your story. Every covenant we've studied has been building toward this moment where you and I get to participate in God's eternal covenant through Christ.
So today, we're doing something special. We're going to step back and see the whole panoramic view of God's covenant faithfulness, and then we're going to get intensely practical about what it means to live as covenant people in 2025. Because here's the truth that's been emerging week after week: God keeps His promises. And that single truth changes everything about how we live.
Part I: God's Covenant Faithfulness
Let's start with our foundational text from Deuteronomy 7:9: "Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations."
I love how the Hebrew word for "faithful" here—אֱמוּנָה (emunah)—literally means something you can lean on. It's like God is saying, "You can put your full weight on me. I'm not going anywhere." The phrase "a thousand generations" isn't meant to be calculated mathematically—it's rhetorical amplification. It's God's way of saying, "My faithfulness is inexhaustible. It will outlast time itself."
Alexander MacLaren, the great Scottish preacher, made an observation that still takes my breath away. He said that in making covenant, God comes under obligations to us. Think about that—the infinite, sovereign Creator choosing to obligate Himself to finite, failing creatures. MacLaren called this "a marvelous and blessed idea," and he's right. These aren't obligations imposed on God; they're obligations He freely takes upon Himself through covenant.
But then Paul takes it even further in 2 Timothy 2:13: "If we are faithless, he remains faithful—for he cannot deny himself."
This is ontological faithfulness—faithfulness rooted in God's very being. It's not that God chooses to be faithful like we might choose to keep a promise. No, faithfulness is who He is. For God to be unfaithful would be to cease being God. John Piper puts it beautifully: "God saves those who believe because belief glorifies his trustworthiness and God cannot deny that he is trustworthy. He cannot deny himself."
This creates an incredible security for us. When you're struggling with doubt, when you've failed for the hundredth time, when you wonder if God has given up on you—remember this: God's faithfulness to you isn't based on your performance. It's based on His nature. He cannot deny Himself.
Part II: The Whole Covenant Story in Brief
Now, let’s go on a journey through the covenants we've studied, but this time, I want you to see them not as separate episodes but as acts in one grand drama. Each covenant builds on the previous ones, and all of them find their fulfillment in Christ.
The Noahic Covenant - God's Faithfulness to Creation
Remember Week 2 when we explored Genesis 8:20-9:17? After the flood, God makes an unconditional promise—not just to Noah, but to every living creature. "While the earth remains, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease" (Genesis 8:22).
R.C. Sproul called this the "covenant of continuation." It's God's commitment to preserve the stage on which redemption will unfold. Every sunrise you see, every change of season you experience—these are covenant reminders that God hasn't given up on His creation.
What strikes me most about the Noahic covenant is its unconditional nature. God doesn't say, "If humanity improves, I'll preserve the earth." No conditions. No escape clauses. Just divine commitment. The rainbow—קֶשֶׁת (qeshet) in Hebrew—is literally a war bow. But notice its position: it's pointed up, not down. God has hung up His weapon. He's declared peace with creation.
This covenant demonstrates what Reformed theologians call "common grace"—God's preserving work that allows both believers and unbelievers to flourish. As David Cassidy explains, this provides the context within which redemptive grace operates. Without the Noahic covenant's promise of stability, none of the other covenants could unfold.
The Abrahamic Covenant - Mission to Bless All Nations
In Weeks 3 and 4, we saw how God's covenant with Abraham unfolds progressively through Genesis 12, 15, and 17. This is where the story really begins to focus.
Genesis 12 gives us the initial promise—three-fold blessing: "I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing...and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:2-3). But it's in Genesis 15 that we get that dramatic covenant ceremony I mentioned at the beginning.
In ancient covenant ceremonies, both parties would walk between severed animals, essentially saying, "May I become like these animals if I break this covenant." But God puts Abraham into a deep sleep. And while Abraham sleeps, only God—appearing as a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch—passes between the pieces.
Do you see what's happening? God is saying, "Abraham, this covenant's fulfillment doesn't depend on you. I'll carry the whole weight. If this covenant fails, let me be torn apart." Of course, we know that can't happen. God can't die. Or can He? Hold that thought—we'll come back to it.
By Genesis 17, God adds the sign of circumcision—מוּל (mul)—marking Abraham's descendants as covenant people. But here's what Paul reveals in Galatians 3 that would have blown first-century Jewish minds: the promises were made to Abraham and to his "offspring"—singular, not plural. Paul says that offspring is Christ. The Abrahamic covenant was always about Jesus. As John MacArthur notes, "Galatians 3:8 declares: 'The Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham.' The Abrahamic covenant is actually the gospel in advance."
The Mosaic Covenant - Law and Holiness Call
Weeks 5 and 6 took us to Mount Sinai, where things get more complex. The Mosaic covenant adds law to promise. But here's the crucial point we emphasized: grace precedes law. Before God gives the Ten Commandments, He reminds Israel, "I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery" (Exodus 20:2).
Redemption came first. Then came regulation.
The Hebrew word for "treasure" in Exodus 19:5—סְגֻלָּה (segullah)—refers to a king's personal treasure, distinct from the national treasury. Israel was to be God's special possession, a kingdom of priests, a holy nation. But as we saw in Week 6, before Moses even descends from the mountain with the tablets, Israel has already broken covenant by making the golden calf.
This is where we see the profound purpose of the law. As Paul explains in Galatians 3:24, "The law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith." The law was never meant to save; it was meant to show us our need for a Savior. Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones put it perfectly: "The law, showing the desperate need for a savior, magnifies the gravity and weight of our sin."
The Davidic Covenant - Kingdom Promise and Messianic Hope
In Weeks 7 and 8, we explored 2 Samuel 7, where God makes an astounding promise to David. David wants to build God a house (temple), but God flips the script: "The LORD declares to you that the LORD himself will establish a house for you" (2 Samuel 7:11).
The word play here in Hebrew is brilliant. The word בַּיִת (bayit) means both "house" (building) and "house" (dynasty). David offers to build God a physical house; God promises to build David an eternal dynasty.
What makes this covenant remarkable is its unconditional nature. God says that if David's descendants sin, they'll be disciplined, but the covenant won't be revoked. The promise is for a kingdom, throne, and dynasty that will last forever. Historically, this seemed to fail when Babylon destroyed Jerusalem and ended the monarchy. As we saw in Week 8, Psalm 89 captures Israel's anguish: "But now you have cast off and rejected; you are full of wrath against your anointed" (Psalm 89:38).
Yet the exile didn't end the promise—it intensified the hope. The failure of human kings made Israel long for an ideal King, one who would truly reign forever. Enter Jesus, introduced in Matthew 1:1 as "the son of David." Luke 1:32-33 declares to Mary: "The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."
The New Covenant - Internal Transformation Through Christ
Finally, in Weeks 9 and 10, we arrived at the New Covenant, prophesied in Jeremiah 31:31-34 and inaugurated by Jesus in Luke 22:20 when He declared, "This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood."
The word "new" here—חֲדָשָׁה (chadashah) in Hebrew, καινός (kainos) in Greek—doesn't mean "brand new" as much as "renewed" or "fresh." It's not a replacement of the old covenants but their fulfillment and transformation.
Three revolutionary elements define this covenant:
First, internal transformation: "I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts" (Jeremiah 31:33). No longer is the law external, written on stone. Now it's internal, written on hearts by the Spirit.
Second, direct knowledge of God: "No longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' for they shall all know me" (Jeremiah 31:34). The Hebrew word for "know"—יָדַע (yada)—implies intimate, personal knowledge, not just information about God.
Third, complete forgiveness: "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more" (Jeremiah 31:34). Under the old system, sacrifices covered sins temporarily. Under the new, Christ's sacrifice removes them permanently. As Hebrews 10:14 declares, "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified."
Part III: Fulfillment in Christ - Romans 15:8-13
Now, let's see how Paul ties all these covenant threads together in Romans 15:8-13. This passage is like a theological symphony bringing all the covenant themes to crescendo.
Verse 8 begins: "For I tell you that Christ became a servant to the circumcised to show God's truthfulness, in order to confirm the promises given to the patriarchs."
The word "confirm"—βεβαιῶσαι (bebaiōsai)—carries legal weight. It means to ratify, to make legally binding. Christ didn't come to start something new; He came to confirm something ancient. Every promise God made to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob finds its "yes" in Jesus.
But then Paul does something remarkable in verses 9-12. He quotes from all three divisions of the Hebrew Scripture—the Law, the Prophets, and the Writings—to prove that Gentile inclusion was always God's plan:
From the Psalms: "Therefore I will praise you among the Gentiles" (Psalm 18:49). From the Law: "Rejoice, O Gentiles, with his people" (Deuteronomy 32:43). From the Psalms again: "Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles" (Psalm 117:1). From the Prophets: "The root of Jesse will come, even he who arises to rule the Gentiles; in him will the Gentiles hope" (Isaiah 11:10).
Do you see what Paul's doing? He's showing that the blessing promised to Abraham—"in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed"—was never an afterthought. It was always the plan. The Jewish Messiah was always meant to be the Savior of the world.
Then Paul concludes with this beautiful benediction in verse 13: "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope."
Notice the title: "God of hope." This connects back to verse 12—"in him will the Gentiles hope." God is both the source and the object of our hope. And this hope produces joy and peace "in believing"—not in performing, not in earning, but in believing. And it's all "by the power of the Holy Spirit"—this is New Covenant reality, where God's Spirit enables what the law never could.
Part IV: Our Covenant Life Now - Hebrews 13:20-21
This brings us to our final text, Hebrews 13:20-21, which beautifully summarizes how we live in covenant today:
"Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen."
Let’s unpack some of the theology here.
"The Great Shepherd of the Sheep"
This title carries massive Old Testament freight. Psalm 23 begins, "The LORD is my shepherd." Ezekiel 34:23 promises, "And I will set up over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he shall feed them."
Jesus receives three shepherd titles in the New Testament:
The Good Shepherd who dies for the sheep (John 10:11)
The Great Shepherd who rises for the sheep (Hebrews 13:20)
The Chief Shepherd who returns for the sheep (1 Peter 5:4)
As Spurgeon noted, "He is not the great Shepherd when He dies; He is the good Shepherd. He is the great Shepherd when He is brought again from the dead. In resurrection you perceive His greatness."
"By the Blood of the Eternal Covenant"
Here we have it—בְּרִית עוֹלָם (berit olam), the eternal covenant. This isn't just temporally eternal; it's qualitatively ultimate. Unlike the Mosaic covenant which Hebrews 8:13 calls "obsolete," this covenant can never pass away. Why? Five reasons:
God's unchanging nature: As Malachi 3:6 declares, "For I the LORD do not change."
Christ's finished work: "For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).
Irrevocable promise: "The gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable" (Romans 11:29).
Resurrection power: Death couldn't hold the covenant-maker.
Spirit's seal: We're "sealed with the promised Holy Spirit" (Ephesians 1:13).
Charles Simeon said it powerfully: "If the Lord Jesus were to suffer one of His sheep to be plucked out of His hand, or the Father were to refuse to impart to us one atom of what the Saviour has purchased for us, the covenant itself would be broken. But that covenant cannot be broken."
"Equip You...Working in Us"
The word "equip"—καταρτίζω (katartizō)—means to mend what's broken, to restore to full functionality. It's used for setting a dislocated bone or mending fishing nets. God doesn't just command; He enables. He doesn't just tell us what to do; He works in us to accomplish it.
This is the crucial difference between Old Covenant externalism and New Covenant internalism:
Under the Old Covenant: "You shall therefore love the LORD your God" (Deuteronomy 6:5)—command without power.
Under the New Covenant: "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us" (Romans 5:5)—command with enabling power.
As F.B. Meyer wrote, "God in Christ Jesus, by His almighty grace, must raise us up together with Christ...The Holy Ghost must make us alive out of our trespasses and sins."
Living the Covenant Story: Four Dimensions of Application
Now, let's get intensely practical. How do we live as covenant people today? Well, there are four dimensions of covenant life that should transform everything about how you approach each day.
1. Identity: You Are Covenant People
1 Peter 2:9 takes the exact language God used for Israel at Sinai and applies it to the church: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession."
That word "possession"—the same סְגֻלָּה (segullah) from Exodus 19:5—means you're God's personal treasure. You're not just saved individuals; you're covenant people. This isn't just fire insurance for the afterlife; this is adoption into God's family with all the rights and privileges that entails.
When you wake up tomorrow morning, before your feet hit the floor, remind yourself: "I am in covenant with the God of the universe. He has bound Himself to me with promises sealed in blood. I am His treasured possession."
This changes how you view everything:
Your failures don't define you; your covenant status does.
Your performance doesn't determine God's love; the covenant does.
Your circumstances don't control your identity; your covenant relationship does.
You might be sitting there thinking, "But I don't feel like God's treasured possession. I feel like a failure." Remember 2 Timothy 2:13—even when we are faithless, He remains faithful. Your feelings don't alter the covenant. God's character secures it.
2. Obedience: Spirit-Enabled Transformation
Here's where we need to demolish some misconceptions. Covenant obedience isn't about trying harder; it's about depending deeper. Remember, under the New Covenant, God doesn't just tell you what to do—He enables you to do it.
Ezekiel 36:27 contains this stunning promise: "And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes." The Hebrew word here—עָשָׂה (asah)—means "to cause to do" or "to bring about." God doesn't just invite obedience; He produces it.
But here's the key: this isn't passive. Philippians 2:12-13 captures the paradox perfectly: "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure."
Here are some practical examples:
Fighting sin: Romans 8:13 says, "If by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live." Notice—"by the Spirit," not "by willpower."
Loving difficult people: Romans 5:5 declares, "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." When you can't love that difficult person in your life, you're not called to manufacture love. You're called to draw on the love already poured into you.
Pursuing holiness: 1 Thessalonians 4:7-8 reminds us, "God has not called us for impurity, but in holiness. Therefore whoever disregards this, disregards not man but God, who gives his Holy Spirit to you." The command comes with the power.
This week, instead of making a list of ways to try harder, make a list of areas where you need to depend more deeply on the Spirit's power. Covenant obedience flows from covenant relationship, not religious effort.
3. Mission: Living the Abrahamic Calling
Remember the Abrahamic covenant? "In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed" (Genesis 12:3). That wasn't just for Abraham. Galatians 3:29 declares, "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise."
You've inherited Abraham's mission. You're blessed to be a blessing. The covenant was never meant to terminate on you; it's meant to flow through you to others.
This plays out in three spheres:
Personal witness: Every interaction is an opportunity to display covenant faithfulness. When you forgive someone who doesn't deserve it, you're demonstrating God's covenant love. When you keep your word even when it costs you, you're reflecting God's covenant faithfulness. People should look at your life and see something different—covenant character.
Church community: Hebrews 10:24-25 calls us to "consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together...but encouraging one another." This isn't optional. Covenant people need covenant community. You can't live the covenant life in isolation.
Global mission: Matthew 28:19 commands, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations." Notice—"all nations." That's every ethnos, every people group. The Abrahamic blessing reaching every family on earth. Whether you go personally or send others, you're part of extending the covenant invitation to the nations.
Here's my challenge: Identify one person this week who needs to experience covenant love. Maybe it's someone who's broken trust with you. Maybe it's someone far from God. Show them what covenant faithfulness looks like. Don't preach at them; love them with covenant love—unconditional, persistent, sacrificial.
4. Hope: Anchored in God's Faithfulness
Finally, covenant life means living with unshakeable hope. Not optimism based on circumstances, but hope anchored in God's character.
Look back at Deuteronomy 7:9—God keeps covenant "to a thousand generations." You're probably not even the hundredth generation since Abraham. God's faithfulness isn't running out. It's inexhaustible.
Romans 8:32 asks the rhetorical question: "He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?" If God kept His hardest promise—sending His Son to die—won't He keep all the others?
This hope isn't passive waiting; it's active confidence. It changes how you face tomorrow:
When your health fails, you remember the God who raises the dead.
When your finances crumble, you remember the God who owns the cattle on a thousand hills.
When relationships shatter, you remember the God who reconciles enemies.
When death approaches, you remember the eternal covenant sealed with Christ's blood.
As Joel 2:25 promises, "I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten." Every broken thread in your story can find restoration in God's covenant faithfulness.
The Theological Heart: God's Covenant Pursuit
Here is what I believe is one of the important truths in all of covenant theology: God is always the initiator. He acts first. Always.
Think about it:
Abraham wasn't seeking God when God called him in Ur.
Israel wasn't liberating themselves when God delivered them from Egypt.
David wasn't pursuing kingship when God chose him in the fields.
We weren't seeking God when Christ died for us. Romans 5:8—"God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."
Genesis 15 is the perfect picture. While Abraham sleeps, God performs the covenant ceremony alone. The message is unmistakable: "This covenant doesn't depend on you. I'll carry the whole weight."
But remember the dilemma I mentioned earlier? God promised that if the covenant failed, He would be torn apart like those animals. But God can't die...except He did. At the cross, the immortal God in human flesh was torn apart for our covenant breaking. The covenant curse fell on the covenant maker.
This is why Paul can declare in 2 Corinthians 1:20, "For all the promises of God find their Yes in him." Every covenant promise—from Noah's rainbow to Abraham's blessing to David's throne to Jeremiah's new heart—all find their fulfillment in Jesus.
Living Between the Covenants
Here's where we need to locate ourselves in the story. We live between Christ's first and second coming. The New Covenant has been inaugurated but not consummated. We have the down payment of the Spirit but await the full inheritance. We experience covenant blessings now but anticipate far greater ones to come.
This "already but not yet" tension explains so much of our experience:
Why we still struggle with sin though we're new creatures
Why we face suffering though we're God's beloved children
Why creation groans though redemption has been accomplished
Why we long for heaven though we have the Spirit's presence
But this tension doesn't diminish our covenant security. Remember חֶסֶד (hesed)—that untranslatable Hebrew word we discussed in Week 1? It means covenant love that endures regardless of circumstances. God's hesed toward you doesn't fluctuate with your faithfulness. It's as constant as His character.
The Story You're Living In
Earlier I asked, "What story are you living in?" Here are a few common narratives people default to:
The Performance Story: "I am what I achieve." This leads to exhaustion when you succeed and despair when you fail.
The Comfort Story: "Life is about maximizing pleasure and minimizing pain." This leads to emptiness because comfort never satisfies.
The Power Story: "Life is about control and influence." This leads to anxiety because control is always an illusion.
The Covenant Story: "I am who God says I am, and I'm part of His grand redemptive plan." This leads to security, purpose, and hope.
You see, every other story makes you the hero. But in the covenant story, God is the hero, and you get to be a grateful participant in His victory. You're not writing the story; you're living a story already written, where the ending is certain and glorious.
Practical Steps for Covenant Living This Week
Here are some concrete ways to live out your covenant identity this week:
Monday: Remember Your Covenant History
Take 15 minutes to trace your spiritual genealogy. How did you come to faith? Who shared the gospel with you? Who shared it with them? Trace it back as far as you can. You'll likely find you're part of a covenant chain stretching back generations. Thank God that His covenant faithfulness included you.
Tuesday: Practice Covenant Love
Identify one relationship where you've been thinking contractually—"If they do X, I'll do Y." Choose to love them covenantally this week. No conditions. No scorekeeper. Just steady, faithful love that reflects God's hesed to you.
Wednesday: Claim a Covenant Promise
Find one covenant promise in Scripture and make it your meditation for the day. Maybe Jeremiah 31:3: "I have loved you with an everlasting love." Or Isaiah 43:1: "Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine." Don't just read it; pray it, claim it, live from it.
Thursday: Engage in Covenant Community
Don't just attend church; engage with covenant people. Share a struggle. Offer encouragement. Bear someone's burden. Remember, you're not just individuals who happen to believe similar things; you're a covenant family bound together by blood—Christ's blood.
Friday: Extend the Covenant Invitation
Look for one opportunity to invite someone into God's covenant story. This doesn't mean preaching at them. It might mean showing unexpected kindness, offering forgiveness, or simply sharing how God's faithfulness has sustained you. Let them see what covenant life looks like.
Saturday: Rest in Covenant Security
Sabbath rest is a covenant sign. Take time to rest, not because your work is done, but because your acceptance isn't based on your work. Rest in the finished work of Christ. Let your rest be a declaration: "I'm not what I produce. I'm a covenant child of God."
Sunday: Celebrate with Covenant People
When you gather for worship, remember you're not attending a religious service; you're celebrating covenant renewal. Every Sunday is a covenant feast where we remember Christ's death, celebrate His resurrection, and anticipate His return.
The Ultimate Covenant Keeper
Let’s go back to where we started. Remember that image of God walking alone between the pieces while Abraham slept? That solitary figure in the darkness, binding Himself to keep promises He knew we would break?
That silhouette finds its fulfillment at Calvary. There, the covenant God became the covenant sacrifice. The immortal died. The infinite was torn apart. The Judge took the judgment. All so that covenant breakers like us could become covenant children.
Charles Spurgeon said it perfectly: "That seemed to me to be one of the most astonishing truths that was ever given to man to preach, that God would be a high contracting party with poor insignificant and guilty man, that he would make a covenant with man; yes, with you and with me."
Do you see it? The God who spoke galaxies into existence, who commands angels, who needs nothing and no one—this God chose to bind Himself to you with covenant promises sealed in blood. Not because you earned it, not because you deserved it, but because He is the covenant-keeping God who cannot deny Himself.
Living the אָמֵן (Amen)
The Hebrew word אָמֵן (amen) comes from the same root as emunah (faithfulness). When we say "amen," we're not just ending a prayer. We're making a covenant response. We're saying, "Yes, I believe it. Yes, I receive it. Yes, I'll live from it."
2 Corinthians 1:20 tells us that all God's promises find their "Yes" in Christ, and through Christ we say "Amen" to God's glory. Christ is God's "Yes" to every covenant promise, and our lives are meant to be the "Amen"—the lived response of gratitude and faith.
So here's my question as we close: Will you live as covenant people this week? Will you stop trying to earn what's already yours? Will you stop fearing that God might abandon you? Will you embrace your identity as God's treasured possession, sealed by blood, empowered by the Spirit, and destined for glory?
The Story Continues
For twelve weeks, we've traced God's covenant faithfulness from Eden to eternity. We've seen how every covenant pointed to Christ and finds its fulfillment in Him. But here's what I want you to leave with today: This isn't ancient history. This is present reality. You are living in the age of the New Covenant. The same Spirit who raised Christ from the dead dwells in you. The same covenant promises that sustained Abraham, Moses, and David are yours in Christ.
And here's the beautiful thing—the story isn't over. Revelation 21:3 gives us a glimpse of where it's all heading: "Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God."
That's the covenant formula we've seen throughout Scripture, but now it reaches its full consummation. No more temple because God Himself is present. No more covenant signs because we'll see Him face to face. No more covenant renewals because the covenant will be perfectly and eternally fulfilled.
Until that day, we live as covenant people in a broken world. We carry the covenant light into dark places. We extend covenant love to difficult people. We speak covenant hope to despairing hearts. We demonstrate covenant faithfulness in a culture of broken promises.
Why? Because we serve a covenant-keeping God who has proven across four thousand years of human history that He cannot, will not, ever break faith with His people. Even when we are faithless, He remains faithful, for He cannot deny Himself.
So go, covenant people. Live from your secure identity. Draw on the Spirit's power. Pursue the mission of blessing nations. And rest in the unshakeable hope that the God who kept every promise from Genesis to Christ will keep every promise from now until glory.
May the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant, equip you with everything good that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever.
Amen. אָמֵן.
And that is the covenant story. Your story, my story, God's story. Thanks for journeying with me these last twelve weeks. Next week, we're starting a new series through the book of Daniel, but until then, remember: You are covenant people, loved with an everlasting love, secured by an eternal covenant, and empowered by an inexhaustible Spirit.
Live like it.
