Covenant Essay

Covenant has a central place in the Christian religion. It is a relationship between us and God created by a pledge in which part has defined responsibilities. The type of covenant we are in with God is suzerainty. This simply means that God is our master and we are his slaves. Too many there might be a bad connotation in the master-slave analogy. However, I embrace the fact that god is my master and I am His slave. He will never do anything to harm me, knows my needs, will provide for me, and He loves me unconditionally. That is way different compared to the way slaves were treated by their human masters. There are five aspects of covenant. For the purposes of this paper I am going to be referring to primarily the new covenant that is offered us through Jesus. The first aspect is the parties involved. There are two parties: God and the elect. Unlike the old covenant, the elect goes beyond the Jews. It also includes the gentile, or non-Jew in all the nations. This is one aspect of covenant that has helped shape my worldview. I have spoken to people who believe that God only selects a few privileged people to be saved, and condemns the rest to eternal punishment in hell. I now wholeheartedly believe this to be completely false, and even a heresy. In John 3:16 God uses the phrase “panta ta ethne” which means “all the nations.” There are other places in scripture, for example, when Paul says in Romans 1:16, “I am not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes…” He clearly says ‘everyone who believes’ not leaving anyone out. There are places in scripture, such as Ephesians 1:11 that talk about things which are predestined for believers. This verse is commonly taken out of context by those who believe in predestination. He has indeed planned out things He wants those in covenant relationship to accomplish for His kingdom once we accept Jesus and make Him Lord of our life. He does not, however, make the choice