At Abide Ministries, we are constantly talking about the Covenant. It comes up in several of our studies, as we believe that living in the Covenant is a key piece of living a thriving Christian life. If you’ve been a Christian for a while, you may have heard of the Covenant in other contexts as well. We usually distinguish Christianity from Judaism by discussing the Old versus the New Covenant, or the Old versus the New Testament. However you may have heard about the Covenant before, you are likely left with one question: “What actually is the Covenant? And why does it matter to me?”
That is what we are here to discuss today. So let’s get into it…
What is the Covenant?
The Covenant comes up several times throughout the Bible in several different contexts. But each one boils down to the same premise. God promises to bless his people if they follow His ways. Let’s take a look at the covenant God made with Abraham:
Genesis 12:1-3
1 Now the Lord said to Abram, “Go from your country and your kindred and your father’s house to the land that I will show you. 2 And 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. 3 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.”
Ultimately the Covenant is very simple: it is God’s agreement with His children that He will bless them to become a blessing. Furthermore, he will bless those who bless His children, and curse those who curse His children. Blessing in this context means prosperity. Now, it is very easy as Christians in our present culture to hear the word “prosperity” and immediately assume what that means. God promises to bless us, and He promises to cause us to prosper. These statements are entirely scriptural. This does not mean, however, that prosperity will look exactly as our culture tells us it should. God promises that we will not lack, that our lives will be good and full, and that we will experience the fullness of joy in His presence. His blessings are immeasurable and abundant, and we can rest in the knowledge that our lives will be blessed and prosperous if we live under His covenant.
The Covenant is fundamentally the foundation for the Father’s relationship His children here on earth. Our role is to understand what this looks like and to uphold our side of the bargain, which we will discuss in a couple of weeks.
There are three primary outcomes of a covenantal relationship with God:
- God will be glorified
- Our lives will be elevated to the spiritual
- We will be filled in order to give it away
Let’s talk about each of these in a little more depth…
Living in the Covenant brings glory to God.
1 Chronicles 16:23-24
23 Sing to the Lord, all the earth! Tell of his salvation from day to day. 24 Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous works among all the peoples!
When we live in covenant with the Father, He blesses us, and the result of this is His glory. He does wonderful, miraculous works which can be ascribed to none other than Him, and so, in blessing us, He declares Himself to the world. He demonstrates who He is through our lives. If we are experiencing the covenant, we will be experiencing His honor, majesty, strength, and gladness (1 Chronicles 16:27) and will be giving Him the glory for all the incredible things we experience. The Covenant is never about us; it is always about Him.
Living in the Covenant connects us with the spiritual.
Ephesians 1:3-6, 13-14
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
When we live in covenant with God, our lives are elevated to the spiritual. We experience Heaven while still living in a world which is under the control of the Enemy. Accordingly, we can bear witness to a lost generation of the truth of the covenant of Jesus Christ. Being uplifted to the spiritual realms means not being limited to the natural life, rather, we live according to His purpose—the Covenant.
As we live life in the spiritual, we experience the supernatural. Accordingly, we demonstrate to the powers and principalities that the wonderful works of God are real. This is our calling, and it is a calling we can only fulfill when living in His Covenant.
We are blessed to become a blessing.
Genesis 12:3
3 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.
God blesses us as we live according to His Covenant, and when we are blessed, the natural outcome is that our blessings overflow and bless those around us. We are blessed to become a blessing. We are to give our blessings away as He directs us. We are to share ourselves with others, bringing light to those who are bound up in darkness. When we are part of the Covenant, we will be demonstrating to others the beauty of the Covenant. Those that have a heart to experience the Covenant for themselves will be drawn to the Father as a result.
Thus, the Covenant is the basis of God’s relationship with all people. When we live in accordance with His Covenant, we glorify Him, experience the supernatural, and bless those around us, directing them into His presence.
There is so much more to dig into on this topic, and so we will spend the next several blog posts discussing the Covenant. If you are interested in learning more about who the Covenant is for, what it looks like to live in the Covenant, and our role in the Covenant, check back in to read our future posts.
If you have any questions about the Covenant, or any other aspect of living a life with Christ, please reach out to us here. We are here to help!
