God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God.
A covenant is the giving of oneself to another. It is a partnership.
God made the covenants with men who carried the seed of Jesus.
“By Myself Have I Sworn” (Genesis 22:16)
A primary theme of the Bible is redemption.
Man sinned. God redeemed man by sending His Son to die for the world.
Why did God have to send His Son?
As revealed in Scripture, man chose and chooses self rather than God. Man cannot be relied on (Jeremiah 17:9, (Psalm 14:2-3; 53:2-3).
Therefore, God came to earth Himself.
God made a covenant with Himself (Genesis 22:16, Isaiah 45:22, Isaiah 63:5).
God said:
“By Myself have I sworn” (Genesis 22:16).
“I have sworn by Myself” (Isaiah 45:22).
“Therefore My own arm brought salvation for Me” (Isaiah 63:5).
That is, God revealed that He would come to the earth Himself to redeem and save mankind.
Why did He create man?
God is love. Love must be shared.
God says to us, “I love you with an everlasting love” (Jeremiah 31:3).
God created us for covenant.
His love brought us into existence. But for that fellowship to be legitimate, man had to make a choice. God would not force man to love Him, to fellowship with Him. Man had to choose.
So, God planted a garden with trees “pleasant to the sight and good for food” (Genesis 2:9). We are told about two of the trees: the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
Those two trees represented God and self.
Every person who has ever lived has had that same choice: God or self.
Adam had everything. He was king of the earth. He had no needs at all. He lacked one thing: divinity. So Satan tempted him with that.
Seven Covenants
God has made seven covenants with man.
Every covenant has three elements.
The covenants were made with people who carried the seed of Jesus Christ.
The Covenants:
Adamic
Noahic
Abrahamic – includes Isaac and Jacob
Mosaic
Davidic
New – Jesus Christ and the church
Eternal – sealed in eternity past; it should be first but the Bible mentions it last
Every covenant has three elements: promises, conditions and seal
The Seals:
Tree of life
Rainbow
Circumcision
Law
Praise
Holy Spirit
His glory
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