Covenants and Dispensations (Part 4)
Dr. Thomas Ice
Now that we have seen the interplay between an unconditional and conditional covenant, I will conduct a survey of the various biblical covenants in order to obtain an overview of them. These are not the theological covenants of Covenant Theology, but instead are the significant covenants that are taught in the Bible itself. These covenants are either taught directly in the Bible or deduced from Scripture as containing the properties of a covenant even if that designation is not used in the biblical text. There are at least eight biblical covenants that should be considered.
The Edenic Covenant
The Edenic Covenant (Gen. 1:28-30; 2:15-17) provides the pre-Fall basis that God employs to establish His rule and relationship to mankind. This is a conditional covenant that was made between God and all mankind. Even though not called a covenant in the Genesis text the components of a covenant can be observed in the text. Since Adam and mankind is cursed due to human failure to keep these stipulations this supports the notion that such would not continue to be the case if these things were not administered through an agreement or covenant. The Edenic Covenant, in conjunction with the Cultural Mandate (Gen. 1:26-28), provides the basis for areas of individual human responsibility, social, political and economic duties, as well as accountability before God for all humanity down through subsequent history. This covenant provides the judicial basis for God' s rule over mankind. It provides, for example, the legal jurisdiction for God' s judgment through the Flood (Gen. 6- 8). After the fall into sin, other covenants will augment this foundational relationship.
The Adamic Covenant
The Adamic Covenant (Gen. 3:14-19) is initiated between God and mankind because of Adam' s sin. This is a conditional covenant that was made between God and all mankind. Even though it is not mentioned in Genesis this covenant is referenced in Hosea where it says, "