The Bible speaks of covenants (Gen. 6:18; Ex. 6:4- 5; Jer. 31:31- 33, etc.) and dispensations (Eph. 1:10; 3:2, 9; Col. 1:25, etc.). Since the Reformation, the two major systems of conservative Protestant theology have developed around covenants and dispensations. It will be interesting to launch an investigation into these two important biblical items. I want to examine the biblical use of covenants and dispensations and also look at the systems of theology known as covenant theology and dispensationalism...
Another way of breaking down differences in biblical covenants is to arrange them according to whether they are conditional or unconditional covenants. Conditional covenants are agreements between at least two entities in which there are stipulations that must be kept by both parties. Failure to keep conditions of the covenant leads to the implementation of stated sanctions or nullification of the agreement. The Suzerain-Vassal Treaty format is an example of a conditional covenant. The Mosaic Covenant was given in this format and is a clear instance of a conditional covenant as can be seen through the many stipulations that Israel was to keep. At this point, however, I want to focus on unconditional covenants in the Bible...
It is common in the interchange between many who do not see a future for national Israel and those who do to emphasize different passages that appear to the advocate to support their views. I believe that both the sovereign, unconditional decrees of God, as expressed in unconditional covenants such as the Abrahamic and the many conditional responsibilities required of Israel in a conditional covenant such as the Mosaic are both true. It is certainly true that God has decreed certain sovereign outcomes in the Abrahamic Covenant. It is also certainly true that there are many stipulations or conditions that Israel must perform before these sovereign outcomes will occur in history. How are they harmonized? ...
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...
Since I have identified the biblical covenants and classified them as conditional or unconditional, I want to now look at each one and see if they are still in force today and if they are, how they relate to the church age believer. These covenants provide a framework by which we can know how God wants us to behave in every area of life...