Interviews

What does Paul say about Covenant Theology?

Dr. Bob Cara explores how covenant theology highlights God’s continuous and escalating plan from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Paul’s writings show how God’s promises, partially hidden in the Old Testament, are fully revealed in Christ, pointing to his perfect work and the hope of eternal life. The following is a transcript of the video above.

What does Paul say about Covenant Theology?

Covenant Theology and Paul. I love a million details of covenant theology. I love contrasting covenant theology versus dispensationalism, progressive covenantalism, and New Testament theology. If you happen to know these other Bible-believing options, I want to say that covenant theology primarily focuses on continuity from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Or to say it another way, sometimes I say, yes, there's contrast, contrast within continuity, that there's a fundamental continuity. God in the Old Testament, God in the New Testament, believers in the Old Testament, believers in the New Testament. But there is a sense of contrast in the sense of escalation. Things are getting more, so to speak. David is a good king who sins a little bit. Jesus is the perfect king who does not sin, redeems us, and so on. The Holy Spirit is in the Old Testament, but there's more escalation, more into the New Testament post-Pentecost. So the idea of Covenant Theology has a lot of angles to it, but one angle is seeing God's plan in the Old Testament carried into the New Testament, with certain aspects escalating—specifically, we learn more about Christ in the New Testament. And what I want to do is show you that through several verses. I'm going to go to Paul's doxology right at the end of the Book of Romans. So I'm at the last paragraph of Romans 16. I'll start at 25. And you may recognize this doxology. Now to him who is able to strengthen you according to my Gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. Okay, preaching of Jesus Christ. Now he's going to define that according to the revelation of the mystery. And remember, for Paul, the word mystery means something that existed in the Old Testament but was hidden to some degree and becomes clearer in the New Testament, according to the mystery that was kept secret for long ages, but now has been disclosed. So the preaching about Christ, there's a sense of hiddenness in the Old Testament, not complete hiddenness, but hiddenness has now become disclosed and interesting, he says. And through the prophetic writings, it says, so it's become clear through Christ and what he's done. So it's both what we know about Christ, his coming, this, that, and the other thing, and the Old Testament Scriptures, and then also eventually the New Testament Scriptures. So it has been disclosed and, through the prophetic writings, has been made known to all nations. And because part of the Promise in the Old Testament is that God's salvation, although beginning in Israel, would spread out to all the nations. And then he ends that to the only wise God be glory forever and ever through Jesus Christ. Why is God wise? Many reasons. First, here is this plan in the Old Testament that comes into the New Testament. Colossians 1. I became a minister according to the stewardship from God that was given to me for you to make the word of God more fully known. The mystery hidden for ages and generations, but now revealed unto his saints. And finally, the beginning of the book of Titus. Paul, a servant of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, for the sake of the faith of God's elect and their knowledge of the truth, which is according to godliness and in hope of eternal life, which God, who never lies, there is a hope of eternal life. God never lies, promised before the ages began. It was all part of the eternal plan and at the proper time manifested in His Word, in God's word through the preaching with which the command of God our Savior has entrusted me. Having an emphasis on covenant theology, the continuity, and again, it's an escalating continuity, aids you in better reading the Old Testament. Among other things, the Old Testament talks about Adam. Oh, he sinned and failed. Oh, a better Adam is coming. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. You look at the sacrifices in the Old Testament. Well, what are those doing there? Oh, they're pointing toward the sacrifice of Christ—the perfect one, the escalating sacrifice. You look at the land in the Old Testament. Oh, that's typological. That points to the ultimate land—the new heavens and new earth. You look at the prophets, you look at David, so forth and so on. Believing in covenant theology emphasizes the movement from the Old Testament to the New Testament. It's not always a straight line. Now, sometimes it's odd. Don't commit adultery, physical adultery in the Old Testament. Don't commit physical adultery in the New Testament. That's a straight line. But many times it's an escalating line. We learn something about Christ in the Old Testament. We learn more about Christ in the New Testament. Now, our dispensational friends and our progressive covenantal friends —they're going to agree with most of what I said there. They're going to see. They may have more discontinuity, but believing in covenant theology just confirms the heartwarming sense that Christ is in the Old Testament, as predicted. And we see him in the New Testament, and we look forward to even more seeing him in the new heavens and new earth. .