Covenant Theology Research Articles

Pentecostalism and Covenantalism: Towards a Pneumatological Covenant Theology of Dealing with Adversity

Covenant theology seeks to explore the connection between deity and humanity which spans from the time of creation to the time when God sent his son to redeem the world from sin. The main tenets of the covenant theology also known as covenantalism are the covenant of works mainly found in the creation story. Second, it is the covenant of grace based on the promises of eternal life through faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, and embracement of the Holy Spirit. The third component of covenant theology is the covenant of redemption which recognizes the sending of the Son of God into the world to die for the sins of the people. This article argued that covenantalism in the Pentecostal movement is not a mere doctrine based on these three tenets but rather is pneumatologically defined as a way of dealing with adversity. This is demonstrated through the theoretical framework of the pneumatological imagination in illustrating how Pentecostals in Africa are rooted in the covenant between them and their God through the Holy Spirit. Thus pneumatology in Pentecostalism becomes the foundation for the Pentecostal pneumatological covenant theology of dealing with adversity. This changes how we study covenant theolog., It is not only about religious doctrine but also a means of dealing with adversity. The study is a literature review within qualitative methodology. The study makes an important contribution to covenant theology by suggesting a theology of dealing with adversity beyond doctrinal issues. Therefore, covenant theology should be studied by taking into cognizance the role of the Holy Spirit within the framework of pneumatological imagination in helping believers overcome adversity. Keywords: Pentecostalism, Covenantalism, Covenant Theology, Pneumatology, Pneumatological Imagination, Adversity, Pentecostal

The Covenant with Moses and the Kingdom of God: Thomas Hobbes and the Theology of the Old Covenant in Early Modern England, written by Andrew Martin

The Covenant with Moses and the Kingdom of God: Thomas Hobbes and the Theology of the Old Covenant in Early Modern England, written by Andrew Martin

Teologie en Kerkreg: Wat word van die Heilige Gees in ons teologie en in die Kerkreg?

Theology and Church Polity: What becomes of the Holy Spirit in our theology and Church Polity? Currently, a shift in theological training is taking place in South Africa. University faculties, which previously trained students for church ministry, do not meet the requirements set by churches. From churches side, efforts are even being made to establish private theological educational institutions. The focus of this article is on the nature of the theological training, which may be or will be offered at these institutions. There are indications that the theology, as mentioned refers to 17th-century Puritanism, the Dutch Nearer Reformation and Neo-Calvinism. The point of view stated here is as follows: The 17th-century theology does not offer a basis for a reformed (Scripture-based) theological education or a resistance to liberal theology. An intrinsic characteristic of reformed theology, namely that the Holy Spirit maintains theology as a unity between its extreme poles, is replaced by rationalism. In its core the secularisation of theology is already present. A fundamental problem in this theology is the place attributed to the Holy Spirit. What becomes of the teaching of the Holy Spirit if the 17th-century theology is redeployed in the 21st-century circumstances? The following points serve as a guideline for answering this question: the change of direction of the teaching of the Holy Spirit in 16th-century Reformed theology, radicalisation of theology, covenant theology as warp and weft, and the hard yoke of the law. In conclusion it is stated that rationalism infiltrated theology, which gave rise to a theological dogmatism, church confessionalism, church legalism, and a rigidity in the organisation of church life.Contribution: Re-evaluation and restructuring of Reformed church polity and its practice (church government).

Laying the Exegetical Foundations of the Reformed Tradition: Zwingli’s Covenantal Reading of Genesis

This paper argues that Zwingli gained crucial exegetical insights during his lectures on the book of Genesis that made him the founder of covenant theology in the Reformed tradition, a theology based on the hermeneutic and redemptive-historical unity of the Old and New Testaments. Those lectures were held in the mid-1520s at the newly founded biblical-theological seminary in Zurich, almost nine years after Zwingli’s conversion to sola scriptura and two years after the Reformation was introduced in the city. In particular, this article explores passages where the Zurich Reformer explicitly referred to a single covenant made with Adam, Noah, Abraham, and Moses that aligns with the new testament of Christ.

To Whom Is the Institutional Chaplain Beholden? Reconciling the Christian Chaplain’s Tension of Identity With a Theology of Calling

Abstract Professional chaplains have the unique opportunity to provide spiritual care within institutional settings where other types of pastoral care may not exist. Serving within these institutions presents special challenges, including tension between multiple identities and responsibilities. This tension can create conflict within the Christian chaplain, and confusion as to whom they are ultimately beholden. The first section of the article discusses what I see as the five identity-related tensions a professional chaplain may experience serving in an institution. The second section of the article outlines a Christian theology of calling built on the framework of Covenant Theology and God’s reconciling work of grace. This theology of calling orients the professional identity of the Christian chaplains, rooting them in a clear sense of their responsibilities within their institutional setting. Christian chaplains are beholden first to God and to the calling God places on their life. Proper orientation to that calling equips chaplains to reconcile any cognitive dissonance caused by identity-related tensions, thus opening up a richer spiritual dialogue with God as they live out their kingdom-advancing mission.

The Church and the Kingdom

The relationship between the church and the kingdom is hardly a new topic in Reformed theology. One might think that by now every imaginable facet of this matter would be settled. However, discussions in various parts of the world show how easily conversations degenerate into polemics that stifle the sacred responsibility “to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph 4:3). Perhaps vigorous polemics have served some positive ends in the past. However, at this time when interest in Reformed theology grows around the world, paths must be found that will move beyond the controversies of the past and toward more mutuality. KEYWORDS: Church and kingdom, covenant theology, Reformed confessions, Christ and culture, kingdom in Scripture, mission of the church, kingdom and eschatology

“The Boy of Tocutt” and the Demonic Covenant in Seventeenth-Century New England Demonology

ABSTRACT The New England demonic possession narrative, “A Confession of a Boy at Tocutt,” remains conspicuously absent from the rich scholarship on diabolic affliction in seventeenth-century North America. Appearing in Cotton Mather’s 1689Memorable Providences, Relating to Witchcrafts and Possessions, this narrative details the torments of one settler, known only as “The Boy of Tocutt,” in Branford Connecticut (ca. 1645–1666). While incomplete, this account is marked by a unique emphasis on the demonic pact and offers a valuable insight into the development of this demonological concept in New England. Through a close reading of “A Confession of a Boy at Tocutt” in the context of Protestant demonic covenant theology, this article establishes the demonological and narrative function of the pact in New England diabolical literature. In doing so, it reconciles this possession narrative with succeeding cases and establishes the versality of the demonic pact in New England demonology.

Moses and Christ in the Wilderness Narrative: Transformation of Religious Traditions in 1 Cor 10

Unlike Islam, Judaism and Christianity, religions in antiquity were non-confessional and lacked moral instructions for worshippers. Patron–client associations seemed to depict gods-worshipper relations in Paul’s time. In this paper, I argue that Paul in 1 Cor 10:1–4 uses both his former religious traditions and those of the first audience, Jews and non-Jews, to convince them about his novel God–Christ patron–covenant theology. Paul abruptly introduced Moses (10:2), spiritual food/drink (10:3–4a) and Christ (10:4b) into the classic Jewish wandering story in the wilderness to delineate his anti-idol rhetoric throughout 1 Cor 10. Paul paradoxically warned the first audience against their idol-worshipping lifestyles by utilising and transforming Jewish Shema worship into a binitarian God–Christ covenantal relation, and idol-worship traditions to the only patron family god of the Christ-follower community. Paul’s rhetorical purpose of (re)introducing the concept of God as Moses’ God and Christ as an anti-idol polemic is a coherent theme throughout 1 Cor 10 and probably throughout 1 Cor 11–14.

Children at the Lord’s Table: Revisiting the Covenantal and Eschatological Foundations for the Practice of Paedocommunion

The inclusion of children in the church’s liturgy of the Lord’s Supper (paedocommunion) is still a matter of debate today. One of the main reasons for excluding them is that they are not considered capable of expressing their faith independently. However, from a biblical perspective, we see that the Lord’s Supper cannot be separated from covenant theology, which states that children are part of God's covenant, with or without a declaration of faith. If so, forbidding a child to participate in the Lord’s Supper would ultimately amount to considering children as mere potential Christians and not de facto members of God's covenant. Given the importance of the Lord’s Supper for believers, this paper aims to revisit what the Bible says about paedocommunion as a form of sacrament that can be applied by churches in general. The author argues that as part of the covenant and kingdom of God, children should be allowed to participate in the Lord’s Supper to remember Christ's redemption for them and prepare for Christ's second coming. To this end, the author begins by outlining the essential foundation of the practice of Holy Communion according to 1 Corinthians 11:23-29. Then, the author provides the Old Testament equivalent to establish the covenantal viewpoint and the New Testament equivalent to establish the eschatological viewpoint. Finally, the author gives a brief explanation of how children can participate in the table of God.

“Misreading” Calvin: The Question of World-Making in the Texts of Settler Colonialism and Theology

ABSTRACT Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz’s account of European settler colonialism in the United States notably focuses on Calvinist communities as a primary catalyst in rationalizing land seizure, identifying covenantal theology as supporting settler claims to sovereignly held indigenous lands. This article argues that while she rightly identifies a correspondence between divine providence and a settler colonial logic of replacement, a vertical orientation, her analysis of theology as settler colonialism can be completed through a recourse to a rhetorical and literary analysis of Calvin’s Institutes. That is, settler colonialism also possesses a horizontal component, a logic of replicability that describes the temporal and spatial movement of settler colonialism. To make this argument I turn to Michelle Sanchez and Ford Lewis Battles’ respective explorations of literary genre and the language of accommodation. My analysis points to how Calvin’s covenantal theology can conjure the “imagined community” that is then embodied as settler colonialism. I end by suggesting that further careful articulation of the nexus between theology and settler colonialism is necessary for us to reckon the present and ongoing possibilities of inhabiting space and sharing life together, settler and indigenous alike.

Dasar Teologis bagi Implementasi Etos Global dalam Perspektif Kristen

<p><strong>Abstract:</strong> This article departs from the declaration of the global ethos, which was declared by the Parliament of World Religions in Chicago, in 1993. It expresses the belief that many people can agree with the principles and values stated in it. After that the question is raised how this ethos can be implemented. To answer this question, the article follows the suggestion of Hans Küng, the initiator of the global ethos, that every religion should investigate its traditions, in order to find a deeper understanding of these values and the motivations that can help to develop attitudes that support these values. So in this article a description is made of the Christian tradition, of God’s law and the essence of sin as a force and as human action. Then the whole history of salvation is described as an attempt from God to introduce himself with His true face as God who wants humans to have life in all the abundance, which therefore can be trusted as the basis and guarantor of human life and existence. Finally follows the conclusion that this truth about God needs to be proclaimed by the Christian Church, so that in response to God’s actions and works, humans can become able to let go selfishness and compulsion to seek as much wealth and power for themselves as possible. So people can become capable of practicing the values as stated in the declaration of the global ethos.</p><p><strong>Keywords:</strong> global ethos, parliament of world religions, God’s law, core power of sin, Paul’s theology, justification, covenant theology.</p>

Covenant: The Framework of God's Grand Plan of Redemption by Daniel I. Block

Reviewed by: Covenant: The Framework of God's Grand Plan of Redemption by Daniel I. Block Reed Lessing daniel i. block, Covenant: The Framework of God's Grand Plan of Redemption (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2021). Pp. vii + 680. $54.99. After fifty years of studying Israel's Scriptures, Block presents his magnum opus—calling his book a "Here I stand" account of his findings (p. xiv). Although in his index B. provides two pages of cited works, the vast majority of the book's footnotes reference only biblical texts. In other words, B. does not interact—at least overtly—with other OT scholarship. He writes, "My primary desire in producing this volume is to celebrate the grace of God in designing and implementing his grand plan of redemption and to invite conversation on the plan generally and in its details" (p. xiv). His meticulously organized presentation of covenants in the Bible, then, is the author's academic and personal confession of faith. Foundational to B.'s work is the fact that he rejects the idea that there are conditional and unconditional covenants. Instead, he proposes that covenant theology is better understood through the lens of function rather than duration. That is to say, biblical covenants are either missional/communal or administrative, and they undergird what B. calls the Bible's four movements: redemption's background (Genesis 1–2); the need for redemption (Genesis 3:1–11:26); God's agents of redemption (Genesis 11:27–Malachi 4:6); and the arrival and mission of the Redeemer (Matthew–Revelation). Each of B.'s investigations into these four movements begins with sections exploring missional/communal covenants and ends with a similar analysis of the Bible's administrative covenants. One of the strengths of B.'s work is his consistent probing of the historical and literary contexts that give rise to the Bible's different covenants. Along the way, he structures his discussions from what he calls the cosmic and Adamic covenants, the Israelite (or patriarchal) covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the NT covenant. Throughout the book, B. provides in-depth exegeses and word studies. For example, on p. 111 he gives the semantic spectrum of yārēʾ words: terror, fright, anxiety, awe, reverence, submission, allegiance, trust. The book includes forty-three diagrams and twenty-two tables. Block understands the Noahic covenant as God saying, "I will establish my covenant [with the cosmos] with you" (p. 16). This is the case, B. argues, because the entire universe needs restoration because of Adam's fall. "The narrator [of Genesis] is silent concerning a reciprocal sign of commitment from the second party, but clearly that party is the earth itself" (p. 39). The rest of the First Testament does not let this vision of creation's renewal die (e.g., Hos 4:1–3; Jer 31:35–36). The author further maintains that the grammar of Gen 6:18—literally, "to establish, confirm a covenant"—implies that a preexisting covenant is already in place. This is the covenant God made with Adam. Among other texts to make his point, B. points to Hos 6:7: "But like Adam they transgressed the covenant; there they dealt faithlessly with me" (ESV). Following Genesis 11, God's covenant with Adam decreases while his covenant with Abram/Abraham takes center stage. "Instead of a triangular relationship involving God, the earth, and all living creatures, this relationship involved God, Israel, and the land of Canaan" (p. 68). After divine dealings with the patriarchs, the term "covenant" appears twentyeight additional times in the Pentateuch—the most important ones come at Sinai (Exodus 19–24), where God ordains Israel into priestly service for the sake of the world. Exodus 32–Leviticus 26 renews and completes this covenant. Forty years later, as narrated in the Book of Deuteronomy, Moses reaffirms it with Israel on the plains of Moab. The piel verb [End Page 482] in Deut 1:5, bēʾēr, means "to put into effect." It was necessary, B. contends, to reinstitute Sinai because the new generation of Israelites had not participated in the earlier covenant ratification. Upon entering the promised land, Israel repeatedly failed to hold up its part of the...

Humanism Reformed: Narrative and the Divine-Human Encounter in Paul Ricoeur

“Narrative Theology” has often been construed in contrast to broader humanistic discourse. Protestant and particularly Reformed Christianity has often set the “Old, Old Story” apart from humanism and the humanities. This chapter explores the juxtaposition of humanism and reformed thinking in Paul Ricoeur. Ricoeur’s hermeneutics is compared with the Reformed “covenant theology” of 17th Century Puritanism. Covenant theology balanced the belief that God exceeds our powers of knowing and language and the conviction that God consents to be known within the limits of human understanding, as developed through the liberal arts. Similarly, Ricoeur sees God as limiting and disrupting human language, but while, for Ricoeur, encounter with God may begin as impossible dialogue, it develops by dispersing the names and signs of the divine throughout the tropes and genres of human discourse, narrative chief among them. Ricoeur’s thought is interpreted as a Christian humanism in which religious inquiry and secular humanistic thought coexist and mutually enhance one another. Ricoeur’s humanism will be preferred over approaches to narrative that set the Christian story and its hearers apart from the broader conversation of culture; a solipsism of faith is inadequate to the challenges of a modern pluralist culture.

The relevance of covenant theology to fatherlessness in Kenya: A youth and family ministry perspective

This article explores fatherlessness within the Kenyan society, as well as its causes and effects. The article uses a practical theological methodology that unpacks the doctrine of reformed covenant theology (RCT) and its implications for strengthening the church’s ministries to young people and families within the context of fatherlessness in Kenya. The articles argues that RCT strengthens the individual’s self-concept in light of family dysfunction; restores a covenantal understanding of marriage with implications for marital and family life, and provides a context for covenant communities of faith tofunction as nurturing families for young people who have been abandoned or isolated through fatherlessness or father absence. This article suggests that RCT offers a robust theology that can anchor practical interventions within the scope of the church’s ministry to its young people as well as its families.

The Covenant of Works: The Origins, Development, and Reception of the Doctrine. By J. V. Fesko

Historical investigation into the development of the Reformed tradition has seen significant growth over the last few decades, so that studies are now able to analyse how even very precise doctrinal categories took shape within the confessional boundaries of Reformed theology. J. V. Fesko has established himself as a leading researcher of issues related to Reformed soteriology, and his most recent contributions have focused on formulation, reception, and even modern restatement of Reformed covenant theology. As part of this ongoing project, Fesko’s newest volume explores the historical development and reception of the covenant of works. This doctrine teaches that God made a covenant with Adam, who was not only the first man but also represented the human race regarding our standing before God. In this covenant, God offered the reward of life for Adam and those whom he represented, if Adam rendered perfect obedience to the law. Reformed theologians used...

Consummation Anyway: A Reformed Proposal

The central claim of a Consummation Anyway (CA) model is that God could bring about eschatological consummation sans the fall—the intended telos of created humanity—apart from the incarnation of Christ. As such, the CA model is an alternative to an Incarnation Anyway (IA) model, according to which Christ’s incarnation is a necessary means by which a state of eschatological glory would be achieved sans the fall. This essay seeks to propose an argument for the CA model by drawing from the covenant theology of the Reformed tradition, and it moves in four steps. Firstly, I shall summarize Marc Cortez’s recent arguments for IA, homing in on the major moves that are most relevant for sketching a CA model. Secondly, I will highlight the challenges Cortez has offered against those interested in defending a CA model. Thirdly, I shall sketch a Reformed account of the CA model that seeks to address Cortez’s objections. Fourthly, then, I’ll consider two potential objections against the sketch I have offered for CA, inspired by a recent argument offered by James T. Turner (2019). Finally, I close with a brief conclusion that summarizes some salient features of the proposed thesis. This paper thus proposes at least one way in which the CA thesis could remain a real and live option within this debate.

Refleksi Teologi Kovenan Berdasarkan Kejadian 1-3 dan Implikasinya bagi Kehidupan Orang Percaya Masa Kini

Covenant theology is one of the most important parts of the Christian faith. Theology is God's initiative in persuading His love for man. God promises to give redemption to all men without requirement. However, advances in technology and science have harmed one's belief in God's promise. The purpose of this study was to find reflections of covenant theology found in Genesis 1-3 and its implications for today's believers. The method used in this article is library research with a descriptive qualitative approach. Through the research of the library, three covenants that God gave to man were covenants of work, redemption, and grace. The covenant can still be enjoyed by all believers today if, it can place Christ at the center of the fulfillment of god's covenant.

The Never-Chosen: Samson Occom, the New Divinity, and Indigenous Self-Determination

The Never-Chosen: Samson Occom, the New Divinity, and Indigenous Self-Determination

Early Reformation Covenant Theology: English Reception of Swiss Reformed Thought, 1520–1555. By Robert J. D. Wainwright. Reformed Academic Dissertations. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2020. 432 pp. $59.00 paper.

Early Reformation Covenant Theology: English Reception of Swiss Reformed Thought, 1520–1555. By Robert J. D. Wainwright. Reformed Academic Dissertations. Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing, 2020. 432 pp. $59.00 paper.

Why did Henry Dunster Reject Infant Baptism? Circumcision and the Covenant of Grace in the Seventeenth-Century Transatlantic Reformed Community

In 1653 Henry Dunster, Harvard's first President, refused to baptise his fourth child, initiating a controversy that would end in his resignation from the Harvard presidency in October 1654. This article offers an explanation for Dunster's rejection of infant baptism by re-examining the causes behind the spread of antipaedobaptism across 1640s England and New England, attributing special significance to the Anglophone reception of continental European covenant theology. Supporting this account, it presents an annotated edition of a previously unknown item in Dunster's correspondence, a letter sent to him by a concerned onlooker just months after his heterodoxy became public.