Introduction
The Biblical covenants are among the most significant elements from the Old Testament to the New Testament. Knowing these covenants is significant to the church’s history as they help us understand God’s love for his people. The major binding factor to all the covenants is that they anchored on the covenant of redemption where the Father chose people; Jesus the Son promised to accomplish the redemption while the Spirit pledged to apply to put the redemption in application. Based on this, Jesus has played a more significant part in the fulfillment of the covenants as he is the one who brought all the reconciliation between man and God, and hence God would never wipe out the life on earth. Therefore, this paper addresses how Jesus fulfilled the redemptive covenants in God’s Old Testament.
Fulfillment of the Abrahamic Covenant
Gospels and Acts
The books of the Gospel and Acts in the New Testament have extensively shown God’s fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenants. One of the Old Testament covenants between Abraham and God was that the Lord would bless his generations. The Lord promises that the offspring will receive the blessings because Abraham, their Father, has obeyed the Lord. Jesus fulfills this as he comes as the world’s savior by conquering the power of death by dying for humans (Anderson, 2020, p. 35). Just like the Lord saved Isaac by providing the lamb to Abraham, the blessing concerning God’s provision is fulfilled by Jesus being sent to save us from the power of death as descendants of Abraham, as evidenced in the Gospel and book of Acts. After the incident at Mt Moriah, Abraham named the place the Lord would provide, and the Lord sent his only Son, Jesus. It demonstrates the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham as he was called the Lamb of God.
Paul’s Epistles
In the Epistles of Paul, Jesus fulfills the Abrahamic covenant as the definitive seed of promise. Both the birth of Isaac and that of Jesus were miraculous to see the fulfillment of God’s covenant with Abraham. In the book of Galatians 3: 16, the bible says that the promises were spoken to the seed of Abraham and himself, which the seed insinuated to Jesus Christ. According to the Epistles of Paul, the promise to Abraham was fulfilled with Jesus Christ as he was the seed that would make every promise of Abraham come true (Milton, 2021, p. 3). Adding to this, Christ created a new priesthood of loyalty in which different people are joined as the followers of Christ and hence the spiritual seed of the faith of Abraham. This is God’s fulfillment of his promise of Abraham as the Father of a great nation.
General Epistles and Revelation
The book of Revelation also extensively demonstrated the fulfillment of the promises of God to Abraham. In Revelation 7, John says he saw a great multitude from every nation that no one could number. They stood before the lamb (Jesus) dressed in white robes and crying out loud with palms in their hands that salvation is of God as he sat on the throne. This great multitude John sees is precisely those that Jesus redeemed, as documented in Revelation 5 (Storms, 20129, p. 2). This means fulfilling Abraham’s promises of having many descendants, like uncountable stars. The general Epistles also depicts the fulfillment of Abrahams’s promises by Jesus through his blessings to humankind through his life and faith, living in us spiritually as he courageously carried his cross for the goodness of humanity.
Fulfillment of the Mosaic/Sinai Covenant
Gospels and Acts
The covenant of God with Moses was conditional and was concerned with temporal prosperity and not eternal salvation. It stipulated rewards for the Israelites if they maintained their obedience to God and consequences if they went against God. The Law of Moses was perfect and revealed how imperfect the Israelites were as they had become sinful. According to the Gospel in the book of Mathew and Acts, Jesus fulfilled the Law as he was born of the same Law. Jesus further proclaimed in the Gospel that he came to fulfill the Law and not to destroy it. He fulfilled the covenant of Moses As he was the only one who kept the Law perfectly without destroying it in any way and never broke any of the commandments, which was the supreme covenant.
Paul’s Epistles
According to Paul, Jesus fulfilled the Jewish Law based on the Christian Faith, which was instr4iduced by Jesus. In the book of Galatians 5: 14, Paul states that the commandment of love which Jesus preached the most is the fulfillment of the Mosaic covenant, which showed God’s love to the people of Israel. Based on the Epistles, Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant of Moses as Paul was the Son of soil and would separate the righteous from the sinful upon his return (Sanders, 2019, p. 3). This fulfills the Mosaic Law as they were meant to separate the righteous from the evildoers. The Mosaic Law was also meant to strengthen the relationship between God and man. According to Romans 8, Jesus made possible a relationship with God in which the believers had the Law of God in their minds as was written in their hearts. This was due to the existence of the Holy Spirit that enabled the intimate fellowship with God as it was desired in the Mosaic Law. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus fulfilled the Mosaic Covenant.
General Epistles and Revelation
In the general Epistles, Jesus also fulfilled the Mosaic covenant by reconciling humankind with God. The Mosaic covenant, especially the Ten Commandments, was established to help mend the destroyed relationship between the Israelites and God in Revelations. In Revelations 7, John sees the uncountable number of people whose loud voices cried out that salvation belonged to God. This fulfills the Mosaic covenant in the General Epistles and the book of Revelations. Jesus is portrayed to have built the bridges between humankind and God as the Mosaic covenant intended. The Law established in the hearts of humans is also a fulfillment of the Mosaic covenant in the general Epistles as it creates the link between God and his people.
Fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant
Gospels and Acts
Based on the Gospels and Acts, the Davidic covenant was fulfilled by Jesus through his lineage and teachings. It was a requirement that Jesus, the Messiah, be born of the David lineage. In Luke 1:32-33, the angel who appeared to Mary told Mary that she would give birth to a child who would be honored and be regarded as the Son of the highest. Adding to this, Jesus would have control over the house of Jacob eternally, and the throne of David will be granted to him by God. In addition, the book of Mathew 1:1 states that the Bible is the book of the ancestry of Jesus Christ, the Son of David (Edgar, 2022, p. 3). In the book of Luke 1:33, it is stated that the kingdom of Jesus will have no end. The preaching of Jesus Christ about love, peace, and justice is evident in King David’s time of reign, as he wished that his land was filled with righteousness. It is also apparent in 2 Samuel 7:12-13 when the establishment of David’s throne is promised to be established forever by God.
Paul’s Epistles
According to Paul’s epistles, Jesus fulfills the Davidic covenant through suffering, death, and resurrection. According to Romans 1:1-4, it is stated that Jesus Christ is made of the seed of David according to the flesh. This is when Paul, a servant of God, was called to be an apostle. Jesus is then declared Gods Son with power by the Spirit of holiness through his resurrection from the departed (Edgar, 2022, p. 3). Therefore, Jesus’ resurrection is viewed as evidence of his holy nature and proof of his promise of the eternal kingdom from the line of David.
General Epistles and Revelation
In the General Epistles and Revelation, Jesus fulfills his status as the King. In Hebrews 1:8, God says of Jesus that his throne is for eternity and that a scripture of wisdom is a scripture of his kingdom. In Revelation 22:16, Jesus Christ declares that he has sent his angel to testify unto people in worship places that he is the source and offspring of David and the shining morning star (Rhodes, 2021, p. 212). This elaborates that Jesus Christ is a descendant of David and the root of David’s lineage. This marks Jesus Christ’s status as the utmost heir to David’s throne.
Fulfillment of the New Covenant
Gospels and Acts
In the Gospel and Acts, Jesus fulfilled the New Testament through his life, death, and resurrection. Jesus’ life was dedicated to teaching about the way to the Lord, God. He healed many people and performed miracles; through this, Jesus was able to idealize the fact that he had authority from God. Jesus forgave sins, an act that showed that he was God sent. The most revealing incident that indicates that Jesus fulfilled the new covenant was his death on the cross for everyone’s sins. The blood he shed on the cross was a sign of sacrifice for the sins of humanity (Millet, 2019, p. 283). Through the bloodshed on the cross, Jesus reconciled humans with God. This can be attributed to the sacrifice in the Old Testament by shedding animal blood. However, the shedding of animal blood by the forefathers could not cleanse sins permanently. Moreover, his resurrection from the dead showed he had triumphed through the devil, sins, and death. Jesus’ resurrection made everyone who believed in him receive eternal life.
Paul’s Epistles
In Paul’s Epistles, Jesus fulfills the new covenant. Paul explains in Romans 3:21-26 how God’s righteousness without the Law is manifested since all who have sinned and received the redemption of Jesus have been cleansed of their sins. He elaborates that God has set forth Jesus as a propitiation by faith in his blood. This explains why we are saved merely by adhering to laws and putting faith in Jesus. In 1 Corinthians 15:3-4, Paul tells us that the death and resurrection of Jesus were prudent parts of spreading the Gospel of God; he writes in the scripture that Jesus died, was buried, and resurrected on the third day (Millet, 2019, p. 283) Through this, we learn that the scriptures do not purposefully give us moral values but enlighten us with knowledge and understanding of Jesus Christ. Jesus fulfilled the new covenant by sacrificing his life for the sins of humanity and bringing salvation to the souls of those who believed in him.
General Epistles and Revelation
In the general Epistles and Revelation, the New Covenant has generally been fulfilled by Jesus Christ breaking the generational curse and pronouncing the people being judged for their sins. The individual judgment of sins fulfills the new covenant, as was expected. In the book of Revelations, 4 John says that he saw the thrones as the judgment was committed, and those that had obeyed the Law of God reigned with Christ as they witnessed the mighty works of Christ (Rhodes, 2021, p. 212). Jesus Fulfilled the new covenant as it was written on the hearts of everyone, and everyone was judged individually. By those who had not worshipped the beast reigning with Christ, it fulfills the covenant as they have been judged individually and proved righteous according to the New Covenant.
Conclusion
To conclude, the covenants of God are essential to the church and Christians as they are anchored on the foundation of redemption. They form the thread of Good’s unifying and saving actions through the scriptures, which begin explicitly with Abraham and reach fulfillment by the blood of Jesus Christ in the New Testament. This paper discussed how Jesus Christ fulfilled the redemptive promises of God and fulfillment of the New Covenant as expressed in the books of the Gospel and Acts, the Epistles of Paul, General Epistles, and the book of Revelation. In the Abrahamic Covenant, Jesus fulfilled the covenant by being a blessing to the descendants of Abraham, as had been promised to Abraham by God. In the Mosaic Covenant, Jesus fulfilled this by reconciling humankind to God. He died for them, and their sins were forgiven, establishing a new relationship with God. In the New Covenant, Jesus fulfilled this Law establishing a new judgment to the people according to their mistakes as the covenant was now written in the hearts of people, and everyone was accountable for their sins.
References
Anderson, F. R. (2022). Why Did Jesus Die and What Does That Have to Do with Me?: A Biblical and Sacramental Understanding of Atonement. Wipf and Stock Publishers.
Milton, M. A. (2021). What Did God Promise Abraham. Authorea Preprints.
Rhodes, R. (2023). 40 Days Through Bible Prophecy: A Panoramic Survey of the End Times and Beyond. Harvest House Publishers.
Sander,E. (2019) Jewish Law of St. Paul the Apostle https://www.britannica.com/biography/Saint-Paul-the-Apostle/Jewish-law
Edgar, B. (2021) HOW JESUS FULFILLS THE OLD TESTAMENT https://www.broomallrpc.org/articles/how-jesus-fulfills-the-old-testament
Storms, S. (2020) THE FULFILLMENT OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT https://www.samstorms.org/enjoying-god-blog/post/the-fulfillment-of-the-abrahamic-covenant
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