What is a Covenant?
June 24th, 2024 by G.
The Western way is to define a term. The definition should be as exact as possible. There is another way, though, which I got from the ancient Greeks. You define something by looking at the ideal or the paradigm of that thing. Then whether you call something similar but not quite ideal by the same term depends on whether making the connection in context is useful or not.
So lets talk about what a covenant is. We usually casually define it as a contract, but it would be better to think of it as a contract with enhanced features. As opposed to the ideal contract, a covenant is a mutual agreement that
- is sacred
- involves oaths
- is long lasting
- is goal-oriented, not task-oriented
- involves a joint goal–there is an outcome that the parties all want to reach
- creates or reflects a relationship–the parties aren’t arms-length commercial
- and where the parties do not have to be equals
bruce g charlton
June 24, 2024
This is an interesting analysis.
But what it tells me (I think you’d agree) is that a covenant is Not the kind of thing that can be defined by a list of bullet points!
In other words; you show that a covenant is more than a contract; but you really need to show what kind-of-a-thing a covenant actually is.
I suspect that when you do that, it will appear that a covenant is something not susceptible of legalistic-type definition, because it is a pre-legal profundity – rooted in love.
A covenant is something that happens in Heaven, and only in Heaven; where all of living is rooted in eternal love.
And – I would then say – Heaven is itself rooted in that Master Covenant which is made possible by resurrection into life everlasting.
(Which was and is made possible by the work of Jesus Christ and our covenant to follow him through resurrection to Heaven.)
G.
June 25, 2024
Yes, absolutely. Basically though both often involve agreements, comparing covenants to contracts is pretty misleading.