Covenants Fulfilled: Israel, Christ, and the One People

God relates with the world on the basis of covenants. The covenants are not handshake deals between equal parties, because God is the higher power with full and total sovereignty, and he determines both sides of the relationship. Genesis shows God covenanting with creation, then renewing his covenant with Noah after the flood. Genesis, Exodus, and Samuel then show God making specific covenants with Abraham, Moses, and David, promising land, priesthood, holiness, kingship, and an enduring kingdom.

The purpose of the covenants is to establish God’s kingdom on earth by forming a people who know him, live under his rule, and represent him to the world. The painful pattern of the Old Testament is that every covenant gets broken. The creation covenant is ruined in Eden. The Noahic covenant is followed by Babel. The Abrahamic family fails again and again. The Mosaic covenant is broken almost before it is finished, while Moses is still on the mountain and Israel is worshiping the golden calf. The Davidic covenant is dragged down by kings who do what is right in their own eyes until the land, temple, and throne are lost.

All of the covenants reach their fulfillment in Jesus Christ through the new covenant. Acts says the good news is that what God promised to the ancestors, God fulfilled by raising Jesus. Paul says the promises of God are not “yes and no,” but “yes in Christ.” Hebrews says Christ is the mediator of the new covenant, not because covenant people finally kept their side of the bargain, but because Jesus died as the ransom for sins committed under the first covenant.

Galatians 3 says Abraham’s “seed” is singular, and that seed is Christ. In Christ, believing Jews and Gentiles together become children of God through faith. The new covenant is not limited by Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female, because all are one in Messiah Jesus. Romans 11 still holds out hope for ethnic Israel to turn to Jesus, but that hope is a turning to the Messiah, not a separate way of becoming the people of God.

The land promise expands in Christ into new creation. Paul reads Abraham’s inheritance as the world, not merely one strip of land. Ezekiel’s mountain and John’s New Jerusalem picture God’s kingdom filling the earth. The new covenant means God not only makes the covenant, he gets on the other side of the table and guarantees it. The good news is not the strength of faith, but the object of faith, Jesus, the faithful covenant keeper.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Covenants reveal God’s steady purpose God’s covenants are not random religious moments scattered through the Bible. The covenants show God forming a people who live under his rule and reflect him to the world. The tragic thread is not God’s failure, but humanity repeatedly breaking what God graciously establishes. [31:22]
• 2. Jesus fulfills every covenant promise The promises to Abraham, Moses, and David do not get discarded when Jesus comes. The promises become “yes in Christ,” because Jesus is the Messiah who gathers them up and brings them to their true goal. The new covenant does not shrink the Old Testament hope; the new covenant reveals where that hope was always headed. [36:45]
• 3. God’s people are found in Christ The people of God are not finally defined by ethnicity, nationality, or geography. The new covenant creates one people through faith in Jesus, with believing Jews and Gentiles joined together in the Messiah. Romans 11 gives hope for Israel’s turning, but that hope is still a turning to Jesus as the only covenant keeper. [46:35]
• 4. The promised land becomes new creation The land promise does not disappear; the land promise gets bigger than ancient Israel could have imagined. Paul reads Abraham’s inheritance as the world, while Ezekiel and Revelation picture a kingdom that expands beyond ordinary geography. God’s promise grows into the new heaven, new earth, and New Jerusalem, where Christ reigns and all things are made new. [55:57]
• 5. Faith rests on its object The new covenant is not secured by the believer’s performance, moral confidence, or emotional strength. God makes the covenant and guarantees it through the cross, so the outcome rests on Christ rather than human ability. The weak faith of a tired Christian is held by a strong Savior.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [23:34] - A Church Active All Week
• [25:09] - Israel and Scripture First
• [26:35] - God Works Through Covenants
• [28:15] - Creation and Noah’s Covenants
• [29:46] - Abraham, Moses, and David
• [31:22] - The Purpose of the Covenants
• [32:17] - Humanity Breaks Every Covenant
• [34:36] - Fulfillment Comes in Jesus
• [39:12] - Abraham’s Seed Is Christ
• [41:54] - Jews and Gentiles in One People
• [44:44] - Romans 11 and Israel’s Hope
• [49:22] - The Land Promise in Christ
• [55:57] - New Creation as Promised Land
• [57:04] - The New Covenant Guaranteed by Jesus

1. In Galatians 3:16, why does Paul emphasize that the word “offspring” is singular rather than plural? How does this connect to Jesus?
2. According to the sermon, how does the “land promise” to Abraham expand beyond physical geography in the New Testament? [55:57]
3. What repeated pattern in the Old Testament covenants does the sermon highlight, and how does this set up the need for a new covenant? [34:08]
4. How does Romans 11:23 describe the relationship between Israel’s unbelief and God’s plan for Gentiles?

1. Why does Paul stress that distinctions like “Jew/Greek” or “slave/free” no longer define God’s people in the new covenant? What does this imply about the purpose of the covenants?
2. The sermon states that Jesus “guarantees” the new covenant by fulfilling both sides of the covenant. How does this address humanity’s repeated failure to keep covenants? [58:30]
3. Ezekiel’s vision of a vast, symbolic “land” and John’s New Jerusalem in Revelation are described as expansions of the original land promise. What might these images reveal about God’s ultimate plan for creation? [55:57]
4. If all covenants are fulfilled in Christ, how does this shape our understanding of Old Testament promises (e.g., kingship, priesthood, holiness)?

1. The sermon emphasizes that faith rests on Christ’s faithfulness, not our own performance. How might this truth comfort someone who feels “not good enough” to be a Christian? [01:00:38]
2. In what practical ways can we live as “one people” in Christ, especially when cultural, ethnic, or social differences create tension?
3. The land promise points to a future “new creation.” How does this hope influence the way you view current struggles or injustices in the world? [55:57]
4. If someone asked, “Why should I trust the Bible’s promises?” how would you explain the connection between Jesus and the Old Testament covenants?
5. The sermon mentions praying for Israel’s turning to Jesus. How can we pray for both Jewish and Gentile communities to recognize Christ as the covenant keeper? [46:35]
6. Reflect on a time when you tried to “earn” God’s favor through performance. How does the new covenant’s emphasis on Christ’s work free you from that mindset? [59:41]