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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | The Covenant with Father Abraham | Luke 1:73 | DocTrinsograce | 243780 | ||
"Although the Church existed from the beginning, it was, before the calling of Abraham, for the most part in a state of dispersion. Too little is recorded of it, prior to that event, to give us definite knowledge of its nature and requirements. Our written constitution, so to speak, dates from the father of the faithful. God made a covenant with Abraham. By covenant is meant, a contract between two or more parties, in which there are mutual stipulations and promises. The transaction with Abraham was of this kind. God promised certain blessings to the patriarch, and he promised faith and obedience to God. Not only, therefore, in the Old Testament is this transaction called a covenant, but in the New Testament the same designation is applied to it. And, further than this, the New Testament writers, referring to the transaction with Abraham, not only call it a covenant, but they argue from its nature as such, to show that its original stipulations can be neither annulled nor altered. Romans 4:13, 14; Galatians 3:15–18. 'The covenant,' says the apostle, 'that was confirmed before (to Abraham) of God in Christ, the law, which was four hundred and thirty years after, cannot disannul.' It is of importance, therefore, that this word [covenant] should be retained, not only because it is scriptural, but because the idea which it expresses is essential to a proper understanding of the case. Many modern theological writers discard the word entirely, and stigmatize the system of the Reformers as the federal theology. In discarding the word, the truth which it was intended to convey is almost always discarded with it. If we would retain the truth, we must retain the forms in which God has seen fit to reveal it. God then formed a covenant with Abraham. The question is, What was that covenant, and who were the parties to it? We answer, in common with all Christendom, the covenant was the covenant of grace, and the parties were Abraham and those whom Abraham represented. Of course this does not mean that the covenant of grace originated in this transaction, or that none are included in it but Abraham and those whom Abraham represented. Nor does it mean that all represented by Abraham were savingly interested in its benefits. It only means that the covenant in question was a reenactment or renewed revelation of the covenant of grace in relation to Abraham, and that those represented by him were to be regarded and treated as included in it." --Charles Hodge (1797-1878) |
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2 | The Covenant with Father Abraham | Luke 1:73 | EdB | 243781 | ||
Interesting discussion by Hodges on covenants but he neglected to mention that both covenants were Blood Covenants sealed and confirmed in blood. The covenant made with Abraham effected every aspect of Abraham’s life from the changing of his name from Abram to Abraham to the requirement that he circumcise himself and all his household. The Children of Israel became partakers of the covenant being of the bloodline of Abraham and also through the fulfillment of the requirement of circumcision. Blood Covenant goes far beyond our present day understanding of covenants. A blood covenant never broken or disregarded. Dr Livingston who researched the blood covenant process in Africa reported that in over 238 covenant that he witnessed none, not one, was ever broken or discarded. Relatives of a covenant makers would go as far as killing their own to prevent the covenant from being broken. Blood Covenants interestingly are found in every known culture ever discovered, which to me suggests a divine hand in the propagation process. It actually defines the covenant makers and their families. The New Covenant is made in the Blood of Jesus between Son and Father, man becomes partakers in this covenant through belief in it’s existence, as in Jesus died for our sins thus becoming our savior, which causes us to make Him Lord and Master of our lives. In Blood Covenant making, the witnesses (families, friends and mutual partakers of the covenant) came into covenant relationship through the drinking of the covenant wine mixed with the blood of the covenant makers. We too become sealed partakers of the New Covenant when we drink of the communion wine which Jesus proclaimed was His blood of the New Covenant. As Covenant members we are bound to keep the covenant, giving our lives to Christ as required by the covenant just as Abraham gave his life and his family’s life to the Old Covenant. This is why we are cautioned in 1 Cor. 11:27-30, the covenant process is the essence of our Christian lives and must be held in high regard, not something to be trivialized or dismissed as just a ritual. This aspect of the New Covenant gets lost, forgotten and frankly sweep under the carpet often times when the Covenant itself is spoken of. Scripture tells us we were BOUGHT at a price, it is no longer our lives but God’s who demands we glorify Him. 1Cor. 6:20. It defines us as God’s bond servants, bought and owned by God Himself. |
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3 | The Covenant with Father Abraham | Luke 1:73 | DocTrinsograce | 243783 | ||
Dear Pastor Ed, I didn't quote all of Charles Hodge's article. Covenant by its very definition -- some 280 times mentioned in the Bible -- is sealed in blood. Interesting, Hodge was actually make a counter credobaptist assertion. Indeed, the essay was entitled "Review of The Tecnobaptist [paedobaptist]: A Discourse, Wherein an Honest Baptist, by a Course of Argument to Which No Honest Baptist Can Object, Is Convinced That Infant Christians Are Proper Subjects Of Baptism." He was a Presbyterian theologian, arguing against what you and I call "believer's baptism." I appreciate your comments on the New Covenant; i.e., the Covenant of Grace. Do your comments reflect the general understanding of Pentecostals? I apologize, for being ignorant, but I have not read an article/document on covenant from the Pentecostal perspective. Would you be able to point me to a book or two? In Him, Doc |
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Questions and/or Subjects for Luke 1:73 | Author | ||
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