What does the Bible teach us about the church? What is the church? A key concept is that of covenant, and it comes to clear expression in Genesis 17:1–8. Abraham—and you—are called to walk before the Lord and be blameless!
Rely on God’s covenant faithfulness. Listen to God’s name, El-Shaddai, or God Almighty. The name is used four more times in Genesis and once in Exodus. It seems to refer to the sovereign power of God (Isaiah 13:6; Joel 1:15). But it is not simply raw power, but the power of God directed to the preservation and blessing of his people. God uses a name that reminds you of his faithfulness, particularly in the context of the covenant he makes.
This God has made his covenant with you. Though the word covenant is not used in Genesis 12, God’s promises (descendants, possession of the land, being blessed and being a blessing) are the same as what you see here in Genesis 17, where God explicitly makes his covenant with Abraham, changing his name to reflect his blessing. Back in Genesis 15 you read of the covenant-making ceremony that God brought to Abram in a vision. God initiates the covenant. It’s not the result of negotiations or bargaining. What is a covenant between God and man? “This covenant [with Abraham], initiated, established, defined in promises and commands, and even guaranteed to be everlasting, by the sole sovereignty of the Lord God Almighty, is nevertheless a union of God with his people. It is the same union that comes to expression in the New Testament phrase ‘in Christ.’ This is the essence of the covenant concept, the essence of all true religion. The covenant God made with the man from Ur is the union God has established with his own in Christ Jesus, himself the epitome of covenant as the incarnate God-and-man, Immanuel. There is no more glorious concept given to men than this: God with us!” (John J. Mitchell, “Abram’s Understanding of the Lord’s Covenant,” The Westminster Theological Journal, XXXII, No. 1, November 1969, p. 48). The covenant sign of circumcision denotes far more than national identity. It is a sign and seal of God’s special relationship with his people. Thus the Bible can talk of circumcising the heart and ear, Deuteronomy 30:6; Jeremiah 9:25–26. It is the blessing of God’s presence with his people—but also carries the threat, that if his people spurn his covenant, God will cut them off. In Colossians 2 Paul makes the point that what the Old Testament signified and sealed has become a reality, has been fulfilled in Christ. Note how he uses the terms circumcision and baptism in a parallel way. The church is the covenant community today—no longer primarily genetic descendants of Abraham, but all of those who share the faith of Abraham. The New Testament sign has changed, but the basic covenant relationship remains the same. Continue reading “The Church: Walking before the Lord”