Every time God connects with someone, He always makes a covenant, which is why he always starts the relationship by saying the “Pledge of Covenant” as the God of covenant.
Now the LORD had said unto Abram, get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed (Genesis 12:1-3, emphasis added).
In connection with that, there are some principles of the God of covenant that we can learn:
1. The Bible is a Testament book consists of the Old Testament and New Testament.
Our Bible is a “pledge covenant” which God made with man, that’s why the Bible is full of God’s promises from beginning to end. Old Testament tells about the beginning of the covenant that “failed” to preserve by His people, because they “cheated” by worshipping other gods that weren’t God.
That’s why God made new “pledge of covenant” in NT. Through the atonement of Christ we can be included back in covenant relationships with Him, therefore the Church is referred to as the “Bride of Christ.” The church should live in covenant relationship with Him.
2. God wants to be known as a personal belonging of believers.
And God said moreover unto Moses, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, the LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you: this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial unto all generations“ (Exodus 3:15, emphasis added).
In the OT, God is always introduced himself as “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob”, which means He wants to be known as a personal belonging. In the NT Paul often referred to God as “my God.”
I thank my God always on your behalf, for the grace of God which is given you by Jesus Christ (I Corinthians 1:4, emphasis added).
I thank my God upon every remembrance of you (Philippians 1:3, emphasis added).
I thank my God … for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now (Philippians 1:5, emphasis added).
But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19, emphasis added).
Only the woman who lives in a covenant with me that I can refer to as “my wife” (don’t try to call any woman with the title “my wife”). God wants to be a personal belonging of every believer. Just as the Bible is the personal belonging of every believer, likewise, God is the personal belonging of every believer.
In one family, each family member has his/her own Bible. My Bible is my Bible, my wife’s Bible is her Bible, my children’s Bible are their Bible. We don’t have one Bible for the whole family, because Bible is personal, like God.
God of Abraham is the God of Abraham, God of Isaac is the God of Isaac, God of Jacob is the God of Jacob, my God is my God.
3. We can truly know God only if we are included in a covenant relationship.
We can never truly know someone until you live in a covenant with him/her. Maybe you’ve been courting long enough with someone, but you can’t truly know the person until you get in a covenant relationship (read: married).
In courtship, you always know your partner “blindly”, but after marriage, you can know him “openly” which is why you can say, “I was blind, but now I can see.”
We can’t truly know God until we are included in covenant with Him. As long as you haven’t included in covenant with Him, you will always know Him blindly. You seems familiar with Him, but not yet truly know Him.
4. We can have an “intimate relationship” and completely unite with Him only if we are in a covenant relationship with Him.
Intimate relationship without a covenant is an “adultery.” We can’t never have an intimate relationship and become one with Him until we are in a covenant relationship with Him.
You can pray and worship Him 24 hours a day, but you still don’t have a deep relationship with Him and still don’t know Him and never unite with Him. You never know His heart and His way of thinking, so you never become like Him. Because as we know Him, so we will be.
Thus our God is the god of covenant who wants to make a covenant with us as His people.
Also read: The Legacy of Knowing God.
