The Edenic covenant begins by listing its blessings. God speaks directly to Adam and Eve, but since all humans came from them, this covenant is addressed broadly to the entire human race. The overall picture shown in this universal covenant is that the entire creation—the earth itself with all that is on it, humanity, and the life given us—is a multitude of gifts from God. The key to understanding this is the phrase, “and God blessed them” (Genesis 1:22). Both the Hebrew term and the English translation of “blessed” indicate the same sense: “to do good for,” “to favor,” “to endow,” “to bestow prosperity or happiness,” and even “to honor and exalt.”
The Bible begins with the fact that, because of what God has done, we exist; we live and have being; we think, plan, build, and look to the future. We did not give ourselves even one of these necessary gifts. This is where our relationship with God must begin, where we must start in our thinking about ourselves. These realities, if taken to heart honestly and seriously, are major factors regarding our place in life.
The covenant's emphasis is on His purpose. The earth itself is a major teaching device, and receiving it brings responsibilities whether one is converted or not. The most critical question is “How will we use what we learn from the creation to enhance life?” Caring for the creation requires work, as does spiritual salvation. So, earth is also given to us for our use within the parameters of His creative purposes.
Perhaps most important, the Edenic Covenant introduces the sovereign Creator God Himself. In the first five verses of Genesis 1, He stands alone, drawing our focus to what He wants us to learn first about Him. He presents Himself as standing at the beginning of all things; He precedes everything.
A second major point of focus for our thinking about God is that this covenant reveals that He is orderly. Every step in the creation week is taken in a scientifically logical progression. First, God must provide light so that what follows can live and grow. Then He makes the firmament, an atmosphere for creatures to breathe and live in, etc. This establishes that the creation and His purposes are not at all haphazard; randomness is not part of His nature. His orderliness establishes the principle that God is purposeful and has a plan that He is following step by step.
A third idea this covenant illustrates is that in the beginning everything is morally perfect like Him. No sin is present.
A fourth point we can infer from it is that no aspect of the creation is to be worshipped. Everything God made and gifted to us is inferior to the One who made all things. Only the Creator is to be worshipped.
Fifth, God charges mankind with populating and subduing the earth. “Subdue” does not indicate mankind is to have an adversarial relationship with earth. The Hebrew term can have that sense, but when used in a peaceful context, as here, it is to be understood differently. It is illogical to conclude that, after giving us this beautiful gift, God wants us to proceed to beat it into submission.
In this case, subdue indicates “harness its potential” and “use its resources beneficially.” Humanity is not to allow it simply to go “wild.” This command includes such things as cultivating its fields and mining its mineral riches. We should harvest its trees in a constructive manner to build homes and make furniture. It includes domesticating its animals and exercising dominion over them without abusing them. Men are not to rape the earth but to manage through work what has been given.
Mankind is created in God's image and is to rule in God's behalf as His servant and as He would. In other words, man is to follow God's pattern. There is, of course, more to being in His likeness, but ruling is part of mankind's likeness to God.
Notice the seven major, broad overviews within which mankind's specific responsibilities are addressed:
1. This covenant introduces the sovereign Creator God Himself. In Genesis 1:1-5, He stands alone; the focus is on Him and what He wants us to learn first about Him. He stands at the beginning of all things and precedes everything. Everything He gives to man—God is the sovereign Creator and Giver of every good gift—he must use responsibly within God's purpose. This pattern of focusing on the sovereign Creator God and His purposes appears in all covenants with Him. God rules!
2. This covenant reveals that He is orderly. Every step in creation is taken in a scientifically logical progression, establishing that the creation and His purposes are not haphazard. Randomness is not part of His nature. God is purposeful and already has a plan that He is following step by step.
3. In the beginning, like God Himself, everything was morally perfect. No sin is present, nor are any demons there to interrupt His thoughtful construction of a practical and beautiful place for Him to work out His purpose for mankind.
4. No aspect of the creation is to be worshipped. Everything God made and gave to mankind is a product of and inferior to the One who made all things. No animal or object is to be used as an intermediary between the Creator and mankind. Only the Creator is to be worshipped.
5. Beginning with Adam and Eve, humanity is charged with populating the earth and subduing it. Men are not to have an adversarial relationship with the earth but to harness its potential and use its resources for human benefit. In this case, subduing indicates activities like cultivating its fields and mining it for mineral riches. Mankind is not to rape the earth but to work to manage properly what he has been given. Humans, created in God's image, are to exercise their God-given authority as His servants to care for the earth as He would. That is, men are to follow God's pattern. There is, of course, far more to being made in His likeness, but ruling is part of the reason for it.
6. Simply being born gives a person a stewardship responsibility. People are to treat God's wonderful gifts with the same loving care in which God designed and created them.
7. Mankind is to enjoy the foods produced in the Garden as well as the bountiful productivity God placed within humanity's purview.
It is not hard to see that man has not been a good steward of the gift and responsibility God gave him to "tend and keep" the earth (Genesis 2:15). He has polluted the air, land, and water he needs to live. In his greed, he has misused the precious resources at his disposal. God promises that there will be a reckoning for this (Revelation 11:18). What could the earth be like if man worked in harmony with God's instructions on this matter? What will the earth look like, say, fifty years into the Kingdom of God, when the hearts of men are on God's ways and love of neighbor is a way of life? The Bible indicates people will be back on the farm. Micah 4:4 tells us that every man will sit under his own vine and fig tree, meaning that everyone will have the opportunity to own his own land. Jeremiah 31:12 says that the goodness of God will result in "wheat and new wine and oil, . . . the young of the flock and the herd." Amos 9:13-14predicts:
Micah 4:3 is the famous verse about beating swords into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks. This means that people will be able to look forward to enjoying the crops they plant, secure in the knowledge that no one or no invading army will steal or destroy them. In the longer term, a farmer will be able to build up the soil of his farm over many years, bequeathing a productive, prosperous inheritance to his children and grandchildren. How might life be lived at that time? Perhaps 80% of people will live on the land, farming, ranching, or producing fruit. Towns will be small, perhaps most composed of less than a thousand people, and everyone will know everyone else. Necessary services will be within a short distance, many within walking distance. Industry and retail will be smaller and more localized. Most farms will be about twenty acres or so, depending on what it is used to grow. As little as four acres of well-cared-for land can supply food for a large family and then some. Crops will vary, along with some livestock and chickens for meat and fertilizer, as well as some fruit trees. Long, hot days in the sun will be a thing of the past, as families will not be in a mad rush to grow crops for cash. Four hours of labor each day will be the normal workday, excepting planting and harvest times, leaving time for other interests. Because the acreage will be smaller, farmers will not have to reap fifty acres of peaches that have all ripened at the same time or pick a hundred-acre crop of cotton in two days. A farmer at the time will likely put about 10% or so of his acreage into a cash crop for needed purchases, and the rest will be for his family's food. Crops will be rotated to build up the soil, as the roots of different crops grow to varying depths, use different nutrients, and add differing elements to the soil when they decompose. This practice will help with pesky insects too. People will learn to live in harmony even with insects, as 90% of them are helpful to the growing cycle. The other 10% will be controlled naturally, not with indiscriminate and hazardous pesticides. Each seventh year, there will be no planting, letting the soil rest (Leviticus 25:4). How pleasant it will be, as families will take the time to travel, work on family projects, study a subject intently, or spend the year helping others in their need. Besides this, every seventh day, the whole farm - family and animals - will rest as God has commanded. With everyone pitching in, the Sabbath milking would take only about a half-hour - and then all will get cleaned up and be on their way to Sabbath services to learn God's ways. This is just a glimpse at how wonderful life will be on a farm in God's Kingdom. Pray that that day will not be long in coming. The way things are going now, it should not be too far away. Nevertheless, we have something to look forward to, a time when we will live at peace with God and His law, with our neighbors, and with the land, working with nature, giving not just taking. Then, farming will be an honorable profession. A leader is a person who goes in advance of and acts as an influence on others. Forcing others is not implied in the term. In contrast, the term implies that the leader is to be a guide through verbal instruction and an influence through being an example. This subject is important to those of us whom God has called because His Word clearly shows that Israel’s and Judah’s failures as nations formed to represent Him were largely caused by a dearth of good shepherding, pointing directly to the quality of leadership. God highlights their failures by calling their leaders foolish and irresponsible shepherds. A Subject Critical to Our Lives We need to understand why the subject of leadership is vital so that we can understand what we are involved in through our calling. We all want to be well-prepared for His Kingdom, so learning God’s standards of leadership is essential because of what lies in our future. Revelation 5:9-10 alludes to this need in our future:
The issue in the vision of Revelation 5 is finding One who is qualified to open a certain scroll that contains a listing of events that will occur beyond the present time, both before and after Christ’s return. The issue is resolved because Christ, the Lamb, is qualified to open it because of what He has already accomplished. He is our Redeemer and thus qualified. His qualification sets an example for us to follow in our Christian lives. Verse 10 concerns us most. It helps to know that the term “kings and priests” is better translated as “kingdom of priests,” as numerous modern translations render it. Christ has appointed the redeemed (verse 9) as a kingdom of priests to serve our God and to bear a measure of rulership (“we shall reign on the earth”). They are appointed to a responsibility by Christ because they, like Him, have been prepared to render these services in God’s behalf. Beyond the priestly functions, rulership is clearly in view for the redeemed. Christ will appoint only those already prepared for these positions. Both rulership and priestly functions contain shepherding responsibilities. A priest is an individual especially consecrated to the service of a deity as a mediator between the deity and his worshippers. Note two passages of Scripture that confirm what we are being prepared for:
Both of these future positions help us focus on what we are to do within our calling now before the events of Revelation 5 and 14 occur. We must prepare to lead in the Kingdom of God. The world’s approach to salvation focuses almost exclusively on being saved by confessing Jesus Christ as Savior. As important as that is, it pays little attention to any other purpose and responsibility attached to it. Jesus Is Our Example However, this period prior to our ultimate admission into the Kingdom of God has a major purpose: to be prepared to continue serving God at a remarkably higher level of responsibility after Christ returns. We are being created into Jesus Christ’s image, and leadership is what God is looking for in us. He does not need to see us leading vast numbers of people, but He wants to see leadership in spiritual growth as we overcome our carnal natures. How? We are to be living sacrifices, deliberately choosing to allow ourselves to be transformed into the image of Jesus Christ through obediently following His way of life. If we lead others in this life, it is primarily by example, as we are not forcing God’s way on others. The covenants God made with mankind are important to our preparations for the future. Without a broad understanding of what is required of us in our relationship with God, found in the covenants, we cannot possibly be a leader in His Kingdom. We will be teaching the very things we are now learning through following God’s way. At the beginning of this series, we saw how much more frequently the forms of “follow” appear compared to those of “lead.” The Bible teaches that to be a righteous leader a person must first be a serious follower. Interestingly, many modern translations render the word “follow” as “pursue” because it emphasizes the vigor with which following is to be done. Here are four New Testament examples of the Bible’s teaching on following:
Jesus says His doctrine was not His own, but He spoke what He received from His Father (John 12:49). Was Jesus a leader? Certainly! John 7:14-17 says of Him:
Jesus so faithfully followed the Father’s teaching that He never deviated even one time! The result is that in all of earth’s history there has never been a better leader in how to live life. When we add to this that the purpose of our calling is to be prepared to rule—or lead—others under Jesus Christ, the need for following His guidance becomes plain. His covenants spell out in overview what we must faithfully follow according to His will. The fruit of that activity will be leadership in His way because of our experiences in following it. The Covenants, a Necessary Part Where do we now stand in regard to our personal knowledge of God’s way and His leadership requirements? The apostle Paul vividly describes our present state in I Corinthians 1:26-29:
This humbling description reveals why leadership development is necessary for us. Our need is great! God does not call people who have already developed leadership in His way and possess all the qualities He desires in His Family. Instead, He calls those with potential, gifts them with the raw materials they need, and then creates them into what He desires, working in and through them with their cooperation. Recall that Peter wrote that we are “being built up a spiritual house, a holy priesthood.” We are raw material, as it were, being formed into what our Creator God desires that we become individually and that His Family becomes collectively. His work has been proceeding since Adam and Eve; nothing has changed in what He began from the foundation of the world. He is following sound building principles to produce the qualities of leadership He desires in His children. So, why do we need a good understanding of the many covenants that appear in Scripture? Because they are foundational to His purpose in that they provide us with overall direction. The book of Deuteronomy is organized and written in the form of an ancient covenant. If the Israelites had ever lost their way spiritually, Deuteronomy could have been studied and its principles applied, and they would once again have been back on track toward completing their purpose. The book touches on virtually every subject needed for salvation, though it does not go into fine detail. This, in general form, is what covenants do: They provide guidance. Each covenant is a teaching vehicle that reveals in broad strokes God’s purposes for us. Each covenant is linked to the others to provide a clearer picture to prepare us to understand what God expects of us. In them, we see, not only His purposes, but His judgments as well, allowing us to learn how He thinks. Covenants are unifying instruments, but they unify only if they are faithfully adhered to by all the parties involved. God, whom the Scriptures affirm cannot lie (Numbers 23:19; I Samuel 15:29), is the faithful God. Our faithfulness, on the other hand, remains to be shown. The covenants provide us with a great deal of a Christian’s worldview. Without them, we wander in a spiritual wilderness without a cloud for shade or a constant light to guide. General Information on Covenants Three legal documents that play large roles throughout people’s lives all begin with the letter c: covenants, contracts, and compacts. All three, as stand-alone terms, have distinctive differences in application, but in one broad sense they all have essentially the same meaning. All three are used to indicate a legal document that draws disparate parties together in a relationship, unifying them in an agreement to accomplish a purpose. In general practice, though, it has been common in English-speaking nations to separate their usage more specifically to three different kinds of agreements. Compact tends to be used for political pacts, contract for business agreements, and covenant for concords that involve the solemnity of God, either implied or directly named within them. We enter into none of them on a daily basis, but they touch virtually everyone’s life at one time or another. “Compact” is the least used of the three terms, as it generally used among nations. When we buy a house, we enter into a contract with a bank, and the same holds true when we buy an automobile or anything else that we pay for through credit. Marriage involves the making of a covenant, making it perhaps the best understood of the three. Each of these, whatever it is called, is just an agreement between two or more parties. They all define the terms of a relationship and list specific responsibilities. In simple terminology, they all say that party A agrees to do such and such, and that party B agrees to do this and that within the framework of the agreement. Also among the terms are stipulated penalties to be imposed if a party fails to carry through on what he has pledged to do. In general, a covenant made with God is no different than other formal agreements, but the fact that it is made with Godmakes a huge difference in its importance to life. Who knows how many such agreements are entered into every single day? But despite the multiple billions of people born since Adam and Eve, relatively few have actually entered into a covenant with the true God. Some demographers estimate that as many as seventy billion people have lived on earth. But even if one billion have made a formal covenant with God, involving both Old and New Covenants combined, that would still be just over one percent of all who have lived. The biblical covenants of God are generally ignored—even by many of those who make them! However, despite this general neglect, they are important parts of our relationship with Him, and we must show our leadership, not just by generally knowing of them, but also by having a good understanding of what they delineate as our responsibilities to Him and our fellow man. Because God is involved in them, we must believe and make good use of His covenants by faith. Some level of faith is also involved in the business contracts we enter and the political compacts nations make, but these approach nowhere near to the level of a covenant with God. The Covenants Apply to All We can grasp the foundational seriousness of a covenant with God by briefly reviewing how far-reaching God’s sovereignty is over all, as His Word states. God, unlike mankind, is omnipresent:
God is fully aware of what is occurring in His creation. Not only that, He is also all-powerful and prepared to act should He determine the need to do so. There is absolutely no way to avoid the seriousness of this issue, for God has determined to relate to His children first through calling them and giving them His Spirit, then by leading them to understand more deeply His requirements, as given in His Book. Of course, these communications from Him include the covenants. Every person involved in God’s creative processes has access to the same terms, but each to his own level. “For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required” (Luke 12:48). Paul writes in Romans 1:18-20:
This means that, to some level, even the uncalled and unconverted are answerable to Him for the conduct of their lives. This truth is important. God has given life and breath to all, and He upholds all things by the word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). Thus, creation and God’s sustaining oversight of His creation tie everybody to Him even before conversion. In addition, God has given all a measure of conscience, as we see in Romans 2:11-16:
Mankind, then, even before an individual’s calling and conversion, is equipped with some basic knowledge and guidance regarding right and wrong. But most conclusive of all is Romans 1:18-20, where God confirms that all humanity, including the unconverted, are to some degree “without excuse.” Thus, He warns that, despite His being out of sight, we must be aware that, though merciful, He is watching and exercising His authority. Theologian Cornelius Van Til perceptively observed:
Colossians 1:16-17 confirms this about Him:
Those He calls especially owe Him their loyalty. He has greatly gifted us to better enable us to keep our pledge to Him. In practical application, this means that we must bear witness of our gifting by the way we live our lives. A Legal Bond A covenant makes a relationship between parties much closer and tighter in that it defines the relationship. However, a biblical covenant generally gives broad perspectives rather than narrow details. Other portions of the Bible explain the details. A covenant is a legal bond between God and us. We must never forget that He is the Sovereign Ruler of a Kingdom to whom we have pledged our loyalty. That this bond is “legal” helps us to take it more seriously. A “bond” is something that holds separate things together, joining those things as one in a relationship. A weld is a bond joining separate metal objects into one. Glue bonds individual wooden parts into one piece. Colossians 3:14provides us an example of a spiritual bond: “But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection.” Love is not the only ingredient that holds a marriage together, but it plays a major role in making two people as one. Even as love is a bond in marriage, it is also a major ingredient in the covenants of God. In our relationship with Him, faith in God’s love for us, in His faithfulness to provide as He says, and in the legality of the covenants are all bonding agents of considerable spiritual importance. God’s purpose for His people is to bring us all into oneness with Him, which Jesus confirms in John 17:20-23:
The covenants comprehensively cover all of life. God designed a plan to satisfy His creative pleasure, and at the same time, to bring Him glory and enable Him to safely share Himself with others in peace. This is one reason why nothing regarding His purpose for mankind is done away. His purpose is serious business. To be prepared to be a kingdom of priests, we need as much of His way from His Word that we can cram into our minds and character. He knew before He began that we would sin because He already had experienced it with the angels. They had sinned even though they were far superior to us in creation, besides the fact that they could literally see Him. He also planned from the beginning for our redemption, as shown in the first or second covenant depending upon how they are separated and counted. We need to designate a few basic rules regarding biblical covenants before going any further. As we read the Bible, we should not expect it to announce, “This is a covenant, so pay attention.” Naming a section of Scripture a “covenant” is a conclusion reached because God is clearly speaking and establishing a package of rules of conduct within a relationship. In biblical covenants God is always seen as absolute Sovereign of His creation and its purpose. All biblical covenants are initiated by God, and He determines their purposes, terms, and penalties. Their terms are non-negotiable. God’s negotiating a covenant’s terms with us would be similar to our entering a contract with an infant. We are alive, and that is the extent of our ability to add to a covenant’s needs and value pertaining to God’s purpose. We simply lack knowledge and understanding, and our ever-present carnality makes us singularly unqualified. Even after we are called and converted, we have extremely little understanding about what God is doing with us. A few covenants, actually dictated by God, are termed “universal” by scholars because they apply directly to all of mankind, not just to the called ones. In fact, we are better off saying these covenants are imposed whether men witnessed them or not. We should never forget that God is never unjust in what He assigns mankind, as His purpose is to create and save. He is not attempting to make things difficult. Whatever requirements the covenants contain are necessary for our overall education in God’s way of life. Remember, too, God’s written Word contains the terms so each person does not have to literally hear the details. They can always be read. In fact, for our good and God’s glory, they must be read frequently and meditated upon. We will call the covenants by the names scholars have given them. When we finish with each covenant, its main features will be summarized. Sometimes, the covenants will be expounded fairly extensively due to the settings in which the terms are given and because particular points demand it. We will find that some of the terms are quite obvious, and also that, at first glance, some of the covenants do not even appear to be covenants. “And God Blessed Them” As we begin to examine the first covenant, note and consider parallels between it—one that focuses on the physical creation and the beginnings of God’s relationship with mankind—and the spiritual creation that follows later in God’s revelation of Himself and His purpose for it. In Revelation 13:8, Christ is referred to as the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.” God was prepared for mankind’s redemption from that time forward, so He has had the same purpose from the beginning. Considering these parallels will add immeasurably to our grasp and appreciation of God and His awesome purpose for us. The first covenant is called the Edenic Covenant. It is universal in scope, applying to all mankind whether converted or unconverted. Yet, recall the principle that “to whom much is given, from him much will be required.” We who have been converted have been given a great deal, and more is required of us because God has given us gifts denied the unconverted. The scriptures below, which we will refer to from time to time, are not given in any particular order, but just in the order that they appear in the Bible:
This covenant begins by listing its blessings. God speaks directly to Adam and Eve, but since all humans came from them, this covenant is addressed broadly to the entire human race. The overall picture shown in this universal covenant is that the entire creation—the earth itself with all that is on it, humanity, and the life given us—is a multitude of gifts from God. The key to understanding this is the phrase, “and God blessed them” (Genesis 1:22). Both the Hebrew term and the English translation of “blessed” indicate the same sense: “to do good for,” “to favor,” “to endow,” “to bestow prosperity or happiness,” and even “to honor and exalt.” The Bible begins with the fact that, because of what God has done, we exist; we live and have being; we think, plan, build, and look to the future. We did not give ourselves even one of these necessary gifts. This is where our relationship with God must begin, where we must start in our thinking about ourselves. These realities, if taken to heart honestly and seriously, are major factors regarding our place in life. Though not stated directly anywhere in Genesis 1 through 3, this is a truth gathered from the entire context of this covenant combined with understanding from elsewhere in God’s Word. These realities set a pattern for our entire relationship with God, showing immediately that it is His grace, His gifting, that provides us with the means for success within His purpose all the way to salvation itself. What we see here is a foundational forerunner, a physical parallel to the spiritual creation to come later. The covenant’s emphasis is on His purpose. The earth itself is a major teaching device, and receiving it brings responsibilities whether one is converted or not. The most critical question is “How will we use what we learn from the creation to enhance life?” Caring for the creation requires work, as does spiritual salvation. So, earth is also given to us for our use within the parameters of His creative purposes. In this respect, it is similar to the gifts of the Spirit listed in I Corinthians 12, where Paul writes that God “distribut[es] to each one individually as He wills” (verse 11). However, our carnal natures, unless wisely and strongly controlled, drive us to use our gifts self-centeredly rather than cooperatively for the profit of all. Seven Major Principles Perhaps most important, the Edenic Covenant introduces the sovereign Creator God Himself. In the first five verses of Genesis 1, He stands alone, drawing our focus to what He wants us to learn first about Him. He presents Himself as standing at the beginning of all things; He precedes everything. In all the other covenants, this pattern holds true: Each covenant focuses on the sovereign Creator God. A second major point of focus for our thinking about God is that this covenant reveals that He is orderly. Every step in the creation week is taken in a scientifically logical progression. First, God must provide light so that what follows can live and grow. Then He makes the firmament, an atmosphere for creatures to breathe and live in, etc. This establishes that the creation and His purposes are not at all haphazard; randomness is not part of His nature. His orderliness establishes the principle that God is purposeful and has a plan that He is following step by step. A third idea this covenant illustrates is that in the beginning everything is morally perfect like Him. No sin is present. A fourth point we can infer from it is that no aspect of the creation is to be worshipped. Everything God made and gifted to us is inferior to the One who made all things. Only the Creator is to be worshipped. Fifth, God charges mankind, beginning with Adam and Eve, with populating and subduing the earth. “Subdue” does not indicate mankind is to have an adversarial relationship with earth. The Hebrew term can have that sense, but when used in a peaceful context, as here, it is to be understood differently. It is illogical to conclude that, after giving us this beautiful gift, God wants us to proceed to beat it into submission. In this case, subdue indicates “harness its potential” and “use its resources beneficially.” Humanity is not to allow it simply to go “wild.” This command includes such things as cultivating its fields and mining its mineral riches. We should harvest its trees in a constructive manner to build homes and make furniture. It includes domesticating its animals and exercising dominion over them without abusing them. Men are not to rape the earth but to manage through work what has been given. A major principle here is that mankind is created in God’s image and is to rule in God’s behalf as His servant and as He would. In other words, man is to follow God’s pattern. There is of course more to being in His likeness, but ruling is part of mankind’s likeness to God. A sixth element this covenant establishes is that birth alone places a person into a stewardship responsibility. Each individual is to treat God’s wonderful gifts with loving care, as shown by the manner in which God created them. Finally, man is to enjoy the foods produced in the Garden. To be continued. With this article, we will begin to delve into the Bible’s first covenant to learn the characteristics of leadership Goddesires to produce in His children. Recall that a leader is first a follower, so it is of critical importance that we follow the patterns God Himself laid out for us, which is what Jesus did in accomplishing the work set before Him. We cannot go wrong if we walk in His steps, if we imitate Him. The covenants are designed to provide an overview of the way God wants us to relate to Him and to His creation. It helps to understand in simple terms what He is looking for, which will go a long way toward developing what He desires to see in us. At this point, we should not focus on specific qualities because nobody knows exactly what challenges each individual must meet and overcome on the path God has chosen for him or her. Instead, we should think more generally, which will allow room to include more specific traits later. God desires faithfulness in meeting our responsibilities as disciples of Jesus Christ. If we could fulfill our responsibilities sinlessly, it would glorify Him tremendously, but given the record we have already shown by our lives, that is unrealistic. Deuteronomy 7:9-11 draws attention to this vital trait by showing us God’s character in reference to a covenant:
God, who cannot lie, states His record to be one of faithfulness, and He will certainly continue to be so. However, our record is questionable at best. We need to show God in our pattern of living that we believe Him and love Him. In Hebrews 3:1-2, 5, God singles out Moses as an example of a faithful man despite the difficult responsibilities given to him to accomplish:
Hebrews 10:36-38 also admonishes us in this regard, revealing the importance of being faithful:
A faithful person is one who adheres firmly and devotedly to God and His Word, meeting even the difficult challenges that God permits into his life in a steadfast spirit while not wavering in his belief. A faithful person trusts that God is leading him and humbly submits. The Edenic Covenant The Edenic Covenant is not so named by the Bible. Men have given it this title due to Eden being the site where this foundational statement of mankind’s responsibilities in his relationship with God appears. It is universal in scope, applying to all mankind whether or not one believes in God and His Word. Within the context, Adam and Eve are the ones directly spoken to and about. However, since all humans are counted as descending from them, this covenant is directed broadly to include everyone born since then too. Before focusing specifically on the particulars of this foundational covenant, we will review the seven major, broad overviews within which mankind’s specific responsibilities are addressed:
God-Given Responsibility Genesis 1:26-28 reads:
Two things are made especially plain. God states three times in verse 27 that man is created. In verses 26-27, He says four times that man is created in the image of God. He wants us to grasp those points because the same applies to us! Even though we are now about 6,000 years from when He first spoke those words, these realities have not changed one iota. In addition, God clearly gave us beings created in His image authority over animals. That authority has not been taken from us. This dominion implies responsibility in managing them that we owe to our Creator. Many people seek to escape the responsibility of answering to our Creator, devising complex explanations to deny His existence to themselves and others. They may reason that, if He does not exist, how can they be responsible for submitting to His commands? They will move heaven and earth, as the saying goes, looking for proof to back their denial of God. The great bulk of mankind lacks the resources, the time, or the education to make such a search, so for their own benefit, they simply deny His existence by ignoring Him. These two categories of people are part of the “Nones”—those who claim no spiritual attachment whatever—of this generation. Others, without making any real effort to search out the truth, create a god or goddess they are comfortable with and worship him or her to salve their consciences. They do not seem to grasp that their dodges do not alter their responsibility to conform to what God laid out in the beginning. Another category is quite worrisome: the sincere folk who consider themselves Christian. However, either due to false teaching in their churches or perhaps their own laziness, they believe that much of the Old Testament no longer applies to them. In their minds, it has been “done away” along with what they consider Old Covenant laws, deliberately ignoring what Jesus Himself says about those same laws (Matthew 5:17-20). However, God’s Word still stands, and mankind is still responsible to follow this covenant, as Romans 1:20-21declares:
God’s Blessing Genesis 1:28 reads: “Then God blessed them and God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it, have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.'” This verse contains the first words God spoke to mankind. The Hebrew word translated as “blessed” can also at times signify a curse. Here, without a doubt, it signifies that God’s conferring of good on the newly created couple is to be shared by their descendants. This divine act not only confers dominion over what God created, but it also establishes that, even as God is the Creator and Giver of His wonderful creation at that moment, He is also the Giver of its continued blessings through time to Adam and Eve’s descendants. In His first oral communication to them—an authoritative command to spread over the earth and enjoy His creation’s benefits—He desires to establish in their minds that everything before them was a gift from Him to prepare them to face life. The physical creation of earth, which culminated in the creation of Adam and Eve, parallels the spiritual creation this same God is undertaking in us. Even as God supplied all that Adam and Eve needed for life, so is He supplying all that we need for our spiritual creation. The apostle Paul confirms this in Philippians 4:19, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Our responsibility is to hold fast to His promises in faith. We have been given much, but much more is required of us than is required of the unconverted because God has given us gifts not given to them. This principle of God’s judgment appears in Luke 12:47-48:
The overriding thought in the foreground of this first and universal covenant is that the entire creation—including us and the spiritual life given us, but in context, especially earth and what it contains—is a gift from God to aid us in making our way through the physical life He has provided. This is a reality: We live and have being, and we think, plan, build, and look to the future all because of what God has done. This reality must be foundational in our relationship with Him because it provides solid footing for the humility that is necessary to make it work. Because He is the Giver of all good things, our thinking about ourselves in relation to Him must begin here. In the context of Genesis 1, these blessings, these gifts, are somewhat similar to the gifts of the Spirit listed in I Corinthians 12. A dissimilarity, though, is that I Corinthians 12:11 says, “But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He will.” Here, God supplies gifts for functions He assigns within the church rather than for all of life. But an important similarity that we must live by is that God is still gifting to meet the needs of those He is creating, but in this case the gifts are spiritual rather than physical. The following truth is not stated in Genesis 1-3, but it is a conclusion gathered from this covenant’s entire context combined with understanding gathered elsewhere in God’s Word: All of God’s gifts are aspects of His grace given to aid us in succeeding within His purpose. The emphasis should be on His purpose. For example the entire creation is a gift. Whether one is converted or unconverted, it stands as a major teaching device, and receiving it bears responsibilities. Serious and honest consideration of it should lead to answering many questions about our place in a relationship with God, and to realizing some of our responsibilities. This is why Paul declares mankind “without excuse.” The fulfillment of these responsibilities lies in the uses we make of the gifts God has given. Why should anyone be concerned about this? Because of mankind’s past and present track record. Human history is telling. Recall Solomon’s declaration in Ecclesiastes 7:29:“Truly, this only have I found: that God made man upright, but they have sought out many schemes.” Gifts freely given, even gifts from God, are not always used well by the recipients. An obvious example is that people can examine their own lives and the earth itself and not discern the Creator as the Giver of these awesome gifts. Rather than declaring the glory of God’s bountiful mercies in even these obvious gifts, they loudly proclaim that all of creation arose from nothing and proceed to ignore the Giver, doing as they good and well please! Why is this so? Romans 8:6-8 reminds us: “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. So then, those that are in the flesh cannot please God.” Under the influence of the arch-deceiver, Satan, mankind has been persuaded that God, the Giver of every good and perfect gift, is the enemy. So, like Eve and then Adam, we are turned against God until He personally and mercifully intervenes with more gifts to help us escape our confusion. An Additional Blessing, the Sabbath As the sixth day ended, the creation week was not yet complete. One more day and a major blessing remained to be given to mankind to aid it in accomplishing God’s purpose for all. Genesis 2:1-3 states:
God created the Sabbath by resting on it and sanctified it as a blessing for mankind to observe in a similar fashion. God did not need to rest because He had grown tired, as we humans do. We are assured in Psalm 121:4, “He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” He rested as an example to us, showing what we must do on the seventh day, as well as to sanctify it as a special day to accomplish His purposes in creating us. He did not do this for any other day. The Sabbath is part of the Ten Commandments, and as nearly the middle commandment, functions as a bridge between the law’s two parts. It is the only one of the ten directly mentioned in this covenant, even though others are certainly implied when Adam and Eve sinned. Why has observance of this day fallen into such disrepute? It is not only disregarded by most, but even hated within some circles of the “Christian” world, as if keeping it is a curse. Though many do not necessarily hate it, they make no effort to observe it despite God singling the seventh day out as different from the other six days. The reason for this disregard is that, because it is so vital to our Creator’s overall purpose, Satan has gone to great lengths to obscure its value. Jesus states unequivocally in Mark 2:27, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.” The Sabbath, a special creation, was made for the benefit of mankind. He did not make it only for the Israelites, who did not even exist when He created it. Jesus uses “man” here to stand for all humanity beginning with Adam and Eve, not just one particular group or race or family of people. Jesus would certainly understand this, as He was the One who created the day for mankind (Colossians 1:15-19). God specifically identifies Himself with no other day of the week. In Ezekiel 20:12-24, He specifically calls them “My Sabbaths” six times. He does not refer to them as belonging to Israel but to Himself. He also identifies Himself with those who keep the day:
His statement explicitly establishes non-observance of the Sabbath as sin, and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)! God sanctified or hallowed the seventh day, the Sabbath. It takes a holy God to make holy time, and He made no time holy other than His Sabbaths. Though people can be made holy by God, they cannot make something holy because they do not possess a holiness that can be transferred to anything else. Since only a holy God can hallow something, any day other than what God has made holy—even though billions of people may proclaim it to be holy—cannot be holy time. It is utterly impossible. No day can be holy except the one God made holy. This means that the Sabbath is worthy of respect, deference, and even devotion that cannot be given to other periods of time. It is set apart for sacred use because it is derived directly from Him and made holy at creation. Because of God’s assignment of the word “holy” to the Sabbath, this day is changed into something special. Even though it is a part of the cycle of the week, the Sabbath is separate from the other six days. It is different from the common or ordinary. The other six days are common, given for the pursuit of the ordinary things of life. The Sabbath is a day God has reserved for man’s benefit for special things, different things—spiritual things. The Sabbath is not holy merely because God assigned it as such, though by itself, if we truly fear Him, that should be enough. How do things become holy, even things like the soil of the ground, or in this case, time? The Bible shows they become holy because He puts His presence in them. By the fact of His presence, they become a spiritual creation. God’s presence is in the weekly Sabbath as well as in the annual Sabbaths, which He also created and made holy for the spiritual guidance of those He has a relationship with. Luke writes, “So [Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read” (Luke 4:16). Jesus kept the weekly Sabbath as well as the annual Sabbaths (see John 7:2, 10). The book of Acts reports the apostle Paul and the New Testament church keeping the weekly and annual Sabbaths, even Gentiles. Nothing in the Bible changes the day God set aside and made holy at creation. The Catholic Church publicly lays claim to changing the day of worship to Sunday and charges the Protestant churches with following their lead. Can the Catholic Church make anything holy? Everything that truly matters reveals the Edenic Covenant to be universal in application. This means that, along with everything else in that covenant God charged us to submit to, the Sabbath is still in effect. Nothing holy has been created to replace the Sabbath God created in the first week. The Blessing of Marriage Within the covenant, the blessing of the establishment of marriage is preceded by God preparing Adam’s mind for his need for a companion suitable to him. Notice Genesis 2:18-20:
This was no casual activity. It involved a display of the intellectual powers that God gave to Adam. God undoubtedly caused animals or groups of animals to gather for Adam to observe, study, and classify, to see what he would call them. In giving each animal group its name, Adam demonstrated his right as God’s human regent. He was given dominion over the animals, and he used that authority. Furthermore, it appears that the names Adam gave them “stuck.” They did so because he demonstrated good insight into their characteristics, and his descendants later used the names he initially gave the animals. This exercise demonstrated to Adam that there was no one like him in the animal world. No animal was created in the image of God. If he had chosen one of them, communication and all it entails would necessarily have had to remain at the animal’s level. He was now better prepared for God’s gift of Eve. Genesis 2:21-24 records Eve’s creation and Adam’s response:
The warmth and beauty of this creation is fitting, a crown on all that God had created for the man and woman to prepare them for life in the world. Adam’s response shows his pleasurable agreement with this added gift. Feminists take issue with Scripture’s reference to Eve as a “helper” (Genesis 2:18), but there is nothing demeaning in the term. It simply means “one who helps.” God Himself is referred to as our “help” several times (see Psalm 115:10-11). Remember, Genesis 1:27 asserts, “So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” With both sexes created in God’s image, neither can claim superiority. With our knowledge of DNA, it makes perfect sense for God to have built Eve from a small portion of Adam’s body because his body already had within it every means for Eve to be his perfect female match. Adam did not know this technical, biological reality, but he was still in naming-mode after his experience with the animals. So, when he saw her he said, in effect, “She is me!” meaning she is like him, not like an animal, naming her “woman.” (In Hebrew, “man” is ish and “woman” is isha.) Each was made to be the perfect companion for the other. The concluding comment in Genesis 2:24—that a man and his wife are to become one flesh—reinforces this. Today, marriage is not at its most stable state in our Western cultures. Yet, God’s intention is plain. When asked about divorce and remarriage, Jesus declares God’s original intent in Matthew 19:8-9:
Mankind’s marriage problems do not stem from God’s creation of the institution. They lie in the hardness of heart of both men and women. Jesus’ clear statement is the reality that the modern demand for “equality”—especially from feminists—opposes, and such opposition affects the stability of marriages to such an extent that more than a third of all marriages end in divorce. Some remarry and divorce several times, throwing both family life and society into turmoil. The entire culture is badly fractured. Feminist anger over God's making Eve for Adam reveals that they are anti-God in their outlook on marriage. They forget, or conveniently overlook, that Adam was made for Eve too, and in addition, that she was made from man, meaning that she was part of him. Genesis does not suggest in any way that she was created as man’s servant. Adam himself perceived her as a delightful companion. Are men and woman equal? The answer depends on the particular context. Generally, they are not equal in physical feats of strength, for instance, but they are equal in many ways, especially in mental and spiritual terms. Both are created in the image of God, which starts them on the path to being fit companions for each other. Both are under moral responsibility to God. No place in Scripture states either a man’s or a woman’s sins are the worse. Both men and women are recipients of God’s grace and can be forgiven by the blood of Jesus Christ. Both are equal in terms of being offered salvation and receiving eternal life and reward in God’s Kingdom. The true cause of marital problems lies in the ignorance of both men and women of their responsibilities within a marriage. Compounding this is another reality: the self-centered, carnal character of each personality involved. These two factors—ignorance of responsibility and selfish carnality—result in multitudes of mistakes and misapplications in many areas of the relationship, creating discouragement and anguish rather than satisfaction and joy, as God intended. |
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