The Bible is...The Book of the Covenant
The Bible is primarily the book of the covenant between God and man, a written record of the terms, history and validity of God's relationship, purpose and lovingkindness toward mankind. JAHWEH, God of Israel, is a covenant making God. There is no other type of relationship with God available other than the offer freely given in this book. We must understand the nature of covenant relationships as well as the particular terms of the covenant to make sense of the Lord's actions throughout history.
Old Testament/New Testament
The book of the Bible is divided into the Old Testament and the New Testament.
But what exactly is a "Testament"?
Webster's New World Dictionary defines "Testament" as "a covenant, especially one between God and man ".
The word "covenant" is defined as "a binding and solemn agreement to do or keep from doing a specified thing; compact." It is synonymous with an "agreement", "contract", "promise", or "treaty". Covenant in our modern American culture has lost much of its true meaning and has fallen from usage in our language and our thinking. Covenant relationship is more than a simple contract; it is a relationship where two separate groups or individuals cease from being two and become one, a unity, a new One that did not exist before the covenant agreement was reached. The Bible leads us forward and God-ward toward restored union with Him in every way. The bonds of covenant are stronger than the sum of total of the parties' strength that enter into it. The strength of the covenant lasts longer than the lives of those who enter the agreement. It is passed on and carried from one generation to the next, so covenant is stronger than even life. The covenants and promises of God are eternal and unchangeable; they are established and worked out upon His faithfulness not our own.
Covenant and covenanting is found all over the world in every culture and society from earliest history.
Nelson's Bible Dictionary says,"…A covenant, in the biblical sense, implies much more than a contract or simple agreement. A contract always has an end date, while a covenant is a permanent arrangement. Another difference is that a contract generally involves only one part of a person, such as a skill, while a covenant covers a person's total being.
The word for covenant in the Old Testament also provides additional insight into the meaning of this important idea. It comes from a Hebrew root word which means 'to cut."
(from Nelson's Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Copyright (c)1986, Thomas Nelson Publishers)
Whenever a covenant is made there is either cutting of the flesh of the participants or representatives, or some symbolic emblems that demonstrate the flowing and sharing of blood. With every covenant agreement there is the opening up and giving of life towards each other be it groups or individuals.
Covenant of Restoration
The Bible is a book of the Covenant of God with man. God is restoring the unfettered relationship that existed between Himself and Adam before they were separated by Adam's unfaithfulness to God. God has never abandoned His purpose for mankind "to dress, and keep" the Lords creation (Genesis 2:15 ). In other words, man is designed to bring order and justice, preserve life and rule as God's steward and representative in the world. Without God's intervention to rescue and restore an intimate union with mankind, there would be no hope to accomplish this purpose with us and the lies about God that Adam believed would have been successful in defeating the Lord. Evil certainly abounds to this day, but where evil abounds, grace abounds much more. (Romans 5:20 ), and it is the grace of God that will ultimately prevail.
God is Love, and Love never fails.
1 Corinthians 13:4-8
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails. NIV
And so God brings a covenant to repair and fully restore every aspect of mankind living in unity - union with Him again.
As we begin to understand the concept and practice of covenanting, we can begin to understand the depth, simplicity and power of the Bible.
We work WITH God in covenant relationship, we do not work FOR Him as if He requires our assistance, or our proof of our goodness. There is no stronger bond than a covenant
Prov 18:24
There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother RSV
The Bible is ...Self interpreting
Being Born...
The Bible is self-interpreting IF you have the right equipment. God's covenant is so powerful that it creates a whole new life in you born out of His own Spirit. Without his Spirit, the Bible is just rules and confusing stories.
One time Jesus was talking with Nicodemus, a trained teacher of Jewish Law observence and he explained to him,..
John 3:3-5
I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, that unless a person is born again (anew, from above), he cannot ever see (know, be acquainted with, and experience) the kingdom of God.
Nicodemus said to Him, How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter his mother's womb again and be born?
Jesus answered, I assure you, most solemnly I tell you, unless a man is born of water and [even] the Spirit, he cannot [ever] enter the kingdom of God. [Ezek 36:25-27.]
What is born of [from] the flesh is flesh [of the physical is physical]; and what is born of the Spirit is spirit. AMP
You must be born from above.. or you cannot even see God's Kingdom, let alone understand how it operates and how you are to live in it. But when you are born from above (born of the Spirit)...
You have another birthday
...and You have the right to BECOME Sons (actual blood relatives) of God
John 1:12-13
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. KJV
Jesus said, My words are SPIRIT…
John 6:63-64
3 The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life. Yet there are some of you who do not believe." NIV
"Spirit" here is the greek word, "pneuma" meaning "breath" or blast. It means "Inspired word", the pneuma of God, "Breath of God", or "God breathed"
Genesis 2:7 describes how God breathed into Adam, and what He breathed into him was Life. It is the same action, when God speaks, Life comes out, when we record His words and later read and believe them, they still produce Life because His words Are actually Life itself.
His word is ALIVE - it contains POWER to change things. the Bible is not a book of rules, it is a book of life.
The only thing that hinders Life being produced in us is our receiving and believing his words for what they are. The concept of "believing" is more than just a casual agreement with a general idea. Believing in the biblical application involves a complete surrendering over to your life into what is being revealed by the words said. It is nothing less than entering into covenant relationship, yielding over your whole self completely to the words and Spirit of God.
When the scriptures say that
Gen 15:6
And he [Abram] believed in (trusted in, relied on, remained steadfast to) the Lord, and He counted it to him as righteousness (right standing with God). [Rom 4:3,18-22; Gal 3:6; James 2:23.] AMP
it is describing Abraham recieving and walking in the strong bonds of God's covenent, not just a casual belief.
God's word has power to create things, In the beginning, God said, Let there be... and it was. All of the universe, and life exist as a result of God's words being released.
The Bible can only be fully understood from the realm of the Spirit. God is Spirit (John 4:24).
If you read with common understanding, the Bible produces legalism, arguments, and death instead of life.
The Bible is not...
The Bible is not just a book of rules.
The bible is not a cosmic "to do" list to earn God's love. When we measure our goodness according to the standards given on the Bible we all fail. Some of us can perform rather well in certain aspects of righteous living but the message if the book of the covenant says:
Rom 3:23-25
Yes, all have sinned; all fall short of God's glorious ideal; yet now God declares us "not guilty" of offending him if we trust in Jesus Christ, who in his kindness freely takes away our sins.
25 For God sent Christ Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to end all God's anger against us. He used Christ's blood and our faith as the means of saving us from his wrath. TLB
The blood of Christ is the life offered to enforce and satisfy god's covenant. "Our faith" is the same as Abraham's "believing" or signing over everything of himself and his ways into God's covenant proposal.
The bible is not just a history book.
The history in the Bible is a record of many events important to the making and verification and teaching of God's covenant relationship with man. The history in the Bible is accurate, but it is not a complete history of the earth. There are some events like the three years of Jesus life on earth that are recorded in some detail, but huge sections of time aren't even recorded. The reason is that as the book of the covenant, only the information pertinent to finding and living in God's covenant is collected and preserved.
The Flood of Noah is described from this same perspective. It doesn't describe the science of how the flood came and the cataclism of climate change, the elimination of most dinasours, mastadons, etc. The Bible tells us what we need to know about why the flood came, and what renewed covenants God gave to Noah, his sons, and all other life after the flood. The bible gives us the "need to know" covenant news and lets the rest of discovery to good sound science and archeological investigation. Many people claimed the story of the flood as fiction, but the more we find out about the earth, rock layers, fossil records, and such, the more evidence is found to support the truth of the bible.
The Bible is not just a book of science ...
but the science that is in the bible is sound.
Job 26:7
He spreads out the northern [skies] over empty space;
he suspends the earth over nothing. NIV
This was written long before it was an accepted belief that the earth is a planet freely spinning in orbit around the sun, which it is. Similarly,
Eccl 1:6
The wind goes toward the south,
And turns around to the north;
The wind whirls about continually,
And comes again on its circuit. NKJV ... describes the rotation of winds in high and low pressure wheather systems long before we understood the jet stream and its control of winds.
If we return to the passage from Job, it becomes obvious that the information given about the earth and the oceans is given so we can comprehend the immense power of God with whom we have our covenant.
Job 26:7-14
He wraps the rain in his thick clouds and the clouds, are not split by the weight. He shrouds his throne with his clouds. He sets a boundary for the ocean, yes, and a boundary for the day and for the night. The pillars of heaven tremble at his rebuke. And by his power the sea grows calm; he is skilled at crushing its pride! The heavens are made beautiful by his Spirit; he pierces the swiftly gliding serpent.
"These are some of the minor things he does, merely a whisper of his power. Who then can withstand his thunder?" TLB
The Bible is...Pictures, pictures, pictures
It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words
Bible is a book of types, examples, and demonstrations through history.
Pictures transcend language, and to some degree culture. His covenant is for all people in every generation so God uses the universal language of pictures to help us understand his covenant.
Sometimes we must look into the "framework" of the historical picture God has given us to understand the picture.
For example: Paul defines the relationship between husband and wife,
Eph 5:25-27, 32-33
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless...
... This is a profound mystery-but I am talking about Christ and the church. NIV
and then he reveals that what the husband and wife relationship really represent is the relationship between Christ and the church. So every godly marraige relationship is meant to be a demonstration of God's covenant love for us as.
But the secrets and mysteries of God are not always so clearly stated.
There are many secrets or mysteries, the simple hidden in the obvious for those who have eyes to see
Ps 25:14
The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning. [ see also, John 7:17; 15:15.] AMPLIFIED BIBLE
Here are just a few examples to give you an idea of what I am talking about:
Three in one pattern
We find that God is Father, Holy Spirit and Son separate and yet one. Many arguments and ideas surround this concept but it is all through the Bible. Man is made in the image, or the likeness of God and we too have three parts to our selves, we are Spirit, Soul, and Body and yet one person. The three in one pattern is found in the Temple, the Tabernacle of Moses, the prescribed Feasts, and many other things. As we study the details of these pictures and patterns, we can understand in detail the operation of the Kingdom of God. All of these things show the same truths, so when we discover the things that agree we have found some of the secrets or mysteries of the covenant.
God's secrets are often quite simple, but our initial understanding is often clouded by our own notions and erroneous teaching.
For man in his image - being formed into the image of Christ
Tabernacle and Temple Worship...
... is a true and accurate pattern of heavenly things. They are there so we can understand and recognize their fulfillment by Jesus, our "Great High Priest"
Heb 8:1-6
Now this is the main point of the things we are saying: We have such a High Priest, [Jesus] who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens, a Minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle which the Lord erected, and not man.
For every high priest is appointed to offer both gifts and sacrifices. Therefore it is necessary that this one also have something to offer. For if He were on earth, He would not be a priest, since there are priests who offer the gifts according to the law; who serve the copy and shadow of the heavenly things, as Moses was divinely instructed when he was about to make the tabernacle. For He said, "See that you make all things according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." But now He [Christ] has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. NKJV
History of Israel
1 Cor 10:1 - 12
For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea....
...6 Now these things occurred as examples (meaning, "a model" or a "warning")to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did.
...11 These things happened to them as examples ("model" or "warning")and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come. NIV
Parables of the Kingdom
The parables are stories of common life experiences that reveal the secrets and operation of the Kingdom of God.
Ps 78:1-4
O my people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in parables,
I will utter hidden things, things from of old--
what we have heard and known,
what our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children;
we will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,
his power, and the wonders he has done. NIV
Here Jesus explains that without being born of the Spirit of God, which is believing as Abraham believed. You will not have the ability to see anything but the story line in His parables of the Kingdom.
Matt 13:10-13
Then the disciples came to Him and said, Why do You speak to them in parables?
And He replied to them, To you it has been given to know the secrets and mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given.
For whoever has [spiritual knowledge], to him will more be given and he will be furnished richly so that he will have abundance; but from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
This is the reason that I speak to them in parables: because having the power of seeing, they do not see; and having the power of hearing, they do not hear, nor do they grasp and understand. AMP
"Having the power of seeing" refers to the ability and choice we all have to yield over to the authority and covenant of God. God is a god of freedom, not a God of restriction as many people think. You can only enter into covenant with Him BY YOUR OWN CHOICE.
It does not matter your condition, habits, history of offenses or benevolent works, you can choose to surrender all your own ideas, priorities and thinking over and believe the promises and integrity of God's covenant. This is covenant is freely offered to all as long as you have a breath in you. You are ...
In Covenant or... Not in Covenant ...
When you enter God's Covenant everything changes. You have God's own Spiritual Life in you that begins to teach you all truth (John 14:26), you have an ability to see and perceive the secrets you need to know in order to walk with and commune with a faultless and Holy God even while you are not yet perfected.
But you will not and cannot stay the same. It is a long and dangerous journey with the Lord now and he brings you continually to new places where you must trust Him exclusively more and more.
The strength of your life becomes more and more to be the strength and integrity of the covenant of God with you. That's what the bible means when it says that - His strength is made perfect in our weakness (2 Corinthians 12:9).
1 Cor 1:25
For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength. NIV
It was forty years in the wilderness with the first generation of Israel, and some thousands of years of history since. Some people point to the violence in the world as proof that God has failed, but God says,
2 Peter 3:9
The Lord does not delay and is not tardy or slow about what He promises, according to some people's conception of slowness, but He is long-suffering (extraordinarily patient) toward you, not desiring that any should perish, but that all should turn to repentance. AMP
God Wants you in ... With Him
At the renewal of God's covenant with Israel in Deuteronomy God says:
Deut 30:19-20
"I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the LORD your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the LORD swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them." NKJV
This event is so important that God calls all of heaven and earth to act as the witnesses for the renewal of His covenant with is people, Israel. Now we also know that all of heaven and earth was created by the words of God (Genesis 1,2), so what is happening here is that God is calling upon EVERYTHING He has done and accomplished so far, and every promise He has made so far to pay attention, take notice, and be ready to stand as witnesses in a court of justice as to the covenant of agreement that the people of Israel and the Lord are renewing.
In the middle of this eternal event, God pleads: "Therefore Choose life, that you and your descendants may live..."
God wants us to live.
Life is only found inside His covenant.
We enter only by choice, by our own freewill (Deuteronomy 30:19).
We do not earn an invitation by merit, nor are we disqualified for previous sin (Ephesians 2:8).
The covenant will change us: it is a new form of life not available until we enter.
The bible is the book of this covenant, a record of its history, development and fulfillment.
The Bible contains secrets for those who are willing to believe and surrender common understanding for Spiritual truth.
It is food, life, water, judgment, fire, a hammer, healing to all flesh, the breathe of God, and so much more.
1 Tim 1:15-17
Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners-of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen.
NIV
The Bible is the book of God's covenant relationship with man
Ps 25:14-15
The secret [of the sweet, satisfying companionship] of the Lord have they who fear (revere and worship) Him, and He will show them His covenant and reveal to them its [deep, inner] meaning.
My eyes are ever toward the Lord, for He will pluck my feet out of the net. AMP