In the first article, we stepped back and acknowledged something many Christians have never been taught to notice. We all read the Bible through a framework, whether we realize it or not. Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism represent two very different ways of organizing Scripture, and those differences shape how we understand everything from the Old Testament to the end times.

Now it is time to slow down and ask a simpler question.

What exactly is Covenant Theology?

At its heart, Covenant Theology is not a system imposed on the Bible. It is an attempt to take seriously the way the Bible presents itself. Scripture does not unfold as a collection of unrelated stories or spiritual principles. It unfolds as a series of divine covenants through which God reveals His plan of redemption and binds Himself to His people by promise.

What the Bible Means by “Covenant”

When modern readers hear the word covenant, they often think of a contract or agreement between equals. Biblically, a covenant is something far richer and far more serious.

A covenant is a sovereign, binding relationship established by God, grounded in promise, confirmed by oath, and often accompanied by sacrifice. God does not negotiate covenants. He initiates them. He defines their terms. He guarantees their fulfillment.

From the earliest pages of Scripture, God chooses to relate to humanity through covenant. In Genesis 15, God alone passes through the divided animals, swearing by His own name to keep His promise to Abraham. In Exodus 24, blood is sprinkled on the people as the covenant is ratified. In Hebrews 6, we are told that God swore by Himself because there was no one greater by whom to swear.

Covenants are how God makes His faithfulness visible in history.

The Covenantal Shape of the Bible

Covenant Theology observes that Scripture is not random or fragmented. It has a recognizable shape.

Creation. Fall. Promise. Fulfillment.

After sin enters the world, God does not abandon His creation. He promises redemption. That promise is not static. It unfolds. It grows clearer. It moves forward through time, through people, through history, until it reaches its fulfillment in Jesus Christ.

This means Covenant Theology affirms both continuity and progress. The Bible is one story, but it is not repetitive. Earlier covenants anticipate what later covenants will reveal more fully. Shadows give way to substance. Promises find their “yes” and “amen” in Christ.

The Covenants We See Explicitly in Scripture

Before talking about what are often called the “foundational” covenants, it is important to note something up front.

The Bible itself clearly presents a series of historical covenants that God makes with His people. These are not theoretical. They are plainly stated in the text and form the backbone of redemptive history.

God establishes a covenant with Noah, preserving the world and guaranteeing the stability of creation so that redemption can unfold (Genesis 8:20-9:17). He makes covenant promises to Abraham, centering on offspring, land, and blessing to the nations (Genesis 12, 15, 17). He enters into a covenant with Israel at Sinai, giving the law and formalizing Israel as a redeemed nation (Exodus 19-24). He makes a covenant with David, promising a king whose throne would be established forever (2 Samuel 7). And through the prophets, God promises a New Covenant that would bring forgiveness of sins, transformed hearts, and lasting fellowship with Him (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Ezekiel 36:25-27).

Presbyterians and Reformed Baptists are in full agreement on this basic biblical structure. These covenants are real, historical, and progressively reveal God’s redemptive purposes. None of them contradict one another, and none of them introduce a different way of salvation.

Where Covenant Theology goes a step further is not by adding new covenants to the Bible, but by asking a theological question.

What unites all of these covenants? What do they reveal about God’s plan as a whole?

To answer that question, Covenant Theology has historically spoken of broader, foundational covenants. These are not additional biblical contracts alongside Noah, Abraham, Moses, or David. They are theological categories that summarize what Scripture consistently teaches about God’s purpose, humanity’s fall, and redemption in Christ.

On these foundational categories, Presbyterians and Reformed Baptists share substantial agreement. Where differences exist, they arise later, especially in how the Covenant of Grace is administered and who belongs to the visible covenant community. Those questions matter, but they do not undermine the shared covenantal framework itself.

With that clarification in place, we can now look at the three foundational covenants that help us understand how the Bible’s many covenants fit together as one redemptive story.

The Three Foundational Covenants

To make sense of the Bible’s redemptive storyline, Covenant Theology has historically spoken of three foundational covenants. These are not three separate plans of salvation, and they are not presented as isolated proof-texts. Rather, they are theological summaries drawn from the whole witness of Scripture, helping us describe what the Bible consistently teaches about God’s purposes, humanity’s fall, and Christ’s saving work.

The first is commonly called the Covenant of Redemption. This refers to God’s eternal plan, made before creation, to save a people through the work of the Son. Scripture gives us glimpses into this eternal purpose. Jesus speaks of having been given a people by the Father (John 6:37-39). He prays about the glory He shared with the Father “before the world existed” (John 17:5) and about completing the work the Father gave Him to do (John 17:4). Paul tells us that believers were chosen in Christ “before the foundation of the world” (Ephesians 1:4-11), and Peter speaks of Christ as the Lamb who was foreknown before creation but revealed in these last times for our sake (1 Peter 1:18-20).

Taken together, these passages show that redemption was not an afterthought. Salvation was planned. The cross was not a reaction. From eternity, the Father purposed to redeem, the Son willingly undertook to accomplish redemption, and the Spirit would apply that finished work to God’s people. This covenant reminds us that the gospel is rooted in God’s eternal faithfulness, not human initiative.

The second foundational covenant is often called the Covenant of Works. This covenant describes God’s relationship with Adam as the representative head of humanity. Adam was placed in the garden under a clear command, with the threat of death for disobedience (Genesis 2:16–17). While the word “covenant” is not explicitly used in Genesis 2, later Scripture reflects on this arrangement in covenantal terms. Hosea speaks of transgressing the covenant “like Adam” (Hosea 6:7). Paul explicitly treats Adam as a representative figure whose obedience or disobedience affected those he represented (Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

Adam failed; he broke the covenant. And because he stood as humanity’s head, his failure brought sin and death into the world. This is essential for understanding the gospel. If Adam’s disobedience was representative, then Christ’s obedience must also be representative. Covenant Theology insists that justification makes no sense unless Adam and Christ both function as covenant heads.

The third foundational covenant is the Covenant of Grace. This covenant begins immediately after the fall, when God promises a Redeemer who would crush the serpent’s head (Genesis 3:15). From that moment forward, God’s relationship with His people is governed by grace rather than works. Salvation is promised, not earned. Faith, not law-keeping, is the means by which God’s people receive life.

The Covenant of Grace unfolds progressively through Scripture. God confirms His promise to Noah, preserving the world so redemption can continue (Genesis 9). He narrows the promise through Abraham, promising blessing to all nations through his offspring (Genesis 12:1-3; 15:6; 17:7). He gives the law through Moses, not as a new way of salvation, but to reveal sin and point forward to the need for a mediator (Galatians 3:19-24). He establishes a royal line through David, promising an everlasting King (2 Samuel 7:12-16). Finally, the Covenant of Grace reaches its fulfillment in the New Covenant, inaugurated by the blood of Christ (Jeremiah 31:31–34; Luke 22:20; Hebrews 8-10).

Throughout all of this, the promise remains the same. God will be their God. They will be His people. He will forgive their sins. He will dwell with them.

Seen this way, Covenant Theology does not flatten the Bible. It allows us to see real development without losing unity. The story moves forward, but it never changes direction.

And at the center of it all stands Jesus Christ, the last Adam, the true offspring of Abraham, the faithful Son of David, and the mediator of the New Covenant.

Christ at the Center of Every Covenant

This is where Covenant Theology becomes unmistakably Christian rather than merely theological.

Adam failed where Christ obeyed. Israel broke covenant where Christ kept it perfectly. The sacrifices of the Old Testament pointed forward to the true sacrifice. The priesthood anticipated the true High Priest. The kingship of David prepared the way for the eternal King.

Jesus did not abolish the covenants. He fulfilled them.

The New Covenant is not a departure from God’s earlier promises. It is their completion. What was promised in seed form is now revealed in full bloom. Hebrews does not tell us that the Old Covenant was useless. It tells us it was preparatory, temporary, and always pointing forward.

This is why the apostles read the Old Testament the way they did. They saw Christ everywhere because Christ truly was everywhere, hidden in promise, pattern, and prophecy.

Why This Matters

Covenant Theology teaches us to read the Bible with confidence rather than suspicion. The Old Testament is not a foreign land we must tiptoe through. It is our family history. It belongs to us because we belong to Christ.

When we read Scripture covenantally, we are not asking whether a passage applies to us. We are asking how it finds its fulfillment in Jesus and what that fulfillment means for those united to Him by faith.

In the next article, I’ll trace the Covenant of Grace through the major biblical covenants and show how each one advances the same promise of salvation. As we do, the unity of the Bible will become increasingly clear.

God is not improvising. He is keeping covenant.

And He always keeps His word.