Being the Covenant People of God

Trinity Sunday

Rev. Dr. David M. Oliver

First United Methodist Church

Massillon, Ohio

May 31, 2026

Text: Genesis 12:1-9

Opening Prayer:

Triune God, ever three and ever one, we bow before you in humble adoration, acknowledging that you are the God who makes and keeps covenant. You call us to listen, to be obedient, to follow, to wait, to pray, to be expectant for the fulfillment of your promises. Empower us now by your Holy Spirit to hear what you have to say to us today. We pray these things through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Amen.

The Scripture this morning reveals that God is a covenant making God who desires a relationship with us. Even when we humans falter and fail, as we often do, our living, triune God remains steadfast and faithful and keeps covenant with us. Let’s look at this more closely and then make application to our own relationship with God.

If you wish to complete the sermon listening guide in your bulletin, please take it out at this time. It’s an extensive guide this week and I believe you will find it helpful for note taking.

In the Bible, the word covenant refers to a binding, sacred agreement between God and human beings that establishes a permanent, personal relationship. Unlike a temporary, transactional contract, a covenant involves mutual promises, obligations, and loyalties, often sealed with oaths and symbolic ceremonies.

The Abrahamic Covenant found in Genesis 12:1–3 is the foundational promise God makes to Abram (who later was renamed Abraham). This covenant serves as the bedrock for the rest of biblical history.

The Hebrew term for covenant is bĕrit, traditionally pronounced “ber-EETH” or “BRITH” depending on what part of Judaism you are from.

In the Old Testament, the word bĕrit carries the idea of “cutting” which refers to the ancient practice of cutting animals in two during covenant-making ceremonies (see Genesis 15:7-16).

When Abram arrived at the oak of Moreh in the land of Shechem, which is located in Northern Israel thirty miles due North of Jerusalem, Abram built an altar there to the Lord. Most probably he made an animal sacrifice on the altar which would have been a common practice at the time.

As an aside, this was the area known later as Samaria through which Jesus occasionally passed and did some of his miracles. It was where Jesus met and converted the Samaritan woman he met at Jacob’s well which is described in John chapter 4.

Shechem features prominently in the biblical account of the patriarchs. Shechem was a Canaanite city at that time. Its abundant water supply and lush fields provided sustenance for Abram’s livestock and large entourage.

Returning to the theme of covenant, what is the difference between a covenant and a contract? A covenant is relational while a contract is transactional. Contracts focus on strict legal terms and conditions. Covenants are centered on relationships grounded in commitment, love, and devotion.

A covenant has a sacred dimension that establishes a relationship with strong consequences if it is broken. It was used to establish rules of behavior by which trust and predictability could be introduced into social and political relationships such as a ruler had with his people or the people shared with each other. Biblically, covenant was the means by which the relationships and responsibilities of the people of God could be regulated with God and with one other.

Historically, there were two basic types of covenantal relationships. Suzerainty covenants identified a relationship of a king or lord to his vassals. It was a relationship of a superior to an inferior. The second type were parity covenants, which established a relationship between two equals.

When you look at the Ten Commandments in Exodus (see Exodus 20:1-17), you will see both these covenantal dimensions there. The first three commands are of God to God’s people, a superior to an inferior. The last six are of the people to each other, a relationship of parity. The fourth commandment, which is the Sabbath commandment, is a transitional part of this covenant.

Covenants were also divided between conditional and unconditional covenants. Promises in Scripture generally are examples of unconditional covenants that God makes with God’s people. If we view promises as covenants, there are hundreds of covenants in the Bible. Conditional covenants have the dimension of “if‒then” in them. The Ten Commandments are a prime example of a conditional covenant.

There are seven major covenants that stand out in Scripture, each defining more clearly God’s relationship with God’s people and God’s purposes for them.

Here is a list of the major covenants in Scripture which you may look up and explore on your own.

1. The Edenic Covenant

• Scripture: Genesis 1:26–30, Genesis 2:16–17

• Description: God’s conditional covenant of innocence made with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. It outlined humanity’s responsibilities to care for the earth, populate it, and the prohibition to not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil, with death as the consequence.

2. The Adamic Covenant

• Scripture: Genesis 3:14–19

• Description: A covenant of grace and consequences following the Fall of humanity. God pronounced curses upon the serpent, on human beings, and creation, but also provided the first promise that the seed of the woman would ultimately defeat the serpent.

3. The Noahic Covenant

• Scripture: Genesis 8:20–9:17

• Description: An unconditional, universal covenant God made with Noah and all subsequent living creatures. God promised never to destroy the earth again with a worldwide flood and provided the rainbow as the everlasting sign of this promise.

4. The Abrahamic Covenant

• Scripture: Genesis 12:1–3, Genesis 15:1–18, Genesis 17:1–27

• Description: An unconditional covenant God established with Abraham. God promised to make Abraham a great nation, give him the Promised Land, and bless all the families of the earth through his lineage. The physical sign of this covenant is circumcision.

5. The Mosaic (or Sinaitic) Covenant

• Scripture: Exodus 19:5, Exodus 24:1–8

• Description: A conditional covenant God made with the nation of Israel at Mount Sinai. God promised to be their God and they his people, provided they obeyed the laws, statutes, and commandments, which were summarized in the Ten Commandments.

6. The Davidic Covenant

• Scripture: 2 Samuel 7:8–16, 2 Samuel 23:5

• Description: An unconditional covenant made with King David. God promised that David’s lineage and throne would be established forever, a promise ultimately fulfilled eternally in Jesus Christ.

7. The New Covenant

• Scripture: Jeremiah 31:31–34, Luke 22:20, Galatians 3:23-29, Hebrews 8:6–13

• Description: An unconditional and eternal covenant established by Jesus Christ through his death and resurrection. It replaces the old Mosaic system by writing God’s law directly onto the hearts of believers, offering complete forgiveness of sins and universal access to God for all who believe.

Understanding these covenants is central to grasping God’s promises throughout the Bible. You can dive deeper into these divine agreements and their theological significance using the helpful guides which I have listed in your listening guide: The Bible Project Covenants Guide and The Gospel Coalition Essay on Biblical Covenants.

We can see from this list that our God is a covenant-making, covenant-keeping God. When God made covenant with Abram, God gave him three great promises which were motivation enough for Abram to leave his prosperous, settled life in the city of Ur of the Chaldees and go to the place where God was leading him and his descendants.

1. Land: God promised to show Abram a land he would eventually inherit (later revealed as Canaan).

2. Descendants: God promised to make Abram a “great nation,” giving him a massive lineage and a great name.

3. Universal Blessing: God promised to bless Abram and through him to bless all the families of the earth.”

As I mentioned, the Abrahamic Covenant was unilateral or unconditional in nature. This means God did not base the fulfillment of these three promises on Abraham’s perfection or performance (which was a good thing when you look at the mistakes that Abraham made in his life). This unconditional love and mercy of God gives us hope when we come face to face with our faults and failures.

In Genesis 15, when the covenant was formally cut and ratified, only God (represented as a smoking fire pot and flaming torch) passes through the pieces of the sacrificed animals. This symbolized that God alone was bearing the responsibility and taking upon himself the oath to ensure the Abrahamic Covenant was fulfilled.

Some might wonder what the significance was of this covenant. This covenant had a redemptive purpose. The Abrahamic Covenant established God’s plan to rescue and restore a fallen world that had been separated from God through sin. The Abrahamic promised that “by you all families of the earth shall be blessed.” The ultimate fulfillment of this covenant can be traced throughout Scripture to Jesus Christ.

In the New Testament, God’s covenant making, covenant keeping commitment is supremely seen in the incarnation—the unique birth, matchless life, incomparable teaching, horrific suffering, sacrificial death, and glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ.

God’s covenant making and covenant keeping is carried forward by the baptism of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the church whose presence continues to inspire and empower us today.

In this brief overview we see the Triune God initiating, carrying out, and carrying forward the covenant relationship which God desires with every human being.

Let’s now briefly turn to apply this information to how we live together as a church and as a people of God.

• The Church is a covenant community of Christ-followers. We are seeking to become more like Jesus in our words, deeds and attitudes. This is made possible by the power of God’s Holy Spirit animating our words and deeds.

• As a covenant community centered on Christ we are committed to making First Church a place of welcome, warmth, and winsomeness. We do this through generous hospitality and genuine interest and engagement with people in our community as well as those who worship with us. Last Friday night’s concert was just one of many examples of this.

• This covenant relationship is dynamic, not static. As in any covenant relationship we must continue to learn, grow, serve, and share both the joys and sorrows of life. We want and need to be a people who are safe. We want to be a fellowship where we can be ourselves and share openly with one another. We seek to grow together in love for God, in care and respect for others by celebrating both our similarities and differences. We prioritize being kind and humble in our service with our community.

• As a covenant people of God, we are committed to life-long learning in several ways:

  • Upward in our worship and relationship of love with God

  • Inward in our self-awareness and a healthy love for the unique person God has made each of us

  • Outward in loving relationship and joyful service with others in the church and community

• We are covenant people committed to listening carefully, to learning continually, and to leading distinctively in the manner that Jesus modeled.

• We keep covenant with God, ourselves, and one another through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit. It is God who both makes covenant with us and helps us to keep our covenants.

• Our covenants help us to do three thing exceptionally well as a people of God. Each one makes us distinctive:

• Service—we serve joyfully

• Stewardship—we use what we have faithfully

• Sacrifice—we give generously (of our time, talents, and treasure)

Praise God for being our covenant making, covenant keeping God who was with our ancestors, who became human in Jesus, full of grace and truth, and who will remain with us through the Holy Spirit until his final appearing in glory at the end of the age.

Let us pray. Almighty God, we bow before you in humble adoration, acknowledging that you and you alone are the God makes and keeps covenant perfectly. Empower us to listen, to be obedient, to follow wherever you lead, to learn to wait, to pray, and to be expectant for the fulfillment of your promises. In Jesus’ name we ask these things. Amen.