Covenant theology

Covenant theology interprets the Bible’s relationship between God and humanity through covenants. It commonly organizes salvation history around covenants of works, grace, and redemption.

Biblical covenant: A formal relationship established by God with people, often involving promises, obligations, and signs. Covenant theology treats these relationships as the organizing structure of biblical history.
Abrahamic covenant: God’s covenant with Abraham, promising descendants, land, and blessing to the nations. Covenant theology reads its promises as stages in the unfolding covenant of grace.
Dispensationalism: A theological framework that divides biblical history into distinct administrations of God’s purposes. It differs over how biblical covenants relate to Israel, the church, and the present age.
Zacharias Ursinus: A sixteenth-century German Reformed theologian and principal author of the Heidelberg Catechism. His catechetical teaching helped shape early Reformed discussions of covenant.
Covenant of works: A theological account of Adam’s relationship with God, framed around obedience and the promise of life. It explains humanity’s original obligation and the need for a later covenant of grace.
Mosaic covenant: The covenant established between God and Israel through Moses at Mount Sinai. Its place within the covenant of grace is a major point of interpretation and debate.
New Covenant theology: A Christian framework that treats the New Covenant as discontinuous with the Mosaic law in distinctive ways. It challenges covenant theology’s account of continuity between the Mosaic and New Covenants.
Caspar Olevianus: A sixteenth-century German Reformed theologian associated with the Heidelberg Catechism. His writings contributed to the early development of Reformed covenant theology.
Covenant of grace: A theological account of God’s promise to save sinners through faith in Christ. It unifies the Bible’s post-fall promises of salvation across successive covenants.
Davidic covenant: God’s covenant promise to David that his royal house and kingdom would endure. Its promise of a lasting king is connected to covenant theology’s account of Christ.

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