Topics / Covenants and Ordinances
The form God's dealings take
Covenants
Almost everything God does in scripture, He does by covenant. The Hebrew and Greek terms carry different weights — one a treaty between parties, the other closer to a will — and both are in play in what Christians call the New Testament.
22 min2 sections
Two words, two pictures
A treaty is between equals or near-equals; a will is dictated by one party and received by another. Both pictures are true of God's covenants, and holding them together prevents two opposite errors — treating a covenant as a negotiation, or treating it as something requiring nothing.
The shape of a covenant
Faith, repentance, baptism, the gift of the Holy Ghost, the temple, and enduring — with the gate marked, and the weekly loop back through the sacrament.
| Element | Example: baptism (Mosiah 18:8–10) |
|---|---|
| Who initiates | God, always. Nobody in scripture proposes terms to Him. |
| What is promised | The Spirit poured out; redemption; a place among His people |
| What is required | Bear one another's burdens, mourn with those that mourn, stand as witnesses at all times |
| What the sign is | Immersion, performed by authority |
| How it is renewed | The sacrament, weekly |
The major covenants
- Genesis 9:8–17Noah — a covenant with all flesh, with a sign in the sky and no conditions attached.
- Genesis 17:1–8; Abraham 2:9–11Abraham — land, seed, and blessing to all nations, with the priesthood named as the mechanism.
- Exodus 19:5–6Sinai — 'a peculiar treasure… a kingdom of priests,' explicitly conditional: 'if ye will obey my voice.'
- 2 Samuel 7:12–16David — a throne established forever, which the messianic hope then hangs on.
- Jeremiah 31:31–34The new covenant, written on hearts rather than on stone.
- D&C 132:7The Restoration's statement of what makes any covenant last past death.
Principle
God initiates every covenant, states both the promises and the conditions, and binds Himself to the promises.
D&C 82:10 is the plainest version: 'I, the Lord, am bound when ye do what I say; but when ye do not what I say, ye have no promise.' The binding runs in both directions, which is what makes a covenant different from a command.
What this topic holds
Covenants are cut, not merely agreed — the imagery is of an oath enacted at cost.
A covenant binds God to His promises as it binds the person to the conditions.
Check your reading
3 questions01What does Hebrew say instead of 'make a covenant'?
02Why are the two halves of the Bible called Testaments?
03What does D&C 82:10 say?
Where to go next
Sources
- Bible Dictionary, "Covenant"
- Genesis 15, 17; Exodus 19; Jeremiah 31; D&C 82, 132 — The primary texts.