Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World - Paperback

The Key That Unlocks the Whole Bible

Every part of the Bible is connected. Every promise leads somewhere. Every sacrifice points forward. Every king anticipates a greater King. But how does it all hold together? What is the thread that runs from Genesis to Revelation and makes the whole Bible a single, unified story?

The covenants. Thomas Schreiner’s opening argument is as simple as it is illuminating: the covenants are the key to the plot structure of Scripture and the means for putting the whole Bible together.

Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World is his concise, precise, and — endorsers reach for the word — brilliant guide to understanding what those covenants are, how they develop, and where they lead.

About This Book

Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World is the first volume in the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series published by Crossway and edited by Dane C. Ortlund and Miles V. Van Pelt. It was in this inaugural volume that the series announced its ambition: to bring the best of evangelical biblical theology to everyday believers in a form that is accessible without being simplistic.

Thomas Schreiner — James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and associate dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary — is one of the preeminent biblical scholars of our generation. His larger academic works include major commentaries on Romans, Galatians, and Hebrews, as well as significant contributions to the study of the law, grace, and covenant. In this short volume, he distils a lifetime of engagement with covenantal theology into six chapters that trace six covenants across the whole of Scripture.

The covenants covered are: the covenant of creation, the Noahic covenant, the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic covenant, the Davidic covenant, and the new covenant. Together they form a progressive, cumulative revelation of God’s purpose for the world — a purpose that finds its fulfilment in Jesus Christ and its completion in the new creation.

Reviewers have consistently described this book as the best short introduction to covenant theology available. One endorser called it simply brilliant; another said they knew of no better introduction to this vital area of biblical theology.

What the Book Covers — The Six Covenants

The Covenant of Creation God tasked human beings with filling the world and ruling over it — a covenant of creation in which Adam and Eve are image-bearers charged with reflecting God’s glory and exercising his dominion. Schreiner shows how this foundational covenant establishes the framework for everything that follows.

The Noahic Covenant After the flood, God covenants with Noah and all creation — a covenant of preservation that guarantees the stability of the created order until God’s redemptive purposes are complete. Schreiner draws out how this covenant establishes the context within which the redemptive covenants unfold.

The Abrahamic Covenant God’s covenant with Abraham — the promise of offspring, land, and blessing to all nations — is the seedbed of the gospel. Schreiner traces how this covenant establishes the framework for understanding salvation history, and how its promises are ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ, the true offspring of Abraham, and in all those who belong to him.

The Mosaic Covenant The law given at Sinai — Israel’s national covenant with God — is examined with careful nuance. Schreiner shows how the Mosaic covenant functions within the larger framework of God’s redemptive purposes, why it was never intended to be the ultimate solution to the problem of sin, and how it points forward to the new covenant.

The Davidic Covenant God’s covenant with David — the promise of a throne, a dynasty, and a kingdom that will endure forever — points forward to the one great Son of David whose kingdom will have no end. Schreiner traces this covenant through the royal psalms and the prophetic hope, showing how Jesus fulfils every Davidic promise.

The New Covenant The climax of the covenantal storyline is the new covenant — promised by Jeremiah and Ezekiel, inaugurated by Jesus at the Last Supper, and now the covenant in which all believers stand. Schreiner shows how the new covenant fulfils and supersedes all that came before — bringing forgiveness, the Spirit, and a transformed people into the fullness of what God always intended.

What Readers Will Learn

• How the six biblical covenants fit together as a coherent, progressive revelation of God’s purpose for the world
• Why the covenants are the key to the plot structure of Scripture — the framework that makes the whole Bible intelligible as a single story
• What each covenant promised, demanded, and anticipated — and how each points forward to its fulfilment in Jesus Christ
• How the Abrahamic promises are fulfilled in the new covenant that Jesus brings
• Why the Mosaic covenant was never intended as the ultimate solution to sin — and how it prepares for the new covenant
• How the Davidic covenant finds its fulfilment in Jesus, the Son of David whose kingdom has no end
• What it means to live as new covenant people — and how this shapes Christian identity, worship, and mission

Who Should Read This Book

Christians who want to understand how the Old and New Testaments fit together — who have sensed that the Bible is a unified story but have never had a clear framework for seeing how it holds together — will find this the most illuminating short guide available.

Pastors and preachers who want to preach with a clear sense of covenantal structure — showing how each passage relates to the larger narrative and how all of it culminates in Jesus.

Small groups and Bible study groups wanting a focused study on one of the most foundational themes in biblical theology, in a format that is concise enough to complete and substantive enough to reward.

Theological students wanting a precise, well-organised primer on covenant theology before engaging the larger academic treatments.

Readers of other Short Studies in Biblical Theology titles — including The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross, The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God, and Work and Our Labor in the Lord, all available at forthetruth.in — who want to continue building a whole-Bible biblical theology.

About the Author — Dr Thomas R. Schreiner

Thomas R. Schreiner (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) is the James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and associate dean of the School of Theology at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. He is the preaching pastor of Clifton Baptist Church. One of the most widely published and respected New Testament scholars in the evangelical world, he is the author of major commentaries on Romans, Galatians, Hebrews, and 1–2 Peter, as well as books on the law and its fulfilment, salvation, theology, and biblical theology.

In Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World, Schreiner brings decades of rigorous academic engagement with covenantal theology to a format accessible to every believer — describing what one endorser called ineffable truths in accessible language, with the flow, coherence, and interrelatedness of the sections compelling the reader forward.

Series Information — Short Studies in Biblical Theology

Covenant and God’s Purpose for the World is the inaugural volume in the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series from Crossway, edited by Dane C. Ortlund and Miles V. Van Pelt. The series traces major biblical themes through all of Scripture, connecting academic biblical theology with everyday believers.

Other titles in the series available at forthetruth.in include:

• The Kingdom of God and the Glory of the Cross — Patrick Schreiner
• The Royal Priesthood and the Glory of God — David S. Schrock
• Work and Our Labor in the Lord — James M. Hamilton Jr.

What Others Have Said

“Simply brilliant! Thomas Schreiner manages to capture both the fine detail and the broad sweep of the covenantal shape of the Bible concisely, faithfully, and irenically. This book may be short, but it is fresh and deeply profound. I know of no better introduction to this vital area of biblical theology.” — Paul Williamson, Principal, Queensland Theological College; author, Calling on the Name of the Lord

“As one of the preeminent biblical scholars of our day, Thomas Schreiner is well qualified to write on the critically important biblical theme of covenant. This short volume is a clear, concise, biblically grounded, and balanced presentation of the biblical covenants, ideal as a resource for both the church and academy.” — Mark L. Strauss, Professor of New Testament Emeritus, Bethel Seminary

“Schreiner disciplines himself to present the core of his convictions and not endless expositions and entailments. He describes ineffable truths in accessible language, and the flow, coherence, and interrelatedness of the sections are compelling.” — Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary