Early Christian Beliefs About the Covenants of God

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book I Supporting witness

and teach what was the special character of each of these covenants;

Irenaeus, Fragments from the Lost Writings of Irenæus Supporting witness

Moreover, the two pillars are the two covenants.

Deuteronomy 29:1 Background

These are the words of the covenant, which the LORD commanded Moses to make with the children of Israel in the land of Moab, beside the covenant which he made with them in Horeb.

Genesis 17:7 Background

And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you.

Genesis 9:17 Background

God said to Noah, “This is the sign of the covenant that I have established between me and all flesh that is on the earth.”

Wisdom of Sirach 17:12 Background

He made an everlasting covenant with them, And showed them his judgments.

Wisdom of Sirach 24:23 Background

All these things are the book of the covenant of the most high God, Even the law which Moses commanded For a heritage unto the congregations of Jacob.

Wisdom of Sirach 42:2 Background

Of the law of the most High, and his covenant; And of judgment to justify the ungodly;

Ecclesiastes 1:2 Background

God be gracious unto you, and remember his covenant that he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful servants;

Barnabas, Connection to Romans 1:2 Background

For the Lord has made known to us by the prophets both the things which are past and present, giving us also the first-fruits of the knowledge of things to come.

2 Maccabees 1:2 Background

God be gracious unto you, and remember his covenant that he made with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, his faithful servants;

Leviticus 24:8 Background

On the Sabbath day they shall be set forth before the Lord continually before the children of Israel, for an everlasting covenant.

Deuteronomy 5:3 Background

The Lord did not make this covenant with your fathers, but with you: ye are all here alive this day.

Wisdom of Sirach 44:18 Background

An everlasting covenant was made with him, That all flesh shall perish no more by the flood.

John 2:5 Background

My covenant of life and peace was with him, and I gave it him that he might reverently fear me, and that he might be awestruck at my name.

Leviticus 26:42 Background

And I will remember the covenant of Jacob, and the covenant of Isaac, and the covenant of Abraham will I remember.

1 Maccabees 2:20 Background

yet will I and my sons and my brethren walk in the covenant of our fathers.

Wisdom of Sirach 44:20 Background

Who kept the law of the most High, And was in covenant with him: He established the covenant in his flesh; And when he was proved, he was found faithful.

Wisdom of Sirach 44:22 Background

With Isaac did he establish likewise, for Abraham his father’s sake, The blessing of all men, and the covenant,

Deuteronomy 5:2 Background

The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb.

Psalms 105:9 Background

Which covenant he made with Abraham, and his oath unto Isaac;

1 Chronicles 16:16 Background

The covenant which He made with Abraham, And His oath to Isaac,

Hebrews 8:13 Direct teaching

In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Hebrews 8:7 Direct teaching

For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second.

Jeremiah 31:31 Direct teaching

Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book IV Supporting witness

that they might always make progress through believing in Him, and by means of the [successive] covenants, should gradually attain to perfect salvation.

Tertullian, Against Marcion Supporting witness

Surely, without Him to whom the commonwealth of Israel belonged, and the covenants and the promise.

Hebrews 8:9 Supporting witness

not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord.

Barnabas, The Epistle of Barnabas Supporting witness

and their covenant was broken, in order that the covenant of the beloved Jesus might be sealed upon our heart, in the hope which flows from believing in Him.

Barnabas, Connection to Jeremiah 31:31 Supporting witness

Having renewed us by the remission of our sins, He has made us after another pattern... He has created us anew by His Spirit.

Lactantius, Connection to Hebrews 8:13 Supporting witness

a new testament to the house of Judah, shows that the old testament which was given by Moses was not perfect;

Lactantius, The Epitome of the Divine Institutes Supporting witness

He will appoint new laws, abrogate old ones;

Ecclesiastes 8:15 Background

and if not for their own sakes, yet for the covenants he had made with their fathers, and for his holy and glorious name’s sake, by which they were called.

2 Kings 23:3 Background

Then the king stood by a pillar and made a covenant before the Lord, to follow the Lord and to keep His commandments and His testimonies and His statutes, with all his heart and all his soul, to perform the words of this covenant that were written in this book. And all the people took a stand for the covenant.

Origen, Commentary on Matthew Background

Now, since every scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasury things new and old, Matthew 13:52, it clearly follows, by what is called conversion of the proposition, that everyone who does not bring out of his treasury things new and old is not a scribe who has been made a disciple to the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, we must make every effort to gather these things in our heart. We do this by paying attention to reading, to exhortation, and to teaching, 1 Timothy 4:13, and by meditating on the law of the Lord day and night. We must gather not only the new sayings of the Gospels, and of the Apostles and their Revelation, but also the old things in the law, which has the shadow of the good things to come, Hebrews 10:1, and in the prophets who prophesied in agreement with them. These things will be gathered together when we also read and understand them, and when, remembering them, we compare spiritual things with spiritual things at the right time. We must not compare things that cannot be compared with each other, but things that can be compared, and that have a certain likeness in wording that signifies the same

Matthew 13:52 Background

Then He said to them, “Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

Origen, Commentary on John Background

...em, riding on the ass freed by the disciples from its bonds. That is, on the simple language of the Old Testament, interpreted by the two disciples who loose it. First, there is the one who applies what is written to the service of the soul and shows its allegorical meaning with reference to her. Second, there is the one who brings to light, by the things that lie in shadow, the good and true things of the future. But He also rides on the young colt, the New Testament. For in both alike we find the word of truth, which purifies us and drives away all those thoughts in us that incline to selling and buying. But He does not come alone to Jerusalem, the soul, nor only with a few companions. For many things must enter into us before the word of God that makes us perfect. And many things must also come after Him, all of them singing hymns and glorifying Him and placing their ornaments and garments under Him, so that the beasts He rides on may not touch the ground when He who came down from heaven is seated on them. And so that His bearers, the old and new words of Scripture, may be raised still higher above the ground, branches must be cut from the trees so that they may tread on rea

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book V Background

...erusalem rebuilt after the pattern of the heavenly Jerusalem, of which the prophet Isaiah says, "Behold, I have etched your walls upon my hands, and you are always in my sight." Similarly, the apostle, writing to the Galatians, says, "But the Jerusalem above is free, and she is our mother." He does not refer to an erratic Æon, or any power that left the Pleroma, or to Prunicus, but to the Jerusalem that has been depicted on God's hands. In Revelation, John saw this new Jerusalem coming down upon the new earth. After the times of the kingdom, he says, "I saw a great white throne, and the One sitting on it, from whose presence the earth and heaven fled, and there was found no place for them." He also describes the events of the general resurrection and the judgment, mentioning "the dead, great and small." "The sea," he says, "gave up the dead it held, and death and hell delivered up the dead they contained; and the books were opened. Moreover," he says, "the book of life was opened, and the dead were judged based on what was written in the books, according to their deeds; and death and hell were cast into the lake of fire, the second death." This is what is called Gehenna, which t

Clement of Alexandria, The Instructor (Paedagogus) Background

...onomy 5. And so on. These things must be kept, along with whatever else is commanded in reading the Bible. And by Isaiah He commands us: "Wash yourselves, and make yourselves clean. Put away wickedness from your souls before my eyes. Learn to do good. Seek judgment. Rescue the wronged. Judge for the orphan, and justify the widow. And come, and let us reason together," says the Lord. And we will find many examples in other places also. For example, about prayer, Scripture says, "Good works are an acceptable prayer to the Lord." And the manner of prayer is described: "If you see the naked, cover him, and do not overlook those who belong to your own seed. Then your light shall break forth early, and your healing shall spring up quickly; and your righteousness shall go before you, and the glory of God shall surround you." What, then, is the fruit of such prayer? "Then you shall call, and God will hear you; while you are still speaking, He will say, 'I am here.'"

Tertullian, Against Marcion Background

... also gone astray in that statement of Christ in which He seems to make a difference between things new and old. You are puffed up about the old wineskins, and your mind is muddled by the new wine. And so onto the old gospel, that is, the earlier gospel, you have sewn the patch of your new-made heresy. I would like to know in what respect the Creator is inconsistent with Himself. When through Jeremiah He gave this command, "Break up for yourselves new pastures," Jeremiah 4:3 was He not turning away from the old state of things? And when through Isaiah He declares that old things have passed away, and, "Behold, all things that I am making are new," was He not pointing to a new state of things? We have generally held that the goal of the former state of things was promised by the Creator and shown in reality by Christ, under the authority of one and the same God, to whom both the old things and the new belong. For new wine is not put into old wineskins except by one who has the old wineskins. Nor does anybody put a new piece onto an old garment unless the old garment is there for him. Only the person who does not do a thing because it ought not to be done is the one who has the ma

Deuteronomy 29:12 Background

that you may enter into covenant with the Lord your God, and into His oath, which the Lord your God makes with you today,

Irenaeus, Against Heresies: Book III Background

...calf, signifying His sacrificial and priestly order; the third had, as it were, the face of a man—clearly describing His coming as a human; the fourth was like a flying eagle, pointing out the gift of the Spirit hovering with His wings over the Church. Therefore, the Gospels align with these things, with Christ Jesus at their center. For the Gospel according to John relates His original, effective, and glorious birth from the Father, declaring, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” Also, “all things were made by Him, and nothing was made without Him.” For this reason, this Gospel is full of confidence, for such is His nature. But the Gospel according to Luke, focusing on His priestly role, begins with Zacharias the priest offering sacrifice to God. For now, the fatted calf was prepared, about to be sacrificed for the return of the younger son. Matthew, again, relates His birth as a man, saying, “The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham;” and also, “The birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise.” This is the Gospel of His humanity; for this reason, a humble and gentle character is maintained througho

Malachi 2:5 Background

My covenant with him was one of life and peace, and I gave them to him. It was a covenant of fear, and he feared me. He stood in awe of my name.

2 Kings 11:17 Background

Then Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord, the king, and the people, that they should be the Lord’s people, and also between the king and the people.

Galatians 3:15 Background

To give a human example, brothers: even with a man-made covenant, no one annuls it or adds to it once it has been ratified.

Justin Martyr, Dialogue with Trypho Background

but this has come to pass through the wonderful foreknowledge of God, in order that we, through the calling of the new and eternal covenant, that is, of Christ, might be found more intelligent and God-fearing than yourselves, who are considered to be lovers of God and men of understanding, but are not.

Methodius, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna Supporting witness

...you shall not be moved, for the Most High has made holy the place of His tabernacle. For in you the covenants and oaths made by God to the fathers have received a most glorious fulfillment, since by you the Lord has appeared, the God of hosts with us. That bush which could not be touched, Exodus 3:2, which beforehand foreshadowed your figure endowed with divine majesty, bore God without being consumed, who showed Himself to the prophet only so far as He willed to be seen. Then again, that hard and rugged rock, Exodus 17:6, which pictured the grace and refreshment that has sprung out from you for all the world, brought forth abundantly in the desert, from its thirsty sides, a healing drink for the fainting people. Yes, moreover, the rod of the priest which, without cultivation, blossomed forth in fruit, Numbers 17:8, the pledge and earnest of a perpetual priesthood, gave no small symbol of your supernatural child-bearing, Hebrews 9:4. What more? Has not the mighty Moses plainly declared that on account of these types of you, hard to be understood, Exodus 25:8, he stayed longer on the mountain, so that he might learn, O holy one, the mysteries connected with you? For when he was c

Methodius, Oration Concerning Simeon and Anna Supporting witness

For in you the covenants and oaths made of God unto the fathers have received a most glorious fulfilment, since by you the Lord has appeared, the God of hosts with us.

Luke 24:44 Background

And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.

2 Timothy 3:15 Background

and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Romans 1:2 Background

which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

Luke 24:27 Background

And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.

John 5:39 Background

Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.

Victorinus, Commentary on the Apocalypse Background

For they could be presented more diffusely and continued in a more expanded disputation, since the whole of the Old and New Testaments might be adduced in testimony that thus the true faith stands.

Cyprian, Treatises Background

11. Moreover, God had previously foretold that it would happen, that as the ages passed on, and the end of the world was near at hand, God would gather to Himself from every nation, and people, and place, worshippers much better in obedience and stronger in faith, who would draw from the divine gift that mercy which the Jews had received and lost by despising their religious ordinances.

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. James Background

Then there are read in order the holy oracles of the Old Testament, and of the prophets;

Early Liturgies, Divine Liturgy of St. James Background

the consubstantial and co-eternal; that spoke in the law and in the prophets, and in Your New Testament;