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Renovation Covenant (Genesis 1:2-31; Job 38:4-7; Isaiah 24:4-6; Jeremiah 33:19-26) |
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Bible scholars have often presumed that the early chapters of Genesis contain evidence of both an “Edenic Covenant” and an “Adamic Covenant” (Genesis 1:28-30; 2:15-17; 3:14-19). However, the early chapters of Genesis do not affirm the existence of either covenant.
Contextually speaking, it is clear that the first three chapters of Genesis contain the essential elements of one covenant alone. It is neither the Edenic nor the Adamic covenant. Some have chosen to call the solitary covenant in early Genesis the Creation Covenant. Nevertheless, both the context and covenantal elements revealed in Genesis do not support a creation covenant any more than an Edenic or Adamic covenant. Instead, the covenant described in early Genesis should more aptly be called the Renovation Covenant (Genesis 1:2b-2:25). Original Creation In the beginning, God created the original, eternal heavens and earth to exist within His kingdom as a habitat for angelic beings (Genesis 1:1). He created them in a state of holiness. God provided them with the freedom to choose whether to remain in a state of submission to His authority. Thus, angelic perseverance was not predicated on fulfilling the commands of law but free choice. Rebellion and Chaos Despite their privileged position in the kingdom, a large number of angelic beings chose to rebel against God. Concordant with His justice, judgment was swift. God banished the rebellious angels from His kingdom. Relative to the rebellion of the angels and the judgment of God, the original heavens and earth were transformed into a state of ruin, emptiness, and darkness (Genesis 1:2). Thus, their abode became chaotic. Renovation Covenant The renovation of the chaotic heavens and earth was key to God’s eternal plan (Genesis 1:3-2:3; cf. Isaiah 45:18; Jeremiah 31:35-36; 33:19-26). It was designed to vindicate His nature from the angelic challenge and repopulate His kingdom with willing citizens. Within the protective framework of covenant stipulation, God renovated chaotic heavens and earth in spatiotemporal form. He accomplished the renovation in seven days: |
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Essential Elements
The first two chapters of Genesis reveal the essential elements of the Renovation Covenant as follows: |
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Rather than reflective of the essential elements of an Adamic Covenant, the third chapter of Genesis describes the Fall of mankind. It gives a detailed account of how Adam, the representative head of the human race, chose to disobey the stipulation of the Renovation Covenant (Genesis 3:1-13). It reveals both the consequential death and degeneration of Adam, the representative head of the human race, and the death and degeneration of his covenantal body, the remainder of the human race (Genesis 3:14-24).
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Covenantal Condition
The Renovation Covenant was a conditional covenant of law. However, it had only one condition. The perseverance of its blessed benefit required Adam to value the privilege of fellowship with God above all else. By choosing to guard, cultivate and enjoy fellowship with God, Adam would demonstrate that the human race could freely and willingly submit to divine authority on earth. Therefore, humanity would contribute to the vindication of the divine nature, and consequently, the angelic host would more clearly appreciate the magnitude of the error committed by the devil and his angels. Conversely, Adam could have chosen not to value his fellowship with God. He was free to choose the path of “self-enlightenment,” eat from the forbidden tree, and “be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:5). His disobedience would have constituted a conscious rejection of the stipulations of the Renovation covenant and, ultimately, another rebellious challenge to the divine nature. By disobedience to the stipulation of the Renovation Covenant, Adam and all under his representative headship, the entire human race, would experience separation from God. As a consequence, humanity would no longer enjoy the immediate presence and provision of God and, thus, intimate fellowship with God. In addition, the earth would be subject to death and degeneration and no longer paradisiacal. God had forewarned Adam that the choice of rebellion would lead to death. He clarified, “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die”(Genesis 2:16-17). Aware of a strategic opportunity, Satan schemed to deceive Adam. Knowing that Adam’s desire for Eve made him vulnerable to deception, he convinced Eve to disobey God and eat from the “tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” As Adam had been forewarned, she suffered separation from God, immediate spiritual death, and as a consequence, began the slow decline to physical death. Eve’s fallen countenance and behavior made the reality of her death painfully obvious to Adam. Thus, he was forced to make an unenviable choice. He had to choose whether he valued his relationship with Eve more than the privilege of intimate fellowship with God. Obeying the stipulation of the Renovation Covenant by not eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the divinely appointed means by which Adam and Eve could guard and protect their privilege of intimate fellowship with God. Contingent on their willingness to fellowship with God, the nature of God would be vindicated from angelic accusation. Conversely, disobedience to covenantal stipulation would constitute rebellion against God. Therefore, Adam and Eve would experience separation from God or spiritual death (Genesis 2:18). Much to the delight of Satan, Adam chose to value Eve above God and joined his beloved bride in a state of rebellion against God. Therefore, the first man and representative head of the human race became a sinner, outlaw, and criminal. Through his choice of rebellion, Adam willingly abdicated his God-given authority to rule the earth. In reality, he traded it to Satan for a future with Eve (cf. Luke 4:6). As a result of the abdication and consequent judgment of God, the renovated earth became characterized by degeneration and darkness (Genesis 3:17-19; Romans 8:19-21; Colossians 1:13). |
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Covenantal Consequences
Rather than descriptive of the essential elements of a covenant, Genesis chapter three and following simply provide the consequences of disobedience to the stipulation of the Renovation Covenant; death. Moreover, it dictated the parameters for fallen life on the degenerated earth. In a general sense: |
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Beyond the more general consequences related to spiritual death, the human race, represented by Adam and Eve, experienced some specific effects of separation from God:
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Outline of Genesis 1-3
The early chapters of Genesis are not reflective of two different covenants, the Edenic and Adamic, but one, the Renovation Covenant. Rather than the creation of the earth, they are descriptive of its renovation. Consequently, the early chapters of Genesis can be outlined as follows: |
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Within the arena of space and time on the renovated earth, the heavenly host, comprised of angels holy and unholy, would witness a progressive demonstration of the attributes of the divine nature and the gradual repopulation of the kingdom of God. For the holy angels, the fulfillment of the eternal plan of God is nothing less than awe-inspiring (cf. 1 Peter 1:12). In contrast, the fallen angels view it with burning anger and intense jealousy.
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© 2020 James Hiatt |
