Introducing Covenant Theology

by Michael Horton

Publisher:

Baker

, 2006

Overview

Since biblical times, covenants have been a part of everyday life. Simply put, they are promises, agreements, or contracts. But how do they translate into faith and the reading of Scripture? Are covenants merely elements of a narrative? Or do they represent something more? And what are the eternal implications of “cutting” a covenant with God?

In Introducing Covenant Theology, author Michael Horton unwinds the intricacies of crucial covenant concepts, showing how they provide a significant organizational structure for all of Scripture. They give us a context in which to understand the voices and message of the biblical narrative. They provide life with a goal and history with a meaning.

Whether you’re a pastor, ministry leader, or layperson, Introducing Covenant Theology will give you a new understanding of covenants and covenant theology, providing a framework for an important theological concept.

Key Features

• Discusses the intricacies of crucial covenant concepts
• Shows how covenants provide a structure for Scripture
• Gives a new understanding of covenant theology

Contents

Top Highlights

“When Reformed theology hears Scripture teaching both divine sovereignty and human responsibility, divine election and the universal offer of the gospel, it affirms both even though it confesses that it does not know quite how God coordinates them behind the scenes.” (Page 19)

“So what brings all of these themes together? What unites them is not itself a central dogma but an architectonic structure, a matrix of beams and pillars that hold together the structure of biblical faith and practice. That particular architectural structure that we believe the Scriptures themselves to yield is the covenant. It is not simply the concept of the covenant, but the concrete existence of God’s covenantal dealings in our history that provides the context within which we recognize the unity of Scripture amid its remarkable variety.” (Page 13)

“In the covenantal thinking we find in Scripture, there is no such thing as true knowledge without love and obedience. To know God is actually, in the Hebrew language, to acknowledge God—that is, to walk after God in the way that a servant walked behind a king in a solemn procession, recognizing his sovereignty.” (Page 18)

“A fifth basic element provided for the deposit of the treaty tablets in the sacred temples of both parties” (Page 27)

“Reformed theology. The covenant is the framework, but it is far from a central dogma. The various covenants are visible and significant, in some ‘rooms’ (i.e., topics) more than others. The covenant of redemption is prominent in discussion of the Trinity, Christ as mediator, and election, while the covenant of creation is more obvious when we talk about God’s relationship to the world (especially humanity), and the covenant of grace is most visible when we take up the topics of salvation and the church. However, whenever Reformed theologians attempt to explore and explain the riches of Scripture, they are always thinking covenantally about every topic they take up.” (Page 14)

Endorsements

A masterful survey of the covenantal frame of God’s self-disclosure in Scripture. For serious students it is a winner.

—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors’ Professor of Theology, Regent College

A rigorous and articulate defense of a traditional view of covenant theology. Horton’s federalist emphasis gleans from well-established Reformed writers while adding his own highly readable and insightful commentary.

—Bryan Chapell, distinguished professor of preaching, Knox Theological Seminary

Horton has brought covenant theology to life in a way which engages modern thought and appeals to contemporary students and pastors alike. His book is a clear guide to an essential topic.

—Gerald Bray, research professor, Beeson Divinity School, Samford University

Product Details

• Title: Introducing Covenant Theology
• Author: Michael Horton
• Publisher: Baker
• Print Publication Date: 2006
• Logos Release Date: 2013
• Pages: 208
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
• Subject: Covenant theology
• ISBNs: 9781441250162, 9780801071959, 1441250166, 080107195X
• Resource ID: LLS:INTRCVNTTHEOHORTON
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-02-16T23:01:49Z

About Michael Horton

Michael Horton has taught apologetics and theology at Westminster Seminary California since 1998. In addition to his work at the Seminary, he is the president of White Horse Media, for which he co-hosts the White Horse Inn, a nationally syndicated, weekly radio talk-show exploring issues of Reformation theology in American Christianity. He is also the editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine. Before coming to WSC, Dr. Horton completed a Research Fellowship at Yale University Divinity School.

A member of various societies, including the American Academy of Religion and the Evangelical Theological Society, Dr. Horton is the author/editor of 20 books, including a series of studies in Reformed dogmatics, whose final volume (People and Place: A Covenant Ecclesiology) was published in 2008. In addition to the popular Putting Amazing Back Into Grace, Dr. Horton’s latest books are Covenant and Salvation: Union with Christ, Lord and Servant: A Covenant Christology, and A Better Way: Rediscovering the Drama of God-Centered Worship. He has written articles for Modern Reformation, Pro Ecclesia, Christianity Today, The International Journal of Systematic Theology, Touchstone, and Books and Culture. Dr. Horton is a minister in the United Reformed Churches in North America. He has served two churches in Southern California. He resides in Escondido, California, with his wife, Lisa, and their four children.