Biblical Anthropology and the Idea of Covenant
This is the second part in our discussion of the relationship between biblical counseling and God's covenant with mankind. You can check the first part here.
Two preliminary considerations are necessary before we proceed to the full exposition of the biblical covenant.
Biblical Anthropology
Biblical anthropology is about the study of man, taking the Bible as its source. As we all know, the word “anthropology” is a combination of two Greek words, “anthropos” and “logos.” "Anthropos" means "man," and "logos" means "word" or "study." So, anthropology is all about the study of man or the study of humanity.
Biblical anthropology is different from general anthropology. The latter talks about subjects “like the society, culture, biology, and development of human beings.” But biblical or theological anthropology is much narrower than that. Citing Louis Berkhof:
Theological Anthropology is concerned only with what the Bible says respecting man and the relation in which he stands and should stand to God (Systematic Theology, p. 181).
In understanding the idea of the covenant, you cannot separate it from the study of biblical anthropology. The Bible shows us a picture of man under four different states: in his original state, under the state of sin, under the state of grace, and under the restored state in eternity. It is man in his different states with whom God initiated a covenant relationship.
The Idea of Covenant
The idea of biblical covenant is divided into two: the covenant of works and the covenant of grace. The covenant of works is humanity’s initial covenant relationship with God associated with man’s original state. The covenant of grace is given to mankind due to man’s failure to fulfill the terms of the covenant of works. However, before we go to the details of these two covenants, let us first have an overview of the concept of covenant in general.
Throughout the history of the Old and New Testaments, God entered into formal relationships with his people. The terms of these formalized relationships were often written down in what Scripture calls “covenants,” translated from the Hebrew word berîth and the Greek word diatheke. These covenantal relationships resembled ancient international covenants, especially treaties between emperors, or “suzerains,” and the vassal kingdoms that served them. Source
These ancient treaties shared three features:
The suzerain’s benevolence toward his vassal
The loyalty the suzerain required of his vassal, and
The consequences that would result from the vassal’s loyalty or disloyalty.
Here's how the thirdmill.org material summarized the applicability of the elements of treaties to biblical covenants:
These treaties, or covenants, continued throughout the generations so that the successors of the vassals would continue to serve the successors of the suzerains. In a similar fashion, God’s covenants record his benevolence toward his people, explain the requirements of the loyalty they owe him, and describe the consequences for loyalty or disloyalty to those requirements. Source