So What's Your Story?

The Scriptures present a story-- the story of God’s dealings with the human race. They tell us why God is dealing with mankind, what specifically He is doing, how He is doing it, where the story presently stands, and how it all will end. The scriptures, however, do not always present this full story in the most easily recognizable form. These core questions are not usually answered all in one place or in so many words. Rather, as we read the scriptures, we develop summaries, particular versions of the story, if you will.

As ought to be painfully obvious, not everybody who reads the scriptures comes up with the same summary of the scriptural story. Different interpreters and schools of interpreters come up with different versions, different answers to these core questions. Some of these versions, though they vary in certain respects, are still more or less compatible with one another. Many, however, are more in conflict; some are simply irreconcilable.

Differences in versions of this overall story are frequently the reason why Christians find themselves unable to agree on smaller particulars. This, of course, is because, having formed such summaries, we then use them as interpretive frameworks which we inevitably bring to bear upon every particular passage we read. Every issue is viewed through the lens of our version of the story. Many theological disagreements, then, are truly irresolvable unless the underlying conflict between the different versions is addressed.

This, certainly, is even more difficult than it sounds. There are some kinds of disagreements that can be resolved with reference to a single passage. “Christ had fourteen apostles.” “No, I believe he had twelve.” Let’s look it up…Ah you’re right. It was twelve.” Conflicts between different versions of the scriptural story, however, take immense amounts of time to resolve, because resolution requires treatment, not of one or two passages, but of the entire scriptures taken as a whole. Few people have the patience for this breadth or depth of discussion.

So what do we do? Do we dispense (pardon the pun) with forming versions of the story? This, of course, is entirely impossible. Versions of the scriptural story are like worldviews: it’s not a matter of “if” you have one; it can only be a matter of “which” one you have. Our task, then, is to strive for the right version of the story. Sure. That’s easy. Which one is the right one? The overly simple answer is that the right version, the right summary of the story of God’s dealing with mankind, can be none other than the version presented by the scriptures themselves. It cannot be one that is imposed upon the scriptures from the outside. Our task, then, is to work, to labor, to toil, to let the scriptures speak for themselves, to derive from them and from them alone, the story they tell as a whole.

Now to the point: Covenant theology is one version of the story of God’s dealing with mankind. It is similar to some versions; it is very different than others. Again, the differences between the covenantal view and non-covenantal views are the cause, I’m sure, of many hundreds of more particular theological disagreements. Covenant theology is not an idea that can be proven with reference to a single, certainly not even to a dozen passages. It is, like every other version of the scriptural story, a summary that men claim to have derived from the totality of scripture. It is therefore an idea that takes a whole, whole, whole lot of time to work through, and even more time to impress itself upon those who as of yet do not accept it. However,--and you knew I was coming to this-- covenant theology, I firmly believe, is the version of the story of God’s dealing with mankind that best comports with the totality of scripture, the version that is presented by the scriptures themselves.

What, then, according to covenant theology, is the story told by the scriptures, the story of God’s dealing with mankind? Why, according to this version, does God deal with mankind? what is he doing? how does he do it? where are we now? and how does it all end? There are, indeed, even different versions of the covenantal version, the distinctions between which would take a lifetime to investigate; but here’s a very humble summary of my very humble take on the matter:

Covenant theology teaches that God, in His dealings with mankind, is ultimately seeking to glorify Himself in His Son. To that end he has undertaken to redeem fallen mankind in Christ. God unfolds this redemptive work primarily through series of covenants whereby he takes certain men to be His people and takes His rightful place as their God, promising Himself and His blessings to them and requiring faith and obedience from them. In former days, God made these covenants by the shedding of animal blood and with certain families and nations, particularly with Israel. But He has now, in these last days, made a final covenant through the blood of Christ, a covenant into which men from every nation may be joined, and a covenant under which Jew and Gentile become fellow heirs of the of promises and fellow citizens of the commonwealth of Israel. Through this final, eternal and perfect covenant, God will ultimately redeem all nations. At the final consummation of history, all will be His people, and to all He will be God.

Now, of course, many who consider themselves to be non-covenantal may agree with most, if not all, of what I’ve said in this summary. The devil, as they say, will certainly be in the details, and it is into those details that I propose to go… in due time.

In the meantime, my most beloved non-covenantal brethren, consider this question: what’s your version of the story?