God's Covenant with His People Accomplished in Christ

In the beginning, God established a covenant relationship with mankind. “God blessed them; and God said to them, 'be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth' " (Genesis 1:28). This covenant relationship is one that is fourfold. First, the covenant included God’s blessing. On condition of mankind’s faithfulness to the commission, God promised blessing upon him. Second, Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and multiply thereby filling the earth with glorious divine image-bearers. It should be noticed that if people were going to fill the earth, it must be the case that they were not intended to stay in the garden. The area outside of the garden was not as hospitable to life as was the garden itself. This leads to the third facet of the covenant, man was to subdue the earth. In subduing the earth, man was to extend the boundaries of the garden. This would ultimately result in a world in which the entire earth would become a dwelling place for men who would faithfully represent God as bearers of His image. The fourth facet of the covenant was that man was to rule over the earth as a king representing the Lord.

However, Adam failed to fulfill this commision. After Adam's failure, the commission was passed on to Noah, and then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the nation of Israel. Compare and notice the parallels in the following texts:

Adam
Genesis 1:28 - God blessed them; and God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it; and rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the sky and over every living thing that moves on the earth."

Noah
Genesis 9:1, 6-7 - And God blessed Noah and his sons and said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth. The fear of you and the terror of you will be on every beast of the earth and on every bird of the sky; with everything that creeps on the ground, and all the fish of the sea…be fruitful and multiply; Populate the earth abundantly and multiply in it."

Abraham
Genesis 12:2-3 - And I will make you a great nation, And I will bless you, And make your name great; And so you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed."

Genesis 17:2, 6, 8 - "I will establish My covenant between Me and you, And I will multiply you exceedingly…I will make you exceedingly fruitful…I will give to you and to your descendants after you, the land of your sojournings, all the land of Canaan…”

Genesis 22 - Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of their enemies. "In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have obeyed My voice."

Isaac
Genesis 26:3-4 - Sojourn in this land and I will be with you and bless you, for to you and to your descendants I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I swore to your father Abraham. "I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven, and will give your descendants all these lands; and by your descendants all the nations of the earth shall be blessed.

Genesis 26:24 - The LORD appeared to him the same night and said, "I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you. I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, For the sake of My servant Abraham."

Jacob
Genesis 28:3-4 - "May God Almighty bless you and make you fruitful and multiply you, that you may become a company of peoples. "May He also give you the blessing of Abraham, to you and to your descendants with you, that you may possess the land of your sojournings, which God gave to Abraham."

Genesis 35:11-12 - God also said to him, "I am God Almighty; Be fruitful and multiply; A nation and a company of nations shall come from you, And kings shall come forth from you. "The land which I gave to Abraham and Isaac, I will give it to you, and I will give the land to your descendants after you."

The Nation of Israel
Genesis 47:27 - Now Israel lived in the land of Egypt, in Goshen, and they acquired property in it and were fruitful and became very numerous.

Jesus Christ
While Adam and Israel failed to serve God faithfully, the Last Adam Jesus Christ served God faithfully as a Prophet, King, and Priest in the way that Adam and Israel failed to do. Jesus sums up Israel in Himself; He becomes Israel by serving as her representative. Thus, as the last Adam and the true Israel, he becomes the inheritor of the Adamic/Noadic/Abrahamic commission which He also fulfills, thus meriting the promises God gave on the condition of obedience to the commission.

That Jesus sums up Israel in Himself can be seen in Matthew’s gospel. Matthew portrays Jesus as recapitulating the history of Israel. Consider the following:

1. The attempt to kill the Israelite infants, the journey into Egypt and back to the promise land is the same basic pattern of the Israel of old (Matthew 2:13-16; Hosea 11:1; Exodus 1-2).


2. Matthew applies Hosea 11:1 (“out of Egypt I called my Son”) to Jesus. In its original context in Hosea, the identity of “my Son” is clearly the nation of Israel. Thus, by applying the text to Jesus in this way, Matthew identifies Jesus as the true Israel (Matthew 2:15).


3. Jesus encounters demonic opposition and is shown to have authority over these powers as he casts out demons and brings sanity to those who were formerly demon-possessed. This fits the redemptive-historical pattern of Israel conquering the land. Thus, Jesus is subduing and ruling in the way that Adam, Noah, and Israel failed to do (Matthew 8:28-32; Mark 1:34).


4. Jesus is said to come to “fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). While Israel had been unfaithful, Jesus came to fulfill the commission which had formerly been given to them as the true Israel.


5. Just as Israel was in the wilderness being tested for forty years, so Jesus was tested in the wilderness for forty days and forty nights (compare Deuteronomy 8:2 and Matthew 4). However, while Israel failed to be faithful, Jesus has succeeded.


6. Jesus’ defeat of Satan in the wilderness shows that He was faithful where Adam and Eve failed when they succumbed to the temptation of the devil.


7. Jesus begins to regather the tribes of Israel by calling twelve apostles, who represent a microcosmic, new, true continuation of Israel under their leader Jesus, the one who represents true Israel.
   
8. The curse which resulted from Adam’s unfaithfulness is beginning to be undone in Jesus in the various healings that he performed. These healings were prophesied to occur when Israel would undergo her true end-time restoration to God (Matthew 4:23-25; 8:1-17; 11:4-6; Isaiah 32:3-4; 35:5-6; 42:7, 16).


9. The Sermon on the Mount depicts Jesus as the New Moses, handing down the law of the new-age, which is a true interpretation of Moses’ law which he handed down on Sinai (Matthew 5-7).


10. Jesus takes upon Himself the title “Son of Man,” a title formerly given to representatives of Israel (see Ezekiel). It should also be noted that “The Son of Man is the Son of God” (see Daniel 7). Also, a comparison of the “Son of Man” and “the saints” in Daniel 7 shows that the “Son of Man” in vv. 13-14 is “the saints” in vv. 16-28. Thus, the “Son of Man” is Israel. (or perhaps the Son of Man is an individual who represents Israel). Note that the “saints” will receive the kingdom and will take possession of the kingdom. Similarly, the Son of Man was given a kingdom (Daniel 7).


11. Jesus is given the title Son of God, a title formerly used in reference to Israel (see Psalm 2 and Hosea 11).