God's Kingdom through God's Covenants: A Concise Biblical Theology

by Peter J. Gentry, Stephen J. Wellum

The Bible records a number of covenants that God made with his people. However, rather than merely abstract ideas for theologians and scholars to study, the covenants in Scripture hold the key to understanding the Bible’s overarching story and message. In God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants, two world-class scholars offer readers an engaging snapshot of how God has chosen to lovingly relate to his people in history, tracing the significance of the concept of “covenant” through both the Old and New Testaments. Explaining the differences between covenant theology and dispensationalism while offering a thoughtful alternative to both, this book ultimately highlights the covenantal framework through which God has promised to remain faithful to his people.

Genres: Theology, Christian, Biblical Studies, Christianity, Faith, Nonfiction, Church History

306 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 31, 2015

About the author

Peter J. Gentry (PhD, University of Toronto) is professor of Old Testament interpretation at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and director of the Hexapla Institute.

Reviews

[Ben Omer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was super helpful in my understanding of biblical theology. The authors did a fantastic job of displaying how the entire Bible can be understood through Gods kingdom through Gods covenants.

The ultimate story of the Bible begins with God in relationship with man in his kingdom (earth) and ultimately, though man sinned, God will reconcile man back into this relationship through the progressive storyline of the covenants. So in the end, man will be back in the relationship with God in the beginning.

This book is a exegetical masterpiece, and this is the short version (lol). I feel like anyone struggling with the “covenant theology vs dispensational theology” debate should get their hands on this book. It offers a biblical balance of the two that is faithful to the word of God.

[Chase Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic. I’ve read portions of the larger version but very much appreciate this version. Still has a decent amount of exegetical work in it but makes it where you don’t have to have a PhD to read it. I also appreciate where they admitted their faults in the first version and it shows humility.

[Josiah DeGraaf · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought-provoking read that left me with a lot to mull on. Gentry isn't presenting a traditional view of covenant theology that Reformed folks would generally hold. And so there were a fair number of places where I disagreed with him. But I loved his exploration of what it means to be made in God's image, how covenants tended to work in the ancient world, and how to distinguish each covenant from each other. Gentry was insightful to read, whether I ended up agreeing with his conclusions or not.

[Kaitlyn Pindak · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed and even want to read again more slowly to reflect more on the content sometime!

[C.T. Eldridge · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best biblical theology I’ve ever read. Clear, concise, and biblically compelling. I preached a series of five sermons on the noahic, Abrahamic, mosaic, davidic, and new covenant, and this book served as my guide throughput. Cannot recommend enough.

[Savannah Dauster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though progressive covenantalism is my default position, I’ve never taken a deep dive into it before reading this. It was a hugely helpful tool in putting together the story line of scripture through the framework of the Biblical covenants.

It also did a good job of directing the reader toward our covenant keeping God in worship, rather than storing up all of this knowledge to no end.

One quip on the writing itself- Even though this was the concise/more readable version, my brain found many sections DENSE. Some portions felt like I needed a PhD to grasp what was being said, while other very basic truths were repeated so often throughout the book it was almost belittling. It was a bit whiplashy in that sense.

I’d recommend this book to any Presbyterian or dispensationalist reading this review

[Camden Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Walking away with a better understanding of each covenant, specifically how they each unfold God's redemptive plan. Perhaps this was my own flaw in reading, but I felt like the "kingdom" aspect was more of an afterthought than the "covenant" focus. My favorite insight was how each covenant related to and even transferred Adam's role as a king who would mediate God's rule and image God among creation.

[E · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a shortening of a massive 800+ tome that sought to find a via media between dispensationalism and covenant theology. But I don't think that's what they really did. I'd call it "covenant theology, properly understood." In other words, they correct many of the errors of covenant theology as it is commonly taught, especially at places like Westminster Seminary California.

Many of these errors are false dichotomies. For instance, are some covenants in Scripture unilateral, and others bilateral? Some may think so, but Wellum and Gentry show this isn't true. What about the law/grace distinction that Lutherans and Escondidites love? Way overblown. This especially comes in to play with the Sinai covenant. Is it law? Is it gospel? Why can't it be both? Speaking of Sinai, the writers also obliterate the civil/ceremonial/moral distinctions in the law. It is at times helpful to consider which "category" some laws are more geared toward, but the distinctions themselves are totally foreign to the text, and it only confuses when we try to say that some are fulfilled, some are obsolete, and some are still binding today. It's better to take the law, and the covenant, in its unity.

So this book is a great corrective. It needs some correctives itself, of course (all books do, especially those written by a pair of Baptists!). For one they misunderstand Jeremiah 31 as teaching we shouldn't baptize our children because they don't express faith (Gentry and Wellum want to exclude them from the covenant. I'd love to see how they parent--do they really treat their kids as pagans? Somehow I doubt it). That is the biggest error, and certainly keeps the book from 5 stars. But nevertheless, I recommend this book for understanding how the Lord is bringing about his kingdom through the mechanism of the OT and NT covenants.

[Christopher Gow · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve been looking for a book like this for a while - it concisely explains continuity/discontinuity between the old covenants and new covenant while treating OT people as genuine worshippers relating to the same God as NT worshippers. It’s kind of shocking how rare this is.

Anyway, I like this book. It pushes against dispensationalism while also correcting some of the excesses of typical promise/fulfillment or law/gospel dichotomies of covenantal theology, and it helps illuminate the arch of salvation history.

Would recommend if you’re interested in OT theology, the relationship between church/Israel, the Christian’s relationship to the Law, etc.

[Tyler McGruder · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covenants are an institution of ancient Near Eastern geopolitics to which most moderns are unacquainted. In God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants, an abridged version of their original work, co-authors Peter J. Gentry and Stephen J. Wellum attempt to overcome this barrier of unfamiliarity to demonstrate that covenants are the substance of the biblical metanarrative (p.17), primarily using hermeneutics to present a comprehensive biblical theology.
Once they have clearly defined this aim, the authors begin by explaining the form and role of covenants in the Bible and the ancient Near East. Gentry and Wellum describe covenants as formalized, relationship-oriented, legal agreements between two parties, who commit to specific obligations within that relationship, providing examples ranging from marriages to international treaties (pp.48-49).
Eight covenants between God and other parties in the Bible are examined, beginning with God’s covenant with Noah, then stepping backwards to locate a covenant in the creation story of Genesis 1-3. The covenants with Abraham and Israel (also referred to as the Mosaic Covenant) are each divided into two parts. The first being the installation of the covenant, and the second being a later renewal. The Davidic Covenant is examined, followed by a summation of several occurrences of the Prophets referring to a “New Covenant,” which Gentry and Wellum recognize as a renewal of the Abrahamic Covenant and the telos of all past covenants, which finds its fulfillment in a Messiah, later revealed as Jesus Christ in the New Testament.
The book concludes by theologizing the hermeneutical findings of the previous chapters into a biblical theology of the kingdom of God and its installation through the covenants. As relationship-oriented agreements, the covenants unite people to God, and through their obligations, inaugurate God’s rule, compassion for the marginalized, and stewardship of creation.
Gentry and Wellum explain their research methods in the first chapter, differentiating themselves from critical scholarship of the Bible. They define critical scholarship primarily as methods of research that do not assume the Bible is a unified narrative (p. 21). Stating this position may increase their credibility with their conservative readership. However, for readers unfamiliar with or sympathetic to critical methods, introducing this book with a rejection of critical scholarship, as they define it, harms their credibility. Their statement—that the only faithful method of studying the Bible begins with an assumption that it’s a unified story pointing to Christ—threatens to eisegete their thesis into the Bible and create a circular argument.
After the first chapter, Gentry and Wellum support many points along their argument by methods commonly associated with critical scholarship. Their research includes translations of Hebrew that differ from traditional ones (p. 149). They consult legal documents and religious texts from ancient Israel’s neighbors to illuminate the original meaning of the Bible (pp. 69, 144, 170). Their evidence to support their biblical theology is not based on the assumption of their central claim, instead some critical methods help support their claim.
The discussion on biblical criticism would benefit from being relocated to the end of the book. Once the central claim has been defended with sound evidence from several methods, the common conclusions of critical scholarship could be challenged by their own methods. Gentry and Wellum do not sabotage every method of critical scholarship, but they’ve made noticeable progress in countering the deconstruction of the Bible by critical methods. In hooking conservative readers, the authors missed an opportunity to counsel new students of biblical studies (its primary demographic) who are drawn to critical scholarship.
God’s Kingdom through God’s Covenants contains substantial content demonstrating that the Bible can withstand critical methods and exemplifies faithful usage of those methods to exegete the text. For critical skeptics and new Bible students, Gentry and Wellum provide trustworthy biblical documentation of God establishing his kingdom through covenant relationships with his people.

[Nathan Webb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book, but there are definitely some chapters I need to re-read with how dense the book is. The exegesis work and cultural explanation of covenants was phenomenal. I appreciated how the progressive covenantal (kingdom through covenants) hermeneutic was laid out, followed, and circled back to in the conclusion of opinions.

I have a greater understanding and appreciation for each covenant progresses, finds its fulfillment in Christ, and is finished in Christ. The typology in this book was helpful, and the canonical context was so helpful for understanding the covenants individually and progressively.

Two disappointments were the lack of conclusion regarding Romans 9-11 (a hot topic for this area of discussion in theology) and there was no suggestion for a certain millennial belief. Other than this, great book for many reasons. I wouldn’t recommend this book unless you have been reading theology for a while, are fairly associated with biblical theology, or are in/graduated from seminary.

[Amber Hammond · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whew, this was a tough read and it was the concise edition. My husband thought this would be a good book to read through after studying Galatians so us and a few brave souls read it and met up twice to talk about it.

This book may be the toughest theology book I’ve read to date. Through the first half of the book they are very detailed in talking through each of the covenants and looking back I rush read through it because I felt like I was lost in some of it. But the second half of the book was rich!! Overall, I recommend it to someone who wants to think through the covenants we see throughout all of scripture.

“…at its core, the old covenant’s purpose was to reveal and intensify sin, and to prepare us for the coming of Christ (p. 265).”

[Brice Karickhoff · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Kingdom through Covenant last year. I was a fan theologically, but the book was exhaustingly long and academic. Apparently, I’m not the only one who thought so, because the authors put out this shortened version a couple years later.

I basically just read this book to help crystallize everything I learned from the monster version. Mission mostly accomplished. If you are interested in how the whole bible fits together from the perspective of this particular theological camp, this is a great read.

[Mike Collins · Rating 4 out of 5]

An abridged version of the even more technical and expansive book, Kingdom Through Covenant. The authors present a view of how the Bible’s story is shaped by the unfolding covenants of Scripture, ultimately fulfilled in the New Covenant with Christ. They present a great middle road between Covenant Theology and Dispensationalism, both of which have their oddities.

The arguments of the book are solid and heavily rooted in a proper hermeneutic. I find it odd that the authors barely reference Revelation, considering it’s many references to kingdom and covenant. Perhaps, they didn’t want to upset the apple cart and unintentionally discredit themselves with other theological camps.

[Daniel Bouchoc · Rating 3 out of 5]

I realized in this book how much progressive covenantalism hinges on distinguishing cutting and establishing a covenant. Here's how they describe it:
"to cut a covenant” (kārat bĕrît) refers to covenant initiation while the expression “to establish a covenant” (hēqîm bĕrît) means to affirm (verbally) the continued validity of a prior covenant" (pg 60).

As much as I aligned with progressive covenantalism before reading this, I find myself more sympathetic to Baptist Covenant Theology now. I appreciate progressive covenantalism's view of baptism, the way they don't hold the three categories of the law (moral, civil, ceremonial), and how Christ is the new Israel so that the church does not replace Israel but is the new Israel in Christ.

I much more align with the Reformed Baptist tradition of (1) law/gospel distinction and (2) the covenant of grace as promised and not established in the Old Testament.

3 stars - Quite frankly, I did not enjoy the book. It was dry and full of passives.

[Samuel G. Parkison · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good. I still have questions, and likely will for some time, but as a whole, Gentry and Wellum have helped me tremendously in resolving some of the tensions that exist with how the biblical covenants work together. Their approach alone is refreshing: they avoid the shallow proof texting that seems to characterize dispensationalism, and they avoid the mere "pontificating" that seems to characterize traditional covenantal theology, and instead are rigorously exegetical. I'm looking forward to purchasing their larger work and seeing more meat on the skeleton they develop here.

[Logan Bennett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is still 5 stars for me. Mainly because I believe Gentry and Wellum are right.

My one quibble is that they too often rely on outside cultural knowledge to make a point. Several times you read something like, “the reason many have interpreted it this way is because they haven’t considered it next to [insert ancient cultural tie-in.]” This isn’t bad in itself but I found that these cultural facts are *supportive* of the text not *definers.* I think Gentry and Wellum would agree with me on this, but at times in the book it feels like they present it the other way around.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent exploration of the Biblical narrative. I believe Gentry and Wellum have successfully pieced together the biblical covenants in such a way as to avoid the potential dangers of both dispensationalism and covenant theology. The finished product is a sort of "modified covenant theology." I think is defaults closer to reformed covenentalism than dispensational thought. I am excited to see where these musings will take these and other theologians in the future as "progressive covenantalism" is refined and further developed.

[Van Ibasan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the book. It is a tremendous work of biblical scholarship and accessible compared to it unabridged 800+ page version Kingdom through Covenant.

The book conserves that God establishes his kingdom through the biblical covenants, all of which point forward to, terminate in, and are fulfilled by Jesus Christ.

The six major biblical covenants are the covenant with creation, Noah, Abraham, the covenant made at Sinai, the covenant with David, and the new covenant.

[Patrick Couch · Rating 5 out of 5]

The thesis is simple: let the Bible speak for itself. And when you read it in this way, you learn that the Bible is one book, with a clear 'storyline' that is best understood in terms of covenant. I'm going to have to read it again; there is so much in this 'abridgement'!

[Allen Tsai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very persuasive. Much to agree on and reaffirmed how covenants are crucial to understand metanarrative of Bible. Way more accessible than the tome Kingdom through Covenant.

[Flo · Rating 4 out of 5]

sehr gründlich und detailliert aufgearbeitet, sehr gut durchdacht und schlüssig formuliert, sehr hilfreich!

Der Hauptgedanke:
"“Kingdom through covenant” or “progressive covenantalism” is our proposal for what is central to the Bible’s storyline. Progressive underscores the unfolding of God’s plan from old to new, while covenantalism stresses that God’s unified plan unfolds through the covenants, ultimately terminating and culminating in Jesus and the new covenant. Our triune God has only one plan of redemption, yet we discover what that plan is as we trace his salvation work through the biblical covenants." (p. 19)

"It is primarily through the biblical covenants viewed across time that we learn how God’s kingdom arrives. This is why grasping the progression of the covenants is at the heart of grasping how God’s kingdom dawns in Jesus; how God’s redemptive promise is realized; and how the entire metanarrative of the Bible hangs together, since the biblical covenants constitute the framework and backbone for the entire storyline of Scripture.
The relationship between the covenants has been and is today disputed in theology, especially between the theological camps of covenant and dispensational theology and their varieties. Minimally, however, Christians have affirmed that God has one plan of salvation and that history is the working out of that plan centered in Christ. In addition, most Christians also agree that the storyline of Scripture moves clearly from creation to Fall, from Abraham to David, and finally to Christ. Yet, contrary to “covenant theology,” which has the tendency to speak of God’s one plan of salvation in terms of the “covenant of grace,” and contrary to “dispensational theology,” which tends to partition history in terms of dispensations, it is more biblical to think in terms of a plurality of covenants (e.g., Gal. 4:24; Eph. 2:12; Heb. 8:7–13), which are part of the progressive revelation of the one plan of God, and all of which reach their telos, terminus, and fulfillment in Christ. This allows us to speak properly of the continuity of God’s plan across time, now fulfilled in the new covenant, and it also helps us avoid flattening the relationships between the covenants and downplaying the discontinuity or significant progression between them." (p. 251)

Eine 120-seitige Version wäre auch noch wünschenswert.
Wo ich nicht zustimme bzw. nicht ganz mitkomme: Was ist die bessere Alternative als die Dreiteilung des Gesetzes in Moral-, Zeremonial- und Judizialgeboten bzw. wie passen NT-Gebote und AT-Gesetz dann besser zusammen bzw. wie soll das Doppelgebot der Liebe denn anders definiert werden als durch das Gesetz (vgl. S. 235)?
Und wie der Autor Römer 9-11 versteht, würde mich auch noch interessieren, aber das wird nur auf der letzten Seite kurz und etwas komisch angeschnitten.

Auch gut: Crucial Hermeneutical Points to Remember (Seite 252ff)
"1. Progressive revelation and its significance for grasping the unfolding of the covenants.
2. The three horizons of biblical interpretation and their importance for the covenants. (...)
First, the covenant in question was interpreted within its own immediate redemptive-historical context (i.e., textual horizon). Second, to understand properly how that covenant fit in God’s unfolding plan, it was placed in relation to what preceded it (i.e., epochal horizon), and intertextual connections were developed so that we could understand better the interrelations between earlier and later revelation. Third, the covenant was then placed in relation to later covenants and, ultimately, in relation to the coming of Jesus and the inauguration of the new covenant.
3. The typological patterns of Scripture are developed through the covenants.
4. The new covenant is the telos, terminus, and fulfillment of the biblical covenants.
5. Categorizing the biblical covenants as either unconditional or conditional is inadequate."

[Amanda Erdman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was such a great book of theology for anyone. It definitely has a lot of material great for pastors and sermon writing. I am not in ministry (as a profession), but I found this book very interesting and easy to understand. I was motivated to read it after going through the first half of a Bible reading program that took me rather quickly through the OT with many NT connections woven in (Christ Church Ladies Bible Fellowship). I noticed so much of the same covenant type language repeated again and again that I had not noticed so much before and started to see incredible connections. I started browsing our bookshelves for something about the covenants.My husband had this book from Seminary and it was written by two men who served as his professors and who I also had the privilege to sit under for a few classes.

I found their writing superb and was so motivated to open my bible and take notes of everything I could. A few months ago during our church’s Q&A time I expressed how I didn’t really understand what people meant by preparing for Jesus’s return. I know what it meant in my mind but I just didn’t really feel the urgency or excitement. I knew I should be anticipating his return. I knew in my heart that there was something in the big picture that I was missing. This book really helped me put it all together and now I “get it.”

We are living in a unique time. Jesus is on his throne, calling everyone to repent and come to him. This time period will not last forever. We don’t know the day or the hour, but as part of his kingdom, WE need to teach the believers and tell the world the good news. ❤️❤️❤️

[John Tilinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book very helpful in giving me a way to explain some thoughts I’d already been having.

In my opinion, dispensationalism brings disjointedness to the biblical narrative and detracts from the preeminence of Christ as the ultimate fulfilment of all of God’s promises. Hence, I have thought that covenant theology is a better way of trying to understand biblical narrative.

There are, however, a number of categories used in traditional covenant theology that I struggle to see in scripture. The covenant of works as distinct from grace, law versus grace, types of law, conditional and unconditional, etc.

I found that the authors of this book explored the covenants in a way that focused less on all sorts of dichotomies and categories to emphasise the Christological unity of all of scripture. Essentially, they aimed to explore the importance of each major covenant in its context and how it related to the unfolding of God’s kingdom. It seemed to be a more natural and progressive approach which aligns with the nature of God’s unfolding promises in the Bible. Simply put, I found it less jarring than other approaches and was reminded that scripture is a beautiful and true story.

I certainly disagree with some things (e.g. Baptism, jury still out on a few Israel things) and that’s ok. I’m glad Christians can continue to make contributions that challenge us thousands of years after Christ lived, died and rose. The other version is also a massive tome, so thanks for a shorter one!

[Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

I definitely recommend this terrific primer for those who want to understand the whole arc of God's story, the important progression of the Biblical covenants, and how all of these find their surprising and awesome fulfillment in Jesus of Nazareth (1 Cor. 2:20).

While reading the New Testament one day, I realized I hadn't a clue what all of Jesus' kingdom talk was about. The "Kingdom of Heaven" didn't seem to be about a mystical place you go after you die, as I had long-assumed. It turns out that, as my pastor likes to say, "The reason we don't know how to read the New Testament is because we don't understand the Old Testament." This is a foundational book in my journey to celebrate the coming of God's rule and reign through the life, death, resurrection, and enthronement of King Jesus.

This book makes for a good companion to Christopher Wright's work on the Mission of God. Together, they helpfully frame what God is doing in the world in and through the "Israel of God" (Gal. 6:16)--those whose who are empowered by the Good News to participate in His kingdom, here and now.

[Camden · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first academic-style Christian book I have read. The fact that it is written in the academic style (as opposed to something geared for popular or general audience) is important to understand before you pick up this book. The citations and comments on the writings of other authors can come across as pretentious or sterile... But that's just how academics write (I know because I am an academic).

I say all this because, even though I have a PhD (* in a STEM field, so completely unrelated) and I love that God calls us to use our minds in worship and service to Him, it's still hard for me to emotionally get over the impersonal sterility of writing about something so intimate as the covenants between God and humans in the academic fashion.

That being said, I'm glad to have read this book and would definitely recommend it to someone who can read through /past the academic style. It has been good food for thought and a nice way to order and clarify my thoughts about how I understand God.

[Grace Mal · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is not concise. I felt like this book was either too simple or randomly complex. It didn't feel consistent with its audience and how they wanted to approach stating their information. It ended up feeling very repetitive. Ultimately, I was frustrated because I either knew too well what they were talking about or was lost in the sauce because they were pulling in random Hebrew words to make themselves feel smart or they talked about something that was totally different from what they had stated in their section heading. I found this book to be very frustrating.

HOWEVER, it did have a few interesting moments that will help me in the future. The discussion of the rainbow was amazing, and I really loved it.

[Frans Clements · Rating 5 out of 5]

I would give 4,5 stars. It could have been written slightly better for the broader scope of people and is in some places just a little too much on the details and theological heavy. But it captures really well the meta-narrative structure of Gods unfolding plan in history and its grand fulfillment in Christ. I wish there would be a summary available translated to Dutch.
One question still remains for me. What to think about the present state/ land of Israel. The book seems to suggest its all about the new heaven and earth, but is there still a place for the literal fulfillment of a land etc?

[Abjan van Meerten · Rating 4 out of 5]

Covenant, according to Wellum and Gentry, is the structure of the biblical storyline, kingdom being its main theme. This book has opened my eyes to the pervasive presence of the concept 'covenant' in the Bible.If you are interested in more detailed exegesis, buy Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants. If you want to get an understanding of the main ideas, or help someone who gets at this topic for the first time, this is a good buy.

[Paige Batten · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was great! I’ve given it four stars, not because of any fault of the authors, but because of my feeble knowledge on the subject. Much of it went over my head, and I’m sure I will need to read it two or three more times to fully understand the arguments. However, this book was quite informative, and for the arguments I did understand, they were persuasive.