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II. The Covenants of Promise

A. The First-Born

We find a further association of kingdom and Church in the family imagery used to describe the New Testament community. This imagery shows the early Church seeing deep ties between the covenants of Israel’s salvation history and the sacraments of the Church.

Jesus is described frequently as God’s "first born" (see Luke 2:7; Romans 8:29; Colossians 1:15,18) - a designation that evokes a key theme in God’s relationship with Israel.

God named Israel His first-born son among the nations (see Exodus 4:22; Deuteronomy 32:6; Hosea 11:1; Sirach 36:11).

This "primogeniture" was closely related to Israel’s covenant mission as a "kingdom of priests" (see Exodus 19:6) - to be mediators of the knowledge and true worship of the living God to its "brother" nations.

In His covenant with David, God deepened this identification of Israel’s first-born and priestly stature and its mission to reign over all nations - swearing that David’s son would be His son, "the first-born, the highest of the kings of the earth," and a "priest forever" (see2 Samuel 7:12-14; Psalm 2:7; 89:27-29; 110:4; John 7:42).

In the New Testament, these promises are directly applied to Jesus (see Hebrews 1:5-6;7:21; Revelation 1:5). Jesus, through His death and resurrection, becomes "the firstborn" of "many children" (see Romans 8:29; Hebrews 2:10-13).

The kingdom is frequently described in the New Testament epistles as an "inheritance" (see Ephesians 5:5; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 15:20; Galatians 5:21; Colossians 1:12). This inheritance is claimed through faith in the gospel, a faith that finds expression in the sacrament of baptism.

In the only use of "kingdom" language in John’s gospel, Jesus tells Nicodemus that entry into the kingdom of God means being begotten by water and the Spirit (see John 3:3,5).

Baptism is how one enters the kingdom and how one enters the Church. Again we see a presumption of the near identity of Church and kingdom.

Through baptism, believers come to share in the national history of Israel, which is also the history of salvation. They become "sharers in the covenants of promise" that God made to Israel (see Ephesians 2:12).

In particular, they become heirs to the family of God, according to the promise made to Abraham - that through Abraham’s descendants all the nations of the world would be blessed (see Romans 8:17; Galatians 3:29)

As we looked at in detail in our first lesson, all of Israel’s history, including the exodus from Egypt, the covenant made at Sinai, and the establishment of the monarchy under David, can be seen as partial fulfillments of God’s covenant with Abraham.

The ultimate fulfillment of that covenant comes in the blood of Jesus, by which believers are made "children of Abraham" (see Galatians 3:7-9) and "children of God" through the working of the Holy Spirit (see Galatians 3:26; 4:6-7).

The kingdom, then, is understood in a certain sense as a family of God, in which believers are called to conduct themselves worthily as God’s children (see 1 Thessalonians 2:12).

B. Kingdom of Priests

Here again, we see a tight connection between the early Christian notions of Church and kingdom. The Church, made up of royal sons and daughters of God, Jewish and Gentile, is the new, and true Israel of God (see Galatians 6:16).

In this, the Church fulfills the original commission and identity given to Israel in the covenant at Sinai. There, God established Israel as a "kingdom of priests, a holy nation" (see Exodus 19:6).

The New Testament writings apply this description of Israel as a priestly kingdom to the Church (see 1 Peter 2:5-10), in which members share in the priesthood and sonship of Christ (see Revelation 1:5-6).

In Revelation’s vision of the scroll and the lamb, Christ is celebrated as purchasing with His blood "a kingdom and priests for our God, and they will reign on earth" (see Revelation 5:10).

Significantly, this kingdom is made up of people, not only from Israel, but from "every tribe and tongue, people and nation" (see Revelation 5:9).

The vision itself is filled with images from the exodus and from Daniel’s vision of the son of man. As Daniel’s son of man receives authority over peoples and nations of every tongue or language, so does the kingdom of priests, the Church, in Revelation (compare Daniel 7:14; Revelation 5:9).

As the son of man receives glory and honor in Daniel’s vision, so does the Lamb in Revelation (compare Daniel 7:13-14; Revelation 5:12). And as the holy ones of the Most High possessed the kingdom in Daniel, the kingdom of priests in Revelation is said to reign on earth (compare Daniel 7:22).

Daniel’s vision evoked the original calling and purpose of Israel. And so does John’s vision of the Lamb.

In this vision we have a summary of the New Testament understanding: The Church - the restored kingdom of David that encompasses the twelve tribes of Israel and all the Gentile nations - fulfills the prophecy of Daniel and is the heir and successor to the promises of Israel.

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