Yesterday I had the honour of sharing a little bit on the covenant community at the International Leading Ministries and elders & wives conference in Cardiff.

The covenant community
God is a covenant God and the Bible is the story of how God is making covenant with people. The glorious image of God is seen in his people when they live in covenant relationship. God wants a covenant people to fill the earth so the knowledge of the glory of God may fill the earth as the water cover the sea.
Community: The Beginning and End
God is a community – he is never alone.
God has always existed as three in one and one in three.
Family, community, and friendship originate in the covenantal nature of God.
At the end: God will be all in all – utterly supreme over everything everywhere – dwelling among his people Rev 21:1-3.
1. The covenant community is a community of LOVE
The ultimate basis for our understanding of the covenant community lies in its relationship to the nature of the Triune God himself.
The Father loves the Son. The Son loves the Father. That spirit of love between the Father and the Son is the Holy Spirit.
We are to show forth the divine reality which is LOVE.
The new commandment of the New Covenant:
So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.
Love is what binds us all together in perfect harmony. Col.3:14
For God himself has taught you to love one another. 1Thess.4:9
What love is, we have learnt from Jesus. The way he lived among people, the way he spoke to them and cared for them, is our example of love. He loved his disciples to the very end! Then he gave away his life for us. No one has greater love than he who lay down his life for his friends (John 15:13).
Covenant is love put into action! Covenant is love put into practice!
2. The covenant community is a family community
The marriage covenant confirms a relationship to last for the entire life (Malachi 2:14-16; Romans 7:2). Marriage is the place of practical love, it is the place of serving each other.
The family is a covenant relationship of greatest importance to any healthy community.
The family is the basic building block of the covenant community at large. If the families don’t function, the covenant community can’t function properly. If a man cannot manage his own family well, how can he take care of the Church of God? (1 Tim.3:4-5).
Fragmentation is the order of the secular society. Dysfunctional families seem to explode in numbers.
The family patterns are radically changing in society and changing society likewise.
The new covenant is constantly portrait in family terms:
There will be heard once more the sounds of joy and laughter. The joyful voices of bridegrooms and brides will be heard again, along with the joyous songs of people bringing thanksgiving offerings to the LORD. They will sing,
‘Give thanks to the LORD Almighty, for the LORD is good. His faithful love endures forever!’ Jeremiah 33:10-11
And now the LORD says: I am returning to Mount Zion, and I will live in Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the Faithful City; the mountain of the LORD Almighty will be called the Holy Mountain. This is what the LORD Almighty says: Once again old men and women will walk Jerusalem’s streets with a cane and sit together in the city squares. And the streets of the city will be filled with boys and girls at play. Zechariah 8:3-5

No generational gap – Age-ism is banned
No gender gap – Sex-ism is banned
No leadership gap – Elite-ism is banned
No social gap – Cast-ism is banned
No ethnic gap – Racism is banned
(See Galatians 3:26; Colossians 3:11)
We are all brothers and sisters! We are all on the same level. We are family!
“But this is the new covenant I will make with the people of Israel on that day,” says the LORD. “I will put my laws in their minds, and I will write them on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.
And they will not need to teach their neighbors, nor will they need to teach their family, saying, ‘You should know the LORD.’ For everyone, from the least to the greatest, will already know me,” says the LORD.
“And I will forgive their wickedness and will never again remember their sins.” Jeremiah 31:33-34
Open homes are a hallmark of the covenant community. Hospitality is the practice of covenant life. The homes of the covenant people is the centre of God’s work in the world:
On that day, says the Lord Almighty, each of you will invite your neighbour into your home to share your peace and prosperity (Zechariah 3:10)!
Only family-friendly-churches have a future, for they only represent covenant community of God.
Family-friendly-churches with a Kingdom of God focus will constantly reproduce!
The covenant commission: Be fruitful and fill the earth! Children are covenant blessings. God wants us not only to replace ourselves but to multiply and increase!
Expressions of covenant in the community of love
Local expressions of covenant must take place on many levels in house-churches, city-churches, regional-churches etc.
People standing in voluntary covenant with God, is making commitments to God.
People making and expressing covenant together on a lateral or mutual basis, are committing themselves to one another.
Covenant is by its nature local, it is an agreement among a particular, visible group of believers.
Where there is no covenanting community there is no church of God, for
The church is a covenant community
Community lies at the heart of the church
People united in the new covenant
Manifested in a visible, local group of believers who covenant to be the local expression of the community of God, – a kingdom community living by kingdom principles.
Covenant transforms a loosely related group of individuals into a community of committed people.
The Holy Spirit is the facilitator of covenant life, he is joining us together and teaching us to live and work together to the glory of God.
The breaking of bread, the sharing of the covenant meal, the sharing of life, – everyday, that is the lifestyle of the covenant community. It is not about meetings, but sharing life together, caring for one another.
3. The covenant community works together!
The three persons in God are always actively working to carry out the divine purpose, but they never do anything alone – on their own!
The Father, Son and Holy Spirit always work together – with the same purpose, – as they are fully involved in each other.
The Divine Way: Let us make – in our image – in our likeness – a community to represent us!
The Human way: I want it my way! I did it my way!
The Divine way is always the way of community: Let us!
Only a community can represent God properly – in fullness!
Togetherness is the hallmark of the covenant community! We are working together to fulfil the purpose of God in our generation. We are working together to bring people to Christ. We are complementing one another and helping one another. We have a lifestyle of togetherness!
If there is no deep sense of togetherness we don’t have a covenant community, but only a human organisation!
How God is working (Genesis 1)
From invisible to visible – from the heavens to the earth
The earth was to reflect heaven and to be ruled from above
In the New Covenant the Law is internalised, written in our hearts, motivating us from inside towards a godly life. God is forming our character for us to do godly acts “automatically” – naturally!
We are to be ruled by divine values, not driven by earthly desires.
The covenant community – the image of God – reflects his glory, by mastering life, by multiplying and filling the earth, and by subduing it to the dominion of God. The whole earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of God through the covenant people.
4. A community of reconciliation
As leaders we can live in unity and peace by living in forgiveness and reconciliation. We need to be humble enough to ask forgiveness and always be ready to forgive!
Covenant is a ”coming-together” – the covenant community is about a strong sense of togetherness
• The end to animosity
• The end to alienation
• The end to a self-centred life
The New Covenant creates a community of reconciliation and forgiveness. That means that we are inclusive and caring of others.
We are reconciling people to God and to one another.
Our business is connecting people – to the reality of God as seen in the covenant community.
The community of reconciliation is the community of the cross
Covenant living is all about taking up our cross daily. It is about applying the cross in our personal lives, preferring others to ourselves, putting to death our selfish desires.
We need to be living this out both within and outside the covenant community.
Through our covenant relationship with God we have become his people, a covenant community, to reflect the righteousness and justice of God, as well as his unfailing love and truth Psalm 89:3-4; 14.
Therefore the covenant community acts socially and politically to represent the righteousness of God:
Taking on the sufferings of others
Being a voice for the voiceless, defending the oppressed, providing justice for the poor and needy
Those who oppress the poor insult their Maker, but those who help the poor honour him Prov.14:31
He provide foods for those who fears him, he always remembers his covenant Psalm 111:5
5. The beauty of the covenant community is seen in its holiness
Holiness is being set aside for sacred use, standing apart from sin and evil.
Holiness is the characteristic of God, especially the third person of the trinity – the Holy Spirit.
Holiness is that mysterious “Otherness” – that what makes a difference, – that which sets us apart from the world.
David asked the Lord for one thing only: living in the house of God and seeing his beauty in the covenant community Psalm 27:4.
The people of God serve willingly, arrayed in holy garments, or in the beauties of holiness Psalm 110:3.
This is not only about living differently, but also about publicly taking a stand against sin:
Abortion
Child abuse
Homosexuality
Evils of war
Greed and corruption
Lack of care for the elderly, the disabled etc
You are the light of the world—like a city on a mountain, glowing in the night for all to see. Don’t hide your light under a basket! Instead, put it on a stand and let it shine for all. In the same way, let your good deeds shine out for all to see, so that everyone will praise your heavenly Father. Matt.5:14-16
6. The covenant community is to reflect diversity and variety – not uniformity
People are longing to be accepted for what they are and for belonging, – being a part of a community.
We are social beings – created in the image of the social Triune God.
It is not good for people to be alone. We are all created for community. True friendship, fellowship and community are the hallmark of the covenant people of God.
God is making originals not copies – we are not to be clones of anybody!
God loves variety – he loves a manifold expression of his wonderful nature and character.
Every human person is unique!
Each person reflects a unique part of the glory of God!
What we can be together is greater than the sum of what each one of us can do or be on our own.
In the community we are enlarged and complemented, and we find fulfilment in serving one another – we belong!
The purpose of God can only be fulfilled through a corporate body of people!
The covenant community is colourful like the rainbow
There is a great variety of spiritual gifts
God’s purpose is to show his wisdom in its rich variety – show his colourful wisdom – to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly realms.
When Jews and Gentiles, Norwegians and Indians, Americans and Africans, Men and Women, young and old, are joined together in a colourful, covenant relationship, then the covenant community is a prophetic sign to the world.
7. The covenant community accumulates the wisdom of God
Isaiah 28:23-29:
They know exactly what to do and when to do it. Their God is their teacher. Message
The farmer knows just what to do, for God has given him understanding. NLT They
The Lord Almighty is a wonderful teacher, and he gives the farmer great wisdom. NLT
How did God teach the farmer? How did the farmer come to know exactly what to do?
This wisdom has been gained, refined and accumulated in the farming community
In the same way there is a tremendous wisdom accumulated in the covenant community of God’s people!
The Church Fathers, the saints, the great missionaries, and the poets of faith, represent a wonderful treasure of spiritual insight and wisdom that we need to make use of if we want to be wise people!
Even among contemporary believers outside of ourselves there is great wisdom and insight!
If we are wise we may even learn from people we strongly disagree with!
Among each community of people there is a certain wisdom and insight that we may benefit from!
We need to be readers! The born again believers in Scandinavia used to be called READERS because they were constantly reading the Bible and other books as well!
Hopefully we will accumulate more wisdom and insight to pass on to the next generation than we what we were given to start with!
If we are working into foreign cultures we need the wisdom of God to reach them. If we find other believers in these cultures we will benefit enormously if we learn from their wisdom and insight.
Wisdom from heaven
But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure. It is also peace loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and good deeds. It shows no partiality and is always sincere. And those who are peacemakers will plant seeds of peace and reap a harvest of goodness. James 3:17-18 NLT
Such wisdom fosters community!
Earthly wisdom
For jealousy and selfishness are not God’s kind of wisdom. Such things are earthly, un-spiritual, and motivated by the Devil. For wherever there is jealousy and selfish ambition, there you will find disorder and every kind of evil. James 3:15-16
Earthly wisdom destroys community life!
The wisdom of the farming community
Ploughing must be followed by sowing
Cultivating must be followed by planting
The different seeds must be planted in each own section of the land – don’t mix it!
Don’t thresh all the crops the same way!
Repeating one activity is not sufficient!
We must work systematically – in many ways and fields!
Don’t use the same method on all situations
People must be treated individually!
Leadership attributes – wisdom of emerging leaders of post-modern pilgrims
Humble and self-effacing
Competent technically and relationally
Stimulates creativity
Prepared to take calculated risks
Trustworthy and trust building
Courage and calm in the face of adversity
Inspires the team – constantly recruiting
Inclusive and empowering
Patient and persevering – long term commitment
Respect for and consideration of others.
8. The covenant community is a community of light
This is the message he has given us to announce to you: God is light and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not living in the truth. But if we are living in the light of God’s presence, just as Christ is, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from every sin. I John 1:5-7
God is light and we are called to be a community of light, living in the truth of God – living in the light of God’s presence.
Walking in the light of God implies doing the will of God, not our own things.
Obedience is absolute necessary – if we are not obedient we can not reflect the light of God.
Honesty, integrity, truthfulness are hallmarks of covenant people.
Sharing of heart in the community fosters trust, friendship and security, Otherwise we are just touching skin and not penetrating heart.
The building of covenant community is in large extent dependent on open communication between people.
Open communication presupposes that when there are people who want to talk, there are people who will listen.
We need to listen to our brothers and sisters – they can tell us the truth about ourselves, they can throw light on our blind-spots.
Listening is as important as the talking!
Being faithful means speaking the truth in love, even though it is hurtful
An open rebuke is better than hidden love!
Wounds from a friend are better than many kisses from an enemy. Proverbs 27:5-6
Lack of communication, bad communication, or plain misunderstandings, are important factors in the breaking down of any community.
9. The covenant community is a community of blessing
Covenant promise: All the families of the earth will be blessed through you Gen 12:3
Finally, all of you should be of one mind, full of sympathy toward each other, loving one another with tender hearts and humble minds. Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate when people say unkind things about you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God wants you to do, and he will bless you for it. For the Scriptures say,
“If you want a happy life and good days, keep your tongue from speaking evil, and keep your lips from telling lies.
Turn away from evil and do good. Work hard at living in peace with others.
The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers.
But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.” 1 Peter 3:8-12
Upright citizens bless a city and make it prosper, but the talk of the wicked tears it apart. Pro 11:11
We must be proactive in blessing people
Everyday, under all circumstances we should be pronouncing blessing on governments, schools, hospitals, etc
Pronouncing blessing on all the institutions of society
Blessing family, friends and neighbours
Our words are powerful:
Say thanks unto God in all circumstances (1.Thess.5:18)
Confess the word of God (1.Tim.6,12-16)
Speak to one self (Joh.18,37; Ps 42:5)
Speak to the mountain in front of us (Matt. 17:20)
Speak encouraging words to one another (Hebr.10:24)
Speak agreement with the words of faith (Matt.18:19-20)
Speak disagreement with the words of unbelief (Num.13:27-30)
Speak in tongues (Mark 16:17; 1. Cor. 14:18)
The priestly blessing: Numbers 6:22-26
Instruct Aaron and his sons to bless the people of Israel with this special blessing:
May the LORD bless you and protect you.
May the LORD smile on you and be gracious to you.
May the LORD show you his favour and give you his peace.
This is how Aaron and his sons will designate the Israelites as my people, and I myself will bless them.”
10. Faithfulness and loyalty must be hallmarks of the covenant communityI will never leave you or forsake you Deut 31:6,8
His faithful love endures forever Psalm 136
Jesus loved his disciples to the very end John 13:1
Laying down of our lives for one another John 15:13; 1 John 3:16-18
Let us really show it by our actions!
Like marriage, our covenant relationship is intended to last for the entire life, even though other commitments may take us away geographically.