Systematic Theology – Covenant

The Covenant And The Name

Professor: Dr. R.J. Rushdoony

Subject: Systematic Theology

Lesson: 17-22

Genre: Speech

Track: 17 of 22

Dictation Name: 17 The Covenant And The Name

Location/Venue:

Year:

…prayer. Glory be to Thee oh God the Fat her, God the Son and God the Holy Ghost, we praise Thee who in mercy and grace has redeemed us and made us Thy people, members of Thy covenant and given us joy, peace and strength by Thy holy Spirit. Bless us this day and always as we give ourselves to the study of Thy word that we may grow in strength and in power and be more than conquerors through Christ our King. In His name we pray, Amen.

We have been studying the doctrine of the covenant and our subject in our first session this evening is The Covenant and the Name. Our scripture is from the tenth chapter of Luke, verses seventeen through twenty. Luke 10:17-20, and our subject: The Covenant And The Name. The Covenant And The Name.

“And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

18 And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

19 Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.

20 Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven.”

As we have seen historically there are two kinds of covenants. The covenants between equals and covenants between a greater power and a lesser power. However, basically the origin of the entire doctrine of the covenant is biblical and therefore the origin of the very doctrine of the covenant in history is from God’s covenant with man. The root meaning of the very word covenant or [unknown] is probably an imposed treaty. This seems to be implied in Ezekiel 20:37 which reads:

“ And I will cause you to pass under the rod, and I will bring you into the bond of the covenant:”

The idea of a covenant implies first and foremost the notion of imposition, of liability, and of obligation. Thus the doctrine of the covenant which is basic to scripture requires us to believe that man being made a covenant partner by God is placed under obligation. Now, to go a little further the idea of a covenant is very closer related to naming a man, to naming a people, a group, a nation, an institution. Naming anything with whom a covenant is made. God when He makes a covenant names the one with whom he makes that covenant. Now we know when Adam was created and given the task of naming the animals the purpose was to understand them, to classify them, to see the entire order of the animal world in terms of God’s creative purpose. So His was a subordinate task of naming, a task required of him by God and his naming was to be a classification, a scientific task so that the order God created would be named, would be understood, would be classified by Adam in his naming. Naming is an aspect of making a covenant. A covenant calls for a new name, a new blood, a new identity, a new relationship and a new life. This is evident in pagan covenant also. All pagan covenants are relics of the biblical covenant of God and the origin of history. The pagans have over a period of time perverted this sort of thing but they have relics of the truth.

It is interesting that in New South Wales the boys when they reach maturity are initiated into the covenant of the tribe. They are given a new name and a white stone. This reminds us of Revelation 2:17. [Unknown] some years ago observed and I quote:

“The expression ‘give name to’ is very common in Babylonian, Hebrew and Egyptian in the sense of giving life to.” Unquote.

Well in Genesis 5:2 we read:

“Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.”

Whenever there is a covenant there is a naming. When we come to the renewed covenant, the covenant established with a new people, the new name is very much stressed. When God called Abraham into the covenant He renamed him, first we do not know his original name, he was called Abram and then later Abraham. For God’s calling of a man is the remaking and the renaming, the reclassifying of a man. Jacob was renamed Israel and the people who were to come from him were to be called by that name. In that encounter it is interesting that as Jacob wrestled with the angel of the Lord not knowing with whom he wrestled he asked what his name was and the angel refused to give it, rather he made known that he was the prior one and the Lord by naming, renaming, Jacob. This was always the sign of a prince because a prince could single out any man and say henceforth your name shall be such and such, even as in the Middle Ages he could say I dub thee sir so-and-so or I knight thee or I make thee a duke or an earl.

This is the royal preogrotive. So that Jacob knew with whom he had to do when he was renamed. It was the covenant God. Because He is the namer, not the named, the definer, not the defined. God made this clear to Moses at the burning bush when Moses asked His name God said I Am that I Am or I am He who is, who cannot be named, but I am known by my revelation and I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Moreover we know that when God threatened to blot out the name of Israel in Deuteronomy 9:14 we are told that He meant to separate Himself from them, to throw them aside to be not a people anymore and He would rename Moses and from Moses would come His people. Over and over again in scripture we see the concept of the name as a promise of renewed life in the covenant. This appears more than once in Isaiah, for example, in Isaiah 62:2 we read:

“And the Gentiles shall see thy righteousness, and all kings thy glory: and thou shalt be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord shall name.”

One scholar R.B.Y. Scott has said and I quote:

“A new name means a new people. A new name means a new life. We read that our Lord sent out the seventy disciples and that number in itself is significant because the seventy elders whom Moses had chosen became the original Sanhedrin, the ruling body of Israel under Moses. And right up to our Lord’s day the seventy elders of Israel ruled in the temple. Now our Lord was saying when He called the seventy and sent them out with a message ‘you are my new Sanhedrin and I am the true and great high priest’. He also made clear through them to Israel by sending out seventy that now there was a new Israel, the Israel of God and there was a new ruling body and it was not the one in the temple. He sent them out to reclaim the kingdom of God and He told them that there would be judgment upon all who refused to hear them. In fact he said that he that heareth you heareth me and he that despises me despiseth me and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me. “

When the seventy returned they were filled with joy and they said Lord even the devils are subject unto us through Thine name. This is the power we have, this is the rule we exercise, we seventy. Now remember these men were all Israelites, Jews. The significance of choosing seventy would not be lost on them. So the fact that they were now ruling even the devils made them realize the power that was theirs and how great was their Lord. And our Lord said unto them I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. His power is broken, the demonic powers are now in subjection to the new humanity, to the new human race that is born again of me. A new people with a new life. But he went on to say, I have given you great power, power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the Enemy, powers that were literally seen fulfilled in the book of Acts and nothing shall by any means hurt you. Notwithstanding and in this rejoice not that the spirits are subject unto you but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven. Your names are written in heaven. You have the name that is the naming of the Lord. You are His, He has named you. He has called you. Anyone who is not named of the Lord is not a person, not a people. Because they have been cut off, they have been separated. God had said of Israel I will blot out their name from heaven but our names are written in heaven in Jesus Christ.

The power of the seventy therefore was in the great name of Jesus Christ and the seventy belonged to that great name of Jesus. They had power in that name. Our Lord says in John 5:43: Those who come in their own name into the world receive the praise of the world because they are a part of it. But the power of the Christians, he said in John 15:16 is in the name of Christ. We read also that in Acts 11:26 the Christians were first called by that name in Antioch. They were the people of the name, called by the name of Jesus Christ. The new name means a new life, it is a covenant fact. We are told in Revelation 14:1 and 22:4 that the Father’s name is on the foreheads of all His people and they are obviously His, irrevocably His, it has reference to a branding. We are also told that at the same time our new name is one that the world does not know, revelation 2:17 and what does that mean? It means that we are classified by God and we are endued with the power by God which the world cannot understand, therefore it does not know it. It cannot understand the power that is there in a Christian. In some of the stories about the prison camps and the Soviet Union some of the most moving stories are of Christians and of the lack of comprehension as the guards faced the power these people represent. We are told moreover in Ephesians 3:15 that the whole family of God in heaven and in earth is named through Jesus Christ.

We bear His name and we have our identity, our new name, our classification, our nature through Him. The name of the Lord is thus a covenant privilege and our naming by Him makes us irrevocably his as John 10:28 makes clear. He has chosen us. He names us. He clothes us. He provides for us. To invoke the name of Christ is thus to invoke the covenant grace and power, to claim the name of Christ and to call ourselves Christians is to say that we are the people of the covenant, the people of life, the people with a future. It is a significant fact that names are important and people who have a name they can be proud of carry that name gladly. We are told of a murder case currently in the south land of a man because his name resembled that and was identical with that of a prominent gangster had his name changed because even though he was distantly related he was ashamed of that name. And of course we often encounter people who are very proud of their name because it represents something important in our history. But we have the greatest of all names, the name of Christ. We are Christians and we have a naming from Him whereby we are separated unto Him forever. A new name, a new life and a new nature. This is our privilege as members of the covenant. Are there any questions now on the subject of the Covenant and the Name? Yes?

[Question Unintelligible]

[Rushdoony] Very good point, in case you didn’t hear it in marriage the wife takes the husband’s name and the children also take the father’s name. Because the naming is by the person who is superior in power and in status, and in marriage the husband has that position because God so ordains it, therefore it is his name which is given to the wife and to the children. So we have embodied even in our current practices this ancient custom of the superior power naming those who come under his protection and marriage is a covenant. So when a man and woman vow and covenant to become man and wife the man gives his name to the woman. Yes, there was another question?

[Question Unintelligible]

[Rushdoony] Yes we cannot call a person a Christian simply because they are a church member or attend church; by their fruits shall ye know them. They can be church members and not Christians. The name of Christ is a great privilege and it belongs only to those who manifest the life of Christ in their faith and works. Any other questions or comments? Well if not we’ll take a break for about ten minutes.