1. In religion, the term covenant differs from its common meaning. Traditionally it is taken as an agreement between different parties. However, in terms of religion and the Bible, the given word “implies more of a formal treaty like a commitment to a relationship” (United Church of God, 2011, para. 1). In other words, God is the one who defines all conditions of the proposed relations and a person could either accept or decline this offer. There is no alternative to it. Besides, the covenant with the Israelites was one of the most important covenants made by God as it served as the basis for faith and religion. “They are Israelites; theirs the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giving of the law, the worship, and the promises; theirs the patriarchs, and from them, according to the flesh, is the Messiah” (Romans 9:4-5 New American Bible). These words could be used to prove the significance of this covenant and its great impact on peoples mentality.
However, the importance of the given phenomenon gave rise to diverse understandings of the covenant, and only Jesus was able to fulfill it and provide people with an improved comprehending of the basic ideas provided in it. First, Jesus became an ideal mediator between God and humanity. Being the son of God, he was able to provide people with an opportunity to find blessings and understand the nature of God. Additionally, Jesus told people that they are blessed in everything they see, hear, and that the Word of God proclaimed by him could help them to save their souls. Furthermore, Jesus also fulfilled the covenant by saying that a true leader should sacrifice himself to serve others. These words contradicted the existing understanding of leadership and kingship. However, considering the Gospel authors intention to connect Jesus to Israelite kings, his words determined the attitude to this aspect and contributed to the alteration of the public opinion and the covenants fulfillment. Finally, the covenant also implied different cultic sacrifices needed to establish relations with God and attain his positive attitude. However, Jesus managed to fulfill the understanding of the covenant as he became the perfect sacrifice and priest (“Jesus fulfills the covenant and salvation history”, n.d).
Altogether, being an ideal creature, king, priest, and sacrifice, Jesus managed to alter the understanding of the covenant and introduce new ideas that contributed to its fulfillment. He became the person who showed Israelites their inability to fulfill the obligations under the existing covenant. Thus, Jesus also showed them the way how to live by the covenant’s main ideas and provided an example of a perfect sacrifice that made people believe in the ideas provided by God in his offering to them.
2. Redemption is one of the basic notions of Christianity. It could be related to different spheres of human activity. Moreover, redemption is also considered the way for the soul to free itself from sin and find peace (“The history of Christian thought: 01.04/ Origen”, n.d.). Thus, it might be complicated as there are numerous obstacles that a person might face when trying to attain redemption. Being central to religion, this notion was also touched upon by Church Fathers. The fact is that Jesus did not bring redemption to the conclusion. This controversy might result in the appearance of numerous doubts related to the nature of faith and its main symbols. However, Church Fathers managed to resolve the tension by explaining this ethical dilemma.
They stated that Jesus work was not the work of conclusion (“God’s appearance and God’s work”, n.d.). He came to this world not to bring redemption to all people. He also wanted to speak words and show people the way to God and salvation. For this reason, crucifixion did not destroy the results of his work. On the contrary, it perfectly demonstrated the power of faith and the truth that could be found in Jesus words. He managed to obtain redemption not only because of his divine nature; however, the mode of his life contributed to this result. Moreover, he provided people with a bright example. Being a perfect sacrifice, Jesus emphasized the values that a person should cultivate to save his/her soul and find his/her way to God. In this regard, Church Fathers resolve the tension by saying that Jesus was not going to guarantee redemption to everyone and bring it to the conclusion. However, he just showed the way for people to follow in case they wanted to save their souls and found the way to God (United Church of God, 2010).
Altogether, being one of the central concepts of Christianity, redemption gave rise to numerous concerns related to Jesus work and his inability to bring redemption to the conclusion. However, Church Fathers managed to found an explanation for this phenomenon by saying that Jesus accomplished his main task and provided a unique example of the appropriate way of life. For this reason, a person might choose either to follow it or not, and only this fact might bring help to save his/her soul.
References
God’s appearance and God’s work. (n.d.). Web.
Jesus fulfills the covenant and salvation history. (n.d.). Web.
The history of Christian thought: 01.04/ Origen. (n.d.). Web.
United Church of God. (2010). God’s plan of redemption. Web.
United Church of God. (2011). God’s covenant with ancient Israel. Web.