04 — NEW COVENANT LENS

Where am I in the covenant story?

You’ve looked closely at your passage.

Now we’re going to locate it within the larger biblical story and follow that story to Christ.

Your Canvas gives you three places to work:

COVENANT → CHRIST → NEW COVENANT REALITY

We’ll take them one at a time.

LET’S BEGIN →

COVENANT

What covenant context is this written within or addressing?

Start with your Covenant Reference.

Find your passage on The Covenant Story.

Then ask:

  1. Where am I in the covenant story?

  2. What covenant is this passage talking about?

  3. What is that covenant doing here?

You do not need a long answer.

Record only what helps you locate the passage within the covenant story.

And one important thing to watch for:

Where a passage sits in the story and the covenant it is talking about are not always the same.

A New Testament passage may be written to believers living in the New Covenant while discussing an earlier covenant.

So ask both:

Where are these people in the covenant story?

and

What covenant is the passage talking about?

If you are still unsure, that’s okay.

Record what you can confidently see.

You do not have to force an answer just to fill the box.

I’VE GOT IT →

  • For Colossians 1:12–14:

    Paul is writing to believers living after Christ’s finished work, and the passage describes what God has already done for them through His Son.

    So under COVENANT, we might write:

    New Covenant — Paul is writing to believers in Christ about what God has already done for them through His Son.

    That is enough.

    The box is not a test of how much covenant theology you know.

    You are simply recording the covenant context that helps you understand the passage.

  • Don’t guess. Look for clues.

    Go back to your passage.

    Ask:

    • Is this connected to Noah or creation?

    • Abraham, offspring, blessing, or inheritance?

    • Israel, the Law, covenant commands, blessings, or consequences?

    • David, his royal line, or a promised King?

    • Christ, forgiveness, the Spirit, New Creation, or Kingdom?

    Then compare what you are seeing with Five Major Covenants at a Glance in your Covenant Reference.

    You are looking for the best fit with what is actually in the passage.

    And remember:

    Where a passage sits in the biblical story and the covenant it is talking about are not always the same thing.

    A New Testament passage may be written to believers living in the New Covenant while discussing an earlier covenant.

    So ask both:

    Where are these people in the covenant story?
    What covenant is this passage talking about?

    Record what you can confidently see. You do not have to force an answer just to fill the box.

CHRIST

How does Christ fulfill, reveal, or bring clarity to what I am reading?

Start with the passage itself.

Ask:

What does this passage help me see about Christ — or what does Christ help me understand about this passage?

Look for things like:

  • Does it point forward to Christ?

  • Does it show something Christ fulfills?

  • Does it reveal who Christ is or what He has done?

  • Does something become clearer because of His finished work?

Follow what is actually there.

Don’t force a connection.

You are not trying to make Jesus appear in a passage.

You are following the biblical story to Him.

Write the connection you can actually support from Scripture.

I SEE THE CONNECTION →

  • Start with the easiest question:

    Is Christ already in the passage?

    Look for language about:

    • who He is

    • what He has done

    • what we have in Him

    • what He fulfills

    If Christ is already there, start there.

    Don’t see Him directly?

    Go back to the covenant context you just identified.

    Then use your Covenant Reference to ask:

    Where does this part of the story lead?

    You are not trying to make Jesus appear in a passage.

    You are following the biblical story to Him.

    Write the connection you can actually support from Scripture.

  • For Colossians 1:12–14:

    We do not have to search very far for Christ in this passage.

    The text tells us that the Father has brought us into the Kingdom of His Son, and that in the Son we have redemption and forgiveness.

    So under CHRIST, we might write:

    Christ is the Son into whose Kingdom we have been brought. In Him, we have redemption and forgiveness.

    We are not trying to make Jesus appear in a passage.

    We are following the biblical story to Him — and here, the passage brings us directly to Christ.

NEW COVENANT REALITY

What is now true in Christ because of His finished work?

Do not begin with:

What should I do?

Begin with:

What has Christ already done — and what is true because of it?

Look for something God has:

  • accomplished

  • given

  • changed

  • established

Or look for something the passage says is now true in Christ.

Then record what you find.

If the passage is talking about how you live, look for the truth underneath the response.

New Covenant passages can absolutely speak about obedience, growth, fruitfulness, endurance, and how we live.

But we are learning to notice the order:

We do not live in order to make New Covenant realities true.

We live from what is already true in Christ.

I SEE WHAT IS TRUE →

  • Go back to your passage and ask:

    • What has God done?

    • What has Christ accomplished?

    • What does the passage say is now true?

    Sometimes the passage will make that very clear.

    Other times, you’ll need to follow the covenant story through Christ before you can answer.

    Start with what is true in Christ.

  • For Colossians 1:12–14, we have already noticed:

    • The Father has qualified us.

    • He has rescued us.

    • He has transferred us into the Kingdom of His Son.

    • In the Son, we have redemption and forgiveness.

    So under NEW COVENANT REALITY, we might write:

    Because of Christ, believers are no longer defined by darkness or disqualification. The Father has qualified us, brought us into the Kingdom of His Son, and given us redemption and forgiveness in Christ.

    Notice the direction of the passage:

    God acts first.

    This is not a list of conditions we fulfill in order to become qualified.

    It is a declaration of what the Father has already done in Christ.

  • Yep — on 04 — NEW COVENANT LENS, replace the existing tertiary trigger with the same accordion pattern we just locked in.

    Use the accordion title:

    WHAT IF I’M READING AN EARLIER COVENANT?

    Keep it:

    • black text

    • native chevron only

    • closed by default

    • aligned with the main content column

    • placed after NEW COVENANT REALITY and before LOOK AT WHAT YOU JUST DID

    Inside the accordion, use:

    You’ve already located the covenant context.

    You’ve already asked how it relates to Christ.

    Now follow the story forward.

    Ask:

    Because of Christ’s finished work, what is true now?

    Do not take an earlier covenant command or promise and automatically assume it applies directly to you in exactly the same way.

    Follow the movement you just learned:

    COVENANT → CHRIST → NEW COVENANT REALITY

    If you’re not sure what has been fulfilled, changed, or carried forward in Christ, don’t guess.

    That is a good place to slow down and investigate.

LOOK AT WHAT YOU JUST DID

You did not have to become a covenant expert.

You asked three questions:

COVENANT — Where does this passage belong in the covenant story?

CHRIST — How does Christ fulfill, reveal, or bring clarity to what I’m reading?

NEW COVENANT REALITY — What is now true in Christ because of His finished work?

COVENANT → CHRIST → NEW COVENANT REALITY

Now look back over what you’ve written.

You have another piece of evidence to carry forward as you ask:

What does this passage establish?

CONTINUE TO 05 — INTERPRET →