Stepping Stones
God’s Covenant Plan through the Ages
by
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Chapter 1
From Everlasting to Everlasting
When I became aware that the Lord was asking me to write a book about His covenants with mankind, and the involvement of “families” in His covenant plan, I was overwhelmed. It is a daunting challenge to grasp the heart of the infinite, omnipotent God, moving through the vast and immeasurable history of creation with a plan and a purpose. I wondered where to begin. Then one day I heard Him say to me, “Begin at the beginning.”
It is one thing to begin at the beginning, and quite another to begin “before the beginning”! Yet when I delved deeper into the Scriptures, I realized that the revelation of God “before” creation was more manifest than I had remembered. In the past I must have glossed over a word like “everlasting” without dwelling on the profound meaning of the word. Passages in the Bible like Jeremiah 31:3, had seemed like beautiful poetic language:
I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness.
Another example is Psalm 90:2:
“Before the mountains were born or You gave birth to the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, You are God”
When I thought about “eternity”, my belief was based mostly on the Biblical revelation of what happens when this life on earth comes to an end. I considered eternity to be a limitless, future time in heaven, living forever with the Lord. Then I came across this prophetic passage in the Book of Micah 5:2:
But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, from the days of eternity.
Some of the language of the Bible is so deep and mysterious that we struggle to “get our minds around it”, as they say. Yet once we accept the Scriptures as the Word of God, we have no choice but to read its lofty language and let its meaning seep into our spirits. I am referring to such verses as Isaiah 43:13, when the Lord declares,
“And I am God even from eternity I am He”
At some point I realized that a “before” eternity is as evident in Scripture as an “after” eternity.
As we read these profound biblical revelations of a “before” eternity we become aware of the truth that God existed in that everlasting eternity! Another way of saying it is that He “pre-existed.” Colossians 1:17, in referring to Jesus, says, “all things have been created through Him and for Him. He is before all things, and in Him all things hold together.”
When we contemplate the age-old question, “Who made all this? we must come to the conclusion that the mystery of creation is much more complex than simply replying, “God did it!” We will soon discover that the subsequent question is as laden with meaning as the first: “Why did God create the world?” When we delve into these fabulous and fathomless mysteries, we can only shake our heads, and cry out “God is awesome!”
One priceless strand of revelation, reaching back to the “before” eternity, is the Holy Covenant, which was intrinsic in the Trinity way back then. The Covenant of Oneness shared by the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit even before creation, is the ultimate model and expression of His everlasting love. It is a love that is indissoluble, indescribable and eternal. God IS love (1 Jn. 4:8), and that love was pulsating and hovering as the Triune Deity in timelessness and space, even before the foundations of the world were laid.
Remember the verse in Genesis 1:2: “The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters?”
Even though the word, “Covenant” is no longer a common word or concept, we usually have a vague idea of what it is. In our modern age, we think of it as a contract or agreement, with promises and penalties attached, which isn’t even close to the true meaning of a covenant. Some religions, cults, and people groups, especially in the Far East, understand the concept of a covenant very well, because everything they believe and do emanates from the center core of their covenant, and the subsequent responsibilities to that covenant. Although the covenants that still exist on this earth today, are often sustained by their particular laws and rules, with fear and bondage as a result, I believe that the covenant that originated in the heavens with the Father, Son and Holy Spirit was a relationship of absolute delight and joy! The finite mind cannot possibly comprehend the passionate, powerful love enjoyed by the triumvirate of the Eternal One, existing before time and before creation in unity and completeness. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit existed in an unending covenant of love!
How can we know that? The only source of truth and revelation is the Bible, illuminated by the Holy Spirit, and as His Word speaks to us, we are asked to accept this glorious disclosure by faith. As we have already noted, the eternal, everlasting love of God was in existence before time began. This love is spoken to us again in Psalm 103:17: “But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting…and again, in Psalm 136, when the Psalmist begins by proclaiming, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting,” and repeats this declaration that “His lovingkindness is everlasting” in each of the 26 verses!
It is of utmost importance that we understand that the essential nature of God is unconditional love. If we can climb the edifice of faith to accept this revelation, and stand on firm ground, accepting the truth that God loved us, loves us, and will love us forever, everything else in the Christian faith will flow from that. In the wisdom of God He knew that we would need a further act to help us rest in the security of His love forevermore, and incomprehensibly invited us to share in the holy covenant of the Godhead!
Jesus also has given us some long glances into the love He shared with His Father in the “before” eternity in the 17th chapter of John’s Gospel. In the 24th verse He prays,
”Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, be with Me where I am, so that they may see My glory which You have given Me, for You loved Me before the foundation of the world.”
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About the Book
This book develops the truth that the creation of the family was in God’s heart from before the foundations of the world were laid. In this time of tragic breakdown in the family and the moral decline in our society, the Father’s passion is to restore and reconcile the family back to Himself and to one another. His plan of restoration can be traced through the blood covenants in the Old Testament right up to the New Covenant, when Jesus came to shed His blood and reconcile us to the Father forever. It is time for the covenants to be reintroduced so that we can live our lives and raise our children to walk in covenant with the Living God. If we receive this revelation, we will no longer walk in fear and insecurity and will pass on this heritage of peace from generation to generation.
About the Author
Heather Claussen lives in Prior Lake, Minnesota. She and her husband have ministered and taught on the theme of the blood covenants in the Bible for many years. They are presently on the leadership team of the Family Restoration Project, a ministry that releases identity to families and offers healing and blessing to the generations (www.familyrestorationproject.com). This book comes from a heart that has experienced the Father’s covenant love and the joy of living in covenant relationships with her family.
When Heather’s husband, Don, proposed to her fifty-three years ago, he asked if she would be the grandmother of his grandchildren. They were unaware of the prophetic nature of the proposal at the time. Their four children have given them twenty-one grandchildren! It is a privilege to leave to them the heritage of an understanding of the loving-kindness of our Father through the covenants.