ABSTRACT
Covenant theology, however, is an elastic term admitting various definitions. it can be defined in terms of the number of covenants present in the system or in terms of a presentation of a progressive revelation which, in turn, can be divided in two, three or even more periods in salvation history. it is also possible to make
a distinction between a covenant theology in which the concept of covenant is primarily used in the realm of the ordo salutis referring to via salutis of the community of believers and a theology in which the concept of covenant is used to denote the continuity and discontinuity of salvation history in the Old and New Testaments (ordo temporum). in the first instance (ordo salutis), covenant theology is principally a description of the various stages of personal faith embedded in community of believers. in the second instance the main accent is on the linearhistorically proceeding covenants or ordo temporum in salvation history.3
