Covenant theology
Covenant theology (also known as Covenantalism, Federal theology, or Federalism) is a Calvinist conceptual overview and interpretive framework for understanding the overall flow of the Bible. It uses the theological concept of a covenant as an organizing principle for Christian theology. The standard form of covenant theology views the history of God's dealings with mankind, from Creation to Fall to Redemption to Consummation, under the framework of three overarching theological covenants: of redemption, works, and grace.
These three covenants are called theological because, though not explicitly presented as such in the Bible, they are thought of as theologically implicit, describing and summarizing the wealth of Scriptural data. Historical Reformed systems of thought treat covenant theology not merely as a point of doctrine or as a central dogma, but as the structure by which the biblical text organizes itself.