Covenant Fulfillment, Not Church Doctrine

 

“Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”
(Acts 5:31)

 

This verse is one of the clearest covenant declarations in all of early Acts. Every word, every phrase, and every person involved is grounded firmly in God’s promises to Israel, not the Church, not the Body of Christ, and not a new universal program of grace.

 

Understanding Acts 5:31 requires us to answer two foundational questions:

 

1. Who is Peter speaking to?
2. What promises is he referring to?

 

The answers are explicit in Scripture.

 

The Audience: Covenant Israel

 

Peter does not leave the audience open to interpretation.

 

He says plainly:

 

“…to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.”

 

Not to Gentiles.
Not to the Church.
Not to the Body of Christ.

 

To Israel.

 

This is covenant language.

This is national language.

This is fulfillment language.

 

Peter is addressing the very people to whom God made the promises through Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and David.

 

The immediate context confirms this.

 

Just one verse earlier, Peter says:

 

“The God of our fathers raised up Jesus…”
(Acts 5:30)

 

“The God of our fathers” is unmistakably Jewish covenant terminology. Peter is not introducing a new body of believers unknown to prophecy. He is proclaiming fulfillment to the same nation God had dealt with for nearly two thousand years.

 

“Prince and Savior” — Kingdom Language, Not Mystery Language

 

Peter declares that God exalted Jesus to be:

“Prince and Savior”

 

The word “Prince” is critical. It refers to rulership, authority, and kingship.

 

This connects directly to the promises made to David that his descendant would sit on his throne forever.

 

This is the same promise announced at Christ’s birth:

 

“The Lord God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever.”
(Luke 1:32–33)

 

This is kingdom language.

This is covenant fulfillment.

This is exactly what Israel had been waiting for.

 

Direct Continuity with Luke 1:67–75

 

To fully understand Acts 5:31, we must go back to the prophecy of Zacharias.

 

When John the Baptist was born, Zacharias, filled with the Holy Spirit, declared:

 

“Blessed is the Lord God of Israel, for He has visited and redeemed His people.”
(Luke 1:68)

 

Notice carefully:

 

Israel is the audience.

 

Not Gentiles.
Not the Church.

 

Israel.

 

Then he explains why:

 

“To perform the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember His holy covenant, the oath which He swore to our father Abraham.”
(Luke 1:72–73)

 

This is covenant fulfillment language.

This is Abrahamic covenant language.

This is exactly what Peter is proclaiming in Acts 5.

 

Peter is not introducing a new doctrine unknown to prophecy. He is announcing that the risen Messiah stands ready to fulfill the promises made to Israel.

 

This Is After Pentecost — And Still Israel

 

Acts 5 occurs after:

 

• the resurrection
• the ascension
• Pentecost
• Peter’s Acts 2 sermon

 

Yet Peter is still saying:

 

“…to give repentance to Israel…”

 

This is critical.

 

If the Body of Christ had begun at Pentecost, Peter would be proclaiming a message directed equally to Jew and Gentile.

 

He does not.

 

He continues to address Israel specifically, because the covenant promises and the kingdom offer were still being presented to that nation.

 

National Repentance and Covenant Restoration

 

Repentance in Acts is deeply connected to national restoration.

 

This was already declared by Peter in Acts 3:

 

“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
(Acts 3:19)

 

These “times of refreshing” refer to the promised kingdom.

 

This aligns perfectly with Zacharias’ prophecy:

 

“That we… might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him all the days of our life.”
(Luke 1:74–75)

 

Everything is consistent.

Everything is covenant-based.

Everything centers on Israel.

 

What Was Still Unknown: The Body of Christ

 

At this point in Acts 5, something critical had not yet been revealed.

The Body of Christ.

 

Paul later explains that this truth was:

 

“…the mystery which has been hidden from ages and from generations.”
(Colossians 1:26)

And:

“…which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men.”
(Ephesians 3:5)

And:

“…kept secret since the world began.”
(Romans 16:25)

 

This includes:

 

• Jew–Gentile equality
• justification apart from the Law
• the Body of Christ
• the present administration of grace

 

None of these doctrines are present in Acts 5.

They could not be.

God had not revealed them yet.

 

Why This Matters Today

 

Acts 5:31 is not Church doctrine.

It is covenant fulfillment offered to Israel.

But it is absolutely written for our learning (Romans 15:4).

 

It reveals:

 

• God’s faithfulness to His promises
• the legitimacy of Israel’s kingdom offer
• the progressive nature of revelation
• and the necessity of Paul’s later apostleship

 

Without understanding Acts 5, the distinct revelation given to Paul cannot be fully appreciated.

 

Final Conclusion

 

Acts 5:31 stands as a powerful declaration of covenant fulfillment.

 

Peter is not preaching the mystery.
He is not revealing the Body of Christ.
He is not proclaiming justification apart from the Law.

 

He is proclaiming the risen Messiah to Israel.

 

The same Messiah Zacharias prophesied.
The same Messiah promised to Abraham.
The same Messiah who came to fulfill God’s covenant promises.

 

And when we understand this distinction, Scripture does not become divided.

It becomes clear.

It becomes consistent.

 

It becomes exactly what God intended—His unfolding plan, revealed in His perfect timing.