ectypal.net

Irenaeus (c. 130-c. 200) was one of the clearest expositors of the covenant amongst the fathers. He held that out of longsuffering to fallen man, God condescended to give “more covenants than one” to mankind, accommodating them to “the general scheme of the faith.” There were “four principal (καθολιχαί) covenants given to the human race”—one from Adam to Noah, a second to Noah after the flood, the third to Moses, and the fourth was the one which summed up all the others in the gospel, bringing renovation to men and translation to the heavenly kingdom.