The Blood Covenant #11: Christ Our Covenant Head, and David’s Covenant Confidence

The blood covenant puts Jesus Christ in the place of covenant head: the one who started the relationship, who takes responsibility for it, and who provides, protects, sustains and supports everyone who belongs to Him. In this eleventh message of the series, Dr. William P. Hohman explains what headship really means, why corrupted human blood needed the blood of Jesus, and how David faced Goliath with nothing but confidence in God’s covenant.

The teaching continues from Blood Covenant Part 10: Divine Health & Christ’s Pure Blood. Below you will find the full video, a structured summary, every Scripture he uses (linked to the New King James Version on Bible Gateway), a timestamped outline and practical steps for the week ahead.

Sermon at a Glance

This message was preached at NTC Ministries and posted on March 16, 2021. It opens and closes with communion, so the church applies what it hears instead of walking away. Pastor Hohman sets the theme in his first minute: today he will talk about our covenant head, the initiating party who said, in effect, let’s do this.

The sermon moves from the meaning of headship in Paul’s letters, to the Commander of the Lord’s army meeting Joshua at Jericho, to the story of David and Goliath, and ends with a prayer of salvation and a prayer over finances, health and relationships before communion.

The Blood Covenant and Our Covenant Head

Pastor Hohman begins with who started it all. We did not seek God; He sought us out. Jesus said we did not choose Him, but He chose us, that we would go and bring forth fruit (John 15:16). In a covenant, everything the other party is, has and can do becomes yours, with nothing held back, and everything you are, have and can do becomes theirs.

We come to Christ with nothing to add, and He throws our old life away and hands us His. That, he says, is why anyone in Christ is a new creation, with old things passed away and all things made new (2 Corinthians 5:17).

He then makes a sharp observation. Churches and groups that do not teach the blood of Jesus also do not have the power of God. They have a form of godliness but deny its power (2 Timothy 3:5), and yet they are the first to cry out for healing when sickness comes, and the first to blame God when it does not arrive.

A person is born again, he teaches, not because water was sprinkled on them as a baby and not even because they were water baptized, but because they gave their life wholly to Jesus Christ. Their heart was circumcised, cut by the power of the Word and the Spirit of God, and they humbled themselves before Him. That is the entry point into the blood covenant and the power that comes with it.

Corrupted Blood and a Divine Transfusion

The problem with human blood, Pastor Hohman explains, is corruption, and the corruption is sin. Adam was created in God’s image and likeness and would have lived forever. When he believed the devil’s lie that God was not truthful, he died spiritually that instant, and his blood became corrupted. Because the life of the flesh is in the blood (Leviticus 17:11), the death process kicked in, and 930 years later Adam died physically.

He notes that the word human comes from Latin and, as he teaches it, means death doomed. Through the generations, life spans grew shorter and shorter.

When we give our lives to Jesus, we receive the solution to the sin problem, the corrupted blood problem and the corrupted world problem. Spiritual wholeness is given to us, along with healing, health and provision. We were redeemed from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), born into the family of God, and made heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17).

Pastor Hohman is careful to say that Christians are not better than anyone else and should not look down on anybody. But believers are different, a different species of being. Receiving Christ is like a blood transfusion: the life of God comes in. Everyone will live forever, he says; the only question is whether they live eternally separated from God or in eternal glory with Him.

What Covenant Headship Really Means

The first text is 1 Corinthians 11:3, which says that the head of every man is Christ, the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Pastor Hohman warns that religious people, especially men, have twisted this verse into permission to dominate. That is not how Christ treats us.

Head, he teaches, is a covenant term. It means to take hold of, to seize, and above all to be responsible. A man who fathers children and then abandons them is not a head but an impostor, imposing his own will on others. Imposing your will on people is exactly what the devil wants to do, and it is illegitimate in a family or in any other setting. True headship carries four responsibilities, and Pastor Hohman pairs each with Scripture:

He adds the picture of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem, longing to gather her like a mother hen gathers her chicks (Matthew 23:37). They were God’s covenant people, yet they were not willing to receive what the covenant offered.

In Ephesians 1:22–23 the Father put all things under Christ’s feet and gave Him to be head over all things to the church. Jesus came in a body the Father prepared for Him (Hebrews 10:5) and cut an unbreakable covenant with His own blood. That is why there is one mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus (1 Timothy 2:5).

Because He is responsible, Paul could be confident that He who began a good work in us will complete it (Philippians 1:6). Yet Pastor Hohman calls the idea that grace means we never have to do anything again a lie from the pit of hell. Grace teaches us how to live godly lives inside the covenant.

We grow up into Him who is the head by speaking the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), not with anger or malice. And we stay connected. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches; without Him we can do nothing (John 15:5–6). People build fortunes without Him, Pastor Hohman notes, but nothing of value for the kingdom, because it profits nothing to gain the whole world and lose your soul (Mark 8:36).

The Commander at Jericho

In the Old Testament, the man’s part of the covenant God initiated with Abram was circumcision, a way of saying, my flesh is cut off, not my will but Yours. Before Israel took Canaan, the men were circumcised again. Their first target was Jericho, a city Pastor Hohman says covered only about nine acres, with walls wide enough for chariots to race around the top. He has stood on those walls himself.

A few days after the circumcision, as Israel said in effect, we want our covenant with You, someone showed up. In Joshua 5:13–15 a Man stood before Joshua with His sword drawn. Joshua asked whether He was for Israel or for their enemies, and He answered that He had come as Commander of the army of the Lord.

Joshua fell on his face and worshiped, and he was told to take off his sandals because the ground was holy. Pastor Hohman points out that this was not an angel, because angels in Scripture always refuse worship. This was the pre-incarnate Christ, the covenant head, the same one who cut covenant with Abram centuries earlier, arriving to provide, protect, sustain and support. And Israel took the promised land.

That was a type and a shadow of what we have now. Through His death, burial and resurrection, Jesus earned an inheritance, and we receive it. But just like Israel, we have to work with Him. Do what He tells you to do, say what He tells you to say, and stop doing what He tells you to stop, even if nobody else is doing it. You cannot shun the voice of God and expect blessing to radiate from your life.

Redeemed and in the Know

Ephesians 1:7–12 says we have redemption through His blood and that He has made known to us the mystery of His will. Pastor Hohman explains that a mystery is not something you cannot know; it is something you have to come inside to know. Those who come into the body of Christ receive revelation.

Being in covenant means you do not need to run to a prophet for a word, because God will speak to you about your life. When a prophetic word or dream does come, it serves as confirmation. He shares that people had recently told him of a dream that matched what the Lord had already shown him several times. It is God’s good pleasure to tell His children things to come. His thoughts toward us are thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give us a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11).

Compromise dulls that voice. Lean on your own understanding and the ways of the world, and all you will hear is the noise of people who do not know the truth. Pastor Hohman does not argue; he simply shares, as when he told a store clerk he was well because of Jesus.

Colossians 1:12–14 ties it together: the Father has qualified us to share the inheritance of the saints, delivered us from the power of darkness, and conveyed us into the kingdom of His Son, in whom we have redemption through His blood. Believers do not have to fear evil or demonic schemes. And for anyone not yet in Christ, he says, now is the day of salvation, regardless of what a spouse or friends might think.

David, Goliath and the Covenant

Pastor Hohman calls David and Goliath one of the greatest examples of anyone putting the blood covenant to work. For a month Goliath came out every morning to challenge Israel, and the whole army scattered in fear. His real target, Pastor Hohman suggests, was Saul, who stood head and shoulders above everyone and should have been the one to go out.

David, a shepherd of about seventeen, arrived with food for his brothers and asked a question that revealed everything: who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God (1 Samuel 17:26)? The Philistine had no covenant with God. Israel did. So why was anyone afraid? Perfect love casts out fear (1 John 4:18), and he urges Christians not to be shy in asking God for a revelation of that love.

Saul told David he was only a youth (1 Samuel 17:31–33). Saul meant well, but he judged by carnal knowledge and circumstances. In contrast, Daniel 11:32 promises that “the people who know their God shall be strong, and carry out great exploits.” Exploits, he explains, means to display strength, take action, prevail and prosper. The army said Goliath was too big to fight; David saw him as too big to miss.

Pastor Hohman tells how this works today. About 35 years ago in Merrill, with a congregation of roughly 35 people meeting in a small building, he showed his board the properties for sale. One board member insisted the church would never need more than an acre. Pastor Hohman ended the search, explained the vision again, and asked the man to step off the board because he was unwilling to grow by faith.

Soon after, the Lord showed him a nine-and-a-half-acre property and said He was giving it to him. Pastor Hohman prayed over it every Saturday. When the owner, a plumbing contractor from Chicago, began putting up a pole building, they got talking. The owner eventually sold the land and building for 54,000 dollars on a land contract, gave his life to Jesus, and passed away two weeks later. God, Pastor Hohman says, works all things together for good.

David never said, “I hope the Lord’s with me.” He said the Lord who delivered him from the lion and the bear would deliver him from this Philistine (1 Samuel 17:36–37). When Goliath cursed him and promised to feed his flesh to the birds, David answered that he came in the name of the Lord of hosts, and that the battle is the Lord’s (1 Samuel 17:43–47). As Pastor Hohman puts it, “David’s faith was in the covenant of a living God.”

To show why speaking matters, he has the congregation silently count from one to ten and then say their full name aloud. The counting stops. In the same way, speaking your testimony silences the doubts the devil plants in your head, which is why David declared he would not die but live and declare the works of the Lord (Psalm 118:17).

Living Under Your Covenant Head

Pastor Hohman closes with three witnesses that agree, the Spirit, the water and the blood (1 John 5:8), and with believers who overcame by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony (Revelation 12:11). Here are the practical steps from this blood covenant message:

• Speak your covenant out loud. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so (Psalm 107:2). Name the problem and say you come against it in the name of Jesus, your covenant partner.
• Stop saying “I hope.” Replace hopeful doubt with David’s confidence in what the Lord has already done for you.
• Work with Him. Do what He tells you, say what He tells you, and stop what He tells you to stop, even when nobody else does.
• Stay in the vine. Keep your testimony of salvation and holiness alive, because without Him you can do nothing of eternal value.
• Speak the truth in love. Keep standing for the truth, but without anger or malice.
• Declare Psalm 91 over yourself. Read Psalm 91:2–4 and Psalm 91:9–11 in the first person, as he leads the church to do.

He reminds the church that no weapon formed against them shall prosper (Isaiah 54:17). Then he invites anyone who has never been born again to pray, and leads communion in remembrance of Jesus (Luke 22:19): not by might, not by power, but by the Spirit of the living God.

Timestamped Outline

• 0:00 Communion and the covenant head who sought us
• 2:13 A form of godliness without the power
• 3:14 Adam’s sin and corrupted blood
• 5:29 Redeemed from the curse, a different species
• 6:41 A spiritual blood transfusion
• 7:50 1 Corinthians 11:3: head is a covenant term
• 8:51 Provide, protect, sustain and support
• 11:08 Ephesians 1:22–23: head over all things
• 12:19 Philippians 1:6 and the purpose of grace
• 14:25 Speaking the truth in love
• 15:32 John 15: without Me you can do nothing
• 19:04 Circumcision before Jericho
• 21:16 Joshua 5: the Commander of the Lord’s army
• 24:32 Working with Jesus for your inheritance
• 27:03 Ephesians 1:7–12: the mystery of His will
• 31:16 Colossians 1:12–14: delivered from darkness
• 33:33 David and Goliath
• 37:54 Why David was not afraid
• 40:15 Daniel 11:32: strong and doing exploits
• 44:16 How God gave the church its land
• 55:52 Count to ten and say your name
• 59:58 The Spirit, the water and the blood
• 1:02:14 Declaring Psalm 91
• 1:07:47 Communion and closing prayer

Blood Covenant Series

This message is part of a long teaching series at NTC Ministries. Start from the beginning or continue where this one leaves off:

• First message: The Blood Covenant
• Previous: The Blood Covenant Part 10: The Seven-Fold Shedding of the Blood of Jesus
• You are here: The Blood Covenant #11: Christ Our Covenant Head, and David’s Covenant Confidence
• Next: The Blood Covenant #12: Our Covenant Head and the People Who Know Their God

Frequently Asked Questions

Does being born again depend on baptism as a baby?

No. Pastor Hohman teaches that a person is not born again because water was sprinkled on them as an infant, or even because they were water baptized. Being born again happens when a person gives their life wholly to Jesus Christ, with a heart circumcised by the Word and the Spirit. At the end of the service he leads a simple prayer for anyone ready to do that: asking forgiveness, believing Jesus died and rose again, and asking Him to give a new heart.

Do believers still need prophets if God speaks to them directly?

Pastor Hohman says a believer in covenant does not need to run and find a prophet for a word, because God will speak to them about their own life. He still values prophetic words and dreams. Often it confirms what the Lord has already been saying.

Why does this message include a prayer over finances, health and relationships?

Before communion, Pastor Hohman asks people to think about areas where they need God to intervene. Because Christ is the covenant head who provides, protects, sustains and supports, he prays for breakthrough in finances, for health in people’s bodies, and for relationships that have grown apart to grow back together. Communion, he says, is our part of remembering the covenant: it is not by our might or power, but by His Spirit.

Scripture References

All passages open in the New King James Version on Bible Gateway:

• 1 Corinthians 11:3 — the head of every man is Christ
• Ephesians 1:22–23 — head over all things to the church
• Ephesians 4:15 — growing up into Him who is the head
• John 15:5–6 — the vine and the branches
• Joshua 5:13–15 — the Commander of the Lord’s army
• Ephesians 1:7–12 — redemption through His blood
• Colossians 1:12–14 — delivered from the power of darkness
• 1 Samuel 17:43–47 — in the name of the Lord of hosts
• Daniel 11:32 — those who know their God shall be strong
• Revelation 12:11 — overcoming by the blood of the Lamb

How this summary was made: written with AI assistance from the sermon’s own transcript and checked against the Scriptures listed above.

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