The Covenant of Grace
THE COVENANT OF GRACE
On the basis of the covenant of redemption God established the covenant of grace, a covenant of friendship with man, which represents the way in which the blessings of redemption are mediated to the sinner. Under the present heading several particulars call for consideration.
A. The Contracting Parties in the Covenant of Grace. God is the first party in the covenant of grace, the party that takes the initiative and graciously determines the relation in which the second party will stand to Him. He appears in the covenant as a gracious and forgiving
Father, willing to pardon sin and to restore sinners to His blessed communion. It is not so easy to determine precisely who the second party is, though in general it may be said that God established the covenant with fallen man. Though there was no historical limitation at first, it became evident in the days of Abraham that it was not intended to include all men. For that reason it does not satisfy to say that God made the covenant with the sinner. There must be some limitation, and therefore some hold that God made the covenant with Abraham and his seed, that is, his natural but especially his spiritual descendants; or, slightly different, with believers and their seed. The majority maintain, however, that He entered into covenant relationship with the elect or the elect sinner. To be perfectly clear in the matter, it is of great importance to make a very necessary distinction.
1. THE COVENANT AS AN END IN ITSELF, A COVENANT OF
MUTUAL FRIENDSHIP OR COMMUNION OF LIFE. The covenant of grace may be contemplated as an end which God had in view in the covenant of redemption, as an ultimate spiritual reality which He brings to realization in the course of history through the ministry of
the Word and the powerful operation of the Holy Spirit, and which will be perfected at the time of the consummation of all things. From this point of view it is a relation sought and established, namely, a relation of friendship between God and man, a communion of life in which man is made to share in the divine life, the life of the resurrection. It represents a condition in which privileges are improved for spiritual ends, the promises of God are embraced by a living faith, and the promised blessings are brought to full fruition. If the covenant is regarded from this point of view, there would seem to be only one possible position with respect to the second party in the covenant, and that is that God established His covenant of grace with the elect. It is then that gracious agreement between God and the elect sinner, in which God gives Himself with all the blessings of salvation to the elect sinner, and the latter embraces God and all His gracious gifts by faith. In view of the fact that in Abraham the central blessing of the covenant was realized, he is called "the friend of God,"
Jas. 2:23. Jesus calls His disciples friends, because they share the covenant blessing of the new life and live in obedience to His commandments, John 15:14, 15. Several passages of Scripture speak of God's covenant mercies as realized in those that fear Him, Deut.
7:9; 2 Chron. 6:14; Ps. 103:17, 18. The way in which this is done in the new dispensation is indicated in Jer. 31:31–34; Heb. 10:8–12.
The final realization of the covenant is described in Rev. 21:3, "And I heard a great voice out of the throne saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He shall dwell with them, and they shall be His peoples, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God."
2. THE COVENANT AS A MEANS TO AN END, A PURELY LEGAL
RELATIONSHIP INDICATIVE OF THE SPIRITUAL END THAT
SHOULD BE REALIZED. It is quite evident that the Bible also speaks of the covenant in a broader sense, as including many who do not share in the life of the covenant, and even some in whom the
covenant promises are never realized. Ishmael and Esau were in the covenant; so were the wicked sons of Eli. The rebellious Israelites, who died in their sins, were covenant people, and even the Scribes and Pharisees, so strongly denounced by Jesus, shared in the privileges of the covenant. The covenant may be regarded as a purely legal agreement, in which God guarantees the blessings of salvation to all those who believe. This agreement may exist as a purely objective arrangement even where nothing is done to realize its purpose. The relation which it represents may exist independently of the attitude assumed by man to his covenant obligations. That is, a man may not meet the covenant requirements, may not believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and yet stand in covenant relationship to God.
If we conceive of the covenant in this broader sense, as a purely legal relationship, as a means by which God realizes the blessings of salvation in the lives of those who meet the covenant requirements,— then we shall have to say that God established the covenant with believers and their children.
B. The Promises and Requirements of the Covenant of Grace. Every covenant has two sides: it offers certain privileges and imposes certain obligations. There are in it promises and requirements.
1. THE PROMISES OF THE COVENANT. The main promise of the covenant, which includes all other promises, is contained in the oftrepeated words, "I will be a God unto thee and to thy seed after thee."
This promise in its full or in an abbreviated form is found in several Old and New Testament passages, especially in passages which speak of the introduction of a new phase of the covenant life, or which refer to a renewal of the covenant, Jer. 31:33; 32:38–40; Ezek. 34:23–25,
30, 31; 36:25–28; 37:26, 27; Heb. 8:10; 2 Cor. 6:16–18. The promise is fully realized when at last the new Jerusalem descends out of heaven from God, and the tabernacle of God is pitched among men,
Rev. 21:3. This grand promise is re-echoed time and again in the jubilant exultation of those who stand in covenant relationship to God, "Jehovah is my God." This one promise really includes all other promises, such as (a) the promise of various temporal blessings, which often serve to symbolize those of a spiritual kind (b) the promise of justification, including the forgiveness of sins, the adoption of children, and a claim to life eternal; (c) the promise of the Spirit of God for the application, full and free, of the work of redemption and of all the blessings of salvation; and (d) the promise of final glorification in a life that never ends, Job 19:25–27; Ps. 16:11;
73:24–26; Isa. 43:25; Jer. 31:33, 34; Ezek. 36:27; Dan. 12:2, 3; Gal.
4:5, 6; Tit. 3:7; Heb. 11:7; Jas. 2:5.
2. THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE COVENANT. It is sometimes said that the covenant of grace, in distinction from the covenant of works, contains no requirements and imposes no obligations on man.
However, this is hardly correct in the absolute sense of the word. It is perfectly true that there are no requirements of a meritorious character. Man earns nothing by meeting the demands of the covenant. It is also true that all the requirements of the covenant are covered by the promises of God, that is, God promises to give man all that He requires of him. Hence the prayer of Augustine: "Lord, give what Thou commandest, and then command what Thou wilt."
Bearing these things in mind, however, it is perfectly correct to speak of covenant requirements. There are especially two things which God demands of those who stand in covenant relationship to Him. He requires of them, (a) that they accept the covenant and covenant promises by faith, and thus enter upon the life of the covenant; and (b) that, from the principle of the new life born within them, they consecrate themselves to God in a new obedience.
C. The Characteristics of the Covenant. There are several characteristics of the covenant of grace.
1. IT IS A GRACIOUS COVENANT. This covenant may he called gracious, (a) because in it God allows a surety to meet our obligations; (b) because He Himself offers the surety in the person of His Son, who meets the demands of justice; and (c) because by His grace, revealed in the operation of the Holy Spirit, He enables man to live up to his covenant responsibilities.
2. IT IS A TRINITARIAN COVENANT. The triune God is operative in the covenant of grace. It has its origin in the elective love and grace of the Father, finds its legal foundation in the suretyship of the Son, and is fully realized in the lives of sinners only by the effective application of the Holy Spirit, John 1:16; Eph. 2:8; 1 Pet. 1:2.
3. IT IS AN ETERNAL AND THEREFORE UNBREAKABLE
COVENANT. If we distinguish between the covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace, then we cannot say that the latter was established in eternity. We can maintain, however, that it will endure eternally, Gen. 17:19; 2 Sam. 23:5; Heb. 13:20. And because the covenant is eternal, it is also inviolable, Heb. 6:17. God remains forever true to His covenant and will invariably bring it to full realization in the elect. This does not mean, however, that man will never break the covenant relationship.
4. IT IS A PARTICULAR AND NOT A UNIVERSAL COVENANT.
This means that the essence of the covenant, the relation of friendship with God and of life in communion with Him, will be realized only in the elect, and that even the external covenant relationship does not extend to all men, but only to believers and their seed. The New Testament dispensation of the covenant may be called universal in the sense that in it the covenant is extended to all
nations, and is no more limited to the Jews, as it was in the old dispensation.
5. THE COVENANT IS ESSENTIALLY THE SAME IN ALL
DISPENSATIONS,
THOUGH THE FORM OF ITS ADMINISTRATION CHANGES. The essential covenant promise is the same throughout, Gen. 17:7; Ex. 19:5; 20:1; Deut. 29:13; 2 Sam.
7:14; Jer. 31:33; Heb. 8:10. The gospel, which represents the contents of the covenant, is the same in both Testaments, Gen. 3:15; Gal. 1:8,
9; 3:8. The way in which Abraham obtained the realization of the covenant promise, is also the way in which the New Testament believers obtain this, Rom. 4:9–25; Gal. 3:7–9, 17, 18. Moreover, the Mediator is the same yesterday, today, and forever, Heb. 13:8; Acts
4:12.
THE COVENANT IS BOTH
CONDITIONAL
AND UNCONDITIONAL. The covenant is clearly conditional on the suretyship of Jesus Christ. Man's conscious entrance into the covenant as a communion of life is conditioned by faith and his continued enjoyment of its blessings by the persistent exercise of faith. At the same time there is no condition in the covenant that can be regarded as meritorious. In that sense it is unconditional. The sinner is called upon to repent and believe, but his faith and repentance do not in any way merit the blessings of the covenant.
7. THE COVENANT CAN BE CALLED A TESTAMENT. The
covenant is, of course, two-sided, that is, it is an agreement between two parties. An absolutely one-sided covenant is a contradiction in terms. Yet there is a sense in which the covenant of grace can be called one-sided. In origin the covenant is simply of the nature of a divine disposition or arrangement by which God communicates His blessings to man. Moreover, in the covenant God freely gives all that
He demands. And because the covenant is a free and sovereign disposition on the part of God, it can also be called a testament, Heb.
9:16, 17. This name stresses the facts, (a) that the covenant is as a whole a gift of God; (b) that its New Testament dispensation was ushered in by the death of Christ; (c) that it is firm and inviolable; and (d) that in it God gives what He demands.
D. The Relation of Christ to the Covenant of Grace. Christ is represented in Scripture as the Mediator of the Covenant. A mediator in the general sense of the word is simply a person who mediates between two opposite parties in an attempt to bring them together.
The Scriptural idea of Christ as our Mediator, however, is far more specific and more profound. Christ is Mediator in more than one sense. He intervenes between God and man, not merely to sue for peace and to persuade to it, but armed with full power to do all that is necessary for the actual establishment of peace. He is the Mediator who, as our surety, takes upon Himself the guilt of sinners, pays the penalty of sin, fulfils the law, and thus restores those whom He represents to the right relation to God, Heb. 7:22; 8:6; 9:15; 12:24.
But He is also the Mediator of access, who reveals to men the truth concerning God and their relation to Him, and the conditions of acceptable service; who persuades and enables them to receive the truth, and directs and sustains them in all circumstances of life, so as to perfect their deliverance, Rom. 5:2. In doing all this He employs the ministry of men, 2 Cor. 5:20.
E. Membership in the Covenant. In speaking of membership in the covenant the distinction between the covenant as a purely legal agreement and the covenant as a communion of life should always be borne in mind.
1. ADULTS IN THE COVENANT. Adults can only enter the covenant as a legal agreement by faith and confession. And when they so enter it, they at the same time gain entrance into the covenant as a communion of life. The only case in which this does not hold is when the faith is pretended and the confession is false. They enter upon the full covenant life at once therefore, and this is the only way in which they can enter the covenant. They not only become participants in certain external privileges and engage in the performance of certain external duties, but confess that they accept the covenant with a living faith, and that it is their desire and intention to continue in this faith.
2. CHILDREN OF BELIEVERS IN THE COVENANT. Children of believers enter the covenant as a legal relationship by birth, but this does not necessarily mean that they are also at once in the covenant as a communion of life. It does not even mean that the covenant relation will ever come to its full realization in their lives. At the same time there is in the case of these children a reasonable assurance that the covenant will in time become a living reality in their experience.
This is based on the promise of God, which is absolutely reliable, that He will work in the hearts of the covenant seed with His saving grace and transform them into living members of the covenant. As long as they do not manifest the contrary, we shall have to proceed on the assumption that they are in possession of the covenant life. And when these children come to years of discretion, it is incumbent on them to accept their covenant responsibilities voluntarily by a true confession of faith. Failure to do this is, strictly speaking, a denial of their covenant relationship.
3. UNREGENERATE IN THE COVENANT. From the preceding it follows that even unregenerate and unconverted persons may be in the covenant as a legal agreement. They may claim the covenant
promises, which God gave when He established the covenant with believers and their seed, Rom. 9:4. They are subject to the ministrations of the covenant, and are constantly admonished and exhorted to live according to its requirements. The Church treats them as covenant children, offers them the seals of the covenant and exhorts them to a proper use of these. They also share in the common blessings of the covenant, and are even subject to certain special operations of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit strives with them in a special manner, convicts them of sin, enlightens them in a measure, and enriches them with the choicest blessings of common grace, Gen.
6:3; Matt. 13:18–22; Heb. 6:4, 5. Finally, they are also under covenant responsibility, and are in duty bound to repent and believe.
If they do not turn to God and accept Christ by faith, they will be judged as breakers of the covenant.
F. The Different Dispensations of the Covenant. There are only two dispensations in the strict sense of the word, that of the Old and that of the New Testament. But in the old dispensation we may distinguish several periods or stages in the revelation of the covenant. A brief characterization of these stages must suffice here.
1. THE FIRST REVELATION OF THE COVENANT IN GEN. 3:15.
The first revelation of the covenant is found in what is usually called the protevangel or the maternal promise. This does not yet refer to the formal establishment of the covenant. The revelation of such a formal establishment could only follow after the covenant idea had been developed in history. It contains an indication of the division of mankind into two parts, the seed of the woman and the seed of the serpent, and of the friendship of God established with the seed of the woman, involving enmity with the seed of the serpent. The covenant idea is therefore clearly present.
2. THE COVENANT OF NATURE WITH NOAH. The covenant with Noah is of a very general nature. God promises that He will not again destroy all flesh by the waters of a flood, and that the regular succession of seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night, will continue. The forces of nature are bridled, the powers of evil are put under great restraint, and man is protected against the violence of both man and beast. It is a covenant conferring only natural blessings, and is therefore often called the covenant of nature or of common grace. There is no objection to this designation, provided it does not convey the impression that this covenant has no connection whatever with the covenant of grace.
Though the two differ, they are also most intimately connected. The covenant of nature also originated in the grace of God. It guarantees those earthly and temporal blessings which were absolutely necessary for the realization of the covenant of grace.
3. THE COVENANT WITH ABRAHAM. The covenant was formally established with Abraham. This transaction with Abraham marked the beginning of the particularistic Old Testament administration of the covenant. It is now limited to a single family, to Abraham and his descendants. In the establishment of the covenant with Abraham it becomes perfectly evident that man is a party in the covenant and must respond to the promises of God by faith. The great central fact in the attitude of Abraham is that he believed God and that this was reckoned unto him for righteousness. Moreover, the spiritual blessings of the covenant now become far more apparent than they were before, such as the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Spirit.
The covenant with Abraham clearly had two sides. On the one hand it had reference to temporal blessings, such as the land of Canaan, a numerous offspring, and victory over the enemies; and on the other hand it referred to spiritual blessings. The temporal blessings served to symbolize and typify spiritual and heavenly things. The spiritual
promises are not realized in the natural descendants of Abraham as such, but only in those who also follow in the footsteps of Abraham.
4. THE SINAITIC COVENANT. The covenant at Sinai was essentially the same as that established with Abraham, though the form differed somewhat. It was now established with the nation of Israel, and thus became a truly national covenant. In a large measure Church and State became one. The Sinaitic covenant included a service which contained a positive reminder of the strict demands of the covenant of works. It was not a renewed covenant of works, however; the law was made subservient to the covenant of grace. While the theocratic standing of the Israelite was made dependent on his keeping of the law, Lev. 18:5; Deut. 27:26; 2 Cor. 3:7, 8, the law served a twofold purpose in connection with the covenant of grace, namely, (a) to increase the consciousness of sin, Rom. 3:20; 4:15; 5:13; Gal. 3:19; and (b) to be a tutor unto Christ, Gal. 3:24. There was a detailed ceremonial and typical service. A separate priesthood was instituted, and a continuous preaching of the gospel in symbols and types was introduced. These symbols and types appeared under two different aspects: as the demands of God imposed on the people; and as a divine message of salvation to the people. The Jews largely lost sight of the latter aspect, and fixed their attention almost exclusively on the former. They regarded the covenant ever increasingly as a covenant of works, and saw in the symbols and types a mere appendage to this.
5. THE NEW TESTAMENT DISPENSATION OF THE COVENANT.
The covenant of grace, as it is revealed in the New Testament, is essentially one with the covenant that stands out on the pages of the Old Testament. This is abundantly evident from Romans 4 and Galatians 3. It is true that it is sometimes called a new covenant, Jer.
31:31; Heb. 8:8, 13; but this finds a sufficient explanation in the fact
that the New Testament administration of the covenant differs in several particulars from that of the Old Testament. While in the Old
Testament form it was limited to a single nation, in its New Testament aspect it broke through the barriers of particularism and became universal in the sense that its blessings were extended to people of all nations. Through the finished work of Christ the middle wall of partition was broken down, all nations were given free access to God, and those that were afar off were brought near. Moreover, there is also a difference in the quality of its benefits, in the spiritual and gracious character of its blessings. The Holy Spirit is poured out upon the Church, and out of the fulness of the grace of God enriches believers with spiritual and eternal blessings. The present dispensation of the covenant will continue until the return of Jesus
Christ, when the covenant relation will be realized in the fullest sense of the word in a life of intimate communion with God. Rev. 21:3.
Question for Review:
What distinction do we apply to the covenant of grace? What answer should be given to the question as to the second party in the covenant? What is the all-embracing promise of the covenant? What spiritual blessings does this include? What temporal blessings did it include in the Old Testament? What does God require of those with whom He enters into covenant relationship? Which are the characteristics of the covenant? In what sense is the covenant unbreakable, and in what sense is it sometimes broken? How can you prove the unity of the covenant in both dispensations? In what sense is it conditional and in what sense unconditional? Why can the covenant be called a testament? Where do we find the first revelation of the covenant? What is the nature of the covenant with Noah? Is it at all related to the covenant of grace? With whom was the covenant formally established? What characterizes the covenant with Abraham? How was the Sinaitic covenant related to the covenant