The covenants of the Bible have been called the “backbone of Scripture” and I’m beginning to see why. If you don’t know what a covenant is, it’s “a formal arrangement between two parties” as Ligonier puts it. For the sake of not copying everything they wrote I want to just point you to their short article here so you can see the overview they did of what each of the covenants are. Jon and Justin at Theocast also have a playlist on YouTube here that I encourage everyone to take the time to study; they’re very pastoral in how they teach covenant theology and in a way that is understandable and applicable. I’m still fairly new to covenant theology at the time of writing this and I’m still learning how this all works in scripture, but I have to say it’s been life-changing so far in seeing more of God’s heart, in understanding His word, and having a clearer view of God’s good news of Jesus. This framework isn’t just academic, detached knowledge; it really is essential and practical for interpreting scripture and seeing God the way He intends for us to know Him. If Bible study is like digging for treasure (that being Jesus), then covenant theology is the shovel.
The three overarching covenants of the Bible are called the covenant of redemption, the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace. If you’ve read the article from Ligonier that I gave above, you might see that all of the covenants can be put into two types: Conditional (meaning blessings from God are earned), and unconditional (meaning blessings from God are freely given based on the merits of Jesus). The covenant of redemption and the covenant of grace are both unconditional while the covenant of works is conditional. A statement Justin made in one of their videos helps us to see the point and how these fit together. He said, “Jesus accomplished the covenant of grace by fulfilling the covenant of works in order to accomplish the covenant of redemption.” So in a nutshell the gospel is good news because, in the words of R.C. Sproul, “We can be a part of the family of God only because our God makes and keeps covenants.”
As you may or may not know, the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus wasn’t God’s plan B. God didn’t come up with this plan of salvation begrudgingly and at the last minute when Adam and Eve sinned in the garden. The gospel was God’s loving plan and agreement (or covenant) within the Trinity from eternity; before creation and before any one of us sinned against Him. I don’t know about you, but that destroys the dark views I tend to have about God. My natural, sinful tendency is to think about God in the opposite way of who He really is and have this idea of a merciless, distant, and fed up landlord who wants nothing to do with me and is ready to kick me out at any second. But in the face of Christ, I see the true God who is Yahweh— compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding with loyal love and faithfulness; who forgives iniquity and transgression and sin, but is also just in His judgment (Exodus 34:5-7). And that last part about God’s justice is only good for us now because we’re in Christ by faith. Seeing who God is in His word in light of the gospel and His covenants, I now see my heavenly Father who loves me, and my Savior who turned me from an enemy of God into His beloved child.
God created this beautiful plan of salvation and then perfectly executed it for us so that we may know Him and be with Him for eternity. Who could come up with such a wonderful God? No one. There is none to compare with our true and faithful Father, Savior, and closest Friend. Seeing how God relates to humanity in these covenants shows us His heart towards sinners and leads us to have more confidence that when we trust-fall into His everlasting arms, He will catch us; because He is able, faithful, and willing to do so as our Father in Christ– because it’s His idea in the first place. It brings the words of Jesus to life when He says, “Everyone whom the Father gives to Me will come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will never throw out, because I have come down from heaven not that I should do My will, but the will of the One who sent Me. Now this is the will of the One who sent Me: that everyone whom He has given Me, I would not lose any of them, but raise them up on the last day. For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks at the Son and believes in Him would have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. (John 6:37-40)”
The entire Bible points to the fact that God is a Covenant-Keeper. He shows us time and time again that He is sufficient– He’s who we can rest our souls upon. It leads us to worship and praise with Paul: “Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption through Jesus Christ to Himself according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace that He bestowed on us in the Beloved, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace, that He caused to abound to us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure that He purposed in Him, for the administration of the fullness of times, to bring together all things in Christ, the things in the heavens and the things on the earth, in Him in whom also we were chosen, having been predestined according to the purpose of the One who works all things according to the counsel of His will, that we who hoped beforehand in Christ should be for the praise of His glory, in whom also you, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also when you believed you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Let’s continually meditate on our glorious God and appropriate His sure promises to us.
– Katrina
Gospel Assurance 