The Covenant of Grace: God s Redeeming Love for His People Uptown Church Sunday School: Core Truths of the Christian Faith July 18, 2010

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1 The Covenant of Grace: God s Redeeming Love for His People Uptown Church Sunday School: Core Truths of the Christian Faith July 18, 2010 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Therefore [Christ] is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance. Introduction Recap of the course: examine the foundational truths of the Christian life. Good for both new believers as well as veterans who desire to teach or be refreshed. First two classes covered (a) God s passion for his glory and (b) the importance of Scripture as the foundation of our biblical worldview (inspired, inerrant, etc.) Today s topic: the covenant of grace that God has established that defines his redeeming, loving relationship with his people and provides coherence and unity to the Bible Prayer Q: In the administration of the Lord s Supper, of which we just partook, what words of Christ are reiterated to define the significance of the body / blood (bread / wine)? o This is the [new] covenant in my blood, which is poured out for many Q: When someone is baptized, what do we say that makes them a part of? o The covenant community Q: What do we call the children of Uptown members? o Covenant children Q: Have you ever heard the phrases: old covenant, new covenant, covenant of works, covenant of grace, covenant of law, old testament, new testament? The language of covenant permeates our religious experience as Christians, but the idea can often times seem complex and confusing o What are these covenants? Which ones are related? Which ones are different? How does that impact how I understand the history of Israel in relation to my own salvation and church membership? The covenant that God has put in place is not just a framework for understanding how God revealed himself to his people (though that it is), but it is the very foundation and realization of his relationship of love and grace with his chosen sons and daughters Goal: examine what the covenant of grace is and how it has unfolded o Through this process, we will hopefully gain a better understanding of the Bible and a greater faith in and obedience to God A. Laying the Groundwork: What do we mean by covenant? To understand the biblical covenants correctly, we must first examine their nature in comparison to the modern definition of a legal covenant. Secular notion: a binding legal contract between equal parties o Q: In ordinary modern life, what is a covenant? Dictionary: a signed written agreement between two or more parties to perform some action Uptown SS Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace 1

2 o Generally accepted idea of a covenant in the modern day is a legal contract or arrangement, entered into voluntarily by equal parties, in which certain performance commitments are made by both parties and certain consequences are laid out for failure to perform on either side Biblical notion: a sovereign disposition of grace by God o Q: If we apply this secular definition to the biblical situation, where does it go wrong (or does it)? o Secular notion assumes (a) equality between the contracting parties, (b) an element of willfulness and intent on both parties behalf, and (c) implied ability of each party to meet the conditions if they choose o As we ll see, the biblical situation is vastly different: (a) God and man are not equal, (b) man cannot willfully enter the covenant, and (c) fallen man cannot meet the conditions on his own As covenant theology was initially developed post-reformation, it was often framed using the secular definition, which led to some complications: God and man mutually agree upon a certain set of conditions that, if man meets them, will result in blessing from God A closer examination of the biblical data has demonstrated that the mutual contract idea inadequately reflects the covenant s true nature o The Bible indicates the following, as we will cover: God unilaterally initiates the covenant (monopleurically established) The covenant defines a relationship of love and grace in which God both promises and delivers certain things to his chosen people The covenant is the relationship in which God pours out his grace and mercy to redeem his people salvation is in the covenant The covenant involves both parties (dipleurically administered) and includes an expectation of faith and obedience as the reciprocal response B. The Broken Relationship: Covenant of Works The covenant relationship defined God s relationship to man from the outset, in the garden, when He made promises to Adam. This first covenant, however, was not yet the gracious disposition that God established afterwards. Covenant established based on man s obedience: thus, of works o Q: Let us start at the beginning. What were God s first words to Adam (Gen 2)? o Read Ge 2:15-17: God places Adam in the garden and institutes a covenant to govern the relationship. This period is often called Adam s probation. The parties: God and Adam as the head of all humankind (WSC 16) The promise implied: eternal fellowship if Adam persists in obedience The condition: do not eat of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil The punishment: death, separation from God o While an unusual formulation, this is rightly considered a covenant relationship Ro 5 indicates Adam is the covenant head of mankind who is superseded by Christ as the covenant head of the elect Uptown SS Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace 2

3 Ho 6:7 But like Adam they transgressed the covenant o This relationship is called the Covenant of Works, for the promise is entirely contingent on Adam s performance of the required acts of obedience (or, technically, avoidance of the forbidden acts) Covenant violated due to man s disobedience o Q: What happens to this covenant? How does God respond? o Adam does not last long very soon he and Eve, having been tempted by Satan, disobey God s command and eat of the forbidden tree o As a works-based covenant, failure to meet the condition results in the imposition of the specified punishment Death and sin : enter humankind because of Adam s failure Ro 5:12 Note: God s grace immediately manifests itself in forestalling the consequence: Adam does not immediately die. Rather, God temporarily spares him to allow for the opportunity for redemption. Alienation and separation: God removes Adam from the garden broken fellowship with the source of life Takeaway #1: Our broken relationship with God and our own sinfulness are deep-seated, reaching back to the very beginning of mankind we inherit the guilt and pollution and need a perfect, unpolluted, infinitely worthy person to set things right. C. The Restored Relationship: Covenant of Grace The covenant of works having failed, God graciously establishes a new relationship, with a better mediator and better promises that are guaranteed not to fail. Covenant established based on Christ s anticipated obedience: thus, of grace o Q: Embedded in the curse in Gen 3, what important words does God say? o Amid his curse on Satan, Adam, and Eve, God also announces the prototype of the new relationship that will ultimately become the gospel of grace Ge 3:15 [Her offspring] shall bruise [the serpent s] head o The covenant of grace fundamentally describes a new relationship in which God promises to love and redeem his people not based on their works, but on the obedience of Christ, who represents them The parties: God and Christ as head of the elect (WLC 31) 1 The promise: redemption, life, and restoration of fellowship The condition: obedience The punishment: same as the covenant of works o In contrast to the covenant of works, this covenant is a gracious covenant 1 To minimize confusion, we will use the single-covenant framework supported by the Westminster Standards, in which the Covenant of Grace is established between God and Christ as the federal head / representative of elect sinners. The other widely taught Reformed view is a double-covenant framework, in which the covenant is distributed between a Covenant of Redemption, which is a pre-creation arrangement between God and Christ whereby Christ agrees to be the mediator for man, and the Covenant of Grace proper, which is the formal covenant between God and the elect sinner. The two representations are essentially the same though different in mechanics. Uptown SS Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace 3

4 God takes the initiative even though man is dead in sin (Ro 5:10) God provides a substitute, a representative, a surety who will meet the conditions on our behalf: Jesus Christ. He also gives his Spirit as seal. Thus, God establishes, guarantees (seals), and fulfills the covenant, so that the promises are secure it is gracious from end to end Though it is entirely gracious, this covenant does (like all relationships) bear with it an expectation of obedience and faith. Not: obey and I will establish a covenant. Rather: because of my covenant, you are to obey. o Another way to think of the covenant of grace: Christ fulfilling the conditions of the covenant of works on our behalf that original covenant is still in effect For this reason, those who are not in Christ and party to the covenant of grace are still judged and condemned under the covenant of works One covenant, multiple administrations or stages o This covenant of grace, of which Christ is the mediator, is the all-controlling relationship for all of redemptive history from Ge 3:15 onward o However, it was by necessity administered differently during the time before Christ came than after his coming it was not revealed all at once but unfolded in line with the various stages of redemption itself Moreover, as we ll see, each successive stage (dispensation) of the covenant typically coincides with major redemptive events in the history of Israel / church. The history of redemption, the history of revelation, and the history of the covenants all move in concert and are interrelated. o Old covenant era: initial promise, building and growing through multiple stages o New covenant era: promise fulfilled in the coming of Christ o Key: the covenant relationship between God and the faithful of Israel is essentially the same as that between God and the church Takeaway #2: Studying the covenant will help us unlock the meaning of OT history, understand the meaning and importance of what Christ did, and lead to greater love and thankfulness for our gracious God Unfolding the covenant through redemptive history: final consummation in Christ o Work through separate chart attached o Supplementary notes to mention as time allows o Summary: this refrain occurs numerous times throughout the OT and is restated or implied in the NT in multiple places. It accurately reflects the macro theme of the Bible: God reconciling a people to himself for his own glory o Adamic: at this point, Adam has failed as the federal head of the human race, and the second Adam Christ now becomes the federal head of the redeemed human race. Ge 3:15 is admittedly short, but it clearly sets up the seed of the woman as the one who would conquer sin and death on behalf of the race, and the NT bears witness that this seed is Christ Uptown SS Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace 4

5 The sign (sacrament) in this case is typically believed to be the animals that were killed to provide skins to cover their nakedness and shame, though not all scholars agree on this o Noahic: this covenant is slightly different than the others in that it is more general in extent (all humankind), focuses on preservation of creation, and includes a sacrament / sign that does not involve man the rainbow However, following on the heels of the promise comes the blessings and curses on Noah s three sons: blessing on Shem, curse on Ham, and optimistic promise for Japheth to dwell in the tents of Shem More difficult to trace this covenant through to its fulfillment in Christ, but clearly we see Jesus as the sustainer of all creation as well as the ultimate judge (e.g., not by flood) o Abrahamic: this is considered the key covenant as it relates to the NT era; Paul often highlights its inviolability and criticality and suggests the Mosaic covenant, while clearly important, is somewhat subordinate to the Abrahamic Election and faith are established as the guiding forces Isaac not Ishmael, and imputation of righteousness by faith Note how the covenant was initiated: God himself (via a theophany) passed through the cut, bloody pieces of animals, not Abraham. This reversal of the typical roles indicated that God was pledging to bear the punishment if either party broke the covenant. This is a beautiful picture of the gracious nature of the covenant. The sign instituted (circumcision) is similar to the promises of temporal blessings (land, offspring, many nations) in that they all collectively point to a greater spiritual reality that is fulfilled in Christ: just as (a) the true blessings that last are the eternal inheritance, adoption as sons, and unification of one body in Christ, not the physical blessings which pass away, so (b) the true circumcision is not physical but spiritual. o Mosaic / Sinaitic: a special stage in which God imposes a detailed religious institution and legal code to purify his chosen people (narrowing the covenant scope for a period of time) Often a source of confusion: is this the Law of Moses a reinstitution of the Covenant of Works? No. (a) The covenant is already assumed when God gives the commands; (b) grace and gospel are in the law, as it points to Christ (types, symbols), reveals our inability and need, and provides a means for fellowship (even if temporary and imperfect); (c) Paul connects Moses and Abraham to demonstrate the essential unity of the covenant. The confusion often arises due to the apparent hard-line opposition that Paul has towards law seemingly associating legal obedience with works. Important to realize that Paul was writing against how Second Temple Judaism has misunderstood the Mosaic law and turned it into a system of works-based righteousness, which was not its original intent (Ga 3:21-22) Can speak of the Ten Commandments as the core of this stage, though it is also true that the covenant extends to most or all of the legal code Author of Hebrews speaks of this particular covenant stage as old (versus the broader old covenant era of which the Mosaic administration Uptown SS Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace 5

6 is only a component) because he is directly comparing the Levitical priesthood with the perfect high priesthood of Christ Important not to throw stones at the Law of Moses but to respect it for its place in the entire order of things: both for what it failed to do (unable to provide for true salvation, thus revealing the need for a perfect savior) and for what it succeeded in doing, at least provisionally (providing a basis for worship and fellowship with God, a means to deal with sin, and a pattern to recall God s faithfulness) o Davidic: the promised offspring of Abraham and the great High Priest (in the order of Melchizedek) is also our eternal king on David s throne, the promised one of the line of Judah Height of empirical Israel was the kingdom of David, but the dynasty quickly fell apart due to disobedience and sin The true king would later come, not as a triumphant ruler on a warhorse but as a suffering servant on a donkey. First coming of Christ established a spiritual kingdom; his second coming will consummate the final kingdom that will be all-in-all (spiritual, physical, political) o New: foretold by the prophets during the time of the kingdom disintegrating Foretell an age in which the Abrahamic, Mosaic, and Davidic covenants will be renewed (and, in a sense, replaced) in a Messiah (perfect mediator) After a period of narrowing during the time of Moses and the kings, we see the covenant family expand during the time of Christ (which Isaiah predicted), who opened the door for Gentiles to enter in D. What are the implications of the doctrine of the Covenant? Rightly viewing God s glory: loving and worshipping God for his faithfulness Understanding the Bible o Covenant theology provides a coherent framework for understanding the Bible cover to cover. God s acts of redemption ( to the Jew first, and then the Gentile ) unfolds within a covenant relationship: man fails, God loves and redeems; man is unfaithful, God persists in faithfulness; man breaks the covenant, God disciplines man (if needed) and restores the covenant bond. Understanding our salvation o Your own salvation is not just a one-time event in isolation, independent from a broader context ( Just me and Jesus ). o Jesus saving work on the cross only makes sense in light of the covenant; the application of his merit on our behalf is a thoroughly covenantal idea (imputation and federal representation are intensely covenant ideas). We are justified by personal faith (not by church membership), but our faith is built on a promise God made to real people who were the pioneers of the faith which we share. Rightly partaking of the sacraments o Baptism and the Lord s Supper are not all about you they are rooted in a rich history with a deep significance. o When we participate in the Lord s Supper, receive baptism, or witness a baptism, we should reflect on the underlying truths: God went to great lengths to save his people because He was firmly committed to his covenant of love and grace. Uptown SS Doctrine of the Covenant of Grace 6

7 The Covenant of Grace Redemptive historical events Old Covenant administration Stage Promise Purpose / scope New Covenant administration Fulfillment in Christ Summary Ex 6 Je 7 I will be your God You will be my people Divinely established and fulfilled in Christ Calls us to faith/obedience as reciprocal response In Christ, God is eternally our God and we are adopted as his people Re 21 Judgment of flood God redeems Noah God redeems Abram out of Ur Captivity of 12 tribes in Egypt Nation grows (Ex 1) but no land God redeems Israel Failure / redemption cycle of Judges Monarchy established Prophetic warnings Covenant apostasy Split kingdom Exile God redeems Judah Covenant renewal Adam Ge 3:15 Noah Ge 9 Abraham Ge 15,17 Moses Ex Le 17 David 2 Sa 7 1 Ch 17 Ps 89 New foretold Je 31, Is 42/53, Ez 36 Seed crush Satan Sustain creation Land / inheritance People / offspring Father of many nations (Gentiles) God s presence (tabernacle) Forgiveness of sins through sacrificial system - blood Consecration of God s people / pure worship Eternal king Eternal dynasty God s presence (permanent temple) All mankind with focus on God s chosen people Protect Shem s line; early Gentile promise (Japheth) Promise for spiritual heirs Based on faith (15:6) Election established particular to Isaac Sign #1: Circumcision (initiation by faith) Basis: God s redemption Law provided to: a. Reveal sin b. Points to Christ Still grace, not works a. Subst. atonement b. Types of Christ c. Law as blessing National (temporarily) Sign #2: Passover (remembering God s grace; spiritual food) Temporary consummation of nation promise Clear Messianic foreshadowing Solomon s Temple Warn against disobedience: lose land, temple, king Prophets promise a new covenant: Spirit, Messianic king / suffering servant, Gentile inclusion Second Adam, defeats Satan Ro 5, 1 Co 15, He 2:14 Sustainer of creation, final judge (Co 1) Japhethites in Shem s tents (Ro 11) Abraham s seed is Christ, the savior of those who believed like Abraham (Ga 3) Land: heavenly Jerusalem / inheritance Nation: church as God s people / nation Gentiles: brought into the covenant New sign: Baptism [bloodless] (Co 2) Fulfillment of all requirements of the Law of Moses, esp. ceremonial (Heb 8-9) a. Active obedience to law b. Passive obedience as substitute whose blood cleansed us forever Entrance into heavenly tabernacle, permanent access and intercession Old passes away in Christ New sign: Lord s Supper [bloodless] (1 Co 11) Eternal king on David s throne (Lk 1, He 1) Eternal kingdom (already / not yet) Permanent presence among his people (new temple) by the Holy Spirit (1 Pe 2) Christ is the New Covenant mediator and surety; established in his blood

8 Exodus 6:7-8 I will take you as my own people, and I will be your God. Then you will know that I am the LORD your God, who brought you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. 8 And I will bring you to the land I swore with uplifted hand to give to Abraham, to Isaac and to Jacob. I will give it to you as a possession. I am the LORD. Jeremiah 7:22-23 For when I brought your forefathers out of Egypt and spoke to them, I did not just give them commands about burnt offerings and sacrifices, 23 but I gave them this command: Obey me, and I will be your God and you will be my people. Walk in all the ways I command you, that it may go well with you. Genesis 3:15 And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel. Genesis 2: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die." Genesis 9:8-13, Then God said to Noah and to his sons with him: 9 "I now establish my covenant with you and with your descendants after you 10 and with every living creature that was with you. 11 I establish my covenant with you: Never again will all life be cut off by the waters of a flood; never again will there be a flood to destroy the earth."12 And God said, "This is the sign of the covenant I am making between me and you and every living creature with you, a covenant for all generations to come: 13 I have set my rainbow in the clouds, and it will be the sign of the covenant between me and the earth. [ ] 26 He also said, "Blessed be the LORD, the God of Shem! May Canaan be the slave of Shem. 27 May God extend the territory of Japheth [c] ; may Japheth live in the tents of Shem, and may Canaan be his slave." Genesis 15:5-7,9-10,17-18 He took him outside and said, "Look up at the heavens and count the stars if indeed you can count them." Then he said to him, "So shall your offspring be." 6 Abram believed the LORD, and he credited it to him as righteousness. 7 He also said to him, "I am the LORD, who brought you out of Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to take possession of it." [ ] 9 So the LORD said to him, "Bring me a heifer, a goat and a ram, each three years old, along with a dove and a young pigeon." 10 Abram brought all these to him, cut them in two and arranged the halves opposite each other; the birds, however, he did not cut in half. [ ] 17 When the sun had set and darkness had fallen, a smoking firepot with a blazing torch appeared and passed between the pieces. 18 On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram.

9 Genesis 17:2-10 I will confirm my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers." 3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 "As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations. 6 I will make you very fruitful; I will make nations of you, and kings will come from you. 7 I will establish my covenant as an everlasting covenant between me and you and your descendants after you for the generations to come, to be your God and the God of your descendants after you. 8 The whole land of Canaan, where you are now an alien, I will give as an everlasting possession to you and your descendants after you; and I will be their God." 9 Then God said to Abraham, "As for you, you must keep my covenant, you and your descendants after you for the generations to come. 10 This is my covenant with you and your descendants after you, the covenant you are to keep: Every male among you shall be circumcised. Exodus 19:3-5 3 Then Moses went up to God, and the LORD called to him from the mountain and said, "This is what you are to say to the house of Jacob and what you are to tell the people of Israel: 4 'You yourselves have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagles' wings and brought you to myself. 5 Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Exodus 24:6-8 6 Moses took half of the blood and put it in bowls, and the other half he sprinkled on the altar. 7 Then he took the Book of the Covenant and read it to the people. They responded, "We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey." 8 Moses then took the blood, sprinkled it on the people and said, "This is the blood of the covenant that the LORD has made with you in accordance with all these words." Psalm 89:3-4 [God said] "I have made a covenant with my chosen one, I have sworn to David my servant, 4 'I will establish your line forever and make your throne firm through all generations.' " Jeremiah 31: "The time is coming," declares the LORD, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah. 32 It will not be like the covenant I made with their forefathers when I took them by the hand to lead them out of Egypt, because they broke my covenant, though I was a husband to them, " declares the LORD. 33 "This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD. "I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people. 34 No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."

10 Galatians 3:16-18,19 16The promises were spoken to Abraham and to his seed. The Scripture does not say "and to seeds," meaning many people, but "and to your seed," meaning one person, who is Christ. 17What I mean is this: The law, introduced 430 years later, does not set aside the covenant previously established by God and thus do away with the promise. 18For if the inheritance depends on the law, then it no longer depends on a promise; but God in his grace gave it to Abraham through a promise. 29If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise. Hebrews 8:1-6,13 1The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven, 2and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man. 5They serve at a sanctuary that is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: "See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain." 6But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to the old one, and it is founded on better promises.[ ] 13By calling this covenant "new," he has made the first one obsolete; and what is obsolete and aging will soon disappear. Hebrews 9:15 15For this reason Christ is the mediator of a new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins committed under the first covenant. Luke 1: You will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. 32He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, 33and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end."